Android Magazine

GET READY FOR
KEY LIME PIE

Prepare your
phone for the
new Android OS
Is this the new
face of Android
phones?
FACEBOOK HOME

SAMSUNGS FLAGSHIP PHONE TAKES ON THE HTC ONE & SONY XPERIA Z
INNOVATIVE
ANDROID APPS
30
Incredible apps that will change
how you use your phone
ULTIMATE FACE
-
OFF
GALAXY S4
In-app purchases explained
Get MS Office on Android
Secure your phone
ALSO INSIDE
ASUS
PADFONE 2
REVIEWED

Double your battery life

Back up and restore apps

Improve your camera
Hacker
Zne
Discover what you
can really do with Android

SAMSUNG

HTC
SONY

LG
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App reviews

Tips & advice

Hardware tested

Hacking
60
+
APP
REVIEWS
25
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ISSUE 25 4.99
ISSUE 25
001_AND_25_NOSPINE.indd 1 30/04/2013 12:05 001_AND_25_NOSPINE.indd 1 30/04/2013 12:07
Full pg.indd 1 23/04/2013 12:09
3
Welcome
To issue 25
Welcome
Samsung has gone the other way, chucking
everything at the S4 in the hope that theres a bit of
something for everyone
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S
amsungs agship smartphone
for the year has gone on sale,
and sold out pretty much
immediately. The huge demand for
the Galaxy S4 perfectly illustrates
just how popular Samsung has
become as a smartphone
manufacturer a massive turnaround
for a company that only three years
ago barely registered on the sales charts. Weve been
looking at the S4 this month, and how it compares to the
two other big devices of the year, the HTC One and Sony
Xperia Z. Its interesting to see just how different the three
devices are. They all have broadly similar specs, are
roughly the same size, and are designed to do essentially
the same things. Yet each one feels completely different
to the next. Samsungs approach is far less rened than
that of the others. Where HTC has taken a move
upmarket, going for the ultra high-end with the design and
build and stripping back the software to leave you with
just the essentials, Samsung has gone the other way,
chucking everything at the S4 in the hope that theres a bit
of something for everyone. Its a much brasher device as a
result, and the build quality does not even come close to
the One or the Xperia Z. But while the acionados among
us may prefer the more sophisticated approach HTC has
taken, the market has spoken, and it doesnt mind plastic,
or care about gimmicks. And maybe thats the right way of
thinking, because its in the things that really matter:
screen, performance, camera and battery life, that the S4
really shines.
PicsArt
Eyes
Outlook.com
The Room
Pocket Casts
RoundR
MY HOME SCREEN
On (and off) Andys
phone this month
GET IN TOUCH
Let us know what youd
like to see in next issue
Andy Betts Editor
This month
Ive been testing:
Galaxy S4
A worthy update to
the S III. The
Samsung juggernaut
continues at pace
A
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003_AND_025.indd 3 29/04/2013 16:42
Contents
Inside issue 25
CONTENTS
15 Special offer for USA readers
70 Exclusive subscription offer

06 Facebook Home:
the new face of
Android?
We take a look at the new app
and phone for Facebook
10 Million Sellers
We chat to the makers of
Zinio, one of the Play stores
top downloads
11 Sony Xperia Tablet
Z hands-on
First look at the fantastic new
tablet from Sony
Launcher
Previews,
news and
speculation
from the
Android world
www.littlegreenrobot.co.uk
12 10 things you need to
know about in-app
purchases
We get you up to speed on the
murky world of in-app purchases
14 Travel apps
A collection of some of the
best-looking travel apps
16 Messages
Sound off about anything and
everything to do with Android
06 Facebook Home
Is this the new face of
Android phones?
24 Get ready for Key
Lime Pie
Prepare your phone for the
next Android update
88 Asus Padfone 2
reviewed
We test the phone/tablet combi.
Is it the best of both worlds?
4
18 Samsung takes on the HTC One and Sony Xperia Z
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ULTIMATE FACE
-
OFF
GALAXY S4
004-005_AND_025.indd 4 30/04/2013 10:11
Contents
Inside issue 25
Cutting-edge tablets and
smartphones on test
88 Reviews
88 Asus Padfone 2
90 Toshiba AT300SE
92 CAT B15
94 Accessories
Power up your phone or tablet
with this collection of goodies
Essential guides to getting more
from your phone or tablet
34 Turn your Android device into a
mobile ofce
Get ahead in the ofce with help from your
Android device
38 Tutorials
38 Save and share photos in Google+
41 Add feeds in Google Currents
42 Secure your phone with 2-step
verication
44 Send meeting requests via your
Calendar app
45 Apply lters in Twitter
47 Control location services
48 Take control of Google and
third-party accounts
86 10000000
83 3G Watchdog
87 AVP: Evolution
79 Burn Note
83 Comic Book!
84 Evernote
78 F1 2013 Timing App
83 Feedly
83 Google Analytics
84 Google Keep
82 Google Translate
83 HeyTell
83 Janetter for Twitter
87 Lazors
79 Must-Have Recipes
80 Opera browser beta
87 PAC-MAN + Tournaments
80 Photo Effects Pro
81 Qustodio Parental Controls
87 Ravensword: Shadowlands
79 Rethink
82 Sky Movies
87 Spider: Secret of Bryce
Manor
83 Trafc Monitor
82 Traxsource
80 Uber
83 Unity Launcher
79 WiFi Signal Booster
86 Zombie Minesweeper
87 Pro Snooker 2012
Apps
Your complete
guide to
Google Play
72 30 innovative apps
Apps that will change how you
use your phone
78 App reviews
The latest apps on test
84 Note apps
Google Keep vs Evernote
86 Game reviews
The latest games reviewed
App review index
58 Hacking tips and tricks
Essential tips for getting the most out of
your Android device
60 10 Essential hacks you must try
today!
Practical hacks that will help you get more
from your phone or tablet
Explore the limits of
your Android phone
Hacker
Zne
Tutorials Reviews
72 30 most innovative Android apps
Incredible apps that will change how you use
your phone
42
Secure your
phone
Use 2-step
verication to
secure your Google
account from
hacking
Check our website daily
for even more news
5
18 Samsung takes on the HTC One and Sony Xperia Z
50 Droid Support
Readers questions answered, plus
troubleshooting tips and tricks
56 Android challenge
Replace your laptop: Can you get by using
just an Android phone instead of a laptop?
We nd out
92
CAT B15
Rugged Android
phone reviewed
in full

90
Toshiba
AT300SE
Can Toshiba make
an impact with
this tablet?
GALAXY S4
004-005_AND_025.indd 5 30/04/2013 10:21
141.5
AVERAGE NUMBER
OF FRIENDS PER
FACEBOOK USER
55-65
3%
13-17
12%
26-34
23%
45-54
5%
35-44
14%
18-25
43%
6
All the latest from the world of Android devices
TRILLION
LIKES 1.13
Post
Whats on your mind?
Photo Gift
219 Billion
PHOTOS SHARED
FACEBOOK USERS BY AGE
901 MILLION 105, 901, 900 20, 561, 280 408 1.06 BILLION
Mobile monthly
active users
TOTAL USERS Monthly active
users
Mobile users
are American
Are from the UK
Facebook can no longer be classed as a social network its now a real alternative to the
Android operating system. Heres why
U
nless youve had your head in the sand for
the past decade, youll have clearly noticed
Facebooks dominance as a social media
platform. Despite rivals in the form of Twitter,
Pinterest, Path and Google+, Facebook still remains
at the top of the social media pyramid, and with a
fanbase that now exceeds a billion users, the time
has come for Mark Zuckerberg to move the
company in to unknown territories.
Facebooks new venture comes in the form of a
partnership with HTC to launch a mid-range Android
phone called the HTC First, plus its own unique skin
which can be applied to a number of Android
devices called Facebook Home. As a phone, the
First isnt the most spectacular of devices. It has
average specs, a pretty standard design, but at least
it should come with an acceptable price tag.
Facebook Home is an entirely different prospect
Facebook Home: the
new face of Android?
THE
big
STORY
006_009_AND_025 2 6 30/04/2013 11:26
twitter
@lgrobot
Follow us on Twitter for
the latest updates
Stay up to date
Catch up with the latest
Android news and gossip
7
altogether and one that could change the landscape
of the Android operating system for some time.
It doesnt matter that Facebook Home will be
launched with an Android operating system on an
HTC smartphone. If Facebooks new concept works,
it will become the standard for phones and
operating systems from now on says Roslyn Layton,
vice president of Strand Consult. Facebooks
announcement is an important milestone for
investors, for it demonstrates that the gold mine for
Facebook is not advertising, operating systems or
hardware. The key for Facebook is to monetise its
users for the very communication it offers: SMS,
voice, and data-enabled services.
To be able to monetise such services, Facebook
will have to look to adapt Home very quickly from a
simple skin that keeps you in contact with your
Facebook prole to a communication powerhouse.
Theres been much talk about Facebooks
willingness to follow in Amazons successful steps.
Both the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD had a totally
independent skin designed by Amazon, but with
Android at its core. Both tablets have been
successful, with many preferring the budget pair to
many of the high-end Android tablets now available
on the market. With the added bonus of having full
access to the Amazon library of music, movies and
books, Amazon has the money and power to cater
for everyone. Even Google is looking to build on the
amount of media available in the Play store, with
Play Magazines now a major competitor to the likes
of Zinio. Fred Huet, managing partner at Greenwich
Consulting, thinks Facebook may have a tough time
competing with the likes of Amazon and Google on
this front. The biggest challenger to Facebook
Home would be Google, with traditional apps such
as Gmail, Google Search, Google Maps and YouTube
in the background. That means less trafc, clicks
and revenues. But he rmly believes that Facebook
can remain unrivalled with being a communication
powerhouse: With 1,800 texts a month sent by the
average American teenager, Facebook Home will
capture all that trafc, thus increasing revenues,
trafc and metadata about users that they can use
to better target with ads.
If we look away from the media side of things, for
Facebook to be a major player in the mobile industry
and ultimately for Facebook Home to be a real
success, it will very quickly need to identify the
market it is aiming itself at. With Samsung
saturating the mobile market, its hard to nd gaps
that can be lled, but it will be something that needs
to be considered by Zuckerberg and company. Sri
Ramanathan, CTO of Kony Solutions, believes that
Facebook should play on the openness of the
Android platform to really nail a suitable target
audience: By using the open-ness of Android,
theyve been able to make a very native application
that integrates deeply into the existing capabilities
of Android. It also integrates seamlessly with other
applications on your phone. Facebook Home is
going to appeal to a generation of users who are
very connected to Facebook and who want to use it
for the majority of their phone activity. He v
advertisers and has the potential to completely
change the Facebook business model. More
advertisers will come to Facebook because the
company is better leveraging mobile and tapping
into this key demographic.
Facebooks transition into mobile is a bold move
to say the least, but one that could change the
landscape of the Android operating system as we
know it. Communication is at the forefront of what
Facebook does best and Home encapsulates that
perfectly, but its in the other areas where Facebook
will have to vastly improve if it wants to really
challenge Google for the Android crown. But with a
fanbase as large as what Facebook has and with its
rst partnership with HTC already in full swing,
maybe well all own a Facebook device in the next
couple of years.
Increasing
revenues,
trafc and
metadata
Fred Huet, managing partner at Greenwich Consulting
With Samsung
saturating the mobile
market, its hard to
nd gaps that can
be lled
How other companies fared
with their own take on the
Android OS?
Going against
Android
Kindle
Amazon developed an entirely unique skin
loosely based on the Android OS and
implemented it on both the Kindle Fire and
Kindle Fire HD. Its easy to use and ties in
with the Amazon storefront surprisingly well.
TouchWiz
Samsungs own custom skin, TouchWiz, has
its problems, but it has been constantly
updated to provide a truly unique Android
experience. Its a great skin for those who are
new to the Android OS platform.
Nook
The Nooks custom skin is very loosely based
on that of the Android OS, but it has many
problems. It has been dumbed down for the
average user, including the app store which
houses just a few hundred titles rather than
the thousands in the Play Store.
006_009_AND_025 2 7 30/04/2013 11:02
8
HTC has another crack at making a Facebook phone. Can it
possibly nd a market beyond its niche audience?
Three old Facebook
phones that are
worth forgetting
HTC First
Disliked
Whether a Facebook phone is truly needed remains a dubious question, but HTC has forged ahead with bringing the
HTC First to the market. With full backing of the Facebook team, HTC has looked to implement its own take on the
Android OS, offering the standard Android features with Facebooks completely new launcher, Facebook Home, at
the forefront. Theres plenty of inspiration from the likes of Amazon here, who has previously launched its own spin
on the Android OS, but whether Facebook has a committed enough fanbase to follow its success remains to be
seen. Its certainly an important phone for HTC considering its current nancial problems, as the First follows a
number of unsuccessful efforts at making Facebook phones. It includes a very average set of specications which
means anyone looking to get some decent bang for their buck may be left a little underwhelmed with whats on
offer here, so pricing will be key for HTC when it comes to nally launching the device all over the world. Perhaps
most interestingly the Facebook functionality can be turned off, leaving you with fully stock Android.
Operating system ........... Android 4.1/
Facebook Home UI
Processor .......................... Krait 1.4GHz
dual-core
Memory .............................. 1GB RAM,
16GB storage
Dimensions ......................126 x 65 x 8.9mm
Weight ...............................123.9g
Display size ........................4.3-inch LCD
Display resolution ...........720 x 1,280 pixels
Connectivity ..................... Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/
g/n, Bluetooth 4.0,
HSPA+, micro USB
Camera.............................. 5-MP rear, VGA
front, 1080p video
recording
Start your phone and youll see
all your latest Facebook
statuses from your friends
Incoming messages appear on
your lockscreen. Tap on one to
launch the full conversation
This is you. Drag up to unlock
the phone, or sideways to
launch into the app drawer or
camera app
HTC ChaCha
Why it failed
People didnt take too kindly to the
ChaChas physical keyboard that promised
to offer quick shortcuts to your Facebook
prole, but instead made the Facebook
integration a very clunky affair.
INQ Mobile Touch
Why it failed
Without a big name behind it, the INQ
Cloud Touch soon fell into obscurity. Its
Facebook integration wasnt bad, but the
phone itself was immensely underpowered
compared to its competition.
HTC Salsa
Why it failed
The Salsa was a big step up from the
ChaCha, but the Facebook integration was
still slow to use and photos rendered
horribly. The 300+ price tag on launch
didnt help it out either.
006_009_AND_025 2 8 30/04/2013 11:02
9
Key features that will dene the new Facebook Home user experience
Facebook Home
Androids new Home?
F
acebook Home is without doubt a product aimed at
keeping users of the social media site in contact
with their proles and friends at all times, and in
return Facebook can promote new adverts and
products directly to them. After installing Home youll be
greeted with the newest post created by one of your
friends. Each post covers your entire screen and
whether its a picture, text or supported advert, Home
does a good job at making sure each post has a stylish,
uniformed design.
All posts can be interacted with, but the process of
scrolling through them and wanting to leave a comment
is a painfully slow experience at present. Despite
Facebook claiming it has done extensive testing on the
Home service, the slow loading speeds will put off many
users and thats an oversight.
Through the main screen of the Home launcher you
have access to your apps, photos, and of course, your
Facebook prole. Home doesnt support widgets, so any
that youve placed on your home screens previously will
have been removed, leaving odd-shaped gaps
throughout. You can move app icons to ll the gaps, but
the lack of widget support isnt ideal.
The app drawer remains the same and the new fade
effect that has been included works a treat. What
Facebook has also introduced is a new messaging
system that enables users to chat to specic friends no
matter what youre currently doing on your device.
Named Chat Heads, the feature creates icons of chosen
contacts from which you can place around your phone
and interact with whenever.
At the same time you can group your heads together
to instantly send a message to multiple friends. Despite
Chat Heads arguably being Homes best feature, it
doesnt come ready to use and instead users will need
to venture to the Facebook Messenger apps settings
page to activate it.
Home is a bold move by Facebook and the ideas and
concept behind it make for a sure-re winner on paper.
The app/launcher itself isnt as uid as we would have
liked, however. Clunky loading times are the main
problem here, with scrolling through posts a real chore.
The lack of widget support is also a concern and will no
doubt put off those who use widgets for their calendar,
notes and other work-related apps. Chat Heads is by far
the best feature currently included in Home, but its so
well-hidden that many users wont even realise it exists.
Its early days for Home and if the team at Facebooks
Californian headquarters can x all the teething issues
that have arisen so far, then Home might just be a
winner, but for now you should just stick to the default
Facebook application.
Home is only being released to a small
number of devices, at rst, so take a look to
see if youre one of the lucky few who will be
able to get your hands on it.
Will Facebook be
taking over your
Android device?
Despite Home bringing an entirely different look to
Facebook, all the usual Facebook features are
included. Posts are listed in chronological order
and update automatically when someone adds
something to their timeline and youll nd each
post can be interacted with by leaving a comment
or like. Open up the settings to change how often
Home updates itself, as it can drain a lot of battery
fairly quickly, which no one wants.
Your app drawer and various home screens look
totally different when using Facebook Home. All of
the widgets you had previously added will be
removed and all the icons will have been bunched
up to ll the gaps. Open up the app drawer to see
the new fade effect in action and add any other
app icons to your home screens, if you so wish.
Youll also nd direct links to your Facebook
account at the top of your main home screen.
Messaging has undergone a massive overhaul
within the Home launcher by adding the new
Chat Heads feature. This creates a small picture
icon representing one of your Facebook friends
from which you can send messages to without
needing to open up the Facebook home. With
Chat Heads you can also send messages to
multiple friends at the same time and receive
notications when messages are sent to you.
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4
Interact with posts by leaving a comment,
or like on their picture or text-based status.
Some posts also include external links that
you can press to be taken to a website.
Widgets cannot be added to your lock or
home screen while Home is the default
launcher on your phone. Revert back to a
different launcher if this is a problem.
Chat Heads is a new feature that takes
inspiration from the likes of Google+ to
offer a great way of staying in contact with
your Facebook friends without ever
needing to open up the app.
006_009_AND_025 2 9 30/04/2013 11:02
10
twitter
@lgrobot
the latest updates
Stay up to date
What makes Zinio different from other digital providers?
Zinio is the original newsstand to the world. With a selection of
over 5,500 of the worlds favourite magazines, we offer reading
fans the ability to connect with their passions in the most
convenient and satisfying manner. Zinio offers a robust
experience that encourages reading fans to explore content in
topics that most interest them, and to dive deep and discover
articles, issues and magazines that best match their personality.
Our Explore section is unique. It offers free access to over 4,000
articles across all categories.
How selective are you of the magazines you choose to add?
We know we have a diverse group of readers, so we reect that.
You can nd the top-selling magazines like Wired, Wine
Spectator, The Economist and Elle on Zinio. You can also nd
New Scientist, Mental Floss, Wallpaper and Juxtapoz too. No
matter what your interest, Zinio has a collection of titles in every
topic to keep you informed, engaged and excited. Over the years
we have been honoured to host some of the worlds favourite
magazines like PC Magazine and Newsweek as they migrate to a
digital-only state. We have also watched as some of our
favourite niche titles gain increased notoriety with Zinio.
How are you looking to develop Zinio in the future?
The great thing about being a part of a digital reading revolution
is that the innovation never stops, and neither does the Zinio
development list. We have a full set of features in the works.
These include consumer experience enhancements like
recommendations, development on expanded platforms, and
even new ways to purchase and enjoy magazines. We rely a
good deal on customer feedback to drive product enhancement
decisions and we think our fans will be excited to see some of
the new elements coming to life in 2013.
Which Zinio magazines do you read again and again?
I have become addicted to Us Weekly and Star! through Zinio. It
has become way too convenient for me to connect with the
hottest gossip around. That said, you will always nd the latest
issue of New Scientist, The Economist, Star Wars magazine and
Fitness in my library. I am afraid that issue has revealed too
much about the success driven, nerdy, workout-a-holic in me!
Zinio
The inside story on Androids most popular apps
Android
skins
A brief history of
Among Android enthusiasts there are
no topics more controversial than that
of the skin. The overlay that
manufacturers place on their devices
user interface attracts and repels users
in equal measure. In their early days
they were designed to ll in some of the
gaps in the Android OS, but now they
serve merely for purposes of
differentiating one companys products
from another.
The rst clutch of
Android devices were
completely unskinned,
sporting the edgling
Androids bare bones UI,
warts and all. It wasnt
pretty
2009
HTC launched the rst
skinned device with the
Sense-sporting HTC Hero.
It added some much-
needed polish to the still
very rough and ready
Android 1.5 UI.
Q&A with Jeanniey
Mullen, Zinios global
executive vice president
T
heres no denying that magazines are slowly moving into fully digital products,
enabling users to download their favourite issues straight on to their phone or
tablet. To cater for this, the rise of digital magazine platforms has also increased
and one of the best thats currently available is Zinio. What makes Zinio stand out from
the competition is the fact it offers 5,500 magazines on its newsstand, with many
having back issues for you to also access. Theres also a great choice of reading
customisations, enabling the user to pinpoint their best reading experience, while prices
are competitive too. So if youre looking for a way to take your favourite magazines with
you, then look no further than Zinio.
Get updates
Via the Push feature,
users can get
notications when a
new issue of their
favourite magazines
have been added to
the Zinio newsstand.
They can then open
the notication to
download them
Free previews
If you cant decide
whether or not to
purchase a certain
issue, check out
Zinios preview feature
that lets you take a
look at a few pages of
the issue for free
Find back
issues
As well as being one of
the best places to
offer the latest issues
for magazines, Zinio
also offers back
issues of magazines.
This is a great feature
for those missing a
particular issue
Cheaper
than print
Depending on the
publication, you can
nd considerable
discounts for your
digital purchases
compared to the print
versions. Many
magazines also offer
great subscription
deals for their
digital readers
Million
sellers
VITAL STATS
ZINIO
Price: Free
Launched: 2011
Installs: 5m-10m
Play store rating:
Inside Zinio: The features that make the service great
2008
Unskinned Enter Sense
010-011_AND_025 10 29/04/2013 17:44
Sony takes
on the iPad
S
ince is was rst unveiled, Sonys Tablet Z has been
seen as the most likely candidate to make a dent
in an Android tablet market dominated by the
budget Nexuses and Kindle Fires, or the ubiquitous
Galaxies. It certainly is one of the most strikingly
designed tablets weve seen. It takes its styling from the
Xperia Z smartphone, and while we found its harsh
angles uncomfortable to hold in small form, on a tablet it
is perfect. So light (485g) and thin (an incredible 69mm)
is the Tablet Z that you think it might snap in half. It wont
of course, because the device is surprisingly tough, with
the same IP57 rating for dust and water resistance that
the phone had.
The 10.1-inch display is impressive, with a better-than-
HD resolution. Like most Android tabs the display is
widescreen not ideal for use in landscape, and the
large bezel makes the Tablet Z even longer.
Hands-on with the Sony
Xperia Tablet Z, a true high-
end competitor to the iPad
2010
With rounded app icons
in tow, Samsungs
iPhone-inspired TouchWiz
made its debut. The skin
now forms a major part
of all Samsung devices.
2011
Skins reached their
nadir. Bloated offerings
from HTC, Motorola and
Samsung saw eye-candy
and unwanted apps
come to the fore.
Today skins are largely
being stripped back,
thanks to the likes of
HTC, Google and
Motorola. Only Samsung
forges ahead with its all
powerful TouchWiz UI.
11
Follow us @lgrobot to join
in the conversation
CROWD
SOURCE
Opinion from the
Twittersphere
@lgrobot
What is your favourite Android
app icon?
@chrisjenx
@Airbnb is pretty nice, Stock
Android Camera, @CircleApp,
@Expedia all nice!
@marcwiIlmore
I like the Pintrest and Dropbox
icons, only ones on my
homepage that arent square.
@_docmccoy
Falcon Pro and Pocket Casts are
lovely little icons, really clean and
modern
@PearCidre
Heroclix Rules and the new
Outlook app.
@lgrobot
So, which is the worst name:
ZTE Geek, or Galaxy Mega?
@ed_shaw
ZTE Geek by a whisker.
@co_durhamspurs
I think the zte geek just sounds
wrong also anytime I hear the
word mega I instantly assume
awesome
@dpmcalister
Galaxy Mega. Very bland. Should
have gone with something like
Galaxy Star: themed (space),
iconic, short and easy to brand
( ).
@lgrobot
Anybody got any new apps
they can recommend?
@chokewho
not new but worth a look
Springpad, 1Weather
@rottweiler67
CSR racing. Amazing graphics
and runs on phones with
gingerbread+. Plus its free!
@TerryHastings
The new Eyes game is brilliantly
scary, it almost made me wet
myself!
The Tablet Z runs Android 4.1 with Sonys skin adding
the usual selection of Sony apps but otherwise being
fairly light. Performance was good, as expected, with a
1.5GHz Krait processor and 2GB of RAM. 4G LTE is the
highlight of some strong connectivity features.
The Xperia Tablet Z will be available towards the end of
May with a price that looks set to be upwards of
400/$600. Fair play to Sony for producing a premium
product rather than trying to compete with some loss-
leading devices. Android has struggled to compete with
the iPad at the top end of the market, and the quality on
show here might nally give the green robot a chance.
2013
TouchWiz
debuts
Skin
overload!
Back to stock
With the Xperia SP and Xperia L, Sony has
added two new mainstream phones to its range
Xperia targets
mid-range market
Sony has also eshed out its Xperia smartphone range with two
mid-range handsets. The Xperia SP brings some of the features of
Sonys agship devices to a more affordable price point, and sports
excellent design and build quality surpassing equivalent handsets
such as the Galaxy S III Mini. It is powered by a very-fast 1.7GHz
dual-core processor, has a crisp 4.6-inch 720p display and a
larger-than-average 2370 mAh battery. The Xperia L is a more basic
model with a curved back akin to the old Sony Ericsson Arc range and
comes with a 1GHz dual-core processor. Both phones run Android 4.1
and are equipped with an eight-megapixel camera, and a host of very
impressive features.
Operating
system
Android 4.1
1.7GHz
dual-core
1GHz
dual-core
Processor
1GB RAM Memory
130.6 x 67.1
x 9.98mm
128.7 x 65 x
9.7mm
Dimensions
155g 137g Weight
4.6-inch 4.3-inch
Display
size
1,280 x 720
pixels
854 x 480
pixels
Display
resolution
micro SD
Expansion
slot
Xperia SP Xperia L
Operating system Android 4.1
Dimensions
Weight 485g
266 x 172 x 6.9mm
Processor quad-core 1.5GHz Krait
Display size 10.1-inch
Memory 2GB RAM
Display resolution 1,920 x 1,200 pixels
Expansion slot micro SD
010-011_AND_025 11 29/04/2013 18:17
Visit us daily for news and more
12
3
Not just games
Many people are under
the illusion that in-app
purchases solely
happen with many of
the games on the
Google Play store.
However, apps like
Adaptxt originally are
a free download, but
you can then purchase
additional dictionaries for a
small price.
2
Alternative to paid apps
One of the benecial elements of in-app
purchases, is that for the most part, you dont need
to purchase them to
still use the app. Many
of the more expensive
apps on the market
now have free
alternatives which
include in-app
purchases that you can
choose to download, if
you so wish.
4
Record
prots
Despite the problems
with in-app
purchases,
theyre
certainly
good news
for software
developers.
In a recent
study by
Distomo,
they found
that 34 per
cent of free apps
generated some type
of in-app revenue.
8
Child friendly?
The most common place to nd in-app
purchases are in child-orientated games.
Many of the big franchises that have
arrived on the Android OS, including the
likes of The
Simpsons, have
a wealth of
in-app
purchases to
entice players to
part with their
pocket money.
5
The price isnt right
Many of the micro transactions
you come across within apps can
cost just a few pounds, but many
apps offer in-app purchases in the
hundreds. Apps like Co-Pilot offer
additional maps for their GPS
software for a very costly sum.
9
Sync across
devices
As long as you use the same
Google account across multiple
devices, then you should have
no problem accessing all your
in-app purchases across all
devices. Some games can be
temperamental in recognising
purchases
made on
another
device, so
be careful
what you
purchase.
7
In the news
In-app purchases
have never been favoured
very well in the news and
most of the time we see
cases where children
have accidentally
purchased multiple
in-app purchases while
putting together an
astronomical bill. Should
more be done to control
in-app purchases?
6
Android
vs iOS
It isnt just Android
apps who are big on
in-app purchases, a
recent survey
conducted by
Verizon showed
that 72% of all app
revenue on iOS
phones and tablets
was generated by
in-app purchases.
1
The freemium model
The term freemium was coined to
describe the type of app that is listed as a
free download, but
includes a range of
in-app purchases that
can make the app
better, longer or just
easier to use. The most
common of these are
apps that require
small donations to remove any adverts that
are implemented within the app.
things you need to
know about...
In-app
purchases
10
Avoid costly bills
Changing your Google
Play account to stop people from
making in-app purchases on
your device is pretty easy. Go on
to the Google Play
store and choose
Menu and then
Settings. Scroll
down and select
User Controls and
add a PIN. Every time someone
interacts with an in-app
purchase theyll need to enter
the PIN before continuing.
012_AND_025 12 29/04/2013 16:43
Get in touch!
Send us your thoughts
on all things Android
email
Got questions or comments? Drop
us an email and let us know
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
Like us on Facebook to
send your comments
twitter
@lgrobot
all the latest gossip
Play store picks
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Thrones
George RR
Martin
Price: 3.99
Fans of the TV show can
nd out where it all began
with the rst book in the fantasy series.
Our favourites from the Play
store this month
Star Trek IV:
The Voyage
Home
Price: 2.49 (rent)
Enjoyed the new movie?
Nows your chance to
catch up with Star Treks
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streaming service Spotify.
Get Lucky
Daft Punk
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HTC ONE
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498
SAMSUNG GALAXY
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5 HD Super
AMOLED display
13mp camera
16/32/64GB
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scrolling & pausing
580
HTC ONE
1.7Ghz quad-core
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498
SAMSUNG GALAXY
S4
5 HD Super
AMOLED display
13mp camera
16/32/64GB
memory options
MicroSD Memory
card slot
Dual camera and
video call mode
scrolling & pausing
580
HTC ONE
1.7Ghz quad-core
processor
4.7 display
Unique Ultra-Pixel
camera
Dual frontal stereo
speakers
32GB internal &
25GB cloud storage
Metal body, just
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510
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5 full HD display
13mp camera
PlayStation
certied
FREE speaker
worth 65 with
all pre-orders
498
SAMSUNG GALAXY
S4
5 HD Super
AMOLED display
13mp camera
16/32/64GB
memory options
MicroSD Memory
card slot
Dual camera and
video call mode
scrolling & pausing
580
HTC ONE
1.7Ghz quad-core
processor
4.7 display
Unique Ultra-Pixel
camera
Dual frontal stereo
speakers
32GB internal &
25GB cloud storage
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498
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5 HD Super
AMOLED display
13mp camera
16/32/64GB
memory options
MicroSD Memory
card slot
Dual camera and
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scrolling & pausing
580
HTC ONE
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processor
4.7 display
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16
Inside Android Magazines virtual mailbag
Messages
I was interested in reading your comments
about the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC
One in your latest issue (24). Ive been due for
an upgrade for the last couple of months and
these are the two devices that Ill probably be
choosing between. I know you havent
reviewed the S4 properly yet, but would it be
fair to say youre favouring the HTC in general?
I detected a positive if slightly ambivalent
attitude towards the S4, while your review of
the One was rather gushing in its praise. As a
manufacturer-agnostic buyer Ive owned
HTC, Samsung, Nokia, BlackBerry and
Motorola in the past was your attitude based
on the devices specically, or on the brands?
It seems to me that the S4 ticks all the boxes
in terms of features and future proong. It will
be an expensive purchase and will need to
see me through the next two years. Im not
sure your review of the HTC One reected that,
especially in the way you brushed off the
importance of having a micro SD card slot or
replaceable battery. Much of your praise
seemed to be based around the look of the
device. I dont doubt for a second that it is
better designed and built than the S4 is, but
as someone who puts their phone in a case
right from day one thats not really a major
consideration for me.
Stephen Barnaby
We say: The HTC One is the best Android
phone weve seen, and in many key respects
surpasses all other Android devices, and
most non-Android ones too. We take your
point about putting the phone in a case,
although that doesnt alter the fact that the
One feels like a truly premium device you
know exactly where your money has gone the
moment you pick it up. And we do like the
fact that HTC is willing to do things differently,
at a time when so many of the devices we
see are almost identical to each other. None
of which should knock down the S4, which is
a tremendous update to a phone that was
certainly our favourite of last year, and will no
doubt continue its juggernaut-like progress,
destroying everything in its path.
Are all chargers
the same?
I hope you dont mind answering a
rather basic question to a relatively
non-technical reader. We have a
Nexus 4, a Nexus 7 and a Nexus 10.
So far, we have been very careful to
use the separate chargers provided
to charge the phone and the tablets.
However, the three plugs appear to
be rather similar, if not identical. Can
we use them interchangeably?
Perhaps I should add that on the
Amazon marketplace, there is a
Google Nexus 7/10 Tablet/Google
Nexus 4 12v Car Charger Micro
USB. But the experience of the
purchasers seemed to be rather
mixed, to put it mildly.
C Lim
We say: It may sound like a basic
question, but it does not have quite
such a basic answer. Each of the
chargers uses a micro USB
connector, so in that sense they are
interchangeable. However tablets
generally require a 2amp charger and
those for phones may have a lower
output, so while they may charge the
tablet, they do so much slower.
Conversely using the 2A charger on
the phone will charge it faster,
although it may in the long term lead
to greater wear on the battery. We
tend to view the potential downsides
as being offset by the convenience
of a single charger, but you may
prefer to keep them separate. One
nal point: we have found the Nexus
7 to be somewhat picky about which
charging units it works with some
dont register at all.
Tutorial confusion
1. Page 30 (issue 23). I have a
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet,
and also the ES File Explorer.
Nowhere can I see a tutorial in this
app, nor even a Help le. In fact
almost all the suggestions in the
article do not appear to apply to the
app that I have with that name. Why
is this?
2. Page 32 (issue 23). Not long after
buying this tablet there was an
Android update, which I assumed
was Jelly Bean. Your text expansion
tutorial is for 4.2. My device settings
tell me I have 4.1.2 and that it is the
latest update. Why, then, can I not
nd a dictionary in the Language
settings? Nor any predictive text
unless I use the handwriting to print
feature with the S pen. Nor any auto
correct.
It seems to me, after using
Windows OS for 16 years, that there
are just too many versions of Android
and that a tutorial like yours is talking
only to a few users at a time. The rst
two tutorials in the mag are no use to
me, so I havent yet explored the
others which appear to be only for
phones. So many apps I have tried
appear to be designed mainly with
geeks in mind, as nding out how
they work takes ages: there are very
few icons with meaningful symbols!
ES File Explorer is one of them no
help le, no tutorial, no clear folder
hierarchy etc, at least on the one I
have on my tablet. The app named
My Files seems the only one that is
logically designed. Before buying, I
suspected that Android tablets are
mainly toys, rather than serious
computers, designed for emails and
social networking and downloading
songs. I think I was right and am
beginning to regret shelling out a
load of money for a plaything. They
Samsung or HTC?
Letter of the month
Tough call: which one
will you choose?
016-017_AND_025.indd 16 29/04/2013 16:47
Get in touch!
Send us your thoughts
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Got questions or comments? Drop
us an email and let us know
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ISSN 2047-1580
TRENDING
Let us know your thoughts
on these hot topics
Which keyboard app
do you use?
What do you think of
Key Lime Pie?
S4 or HTC One?
What are your
must-have tablet
apps?
Get in touch!
may be fun to play with, but as for
any meaningful work they appear to
be almost useless. I have seen
accolades for Polaris Ofce, but I nd
it almost impossible to use. Give me
Word any time! Am I alone with these
thoughts? A Phillips
We say: In response to your rst
question the tutorial appears briey
when you rst open the app.
Were not sure why the other
parts of the tutorial dont apply
to the version of ES File Explorer
you have, as the app should be
the same whether it is installed
on a phone or a tablet. As for
your second point, 4.2 is not the
same as 4.1.2. Even though this
appears to be a version behind
it is true that this is the latest
update. Android OS updates are
provided by the manufacturer,
so you have to wait for Samsung
to provide an update, and at the
time of writing they have not
done so for 4.2. Most of our
tutorials can be done on any
fairly recent device, phone or
tablet. However, due to the
manufacturer customisations,
some of the menus, labels and
icons may look slightly different
from one device to the next.
No pro music apps?
Ive recently become an Android
convert, thanks to my family
buying me a tablet following a
serious road accident.
While the Android OS is very
fast, and the range and quality of
apps and games is exceptional,
there is one area sadly lacking
on the platform professional
music production.
I am a semi-professional
musician and my injuries have
left me unable to use my studio
or play with my band. I was
hoping that my new tablet would
allow me to work with
professional software such as
sequencers, drum machines
and virtual instruments. But
after extensive research, Ive
found that these dont exist for
Android at the moment.
The iPad has a wide range of
professional music software
(and hardware) and is
increasingly used in studio and
live environments. I can see no
reason why Android devices
cannot be used for this.
Yet music software
developers seem to be ignoring
the platform.
I dont want to have to pay
several hundred pounds for a
tablet, plus the added cost of
the software, to create and play
my music when I already have a
device here which cost just a
couple of hundred pounds and is
easily as capable as the iPad.
Michael McGreevy
We say: Its true theres a lack of
high-quality music apps for
Android when compared to iOS
some might say professional
apps in general are lacking. For
audio apps specically the main
problems have been latency,
which makes real-time audio
input a real problem (and for
which there is a solution from
Sonoma Wire Works now
available to manufacturers), as
well as the simple fact that such
a large range of devices has
made it more difcult for
accessory manufacturers to
work with. The best long-term
bet looks like FL Studio Mobile
(see www.image-line.com/
documents/android.html for a
demo) which will hopefully be out
this year. In the meantime, wed
recommend Audiotool Sketch
and Caustic 2 as market-leading
audio apps worth a look.
Pro-quality music apps are
still quite scarce on Android
17
016-017_AND_025.indd 17 29/04/2013 16:47
18
Feature
Galaxy S4 face-off
Heading font
The three biggest phones of the year go head-to-head
T
he Samsung Galaxy S4 is the most hotly anticipated
phone of the year. As the new agship from Androids
biggest manufacturer, and the follow up to the best
selling Android device ever, it looks set to shatter all records
yet again. We put the S4 up against the other big two devices
of the year so far, the HTC One and the Sony Xperia Z to nd
out which comes out on top of the class. The three handsets
all share the same basic specs, yet take completely different
approaches to design, usability and functionality. All have
their own unique characteristics, and all are incredibly
powerful mobile devices. So where should your money go?
Read on to nd out.
Fonts
Fonts
Fonts
ULTIMATE FACE
-
OFF
GALAXY S4
018-023_AND_025.indd 18 30/04/2013 11:23
19
Feature
Galaxy S4 face-off
Design and build
T
he Galaxy S4, HTC One and Xperia Z are roughly
comparable in size, but their differences in design
make them feel completely different in the hand.
With its hard angles the Xperia certainly feels the
largest and ts in the hand less comfortably than the
others. Its not an unattractive design from a purely
aesthetic sense, its monolithic appearance giving it a
cool, imposing look, but if youve got smaller hands
especially, then you will notice its size. The S4
introduces more curves not quite as exaggerated as
they were on the S III and is extremely thin and light
and feels a natural t to the hand. With a smaller bezel
the screen absolutely dominates the device, and this
reduces the overall importance of the design of the S4.
Given that it is best described as functional rather than
premium this is no bad thing. Conversely the One is
almost all about the design. It is beautiful, it is high-end
and it is unique. Its a device that illustrates how much
importance HTC puts on design and stands head
and shoulders above its rivals. The same
applies to the build quality. The One
has been carved from a single block
of aluminium and is virtually
awless where the external parts
t together. It feels rock solid as a
result. Both the Z and S4 are
predominantly plastic (and glass)
products. It isnt a given that plastic
is automatically worse than metal,
so long as the right plastics are
used. Of the two the S4 has the
lightest and imsiest (and
cheapest) feel, not
betting the most
expensive
smartphone on
the market.
But design is
not all about
appearance. Wed say that integrating an IR port into
the power button of the One is clever design, but
positioning it in the difcult to reach top-left corner of
the device isnt, especially when it is the only button
that can wake the phone. The Z places the power
button midway down the right-hand edge, as does the
S4, which also has a
physical home button. It
may not look as tidy as
the other devices, but
it makes it a heck of a
lot more accessible.
GALAXY S4
Platform
Android 4.2.2 Android 4.1 Android 4.1
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 600
quad-core 1.9 GHz
Qualcomm Snapdragon 600
quad-core 1.7 GHz Krait
Qualcomm quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait
Memory
2GB RAM, 16/32/64GB internal storage 2GB RAM, 32/64GB internal storage 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage
Camera
13-MP rear, 2-MP front, 1080p video recording
4-MP rear (ultrapixels), 2.1-MP front, 1080p
video recording
13.1-MP rear, 2.2-MP front,
1080p video recording
Resolution
Five-inch, Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen,
1080 x 1,920 pixels
4.7-inch, Super LCD3 capacitive touchscreen,
1080 x 1,920 pixels
Five-inch, TFT capacitive touchscreen,
1080 x 1,920 pixels
Weight
130g 143g 146g
Dimensions
136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3 mm 139 x 71 x 7.9 mm
Connectivity
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, HDSPA,
42.2Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76Mbps
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, HSPA+
LTE, 50 Mpbs UL, 100 Mbps DL
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, HDSPA,
42Mbps; HSUPA, 5.8Mbps
Expansion slot
micro SD up to 64GB None micro SD up to 64GB
2600mAh 2300mAh 2330mAh Battery
Samsung
Galaxy S4
Sony Xperia Z HTC One
Samsung Galaxy S4
Whats good
Physical home button
makes phone easy to unlock
Removable backplate lets
you change the battery
Whats bad
The plastic casing does not
feel premium
Aesthetically unimpressive
HTC One
Whats good
Looks beautiful
Extremely high-end build
quality is unrivalled
Whats bad
Power button is poorly
placed
No menu button causes
issues in a few apps
Sony Xperia Z
Verdict
Whats good
Buttonless front fully
supports modern Android UI
Sealed ports make device
splashproof
Whats bad
Angular design makes it feel
uncomfortably large
Styling somewhat bland
The S4 lives up to Samsungs reputation for
utilitarian design. The HTC One is in a class of its
own, the product of true craftsmanship.
A device that illustrates
how much importance
HTC puts on design
head and shoulders
above its rivals
The S4s build is
typically plasticky,
and no match for the
HTC One
018-023_AND_025.indd 19 30/04/2013 11:24
A
s youd expect all three devices conform to the
basic required specs of a agship 2013
smartphone: fast quad-core processor, 2GB of
RAM, 4G connectivity and 1080p display. The S4 is also
available in some markets in a 4G-less octa-core
version. Perhaps surprisingly the screen on the Xperia Z
is the weakest of the three, displaying washed out
blacks and limited viewing angles. We didnt nd it to be
too much of an issue when watching videos, but when
viewing photos or playing some games the limitations
were evident. The S4 and One use differing screen
technologies but impress in equal measure, with bright
and vibrant colours and strong contrast. Due to its
slightly smaller screen (4.7-inch compared to ve) the
One has a higher pixel density but at this level it is
not discernible.
Because of the similarities in basic features you have
to look deeper to nd the important differences,
and also to see where the manufacturers
priorities lie. The Xperia is water and dust
proof, giving it a toughness in everyday use
that you dont get from the others. The One
sports a set of stereo speakers on the front
that produce the loudest and highest quality
sound output weve ever heard from a phone. It
also has an infrared port to control your TV, and
is very useful. The S4 also has this port, along
with a remarkable nine sensors that enable features
such as eye and motion gestures, as well as a suite of
health apps with accessories.
For the main camera the S4 and Xperia Z both use 13
megapixel sensors, and the HTC One four megapixels
or ultrapixels as the company calls them. The
cameras are generally on a par. The 13-MP shots
inevitably contain far more detail than the HTC can
produce in good light, but drop off in performance in
lower light. Were not convinced by HTCs argument that
fewer, bigger pixels is better, but the wider aperture and
image stabilisation does mean it takes the best images
in low light conditions. But on the whole wed say the S4
edges it as an all-rounder, especially with the help of its
fantastic feature-packed software.
20
Feature
Galaxy S4 face-off
Hardware and features
Galaxy S4 camera on test
T
he camera on the Galaxy S4 contains
an unparalleled number of additional
features to take you beyond mere
snapshots. The camera app has been
largely brought over from the Galaxy
Camera, so has a real intuitiveness, and
also reduces the number of third-party
camera tools you would normally use to
augment it. As with the rest of Samsungs
software the features range from gimmicky
to essential. Ironically the ones Samsung
has given most publicity are in the former
camp Dual Shot, where you can use the
front and rear cameras at the same time,
is pure cheese, and the Sound and Shot
function is of limited value. Eraser mode,
which removes photo bombers, is great,
however, as is Drama Shot.
Takes a burst of shots then
composites them together to show
the movement of people or objects
in the same shot. Works pretty well,
depending on how busy your
background is.
Add your own face, shot via the
front camera, to other photos
youre taking. Its cheesy and
gimmicky and likely to be of ironic
value only. Or maybe were just too
old for these things.
Samsung Galaxy S4
Whats good
Excellent camera quality,
especially in good light
Stunning screen
Whats bad
Gesture support can be
gimmicky
HTC One
Whats good
Front speakers are
immense
Low light photo quality
impresses
Whats bad
No expandable memory
Photos lower res and lack
detail
Sony Xperia Z
Drama Shot Dual Shot
Gives you the tools to remove
someone who steps into your shot.
It does work, but needs to be
enabled separately, so unless
youre expecting an intruder is
unlikely to be used.
Eraser
Verdict
Whats good
Reassuringly tough in most
conditions
Camera quality reliably
good
Whats bad
Few imaginative extras
Slowest processor of
the group
The S4 packs in much more than Sony manages,
while HTCs ultrapixel camera seems like an
unnecessary, and not wholly justied, risk.
A remarkable nine
sensors that enable
features such as eye
and motion gestures
Samsungs new agship device contains a
kitchen sink load of exciting features
018-023_AND_025.indd 20 30/04/2013 11:24
Feature
Galaxy S4 face-off
21
Performance
Performance tests
G
iven that our three phones are all powered by
fast quad-core processors: 1.5GHz for the
Xperia Z, 1.7GHz for the HTC One, and 1.9GHz for
the Galaxy S4, it is safe to say that performance on the
whole would never be an issue for any of them. Its also
a logical assumption that the faster CPU would deliver
better results in benchmark tests and that was also the
case, although the HTC One was not far behind.
That said each device does have its
own manufacturer
skin to deal with,
which does
introduce an
important variable
in real world use.
Samsungs
TouchWiz
interface is an
integral part
of the
Galaxy experience. It is by far the biggest and heaviest
of the skins, and noticeably so. Despite the extreme
power the S4 has at its disposal you do still very
occasionally nd that relatively simple things still
take fractionally longer than youd expect them to.
This is presumably down to the sheer amount of
stuff that the S4 has going on when youre
focused on one power hungry task, such as 3D
gaming, the device absolutely ies. The other two
phones have much lighter skins yet produced
different results in general use. The Xperia was
surprisingly laggy at times. By no means a
slouch, but simple things like transitions and
scrolling were never as smooth as they
should be. Further optimisations in
future updates could x this. The One
had no such troubles, and its perceived
speed was as impressive as the S4s.
Its also worth noting that under heavy
use the Xperia Z and One both got
much hotter than the S4 did.
The other major consideration for
performance is battery life. Here
there was a marked difference
between the three. The Galaxy S4 lasts
for comfortably a day, and into a
second, as good as youll get outside of
a phablet or a battery life-centric phone
(such as select models from Motorola). In
second place HTC, and third Sony. Both could
also get through a day, but you will need to
manage them more. With the S4 you can pretty
much ignore the battery altogether.
O
ur benchmark tests showed the
Galaxy S4 to be ahead of both
other devices in the areas of
processor and graphics, with it being
comfortably the best for graphical
performance. The Z, with its processor
clocked at a slower speed, was inevitably
less impressive in this regard. However, in
our third test, using the Vellamo
benchmark for HTML5 performance, the
HTC One came out on top with the S4 and
Z almost level behind it. By and large the
tests backed up our real world
experiences, with the S4 feeling the most
powerful and the Z the least.
Samsung Galaxy S4
Whats good
The fastest phone currently
available
Battery life is astoundingly
good
Whats bad
Still occasionally slower
than youd expect
TouchWiz skin is very heavy
HTC One
Whats good
Very fast and smooth for all
tasks
Audio quality is fantastic
Whats bad
Gets warm under heavy use
Battery is not replaceable
Sony Xperia Z
Processor & graphics
AnTuTu
GPU
GLBenchmark
Browser
Vellamo
Verdict
Whats good
Handles apps and games
with ease
Power saving features
extend battery life
Whats bad
Can be laggy when scrolling
Gets warm under heavy use
Samsung clearly went all out on performance with
the S4 and it shows. This is a blazingly fast
smartphone that has no obvious rival.
With the S4 you can
pretty much ignore the
battery altogether
Samsung Galaxy S4 HTC One Sony Xperia Z
2
5
3
6
8
4
5
1
7
2
1
2
6
2
3
2
1
2
3
7
4
3
2
3
8
5
1
9
7
8
0
3
3
3
2
2
1
7
2
As far as battery
levels go, the S4 is a
run-away success
018-023_AND_025.indd 21 30/04/2013 11:24
22
Feature
Galaxy S4 face-off
Software
The best S4 apps
S
amsungs software for the S4
is by far the most
comprehensive, but also the
least well considered.
Sonys software is predominantly
about integrating the Xperia Z with
other Sony products and services. If
youre a fully committed Sony fan this
is great; if not, you wont nd too
much use for lots of it. A case in
point: the Xperia Z can function as a
DLNA remote control for certain Sony
TVs, while the S4 and One can be
used as infrared remotes for any TV.
Nonetheless the Z is at least lean
and fast and subtly stylish, keeping
reasonably close to what native
Android looks like.
The One runs Sense 5 and has
also been stripped right back from its
previously bloated incarnations. It
has two main features of differing
levels of value. BlinkFeed is a new
type of home screen that puts news
and social network updates right
under your nose whenever you turn
on your phone. Its useful to an
extent, but we preferred the more
traditional home screen, and quickly
set BlinkFeed to a secondary screen.
The other app is Zoe movies. This
collates photos and videos taken at
the same time and same place into a
nicely edited movie. It requires no
user input and actually succeeds in
getting you to shoot more video than
you probably ever have done before.
But while Sony and HTC are
stripping back their software,
Samsung is adding even more apps
to TouchWiz. Theres the usual
collection of S-branded apps: S
Planner, S Voice, the new S Translate
which mostly have parity with or are
slightly worse than their Google
equivalents. Theres a whole host of
touchless controls, ranging from the
useful (answer a call and put it
straight to speakerphone by wafting
your hand over the screen), to the
intriguing (get a preview of emails by
hovering your nger over them in your
inbox), to the pointless (videos pause
when you look away from the screen
although we couldnt get it to work,
and are not sure we want our videos
to pause whenever we glance away).
The camera is impressively rammed
with features, and there are also lots
of tricks to work with other Samsung
kit. We havent been able to test
these, and chances are you wont
either unless you own the right
Samsung TV or have lots of S4 toting
friends knocking around.
Theres certain to be something
you like, as well as lots you never use
(and probably a few things you wont
even nd). We just wish we could get
rid of the bits we dont want.
Samsung Galaxy S4
Whats good
The camera is packed with
some useful features
Some innovation on
controlling a phone
Whats bad
Some gestures are gimmicky
Too much extra software
over complicates the
experience
HTC One
Whats good
Zoe movies brings new life
to the video camera
Very easy to use UI
Whats bad
BlinkFeed wont be
everyones ideal home
screen
Some default settings are
not perfect
Sony Xperia Z
Verdict
Whats good
The skin is very lightweight
Lack of bloat keeps things
easy to use
Whats bad
Too much focus on Sony
products
Camera app trails the other
devices
The devices all have a different approach to
software. HTC has the most well thought out, but
the S4 has something for everyone.
The best and worst of the
S4s touchless controls
Gestures: genius
or gimmick?
The S4 supports a number of
gestures that enable you to
control the phone without
touching it. Some have more
practical use than others, and
some we struggled to even get
working, as youll nd out below.
Samsungs very own
integrated store for music,
videos, games, books and
educational resources. It is
a great looking app, but
most will prefer Google Play.
Samsung Hub
A suite of tools to take
advantage of the burgeoning
tness market. The built-in,
but not wholly accurate,
pedometer tracks the
number of steps you take.
S Health
This app can give near real
time translations, ofine,
for nine languages. Its a
niche tool best suited for
download not as good as
Googles own Translate app.
S Translate
The revamped music player
integrates with the Samsung
Hub and also sports plenty
of additional features from
playlist support to the
innovative Music Cube.
Music Player
Does it work: We mostly
couldnt get it to do anything,
and when it did we forgot it had
activated and checked back.
Air View
What it is: Hover your nger over
an email, date or picture and a
little window shows a preview.
Does it work: Yes. It is most
useful in productivity apps, rather
than things like the gallery.
Air Gestures
What it is: Swiping your hand
above the screen has the same
effect as swiping the screen.
Does it work: For some
functions like answering a call,
yes. However the system was
frequently too sensitive.
Smart Scroll
What it is: Scrolls a page based
on the angle of your head or the
way you tilt the phone.
Does it work: Not consistently to
be able to rely on. Finger scrolling
still takes some beating.
Smart Pause
What it is: Detects your face
when watching a video then
pauses said video when you
look away from the screen.
018-023_AND_025.indd 22 30/04/2013 11:24
23
Feature
Galaxy S4 face-off
Upgrades and hackability
Verdict
F
or many users a key issue when choosing a phone is how frequently (and
how quickly) a phone will receive ofcial updates, especially when a new
version of the Android operating system is released. Also, for many theres
the question of how open a phone is to being rooted and modded, and how
active the developer scene is for the handset. This is a difcult category to judge
since we can only go on the past performance of the manufacturer and on the
popularity of that manufacturer with developers. On the subject of updates all
three have a reasonable record for updates. The S4 already runs the up-to-date
Android 4.2.2 so has no updates due, while the Xperia Z and HTC One are both
due updates to this version at some point in the near future. All three should get
the update to Key Lime Pie in due course, with past performance suggesting
Samsung should win the race to the update, with Sony in second place. Its
unlikely to happen for any users until some time in Q3. In which case, many will
want to take the unofcial update route. Here, again, you can expect Samsung
to win out with more ROMs and mods, with HTC and Sony in second and third
position respectively.
W
ith the S4, Samsung set out
to make the fastest, most
powerful and most
feature-packed smartphone money
can buy, and it succeeded. There has
never been a smartphone that can do
as much as this. Although there are no
radical inventions or completely new
ways of thinking in the S4, the device
is an improvement on the S III in
virtually every way and that was the
best selling Android phone of all time.
Its interesting to see just how far
Android is being pushed into the
background on the S4. The all-
enveloping TouchWiz UI has some
Android elements but is a much more
important part of the device than
either of the skins that Sony or HTC
attach. The inclusion of multiple
S-branded apps as well as the
Samsung Hub shows off just how
powerful Samsung is, and possibly
even hints at a time when the
company might want to take more
control over the platform it uses.
Google Maps is the only stock Android
app that Samsung is still reliant on.
The sheer weight of features in the
S4 does come at a cost. The phone
lacks the simplicity in use of the
Xperia Z or One, to such an extent that
the UI comes with an Easy mode
option for those that nd it all a bit too
much. But we suspect many wont
nd it too much, though, and will
concur with Samsungs evident view
that more is most denitely better.
We do prefer the HTC One for the
attention to detail shown in its design
and build, and we also admire its more
rened approach to software. The
Xperia Z is a very solid all-rounder yet
even after such a short space of time
is starting to look a little old. Ironically,
though, it has the feature that may
prove most inuential in the long-term
the semi-ruggedised build gives you
more condence in handling the
phone than you get from the precious
HTC One.
But the S4 wins out in all the most
important areas. It is more powerful, it
does do more and, crucially, it does it
without impacting on battery life. For
these reasons it is the most
compelling phone on the market now.
Samsung Galaxy S4
Whats good
Should get several OS
updates
Will get new TouchWiz
features
Whats bad
Updates may be slow to
arrive
Verdict
Wed expect the S4 to have the best
support for both ofcial and
unofcial updates.
HTC One
Whats good
Should get full OS updates
Firmware updates will
improve performance
Whats bad
Unclear how many OS
updates will be available
Updates can be slow to
arrive
Sony Xperia Z
Whats good
Should get full updates
Whats bad
Lacks huge support from
developer community
The S4 may not be subtle, but
its a truly powerful handset
SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 SONY XPERIA Z
Design & Build
Performance
Hardware & Features
Software
Hackability
HTC ONE
And the winner is...
Samsung Galaxy S4
The follow up to the biggest selling Android smartphone is every bit the
juggernaut that we expected. Get past a cluttered UI and disappointing build
and you get a lightning-fast, ultra-powerful and feature-packed device
018-023_AND_025.indd 23 30/04/2013 11:24
24
Key Lime Pie
Get ready for the new OS
Get ready for
Key Lime Pie
Prepare your phone for the latest update to the Android operating system
W
ith every passing update Google looks to continually bring
the biggest and best features to your phone or tablet. Key
Lime Pie is no exception to this rule and we happily
welcome in a new era for the Android platform. With some Android
devices soon to get a software overhaul then, weve put together
some invaluable information regarding what you can do to prepare
your phone for the Key Lime Pie update.
Well rst show you the lucky smartphones that we reckon Key
Lime Pie will hit rst, as well as identify the phones that will probably
require some hacking to get you the Key Lime Pie experience when it
comes out. You will also nd some essential tips on making sure
your phone is as ready for the latest update as it possibly could be
and weve even chucked in a complete guide to the newly designed
Google Play store app too. Enjoy!
024_027_AND_025.indd 24 29/04/2013 17:47
25
Key Lime Pie
Which devices will get
the Key Lime Pie update?
How to install an unofficial KLP ROM
We round up which devices are likely to get treated to Googles shiny new OS
Want to test out Key Lime Pie on your phone? Follow our guide to get started
L
ets face it, the Android operating system is fragmented over hundreds of
devices. Be it phones or tablets, many devices are often left on older
versions of Android and many have yet to see the Android 4.1 update,
despite it being out for over a year now.
But after plenty of research weve put together a list of the devices we reckon
will see the Key Lime Pie update rst, ones that we think will get it down the line
and some of the devices we expect youll need to hack to get your slice of the
Key Lime Pie experience. If your device isnt there, youll nd out soon enough.
C
ompanies like HTC and Samsung often bring out the latest updates to their devices months behind its ofcial release, so
why not turn to hacking your phone to get an unofcial KLP ROM in a couple of weeks, rather than having to wait for a couple
of months. Follow this guide to get the Key Lime Pie update on your rooted Android device.
1
Youll need to have rooted and unlocked your
phone rst; this method differs for every phone
and tablet.
2
Locate a KLP ROM to use. xda-developers.com
is a good place
to start. Be sure to
check the
installation
instructions before
you begin.
Download the ROM
and any other
required les and
copy it to your
SD card.
3
Download the
free ROM
Manager app from
the Google Play
store. Open it
(Fig 3) and click
the Flash
ClockworkMod
Recovery button
and follow the
instructions.
4
Download the
Titanium
Backup app from
Google Play and
use it to back up
your phones apps
and data.
5
In ROM
Manager click
Backup Current ROM and follow the instructions.
6
When the phone reboots open ROM Manager
again. Click Install ROM from SD Card then
select the ROM (Fig 6) you are installing.
7
When prompted tick the two buttons to wipe
the caches (Fig 7). Now wait patiently for the
ROM to install.
8
When nished you can now get your rst taste
of the Key Lime
Pie OS. Set up your
Google account,
restore your
Titanium Backup
data and reinstall
your apps.
9
Open ROM
Manager up
again and select
Manage and
Restore Backups.
Choose the backup
you made in step 5
and tap Restore
(Fig 9). Fig 3
Fig 7
Fig 9
Denitely
getting KLP
Maybe
getting KLP
Hack
only
Asus Nexus 7 Samsung Galaxy Note II HTC One Sony Xperia Z Samsung Galaxy S4 Samsung Galaxy S III
Acer Iconia Tab A500 HTC One SV Motorola RAZR HD
Sony Xperia S
Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Samsung Galaxy
S3 Mini
HTC One S Samsung Galaxy Note Sony Xperia T
Asus Eee Pad
Transformer
LG Optimus 2X HTC Sensation XE Samsung Galaxy S2 Samsung Galaxy Tab 2
Orange San Francisco
II
Huawei Ascend P1 Sony Xperia Arc S ZTE Era
024_027_AND_025.indd 25 29/04/2013 17:46
Remove duplicate
contacts
Whether youre setting up a new
phone from scratch or installing
an OS update, one of the
annoying problems faced by
many is dealing with duplicate
contacts. When your phone
attempts to connect to your
Facebook and Twitter
accounts, it can create
multiple accounts for the
same contact. Open up the
People app on your phone
and manually go through your
contacts to make sure that
the same person doesnt
appear more than once.
26
Perform a
malware scan
Before the Key Lime Pie
update hits your device, its
important you rst make sure
that your phone is clear of all
viruses and malware that can
harm it. Google Play has a host
of antivirus apps for you to
download and one of the
best is AVG Antivirus
which can be downloaded
for free. The app does a full
scan of your phone to
identify potentially
malicious les which can
then be removed from your
phone completely.
Organise les
If your phone is cluttered, be sure to download the
File Manager app and put all your loose les in their
correct place. After installing the new update, you
may nd that some loose les will be deleted, but
by placing them in a folder they should stay safe.
Consider the cloud
Before we discuss backing up your les, use
Google Drive, Dropbox or Mozy to back up your
larger media les. Mozy is great for storing movies.
Restore your data
With the new update on your device, its time to
restore your data that you backed up previously. The
process is simple enough, but just like the backing
up process, it can take a considerable amount of
time to nish. Once the restoring process has
nished, youll have all your data available to you
and the KLP update to explore as well.
Installing the update
Youll nd that the update can reach your phone in a
number of ways. For most it will appear as a system
update that simply requires you to press the Install
button. If you have a Samsung device, the update
will appear via Kies.
Clear your
cache
By cleaning your
phones cache you
can help give your
phone a bit of a
speed boost when
the new update has
been installed. The
best app for this is
App Cache Cleaner
Pro, which will
thoroughly examine
your device to free up
some space.
Back up
your data
Creating a backup of
your data is vital
before installing a new
update. It can be a
reassurance knowing
all your apps, les and
contact details are
safe if something
goes wrong. Theres
no limit to how much
you can back up and
apps like MyBackup
put you in full control
of the les you choose to back up and the ones you
dont mind losing. The backup process can take a
while to complete and mean you wont be able to
use your phone while its doing it, so keep that in
mind before starting.
Install these
applications
With the KLP update
ready to go, you might
consider installing a few
apps. If your phone
doesnt come with it as
standard, you should
denitely download the
Google Chrome app.
Alongside Chrome, check
out the Skype app if you
havent already. The nal
app to download is SwiftKey Flow, which is a superb
substitute if you dislike the stock keyboard.
Prepare your
phone for Key Lime Pie
Make sure your phone is ready for the latest OS update
with these tips and tricks
Clean up your SD card
Theres no doubt that with the new update on your
phone youll want to be adding lots of new content.
With this in mind, you might want to consider
venturing in to your SD card and deleting some of
the old and unwanted les on there. This means you
can save your newly downloaded les to your SD
card instead of taking up your phones precious
internal storage.
Key Lime Pie
024_027_AND_025.indd 26 29/04/2013 17:46
27
Get to know the redesigned
Google Play app
Get inside the workings of the new Play store app and
its incremental, but impressive, changes
T
he Google Play store is the hub for all the content you could
possibly want to add to your phone or tablet. At its heart are
over 700,000 apps all vying for you to part with some storage
on your device and try them out. Over the past couple of years,
Google has implemented various sections to its Play store
empire and now contains dedicated hubs for
magazines, lms and music.
Google has recently started rolling out
the latest update to the Google Play
store app, with the aim to make it
easier to use and give you even
quicker access to the content you
want to enjoy. Although there isnt a
whole array of new features to take a
look at, theres a whole bunch of design
tweaks youll want to check out right away!
Category system
Each section of the Play store has
been changed to display its content
differently. The Magazine section
contains a
thumbnail of
each magazine
that opens up
each issues
preview page.
You can also
nd pricing
information for
some
magazines on
this screen.
Install
When youre looking at a specic list of
apps, press on the menu button
located to the right of each listing. This
will open up a
small menu
from which you
choose to add
that app to your
wishlist, or
install it on to
your device
without
needing to
actually go in to
the apps page.
Scrolling
Whether its apps, movies, music or
magazines, Google has discovered
quicker ways to nd your content. You
can now nd
the best
content by
scrolling
through the
various lters
listed at the top
of each page.
Use the
magnifying
glass to search
for a le.
Preview page
Although the preview page doesnt
contain many new features as such, it
has been overhauled to make it easier
to use.
Previews of the
application can
be made full
screen by
selecting them,
and you can
press on the
stars to leave
your own rating
for the le if you
see t.
Toolbar
The toolbar that lines the top of the app is pretty much the
same as it was in previous versions. You can search for a
specic le using the magnifying glass, check your
downloads via the arrow icon and also nd more details
about your account through the menu button.
Categories
Each category of the Google Play store now has a
new bar to represent it. This time around theres
also a dedicated games section for you to explore.
Simply press on any of the tabs to be taken to that
specic categorys main hub on the Play store.
Recommendations
Google does a good job at offering its users a new selection
of recommended les on a weekly basis. The layout is
slightly different in this update, with Google displaying the
thumbnails for its recommendations and a See More button
where you can see other items that are recommended.
Previews
A new section to the Google Play store is
being able to get previews of certain
books, movies and magazines available
straight from the home page. Google
looked to include a similar feature in
previous updates and regularly updated
the content that was included.
More information
As you scroll through the home page, the
one thing youll notice is that Google has
implemented a lot more compared to
previous updates. Youll nd pricing
information for everything thats included
and its even easier to access the content
you want to see.
Key Lime Pie
024_027_AND_025.indd 27 29/04/2013 17:46
28
Feature
Rise of the phablets
RISE OF THE
PHABLETS
Smaller than a tablet but bigger than a phone.
Love them or hate them, phablets are here to stay
phab
.
let [ fablit ]
noun
A class of supersized smartphone with screen
sizes ranging from 5.1 inches to 6.9 inches.
ORIGIN Ian Scales, TelecomTV.com, June 2010:
blend of PHONE and TABLET
028_033_AND_025.indd 28 29/04/2013 17:48
29
Feature
The phablet range
Our pick of the best phablets money can buy
D
espite phablets still being a fairly niche product within the smartphone
market, that hasnt stopped companies hoping to get the attention of
some of the users for whom ve inches is too small and seven inches is
just too big. Its still a sector that has largely been ignored by many of the big
name Android manufacturers and instead it has fallen on the likes of the
smaller manufacturers in Huawei, ZTE and Asus to carry on ying the phablet
ag. Each phablet that has been announced or released has looked to
capitalise on the aws of using a phone or tablet as their main selling point. The
phablets larger screen can be a great addition if you enjoy a spot of web
browsing or media viewing, while some come with their own stylus to facilitate
drawing and text creation.
On the other side you have the fact that a phablet still has the same
functionality as a phone when it comes to making calls, albeit you may look a
little strange, but the capabilities are still there. Below weve collected four of
the biggest and most interesting phablets that have been, or will soon be
available to users. Which one have you got your money on?
Samsung Galaxy Note II ZTE Grand Memo
Samsung Galaxy Mega LG Optimus VU II
After the overwhelming success of the original
Note, Samsung brought out a bigger, better and
more rounded follow up device in the Galaxy Note
II. It still comes with the Notes trademark S Pen
and not much has changed on the features side
of things. It does however include a much beeer
processor than before, a massive battery and a
more sleek and rened design even if the
plastic chassis still remains.
By far the best feature of the Grand Memo is not
its staggering size, but in fact the 13-MP camera
that can be found on the rear of it. It also has the
standard phablet features, as well as familiar
tablet features. Its massive size means it could
be a bit of a problem for you to use as a phone,
but its thin enough to be held in one hand. At
198g the Grand Memo isnt too heavy to hold in
one hand for prolonged periods of time either.
Samsung Galaxy Mega looks like an enlarged
Galaxy S III, but the new phablet, which comes
with either a 5.8-inch or 6.3-inch screen, is aimed
at people who nd the Galaxy Note II just that bit
too small. It comes with the latest crop of
Samsung features, including Air View, Pop-up Play
and itll even ship with Android 4.2. Despite its
gargantuan size, the Galaxy Mega is a pretty light
199g, and is just 8mm slim.
Theres no denying that the VU II is an odd-
shaped phablet, ditching the rectangular look for
a square one. It includes a metallic frame that
surrounds the device, but its chassis is made
entirely of plastic. Located on the top of the VU II
is a stylus that can be used to control the phablet
and take advantage of the stylus-orientated apps
LG has included. On top of all of that, its going to
be one of the rst phablets to launch with 4G.
Dimensions: 151 x 80.5 x 9.4mm
CPU: Exynos quad-core 1.6GHz
Camera: Eight megapixels
Battery: 3100 mAh
Weight: 180g
Dimensions: 159.9 x 82.6 x 8.5mm
CPU: Snapdragon quad-core 1.5GHz
Camera: 13 megapixels
Battery: 3200 mAh
Weight: 198g
Dimensions: 167.6 x 88 x 8mm
CPU: Krait dual-core 1.7GHz
Battery: 3200 mAh
Weight: 199g
Dimensions: 132.2 x 85.6 x 9.4mm
CPU: Snapdragon dual-core 1.5Ghz
Battery: 2150 mAh
Weight: 159g
S PEN COMES
AS STANDARD
GRAPHICS
ACCELERATOR
UP TO 64GB
MICRO SD
UNIVERSAL
REMOTE
SUPER AMOLED
SCREEN
DOLBY DIGITAL
SOUND
AN IR REMOTE
WITH WATCHON
NOISE
CANCELLATION MIC
SMART EYE
TRACKING
FACE
RECOGNITION
STREAM PHOTOS
BETWEEN DEVICES
1080P VIDEO
RECORDING
028_033_AND_025.indd 29 29/04/2013 17:48
Making a
phone call
Despite the phablet having full
phone capabilities, holding a
six-inch device can look silly. The
larger screen also means you can
press buttons you didnt mean to.
Tablets arent designed for phone
calls so there are few (the Asus
Fonepad is one example) that
even have the capability. We
doubt itll catch on.
Read a
book
Although you have plenty of
choice when it comes to reading,
the smaller screen might be a
hindrance. Its also difcult to
read full pages a problem you
wont have with a phones rivals.
With a bigger screen the
phablet is a perfect solution if you
want to read. Its small enough to
put away, but the screen is still
big enough for you to view large
quantities of text at one time.
Sending a
text
The smaller size of a phone
means youll be able to text with a
single nger and there are now
plenty of third-party keyboard
apps that users can download.
Not ideal for bigger ngers though.
There are apps on Google Play
that add full text capabilities to
your tablet. The only problem with
typing on a tab is that its
denitely a two-handed job, and it
therefore lacks functionality.
Streaming
a video
Your phone can be used to stream
video on, but the smaller screens
wont be up to scratch for many.
Most phones include either a
micro USB or micro HDMI port that
can be used to connect to your TV.
Using a tablet to stream
movies is a good choice if youre
lounging around your home as
the screen size is perfect for
being on a lap. You also have
plenty of viewing options.
Taking a
photo
Although cameras are
often an overlooked feature on
phablets, theyre very useable.
Built-in styluses also have the
addition of being able to perform
really detailed photo editing.
Most tablets do come with some
sort of camera, but using them is
a different story altogether. The
much larger size of a tablet
means using it as a camera isnt
easy to do.
30
Feature
Phablet v the rest
Which device is the best choice for everyday life?
Verdict
Phablets in
the real world
Messaging
The bigger screen means you can be far
more precise with your typing and being
able to use a stylus is also a good addition
to have. But if you prefer typing with one
hand, then youll probably nd a phablet to
be too big to use.
Put it in
your pocket
A common problem with the bigger
phablets is that pockets tend to be a bit
small to cater for them. Having to stretch
your pocket to t the phablet in will not just
damage your trousers, but also damage
your device.
Making a call
Holding a phablet to your head is like a
throwback to the old days of mobile
phones. A good solution would be to invest
in a Bluetooth headset to make it look a
little more bearable.
How do phablets stand up
when they are used in
everyday scenarios?
Although it doesnt necessarily excel in all areas, what the phablet does offer is a great
middle ground for those who want the functionality of both a phone and tablet, while not
having to compensate on the screen size and usability of their device. If youve got a decent
budget, then a phablet is denitely a great alternative to both a phone and tablet
Phone Phablet Tablet
FIRST
SECOND
THIRD
THIRD
FIRST
SECOND
FIRST
SECOND
FIRST
SECOND
THIRD
THIRD
FIRST
SECOND
THIRD
Making a simple phone call is the
bread and butter of any phone.
The smaller size means its a lot
easier to hold to your head for a
longer period of time.
Its larger frame means its a pain
to use as a book substitute when
youre on the move, but text does
look amazingly crisp and clear
when youre reading on the
massive screen.
As well as being able to text with
your ngers, the phablet has the
added benet of being able to
use a stylus to make typing
easier. With a bigger screen you
can also be far more precise.
If youre keen on watching movies
on the go, the size of a phablet is
a great choice. Once again it
might still be a little small, but the
likes of the ZTE Grand Memo
include full Dolby Digital sound.
Cameras are an area that have
vastly improved, with
manufacturers nally realising
that users do want a decent
phone camera. Most now include
some great photo features.
028_033_AND_025.indd 30 29/04/2013 17:48
Feature
31
Master the S Pen
Do you own a Galaxy Note? If so, youll want to check out
these invaluable tips for using the included S Pen stylus
Home and menu shortcut Take a screenshot Never touch your phablet
Find new exciting
uses for the S Pen
that ships with the
Note 2
A stylus is one of the
great advantages of
a phablet device
T
he S Pen is a free stylus that ships
with the Samsung Galaxy Note range
of phablets. As well as being a great
way of moving around your device, it also
includes several features that make it
more than an accessory. Take a look at the
following tips and tricks that will help you
discover new ways in which you can use
Samsungs very own stylus.
The S Pen is great for using shortcuts
on your Note. With the S Pen in hand,
drag from the top of the screen to
the bottom to go to your home
screen, and drag from the bottom to
the top to access your app drawer.
Press and hold down the S Pen
button and tap and hold the S Pen
directly on the screen of your Note.
Soon youll hear the camera shutter
go off and a screenshot will have
been taken and saved.
The Note devices include AirView
technology, which enables the user
to control their device with the S Pen
without needing to touch the screen.
By hovering the S Pen just above the
screen, you can control your device.
Quick Command menu Adjust sensitivity
By pressing the button on the S Pen itself and then
swiping upwards on the screen, the Quick
Commands box will appear. On this menu, you can
access different menus and apps stored on your
device. You can also call a contact, send an email or
go directly to a website. Press the back button to
get rid of the menu once youve nished with it.
Cut out images
Cutting out certain areas of an image is easy using
the S Pen. Simply hold the S Pen down on a
particular part of an image and begin tracing the
route you want to cut out. Once done you can paste
it into an email or save it within the S Memo app.
Pop up notes
Press and hold the S Pen button on the side of the
stylus and press anywhere on the Notes screen.
This will automatically bring up a blank page from
the S Memo app on which youll be able to add a
note or drawing and save it automatically. You can
also add this note directly on to your home screen,
if you so wish.
S Pen alert
One of the latest features included
on the Note 2 creates an alarm to
go off whenever you walk off
without the S Pen attached to
the device. Due to the size of
the S Pen, this is a great
way of making sure you
dont lose it.
Take a number
If youre in the middle of a phone call, but need to
make a note of a number or jot down some
directions, remove the S Pen from its holder to get
the S Note app to appear automatically. The call
wont be affected and youll be able to jot down any
details you need.
Add annotations
After saving images on your Note device, you can
use the S Pen to leave annotations and notes on
them for later reference. Once added, you can send
them to your friends and family and theres also an
option to revert the image back to its original state.
If you want to take advantage of the different
handwriting tools available to Galaxy Note users,
make sure you open up the S Pen settings menu to
alter the sensitivity. Having a high sensitivity can
adversely make your writing look scruffy and shaky.
028_033_AND_025.indd 31 29/04/2013 17:48
32
Feature
Essential phablet apps
Load up your phablet with these brilliant apps
Best for...
Kids
Little Picasso
Little Picasso combines
both a game and
colouring aspects to
create a fun and
enjoyable experience for young
children. They can choose to use a
stylus or their nger to colour in
different characters using the
palette of colours available in the
app and also learn about what
theyre currently colouring in.
Alongside the colouring aspect of
things, Little Picasso also includes
an engaging story with a variety of
characters that your children can
follow along with and learn about
the world around us.
Best for...
Photo editing
Makeup
Makeup claims to be the
worlds most advanced
virtual makeover
application and in many
cases its justied in thinking just
this. You can perform a wide variety
of tweaks to any photos stored on
your phablet and also correct any
errors that you come across. On a
recent update, a new freehand
feature was added that lets you
create your own shades of makeup
to apply to your favourite images.
After youve completed the
necessary edits, Makeup will then
show you the before and after
images spot the difference!
Best for... Solving
equations
Math Pimp
Use this clever
application to calculate
numeric, symbolic or
geometric data and
gather all the information in one
easy-to-fathom place. The apps
annotation feature means others
can send their work to you on
which you can make changes by
using a stylus. Youll also nd great
cloud integration that enables you
to send your nished equations
and graphs straight to the cloud.
For those on a Galaxy Note II
theres also a dedicated S Pen
menu that helps provide an
intuitive work ow.
Best for...
Creating images
LayerPaint
Although it isnt as
thorough as Adobe
Photoshop, Layer Paint
provides a decent
solution for those who want to
create images on their phablet. By
stacking layers on a blank canvas
you can begin to piece an image
together, and then once nished,
you can share it with whoever you
want. The best feature of
LayerPaint has to be the range of
tools that are available to you as
soon as you open up the app.
Whether youre a beginner or
advanced user, theres something
here for everyone.
Best for... Gaming
Pen Pilot
Due to a phablets awkward screen size
and the level of modication required to
alter games to t them, developers tend
to solely focus on tablets and phones. With this in
mind, theres a distinct lack of games solely
available for phablet users, but weve managed to
track down one that does warrant a download.
Pen Pilot is a cross between an action and puzzle
game that sees you needing to guide a pilot
through different obstacle courses. Each course
has different targets you need to navigate and you
control this by simply moving your nger or stylus.
Although the 30 levels on offer wont take you long
to get through, there are also set times to beat. If
you want more, then theres also plenty of in-app
purchases you can buy to add more levels and
courses to this already brilliant game.
028_033_AND_025.indd 32 29/04/2013 17:48
33
Feature
Best for...
Making videos
FlipaClip
Despite the lack of video
editing apps that are
available to phablet
users, one app that is a viable
solution is FlipaClip. Although you
dont directly take videos through
the app, you can piece together
various photos on your phablet into
a video. One of its best uses is
being able to put your various
drawings into a lm strip to create
a stop-motion effect. For a free
app, FlipaClip is denitely
something you need to check out
on your phablet right now.
Best for...
Signing documents
SignDoc Mobile
This is one for those who
are lucky enough to have
a phablet with an
included stylus. SignDoc offers
users a simple way of signing digital
copies of contracts and business
documents without needing to go
through the hassle of printing the
document out. Before signing
anything, the app requires you to
input your signature a few times so
it can tell if someone is attempting
to forge your signature on a
document. After signing
something, the SignDoc will then
return the document back to the
original sender.
Best for...
Hacking
GMD SPen Control
You wont nd too many hacking
apps made for phablets, but GMD
SPen Control is a superb app for
those who have rooted their Galaxy Note
device. Through this app you can fully
customise how your S Pen performs when
using it with your phablet and also create
your own unique gestures that are for sole
use on your device. As well as customising
your S Pen experience, you can also use
GMD to remove nger input completely from
your phablet and fully rely on the S Pen for
your phablet input.
Best for... Writing
Best for...
Education
Papyrus Beta
iAnatomy
One of the advantages of having a bigger screen is being able to have a great writing and drawing
experience. The Play store is awash with various writing apps, but the one best suited for
phablets is Papyrus Beta. All your standard writing features are included with the app, as well as
an assortment of tools and additional features for you to explore. Theres a good handwriting indicator
that helps improve your style of writing and plenty of stylus-exclusive features to help you master writing
with a virtual pen. If you create multiple notes through Papyrus, you can also export them into a PDF, PNG
or JPEG le for printing or sharing with your friends and family.
iAnatomy provides
one of the best app
experiences if youre
using a phablet with a stylus
attached. The app gives you a
virtual tour of the human body,
enabling you to interact with its
different parts and nd out
more about them. Each major
organ is covered in a lot of
detail and you can nd a series
of images that show different
variations of each. Within each
picture are several annotations
which offer a selection of
further information for you to
read about, but you can also
add your own and email them
to a friend directly through the
app. The Draw feature enables
you to use your stylus to draw
on a particular image and add
your own notes and other
information to it. All your
changes can be saved within
the app and accessed
whenever you like.
028_033_AND_025.indd 33 29/04/2013 17:48
Tutorials Tutorials
34
Turn your Android
device into a
mobile office
A
n Android device can be fun.
You can make light work of tasks
by ensuring you have the right
applications installed and here were
are looking at a range of techniques
that will help to make life a lot easier.
When you break down ofce life on a
computer, you essentially get down to
the need to write, produce a
spreadsheet or presentation and make
notes. So over these pages we are
looking at the ability to use Microsoft
Ofce on your Android device, remotely
access and control presentations that
are running on Windows, Mac or Linux
computers, and take notes that can go
everywhere with you on Gmail. We will
also be looking at how you can save
les to the cloud and work on
collaborative projects with colleagues,
ensuring they have the right level of
access. And we also delve into the
realms of video conferences using
Googles very own Hangouts tool that
has features which go beyond social.
By having this kind of power outside of
the ofce, you can be exible in your
working life, and be able to work in
and out of the ofce without having to
lug around a large and expensive
laptop with you.
Top Android ofce tips
1. Having your browsers bookmarks
with you wherever you go is useful,
letting you get to important or useful
information fast without having to
make a note. The free tool
MyBookmarks lets you import Internet
Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Chrome
bookmarks to your Android browser.
2. The Outlook calendar can be synced
with Android via Google Calendar Sync.
Head to http://support.google.com/
calendar/topic/2586645?hl=en&ref_
topic=13950 to see instructions for
syncing with an Android device (2.3+).
3. Keep your device secure. After all, if
you are using it for work then you may
have information that you dont want
others to see or get their hands on. So
go to Location and Security in the
Settings app and select Screen Unlock
Pattern to enable extra protection.
4. You may also have to back up data.
There is a great app call My Backup. It
is free for 30 days but the Pro version is
excellent and it lets you place les such
as contacts safely in the cloud.
We look at how your
device can offer a
complete ofce suite in
the palm of your hands
masterclass
Other useful apps for work Looking at ways to make light work of your load
Create
to-do lists
Be organised
Google Keep lets you
jot down thoughts,
take photos and
dictate notes and
have everything to
hand on a neatly
arranged main screen
for speedy viewing.
You can produce a list
of checkboxes too.
You can be exible in your
working life, and be able to
work in and out of the ofce
If I store an
item in Google
Drive, will
Google be
able to read it?
To answer this we must
delve into the terms of
service. These state
that anything you
upload remains your IP
but Google can scan
your les and target
adverts to you using
the information that
they contain. If the
authorities wanted
your data, Google can
hand it over if there is
a legal demand for it.
Ask your own
question online at
littlegreenrobot.co.uk
Get a better
keyboard
Swifter typing
There are many good
alternative keyboards.
Swype enables you to
type without lifting
your nger and
SwiftKey X has a good
predictive engine to
save time. It can even
plug into your Twitter
and Facebook.
Keep track
of space
File manager
You often need to get
at les fast and
ensure you dont run
out of room. With the
File Explorer app, you
can search the les on
your phone, view and
edit les. Use it with
Google Drive and
Google Docs too.
5. Does your work require image
manipulation? It is hard to get better
than Adobe Photoshop Express, which
is a free app by one of the biggest
experts in its eld. Images can be
cropped, rotated, adjusted and shared
in this super-powerful editor.
034-037_AND_025.indd 34 29/04/2013 17:07
35
Share files on
Google Drive
Use Hangouts
for conference
chats in the
Google+ app
Chat to as many as
ten different people
using the face-to-face
video Hangout feature
in Google+
Your video image will now appear on the
screen. When Hangouts makes contact
with a friend or colleague they will appear too.
You can use the red phone to end the chat.
3
2
guide
min
You can also tap in email addresses.
When you are ready to converse, simply
tap Start Hangout. The screen will go black
and will notify the others that you want them.
2
Go to Google+ and tap the G+ icon in
the top-left of the screen. Now select
Hangouts from the left-hand menu. You will
see images of people you know.
1
The next step will allow you to decide
whether or not the person you are sharing the
document with can edit the document or simply
view it without having the ability to make
alterations. A notication will be sent.
Edit or view?
4
Go to the Google Drive app and you will
instantly see a list of documents that you have
saved or uploaded. Scroll through them until you
nd the one that you wish to share with others and
then tap the arrow icon next to the le name.
Open Google Drive
1
A window will appear. It will prompt you to
add people or groups to collaborate with. When
you type in this box, it will go through your contacts
but you can also add names that are not stored.
Select Add when you have inputted a collaborator.
Add a collaborator
3
As well as being able to open the
document that you have selected, you are also
able to decide whether or not to have it readable
ofine. More crucially, you can Add a collaborator,
effectively sharing the document. Tap this option.
Ofine reading
2
G
oogle Drive lets you create and edit documents before saving them in the cloud
remote servers owned and run by the search engine giant. One cool feature of this is that
les can be accessed by more than one person. So you may have a colleague who wants to
see your report. With the sharing option in Google Drive, you can let them view it. Even better, you
can also allow them to make amendments and work with you on the document. It allows for great
collaboration something you could not do without the power of cloud computing.
Upload important work documents to the cloud for
colleagues to remotely view and edit
Works with Android 2.1 and above
Looking at ways to make light work of your load

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36
Tutorials
Use full MS Office on
your Android device
Get the power
of Microsoft
Ofce on your
device and
link it to a
cloud service
A
lthough there are great word processors out there
for Android, having the familiarity and exibility
of features of Microsoft Ofce is hard to beat for
those who work with it on a daily basis on a desktop
or laptop computer. CloudOn, an app which can be
downloaded for free from Google Play, lets you access the
power of Microsoft Ofce on your Android device.
What it also does is enable you to save your les to the
cloud using one of four existing services: Dropbox,
Google Drive, SkyDrive and Box. You are also able to pull
documents from any of these services and edit them on
your device before making notes and saving them back.
The app also lets you open up other le types as well,
including images and PDFs using the built-in File Viewer
and Adobe Reader.
CloudOn doesnt only cater for word processed
documents. It also lets you use Excel and PowerPoint to
create, review and edit spreadsheets and presentations.
There are facilities for renaming les and sharing them
as links or attachments via email.
When you tap anywhere within the text,
the keyboard will appear and you can make
amendments that will then be saved to your cloud
storage facility. You can add a note about your
amendment and editing times are also shown.
Using the keyboard
5
When you open CloudOn, it will ask you to
sign in or create an account. Were assuming you
dont have an account so tap the latter and then
select a storage account from either SkyDrive,
Google Drive, Dropbox or Box.
Sign up to CloudOn
1
Now you will see a familiar word processing
layout. At the top there is a series of menus. Tap
one of these and icons appear underneath
offering various functions such as bold, italics or
pie charts and so on.
Get editing
4
With access to one or more of your cloud
services, you can begin to view les. Other storage
options can be accessed by tapping and signing in.
Tap the storage account where the document you
want to access is located.
Seeing your les
2
A list of the documents in your storage
account is listed. By the side of each, you will see
the le type, for example, Microsoft Word or Adobe
Reader. Tap on the le you want to access and it
will be opened.
Choose a document
3
034-037_AND_025.indd 36 29/04/2013 17:07
37
Sync notes and Gmail with GNotes
Write notes using an app which makes light work of the process and saves them to your Gmail account
Ensure Bluetooth is enabled on Android (go
to the Settings app). Now download and open the
LibreOfce Impress Remote app on your Android
device. When launched, it will search for
computers in your vicinity. Tap your computer and
follow the pairing request.
Impress on Android
2
Android will connect to the computer. Once
it has, the screen will show a single button, saying
Start Presentation. When you tap that, whatever
presentation you have on LibreOfce on your
computer can be remotely controlled using your
Android device.
Connecting the two
3
Head to Settings on your Android device
and ensure Bluetooth is switched on. Now go to
your computer and ensure it is switched on too.
Now open LibreOfces presentation tool on your
computer and go to Tools>Options>LibreOfce
Impress>General. Enable remote control.
LibreOfce on computer
1
L
ibreOfce has gone from strength-to-strength and not only is its
desktop offering more powerful than ever, it also enables you to
use an Android device to remote control presentations running on
a computer. To do this, both need to be connected via Bluetooth. Once
this is done, whatever presentation you load on the computer can then
be controlled from afar using your smartphone or tablet. All you need to
do is use the volume control. Volume up advances one slide and volume
down goes back if you need to.
As well as enable this functionality with the slides, you can access
speaker notes, which is handy as you talk through your presentation,
ensuring a much slicker delivery. Here we look at how to get connected
and display the slides.
Remote control slideshows
from your phone
Use LibreOfce Impress Remote
to deliver more effective
presentations at work
Works with Android 2.3.3 and above

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Message us!
Get in touch via Facebook
and Twitter
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
Get help from our
Facebook community
twitter
@lgrobot
Follow us to send your
questions and thoughts
2
guide
min
Download the GNotes app
from Google Play (its free) and
open it. You are able to start writing
notes straight away but we cant
keep the notes in the cloud so we
will sign up to our Gmail account
rst. Tap Setup to start.
1
Having selected the Email
option, we have two choices.
By selecting XOAuth, we can allow
the app access to our Gmail
account. Tap Grant and enter your
details. Other email accounts can be
added via the Email/Password tab.
2
At this point, any notes you go
on to make will be synced to
your Gmail account under the label
Notes. The app will show you exactly
where this is with an explanatory
screen. You can now write a note.
Tap + in the right-hand corner.
3
By tapping the four boxes in
the top-right of a note, you can
access many options including the
ability to record or handwrite a note.
Files can be attached and you can
also include a photo. The Camera
option lets you take a photo.
4
034-037_AND_025.indd 37 29/04/2013 17:07
38
Tutorials
Save and
share photos
in Google+
Popular photo service Picasa is being
phased out in favour of Google+. Heres how
to get started with sharing your pics
G
oogle is constantly looking to
improve the features in Google+ and
the photo sharing feature is one that
has seen a radical change recently. No
matter how many photos are stored on your
phone or tablet, you can upload all of them to
your G+ account with just a few taps on the
screen. Apart from being a nice place to store
them, G+ has a great sharing method
designed to let users share their favourite
photos with their friends, family and anyone
else who theyre connected to on the social
network. To take it a step further, Google has
also added an Instant Upload feature that
adds any newly taken photos on your device
directly to your account, making it the
quickest way to save and share your photos.
In this tutorial, well be guiding you
through the process of saving your photos to
your G+ account, as well as showing you how
you can then create posts and share said
photos with your G+ contacts.
As well as displaying all the photos stored
on your device, this part of the app will show the
screenshots and sent photos you have on your
phone. Select as many photos as you like and
press the arrow at the top of the app to continue.
What to share?
3
On the home page, press on the G+
symbol in the top-left. This will open up a side
menu from which you need to select the Photos
tab listed halfway down. Once selected, the app
will open up all the photos stored on your phone.
Photos tab
2
When you rst go into the Google+ app,
youll be welcomed by the Whats Hot section.
Here you can look at peoples different photos
theyve posted and get a good idea of what your
photo will look like once it has been completed.
Preview other posts
1
Show patience
Depending on the quality of the
image, you may notice your post
wont appear straight away on your
feed if its particularly large. Make
sure you press on the refresh icon
at the top of your feed to make sure
the image publishes correctly
Make edits
A clever feature of the Google+
photo sharing feature is that it
automatically centres your shared
photo to only show the main
subject matter. If you arent happy
with what is displayed you can alter
what is shown by editing the post
Be selective
By default, any photos you want to
share will be sent to all your
contacts. If youd prefer to
specically choose the contacts
you want to share with then make
sure to choose the Recipient option
when you begin creating your photo
post in the rst place
Get rid
If at any point you arent happy with
the photo you shared with your
contacts on G+, simply long press
on the image and choose the
Remove option. Not only will this
remove it from your feed, your
friends will no longer be able to see
it on their account
038_039_AND_025.indd 38 29/04/2013 17:07
39
You can now begin to create your post,
which includes the photos you selected. At the top
is the recipient bar, within which you need to
select who will be able to see the post youre
creating. There are a range of predetermined
options for you to choose from.
Share your picture
4
Navigate back to your post and ll in the
rest of the details that are required. As well as
having the picture attached, youll also want to add
a bit of text alongside it and even tag your current
location, if you so wish. Press the Share button
once completed.
Finish your post
6
If you now go back to the Whats Hot
section mentioned in step 1 you should nd your
photo has been shared, along with the
accompanying text listed underneath. If you arent
happy with the nished product, long press on it
and hit the Remove button.
Check your post
8
You should nd your post will share
instantly with your selected contacts, but it can
take longer in some cases. If the image is
particularly high resolution, youll nd it can take
around a minute or so for your photo to be shared
for people to see.
Start to share
7
If you want to select your recipients
manually, press on the bottom tier of the menu.
Youll now be presented with a screen enabling you
to sift through all your Google+ contacts and
Circles to choose who can see the photo youre
about to post.
Pick your recipients
5
If you have numerous photos you want to
share with your contacts and Circles, then you
might want to consider enabling the new Instant
Upload option from within the main Google+
settings menu. This will create posts of every
photo stored on your device.
Auto-upload photos
9
Need help?
Got a problem with your
Android phone or tablet?
Get in touch with us
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
Get help from our
Facebook community
twitter
@lgrobot
questions and thoughts
email
Send your questions for our team of
experts to tackle
Best apps for sharing your photos
1 Instagram
Upload, edit and share any photos
stored on your phone or tablet with
millions of people.
2 Flickr
Still the most popular website for
budding photographers. Take a look
at Glimmr as the best Android client.
3 WhatsApp
Take advantage of WhatsApps free
messaging and send your photos to
any contact with the app.
4 500px
This great service has a quality
ofcial client, but take a look at
500px beta for new features.
5 Facebook
The Facebook app has improved
dramatically and now you can share
your photos with your online friends.
quick
tips
Is it possible to
send photos from
the Messenger
section of G+?
If you decide you want to share
a certain photo with just a
single contact, then you might
want to take a look at sending
the photo through the
Messenger section of G+. This
will mean you dont need to
create a full post for the photo
and its generally quicker.
Can I customise
the types of photos
that are uploaded
in the Instant
Upload option?
Unfortunately theres no way to
set the types and formats of
the photos that can be
uploaded once youve enabled
the Instant Upload option. To
choose specic types of
photos, youll need to manually
upload them.
Ask your own
question online at
038_039_AND_025.indd 39 29/04/2013 17:07
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41
Works with Android 2.2 and up
G
oogle Currents has certainly evolved
into a brilliant way of gathering all
your favourite news sources in one
place, enabling you to read the stories you
want online or ofine. Currents includes
many of the biggest newspapers, magazines
and websites from all over the world and
Google is constantly adding new sources for
users to enjoy. With so many sources to check
out, you need to know how to add them to
your current feed.
Across this page well be guiding you
through the process of adding new exciting
feeds to your current crop of news sources, as
well as showing you places where you can
nd even more news outlets to add to your
bristling Currents account. It is a great
replacement for Google Reader, and an easy
way to keep up with the news that matters.
Google Reader will close
on 1 July, but Googles
other news-based
Android client makes a
ne alternative
Uncover cool features in Currents
Theres a lot to discover in Google Currents, but here are three features that you
should denitely check out rst
Most of the bigger feeds you
can subscribe to have their own
dedicated page from which youll nd
all their familiar branding and all the
latest headlines theyve uploaded.
Simply press on any story to open it
up and have a read.
Individual feeds
3
As you start scrolling through
each of your feeds, each category is
separated by an intro page that
includes a bright image representing
it. By clicking on the image, however,
youll be able to read the story its
attached to.
Top headline
2
Press on the Currents logo at
the top to uncover a side menu which
offers a wide range of different
options for you to look at. From this
menu, you can take a look at some
categories for you to add, as well as
Googles very own pick of the week.
Side menu
1
Add feeds
in Google
Currents
See more
If you want to add numerous feeds
from a specic type of category,
make sure you press on the See all
button located at the top of each
category. This will open up a new
menu from which all feeds you can
subscribe to will be listed
Add feed
Next to each source listed on this screen is an Add
button, which when pressed will convert that
source into your current library. Each source varies
in size and the amount of articles they upload
each day for users to read
Specic sources
With so much on offer in Google Currents,
you may have a small problem nding the
source youre looking for. A quick x for this
issue is to use the magnifying glass icon to
search for a specic feed included on
Google Currents
In library
Once youve pressed the Add
button next to a source, the button
will now change to say In Library.
This means when you next go
through your news sources, you
should nd your new source listed
and all the articles that have been
uploaded available to you
Search by
categories
By scrolling down through this page,
youll uncover all the various
categories that Google Currents
covers, and each has a range of
feeds you can subscribe to. If you
cant decide on feeds you want to
add, take a look at the Featured
and Recommended feeds at the
top of the list
041_AND_025.indd 41 29/04/2013 17:08
42
Tutorials
Secure your phone with
2-step verification
Googles
Authenticator
tool can help you
protect your
account from
hackers
M
obile devices are precious commodities,
theyre not cheap and contain a wealth of
information. Keeping information and data
safe and secure is more of an issue than keeping a
device in your possession. A device is much easier
and quicker to replace than personal information.
Android devices are awash with Google services
and keeping account information is critical. To
drastically reduce the chances of having personal
account information stolen, Google has introduced
2-step verication via Google Authenticator. The app
adds another level of security to a device, making it
more difcult to steal information.
Turning on the 2-step verication process
introduces codes that users will need to add during
the sign-in process. To set up 2-step verication users
will need to access their Google account via a browser.
The process involves adding a phone number for a
mobile device. Google will then send an
authentication code to the phone via SMS or a call.
Head to the Google Play store and
download Google Authenticator. Install the app
and tap the app icon to get started. The opening
screen will explain the 2-step process and tell you
what you need. Now tap Begin setup. This will
open the Add an account screen with details.
Set up app
1
The previous step will open the Accounts
screen. Now you need to sign in using your
credentials to access the Security section. Locate
2-step verication and click Settings to continue.
Now click Start setup to view the Set up your
phone screen.
Sign in
5
Selecting the default Google account will
bring up a message stating Continue on a
computer. Take note of the URL: http://accounts.
google.com/security, and head to this address on
a computer to continue. This will run through the
set up 2-step verication process.
Continue on a computer
4
To help the user through the testing setup
process, Google Authenticator provides a couple
of options via the menu. Settings and 2-step
verication simply tell the user which URL to visit to
turn it off. How it works offers a quick step-by-step
guide to give you a more detailed run through.
How it works
2
The Add an account screen displays the
option to manually add an account. There are two
options, including Scan a barcode. To use this
option the ZXing barcode scanner will need to be
installed. Tap the barcode option followed by
Install. More on this later.
Manual accounts
3
Works with Android 2.2 and up
042-043_AND_025.indd 42 29/04/2013 17:08
43
The rst step is to add a phone number to
send codes to. Google will use this number to
send a numeric code whenever a user signs in
from an untrusted computer or device. Choose
from Text message or Voice Call as the method to
receive the code and click Send code.
Set up phone
6
There is always the chance that the
chosen phone may get lost. To compensate there
is the option to access an account from a trusted
computer. Typically, this would be the computer
that the set up process is taking place on. Click
Next to continue.
Trusted computer
8
The Mobile application option enables
users to switch to an app when in the rare event
that there is no data coverage. Click the Android
link for instructions. Scan the barcode, you may
need to sign in again, and add the verication code
to complete the setup.
Mobile apps
11
The nal step is to turn on 2-step
verication. Clicking Conrm will add the process
to the selected Google account. This means that a
code will be asked for when signing in from an
untrusted computer or device. You should now see
a conrmation message.
Conrmation
9
The previous step will send a verication
code via the chosen method, either text or voice.
Once the code has been received, enter the six
digit code and press the Verify button to continue.
If code is not received, just click Didnt get the
code? and start again.
Verify phone
7
Once the setup is complete users simply
get a code via the Authenticator app. Tap the app
icon to open. This will generate a code that can be
used during an account sign in. For improved
security and added peace of mind, the code will
update every 30 seconds.
Open app
12
Users can get codes from a variety of
sources. A backup phone number can be added to
the current list. Click Add a phone number and
follow the on-screen instructions. Click Show
backup codes to get some printable codes for use
when the veried option is unavailable.
Get codes
10
To switch off 2-step authentication, head
back to http://accounts.google.com/security and
sign in. This can be done via any device, but the
trusted computer will need no code. Sign in again
and select Settings. Click Turn off 2-step
verication and click Turn off to complete.
Deactivate
13
Can I use this with
other apps?
No, it will work with your Google
account only. 2-step verication
needs to be applied by the
developer or service provided
on an app-by-app basis. Some
other apps may already use it,
such as those from nancial
institutions, while Twitter is
rumoured to be introducing it in
the near future.
Ask your own
question online at
Get in touch
Were on Facebook and Twitter, or
just drop us an email
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
Like us on Facebook and
join our community
twitter
@lgrobot
comments and pics
email
Need help? Got a question? Drop us
an email and let us know
042-043_AND_025.indd 43 29/04/2013 17:08
44
Tutorials
Send meeting requests
via your Calendar app
Invite friends or
colleagues to an
event via email,
and wait for their
interactive reply
A
meeting will typically include more than one
individual with attendees travelling from
different locations. Organisation is the key to a
successful meeting and the Calendar app enables
users to send out invites to guests via the app and an
inbox. The rst step is to create an event. This is a
simple process that involves picking a date and time.
An event brings together a host of information
including what the event is, where the event is to be
held, date, time, length of meeting and reminders.
Guests are included via an email address. The invite
is sent automatically to the address as soon as the
Done button is tapped.
The email, or invite, replicates the event
information, but also has the option to accept, decline
or even sit on the fence. To make sure that guests do
not forget the event, an iCal le (Mac users only) is
also included as an attachment.
Selecting Done will automatically send out
invites to the attendees inbox. The invite will differ
depending on the email service used. The invite
will include the date, location and the option to
reply. An iCal le will also be included.
Invite
6
By default, the event will be applied to the
Calendar of the default account holder. The rst
step is to give the event a memorable name in the
What eld. Next, tap Where and add the location
of the new event.
What and where
2
Give the event a short description, via
Description and modify the Repetition if applicable.
The event can be repeated daily, weekly, monthly
and annually. Set a reminder, set how you receive
it and tap Done to nish.
Add reminder
5
The time and date selected in the rst step
will be applied to the new event by default. To
modify both, tap the From and To elds and select
the desired option. Alternatively, tap the All day
check box to remove the time option.
Date
3
The next step is to add the guests who are
invited to the meeting. Tap Guests and type in an
appropriate email address. If the email address
exists in Contacts it will be auto-completed.
Repeat the process to add more email addresses.
Add guests
4
Works with All versions of Android
Head to the Apps screen and tap the
Calendar icon to open. Now slide the calendar to
the left or right to choose the week where the
event is to occur. Now tap the date twice to open
the New event window.
New event
1
044_AND_025.indd 44 29/04/2013 17:09
45
Apply filters
in Twitter
T
here are now hundreds of photo editing
apps available for download from the
Google Play store, but many are clunky
and can be difcult to use. If you want to add
basic edits to your photos before sharing them
with the world, then a recent update to the
ofcial Twitter app might just be for you. The
new update enables users to attach a photo to
a tweet theyre composing and carry out some
edits to personalise the image.
The main tool at your disposal is the lter
page, which enables you to add one of nine
stylistic lters to your image. Twitter has also
included a nifty cropping tool and a wizard tool
to help eradicate any issues with the photo. In
this tutorial well take you through all the new
editing tools now available in Twitter.
Before you tweet pictures you can
now add Instagram-style lters
from within the Twitter app
The photo editing process
Twitters new photo editing process can be
completed in just three simple steps that require no
previous knowledge or expertise
Apply a lter
After importing your
photo into Twitter, the
rst menu youll come
across is the lter one.
Currently there are nine
different lters to choose
from, all of which offer a
different stylistic element
to your chosen photo.
Press on any of the lters
to see a preview.
Move and scale
After applying a lter to
the photo, choose the
frame symbol located on
the editing screen. This
will take you to the Move
& Scale page where you
can reposition and crop
your image to only show
what you want to show.
This is a great tool if the
image is an odd shape.
Compose your
tweet
Once youve applied both
sets of changes, go ahead
and press the Done
button located in the
top-right. Youll now be
taken back to the tweet
youre putting together.
Add any text you need to
include and press the
Send button to complete.
Finalise your
changes
Once youve added all your
changes, press on the Done button
at the top-right of the app. Youll
then be taken back to your tweet
with your edited image attached to
it. Finish off the tweet and press
Send to add it to your news feed
Make additional edits
If you want to take your editing one step further, you may
consider applying all the small changes in Twitter, saving
them and then opening the image in a more thorough
photo editing app. Apps like Aviary and Instagram are the
obvious choices to head to
Quick scroll
Although the lter overview screen
is great to see the styles of whats
on offer, it can be hard to see all
the details. An alternative to this is
to simply scroll left and right on the
screen to see what each lter adds
to the image you chose to edit
The perfect image
Sometimes no matter what edits
you make, you can never get it
exactly how you want it. Although it
isnt a miracle cure, the wizard tool
at the bottom-left of the page can
help make some minor tweaks to
improve the images overall quality
Camera or photo?
As well as being able to use
Twitters own camera function to
add an image to your editing suite,
you can also choose a saved image
from within the Gallery app. As well
as images youve personally taken,
you can also access images sent to
you through messaging apps
045_AND_025.indd 45 29/04/2013 17:09
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47
Control location
services
Grasp your settings to change how Google tracks your location
A
n Android device has a host of Google-
related services which users can take
control of. These are neatly brought
together under Google Settings found via the
Apps screen. Included in the lineup are location
services, Maps & Latitude and Location. These
control if the user is tracked and how the
information is used. Location offers the simple
option of letting Google apps access a users
location. Maps & Latitude works on a grander
scale with a whole selection of options. Users can
decide on how a location is reported, enable
location sharing, share with friends, take a look
at their location history and manage check-ins.
1. Settings app
Head to the Apps screen, locate the
Google Settings app and tap to open.
This offers conguration options for a
range of popular Google services including
Maps & Latitude and Location. The
changes you make here will affect how all
of your apps use your location data. Tap
Location to open the Google apps location
settings screen. This offers one simple
control, whether or not to let your Google
apps have access to your location. Switch
off to stop access, switch on to allow
access. Note, these settings only apply to
Google apps.
2. Location reporting
Tap Maps & Latitude to head to the Maps
app and its associated Location settings.
The rst option is Location reporting,
which does not update your location by
default. Tap the link to reveal a list of
Location settings options. To update
automatically, select Detect your location.
To do so manually, simply select the Set
your location option. This will redirect to
Maps choose a location using one of the
available options.
3. Location sharing
To share your location with friends and
family on a map rst, tap Manage your
friends. At the bottom of the screen is
Share location with family and friends, tap
to continue, hit Agree & Continue and your
location will appear onscreen in an info
box. Tap the icon to Check in if you have a
Google + account.
4. Location history
To store your location history for future use
(and the data is also used in apps such as
Google Now), tap Enable location history.
Tap Enable location history at the bottom
of the screen. Once again, tap Agree &
Continue and again to save the selection.
This takes a few days to populate. To view
your locations, visit the Latitude site at
google.co.uk/latitude.
5. Check-ins
There is the option to disable or enable
automatic check-ins and do the same with
Check-in notications in a single tap. If
Automatic check-ins is enabled there is the
option to Manage your places, which lets
you view and modify check-in places, and
remove any for privacy reasons.
[FIG 2] The location of
a device can be
selected
automatically, but
there is the option to
manually choose a
location. Choose from
the current location,
enter an address or
use your contacts
[FIG 4] Enabling
Location history allows
users to build up a
picture of where they
have been. It will take
a couple of days to
populate, so
immediate use will
result in no information
When my
location is
recorded how
accurate is the
positioning?
A location is
reasonably accurate.
My Location states on
Google Maps that it is
accurate to 30 metres,
approx 100 feet.
However, it is likely to
be more accurate than
this, especially if an
object is static.
Ask your own
question online at
047_AND_025.indd 47 29/04/2013 17:10
48
Tutorials
Take control of Google
and third-party accounts
Manage, add
and remove
accounts stored
on your device
E
very Android user has a favourite selection of
apps and many of these apps will need a sign in,
which in turn means an account is created. There
is the option to sign in every time an app is called upon,
but this is inconvenient, irritating and time consuming.
The alternative sits in the depths of the Android OS
ecosystem under the Settings banner. Here lies a list
of accounts related to the device.
Logging in to an account will add an
account to the list. If an installed app is
not on the account list there is the option to add an
account. Third-party apps and Google apps sit side-by-
side in the list, but these react slightly differently.
Third-party apps like Dropbox and Twitter offer the
option to sync now to update manually. Those with
settings typically enable the user to go directly to the
app to modify, with no need to sign in again.
For the more cautious, or those who no longer need
quick access to an account, it can simply be removed
from the list.
The Google sync settings are again
different. Tap the account email address to list all
the Google sync services. These include Calendar,
Chrome, Contacts, Gmail, Google Play Books and
Google Play Magazines. These are all set to sync.
To switch off simply tap the check box.
Google sync settings
5
The installation of new apps that need a
login can be managed via Androids Settings app.
To take a look at accounts that have been
automatically added, locate Settings and tap to
open. Slide up to locate the Accounts tab which
will list active accounts.
Accounts
1
The default Google account differs from
third-party accounts, with different standard and
sync options. The Google account includes a
selection of Privacy options which link to Maps &
Latitude, Location settings, Google+ and Ads. Each
option links directly to an information box.
Google account
4
Tap Add account to view a list of accounts
that can be added. Note, not all accounts are
automatically added to the list. To add an account,
tap an option from the list, eg Guardian. This will
redirect to the app Sign in screen. Choose an
option and sign in to add to the Accounts list.
Add an account
2
Typically each account will include an
account sync setting and an option to sync. App
settings will redirect to the account settings, so
these will differ for each account. The Settings can
be modied and will be automatically saved when
returning back to Settings.
Account settings
3
048-049_AND_025.indd 48 29/04/2013 17:49
49
Manage your
Google account
Take control of the Search options related to your
Google account
The sync settings for third-party apps are
similar from account to account, but are typically
presented differently. For example, The Guardian
sync is switched off and will need to be tapped to
continue. Alternatively, Twitter uses a simple check
box to switch sync on or off.
Sync settings
6
Each account is synced according to its
settings but accessing an account via Settings
enables the user to sync the selected account.
First select an account from the list, tap the menu
icon and select Sync now to sync the currently
selected account.
Sync now
7
An active account can be removed via
Accounts. Select an account and tap the menu
icon. Depending on the account the menu will
include Remove account. Tap and select Remove
account. Alternatively, tap the username, select
the menu icon and tap Remove account.
Remove an account
8
Take control of all types of accounts
1 Automatically add account
Removing an account will only
remove an account from Accounts.
Sign in and it will be added to the list.
2 Permanently delete
To remove an account from the
Accounts list permanently the app
will need to be deleted.
3 Email account
Check the settings for an email
account by selecting an account
from the list.
4 Add an email account
To add an new email account via
Accounts simply select Email
followed by Add Account.
5 Dropbox account
To unlink a Dropbox account from
the current device, select Dropbox>
Account settings>Unlink.
quick
tips
2
guide
min
To take control of location history, tap
the Manage location history option. This will
head to Maps and reveal a selection of options
to work with. Tap Display to switch on Zoom
Buttons, ick the Scale Bar on and off and tap
Bubble action to decide its action.
Location history
1
Select Show recent searches to activate
some suggestions. This will display a new
option, Manage Web History. Tap to select a
browser, if applicable. This will redirect to the
Google Accounts page online. Sign in to pause,
delete or remove items from your history.
Search
2
Google comes in many avours and
offers the option to search via the local domain
eg, www.google.co.uk, or switch to the main
search engine, www.google.com. Tap the
checkbox to switch between the two options. It
will take a while to nd the local domain.
Search domain
3
By default, the SafeSearch option is set
to Moderate which ensures that certain
unwanted content is not displayed. To remove
any restrictions, or increase the lter to Strict,
tap SafeSearch lters and select a new option
from the list.
Safe searching
4
048-049_AND_025.indd 49 29/04/2013 17:49
troubleshooting advice
hints and tips

DroidSupport
50
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
Like us on Facebook and join
in our Android community
twitter
@lgrobot
Follow us on Twitter to send
your thoughts and questions
email an expert
Got an Android-
related problem that
you need solving?
Let us know!
Share your tips & tricks
Join us on Facebook and Twitter
to share and receive some
great tips and advice
How to share
calendars
You actually have
everything you need to
synchronise the same
calendar between you and your
wife on your Galaxy and
iPhone already. If you set up
one Google account for both of
you and then set the Calendar
function to synchronise, you will
both be able to input the account
name and password onto each
phone and that is really all you
need to do. If either of you make
any changes on the account such
as adding or deleting entries
they will be seen immediately
on each device and will be
recognisable by each of you.
Also, you can set up multiple
calendars and give each one a
different colour for easy
recognition, which will help you
both manage your lives together
yet be able to keep them
independent when you need to.
You could have a calendar in
your name and your wife one in
hers, yet still be able to have
them both synchronise
automatically under the same
I have a Samsung Galaxy
S III and my wife has an
iPhone 4, but we want to
sync calendars. Is there a
specic calendar that can
sync between the two and
let us view the same on
each device?
Lee Rushton
A Google account can
synchronise a multitude of
personal information
Android and iOS can play nicely together
thanks to Google
You can disable word prediction on an
Android phone or tablet via Settings>
Language & keyboard>Advanced
settings (varies by device). This will be
especially useful if you input unusual
terms for work or a specialist industry,
and can actually speed up your typing
over a period of time.
Did you know?
Google account.
There are apps that
can be downloaded
on both platforms to
add new features
and this is
particularly useful
on an iPhone. The
coloured calendars
can be highlighted
in many different
ways and will in
effect look more
similar to the
Android calendar
than the stock iOS
solution. There are
other services and
apps that you can
use to share one
calendar, but few
we have seen work
as easily as the
Google solution or
have such an easy
setup process.
A
050-055_AND_025.indd 50 29/04/2013 17:49
Ringtones, notications
and connections
D
r
o
i
d
S
u
p
p
o
r
t
51
It is understandable
that you are struggling
to add new tones to
your device because there is no
ofcial explanation, but the
solution is a lot simpler than
you may think. If we look at the
Windows 7 problem rst, we
would suggests going to http://
www.android.com/letransfer
and downloading Android File
Transfer to your PC. We have
seen this work for connecting
Android devices even when
A
You can set any music track as a ringtone
with one tap
The Notications folder can be managed any
way you like
hints&tips Get more from your Android phone with our handy hints
1

True brightness control
All Android devices let you control the
brightness either automatically or manually,
but Lux Auto Brightness (available from Google
Play) offers more options that will suit your
exact conditions. Even the colour temperature
can be changed when reading at night.
2

Multitasking on any screen
Sidebar Pro is an efcient solution that
offers multitasking from any screen on your
phone. No matter what app you are using, or
where you are in the operating system, the app
offers a simple bar that can be tapped once to
open another function or app.
3

Lose the lag
If you are an advanced Android user and
have rooted your device, Seeder is a
clever little app which can reduce the lag you
experience when using it. The lag is not
physically reduced, but it does a very good job
of masking the unwanted effect.
Ask your questions
Got a problem with your Android phone or tablet?
Send it to us and well nd the solution
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
Get help from our
Facebook community
email
Send your questions for our team of
experts to tackle
the folder, but you will not cause
any damage by doing so. In the
music app, you can hold your
nger down on any song and you
should see an option pop up that
lets you set it as a ringtone. None
of this is obvious at rst, but as
we said, once you know the
there are problems elsewhere
with regards to the PC seeing the
device. It can be extremely
difcult to locate the exact
problem and Samsung Kies is
not the best PC Android software
for dealing with direct
connections. Once you have the
connection problem resolved you
can add sound les to the
Notications folder and they will
be shown in the list when you
want to choose a new one in
settings. You may have to create
Having given up a Nokia N8, and prior to that an N95, to join the
band of Android by the purchase of a Samsung S III, I am totally
bafed because I am unable to fathom how to have different
sounds for texts and phone calls. I have read the manual until my
eyes are sore but to no avail. I am also unable to connect to my
Windows 7 computer by the use of the Samsung USB cable due, as
the computer tells me, there is no driver available for the phone.
Barry Burton
process, it is very quick and easy
to use no matter how often you
want to change your tones. You
will also nd apps on Google
Play that will let you trim tones
to a suitable length and others
that can automate the entire
process even further.
050-055_AND_025.indd 51 29/04/2013 17:49
DroidSupport
52
Galaxy sync
issues
I have a Galaxy S II phone and a
Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet. They are
paired via Bluetooth but I cannot
get the calendar from the phone to
sync with the same aCalendar on
the tablet. Clicking sync starts
the rotating icon for maybe a half
a second and everything stops
no transfer.
Terry Cullen
In theory you should be
able to synchronise your
aCalendar software
between your phone and tablet,
but there could be a number of
reasons for it not working
properly. We have to look at the
software, your internet
connection and add in the
Bluetooth and hardware, which
starts to make it all slightly
tricky to pinpoint. In your case,
however, it sounds as though
you have the Outlook calendar
synchronising to your phone
ne, so why not mimic the
process and cut out the middle
man? You could synchronise
your calendar directly to the
tablet by using your phone as a
hotspot via one of many apps
that are available in Google Play.
Your network provider would not
need to know you are tethering
and you would be guaranteed of
the same information on each
device that way.
You should be able
to upload YouTube
videos from most
Android phones
Syncing over
Bluetooth is not
always reliable or
even possible
Too many
duplicate
contacts!
A few months into my Android
experience Ive been saying yes
each time apps (Facebook,mail
apps etc) offer to sync my
contacts.Thinking it would keep
things straight,I thought it was
a great idea but,of course,in
reality what its done has
created many copies of each
contact so that I now show
roughly 2,000 contacts
when,in fact,I probably have
just under 300!Is there a
method short of resetting the
phone and starting over again
to just have Google Mail
manage my contacts?
Tim Mathews
The problem you are
experiencing is not
unusual and there are
many ways to solve it. However,
when you are using multiple
services that use contact
integration, you will potentially
come across this problem many
times. One option, which is
admittedly manual, is to tap the
link icon when in a contact and
to then select the option to join it
to another contact. It will solve
the problem, but will need to
be done manually for each
duplicated contact. A
better option would be
to head on over to
Google Play and search
for Contact Remover
Plus. This app can be
used over and over
again and will let you
copy, move and delete
contacts in batches,
which is a good
compromise between
having the control you
need and the
automation to speed
up the process.
A
It is very easy when installing multiple apps, music and videos
to run your available memory to a low level. You should,
however, try to keep a reasonable amount free to allow the
running of large apps and system processes.
Did you know?
A
From Ace
to YouTube
I have a YouTube channel, and
on it I really would like to put on
screen videos from my Ace 2 and
on to YouTube. But no matter how
long I search for something that
meets the specic needs for my
purpose, I cannot nd anything!
If you could help, I would be so
grateful. The app really must
record audio.
Zo Cox
Apologies if we have
misinterpreted your
question, but it sounds
as though you want to upload
videos from your Ace 2 directly
to YouTube. If this is the case
then all you need to do is
A
capture a video and use the
share function to unload it to
YouTube. You will have to log in
to your account to do this, but
this should then give you the
opportunity of adding it to your
channel. Google owns YouTube
and so the integration with the
service is high and it is supposed
to work perfectly with no
modication from the user. The
Ace 2 has a decent camera and
will capture audio by default as
well, so we are unsure as to
what is missing in your current
setup that does not allow this.
With the ability to make
amendments to your uploaded
videos using the mobile app and
multiple apps in Google Play that
let you add effects, Android and
by association the phones
running it, is one of the
very best platforms for
quick and easy
YouTube creation.
050-055_AND_025.indd 52 30/04/2013 10:53
for even more tips & tricks
top tips for...
ANDROID
AUTOMATION 5
quicktips
1

One touch proles
Apps like Prole Manager let you create
your own proles based on your particular
needs. The automation is low on most of
these solutions, but they do offer the ability
to tap once to activate a prole, and some
offer timed proling, which can be set to
come on automatically.
2

Use your location
Some apps will let you change the state
of your phone based on the location. The
phone will use the GPS antenna to
determine where you are and will then
activate it accordingly. This can be useful for
silencing your phone before a meeting or
when travelling to the ofce.
3

NFC tags
If your phone is equipped with an NFC
chip you will be able to control the device
using special tags. They are cheap to
purchase and can be placed in set locations
to activate a particular state. For example,
you could have one in the car, the bedroom
or anywhere else and the proles will
activate when near to them.
4
Take it further
Some solutions, including the excellent
Tasker, let you activate specic tasks based
on events which can save you lots of time
every day. Almost every eventuality is
covered and you may be surprised at what
can be done.
5
The simple stuff
Dont forget the simple prole
management and automation that is
included in Android by default. For example,
you can set the brightness depending on
your lighting conditions and also set apps to
update automatically.
53
D
r
o
i
d
S
u
p
p
o
r
t
We mentioned Contact Remover Plus in the
answer to the related question, and to start
removing duplicate contacts in bulk, all you need
to do is download the app in Google Play and let
the app populate all of your contacts. You can now
tap each check box and delete them in bulk.
Get the app
1
The next part you should check is which
accounts you have set up on your Android device.
Go to Settings>Accounts and then see how many
accounts are listed. It is likely that with multiple
accounts, including Facebook and Mail, you will run
into duplication problems for your contacts.
Check your accounts
2
Proles can be activated based on many
different factors
Share your tips
Got a great tip, or found a cool
shortcut? Let us know!
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
join our online community
twitter
@lgrobot
Follow us on Twitter to
send us your tips & tricks
email
Discovered anything good about your
Android phone? Let us know!
Decide which account you want to use as
your default contact list and then tap one of the
others. Here you should be able to turn off the
sync feature, which will stop contacts duplicating
over multiple accounts. Repeat this process for
each account which is not your default.
Lose the sync
3
There is also a setting in the contacts app
called De-duplicate contacts that can be used to
sweep your entire database and remove any that
are exactly the same for every attribute. It is a
one-tap process and works well, but is not suitable
for contacts that are not 100 per cent identical.
De-duplicate contacts
5
Contacts will build up over time through
multiple accounts and although some
housekeeping is required, you shouldnt spend too
long dealing with duplicates. Ultimately, they are
unlikely to get in the way, so there is rarely a need
to continually manage them on a regular basis.
Dont waste time
6
In the contacts app, also known as People,
tap the menu icon and then select Settings. Here
you should see a Suggest contact link option,
which should alert you to similar contacts that you
can merge if a second one is added. This lets you
prevent duplicates before they are created.
Automatic links
4
050-055_AND_025.indd 53 29/04/2013 17:50
DroidSupport
54
Flash & Java
I recently bought a Samsung
Tablet 2 10.1 3G for the sole
purpose of using it to buy from
live online car auctions. The
auction company uses Java and
after visiting a PC World store,
they were able to install Java for
Android. This didnt work and I
contacted the auction company
again they said I also needed
Flash Player which I managed to
nd via a Google search.
However I still cant access the
live online auction sites.
Martin Harley
A
This is a tricky situation
for us to solve because
we do not know the
exact website that you are trying
to use. This, however, does lead
us to the main point of our
answer, which is to not
automatically presume that the
Android device is the problem.
Modern websites should ideally
be able to handle many different
types of internet protocol
including Flash, Java and many
others, but it is also common for
them to offer support for the
huge number of mobile devices
that may visit. With
HTML5 fast becoming
an alternative and
have an SD card installed you need to
remove it. Restart your phone and then
check to see if the update is now available
without the SD card inserted. When the
SD card is inserted again, you should still
see the correct update message. If this
method does not work, a more serious
method is to reformat your device
completely and then try to update. This
may sound extreme, but if you have a
decent backup procedure in place it
should not take too long to get all of your
apps and data back. Our experience
suggests, however, that the SD card
method should work for you.
This is a very difcult problem to
solve because after numerous
checks, it would appear that there
is no obvious way to resolve this issue. It
seems that when you update the Note 2 to a
new OS, trying to update again to the latest
version can cause this problem. For
whatever reason the device is seen as
modied, which it technically is, and then
the next update is barred which would
appear to be a fault in the way the software
is delivered or with the actual Android
operating system. There are, however, some
straightforward procedures you can try that
users have claimed to work. Firstly, if you
A
Your device has
been modified
My question relates to the Samsung Note 2 phone running on Android 4.1.1. For some
reason,whenever I check for a software update under Settings>About Device>Software
Update, a message appears saying: Your device has been modied. Software updates
are not available. I have not rooted my phone (or even attempted to) and only loaded
apps from either the Samsung store on my phone or Google Play.
Len Sullivan, via email
Software updates can be
problematic from time to time
other technologies being used, it
is not always acceptable for a site
to expect the visitor to do the
work of making their equipment
compatible. If the devices are
commonplace, the onus is on the
website owners to make the site
work with as much of the
population as possible. In your
case, if you have Flash and Java
installed and it is still not
working, the site owners will
need to be contacted again to
nd the right solution for you.
My volume
keeps
dropping
On my S3 I nd I am forever
needing to adjust the ring
volume up from zero, I have no
idea what I do to cause it. The
second more aggravating gripe is
the keyboard. Using SwiftKey 3, I
cannot count how many times I
have had to reset the input
method. Any advice?
Steve Stevenson
A
The volume problem is
not unusual and the
general view is that it
could be related to the
headphones you are using. It
could, however, also be a
hardware problem with the
volume keys. There is a quick
workaround called Persist
(Volume Control), available from
Google Play, which seems to
have solved the problem for
many users. The SwiftKey
problem is even more difcult
because even the developer of
the app quotes Android as being
the problem at this time. With
luck, a workaround may be
issued in the future to solve it
once and for all.
Where can I
get help with
my Goggle
account?
I have been having problems
with my Google account and
050-055_AND_025.indd 54 29/04/2013 17:50
55
D
r
o
i
d
S
u
p
p
o
r
t
Our advice would be to check
that no third-party apps are left
installed and to not sell on an
expansion card with the phone. These
cards are known to leave data active
even when they have been formatted.
Expansion cards
3
This may sound strange, but we
would advise you to do another factory
reset just to be on the safe side. Tests
have shown that on occasions, one
reset can still leave some residual data
lying around.
Do it again
2
Go to Settings and nd the
Factory Reset option. You will be
warned that this will remove all of your
data, but continue anyway if you are
happy that you have all of your
important information backed up.
The factory reset
1
Safely wipe your
Android device
I want to upgrade my Android phone and sell my current device on
eBay, but am concerned that my data may still be available to
anyone who buys it. I understand how to reset my phone, but a
friend told me that this can leave some bits of data behind that
would still be accessible to others. Is this true?
Martin Bloomeld, via email
Yes, what your friend
says is true to a point.
Theoretically anyone
who buys your phone could gain
access to some of your
information, but they would
have to know what they are
doing and likely purchase it with
the express intention of doing so.
If, however, these two events do
collide then you will want to
have done all that you can before
you sell the device to protect
your data. We will show you in a
step-by-step below how to
ensure that as much data as
possible is removed. You can
then be fairly certain that all will
end well, but if you want to be
100 per cent certain that your
device is clean you will want to
take time over the process.
Sometimes temporary les can
linger around unexpectedly so
dont follow this process and
then send off your phone. Use
the steps and then tinker with
A
the phone now and again to
ensure that temporary les are
overwritten. You could even set
up a dummy Google account and
use that for the last few days to
overwrite as much as possible.
There are apps that can help you wipe your
data for good
Share your tips
Got a great tip, or found a cool
shortcut? Let us know!
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
join our online community
twitter
@lgrobot
Follow us on Twitter to
send us your tips & tricks
email
Discovered anything good about your
Android phone? Let us know!
update update
We bring you the news and
rumours on the latest Android
updates, and the phones that can
run them
W
ith Key Lime Pie
expected to be
known as Android
5.0 on the horizon, the
non-Nexus devices are likely
to continue to be one version
behind. The rollout of
Android 4.2 has been slower
than ever, with few handsets
getting what was admittedly
a minor upgrade to date.
Hopes that this would mean
manufacturers would skip 4.2
entirely, going straight for a
more timely 5.0 update
instead, appear to have been
dashed for some devices. HTC
models such as the One X,
One X+ and the One SV are set
to be updated to 4.2 in the
summer, with rumours
suggesting that it will be the
nal update for the One X.
The Galaxy S III and Note II
will also get 4.2 as part of the
software update that brings
some of the features of the S4
to those devices. At the time
of writing that was pegged for
May or June. As ever the best
way to get the latest version of
Android as quickly as possible
is via a Nexus, with all the
most recent devices
guaranteed to get it normally
within days of it being
announced. Its unlikely that
other devices will start seeing
the Key Lime Pie upgrade
program kick into action until
September, and the process is
likely to go on until next year,
by when another update will
inevitably have arrived.
Update
60% Complete
A free app can solve your hardware
volume problems
after much investigation I know
it is not my fault. Where can I go
to for support?
Tommy Clifton
A
This is a question that
has been asked many
times, Tommy, and it all
comes down to what you should
expect for what is nancially a
free service. Google offers Gmail,
Calendar and all of its other
products for free and so to
expect a full technical support
helpline may be asking a bit
much. Of course, we understand
how Google makes money and in
some ways we all help the
company do that by offering
information about ourselves, but
the fact remains that we are
given a very generous amount of
online space and a huge variety
of services for no outlay at all.
However, if you feel that there is
a big problem and that help is
required, head on over to http://
www.google.com/contact where
you will be able to read a variety
of support articles and also nd
ways to ask for priority support.
The links include an account
recovery form which is very
useful if your account has
suddenly disappeared, and
almost every other popular issue
should be covered on this page.
The process is still somewhat
clouded, but hopefully you will
nd what you need and solve the
problem once and for all. Good
luck with it all!
050-055_AND_025.indd 55 29/04/2013 18:29
Challenge
56
Avantree Mini
Roll-able Keyboard
Price: 18.99/$28.99
More info: www.mobilefun.co.uk
This mini roll-up keyboard is truly
portable and can connect to any
smartphone or tablet.
YourType Android
Keyboard + Stand
Price: 59/$69.99
More info: www.belkin.com
This stylish combo means you
can keep your tablet and
keyboard in the same place.
Freedom
i-Connex Combi
Price: 79.95/$104.95
More info: www.proporta.co.uk
Get a true typing experience
when using this keyboard and
stand combo.
Freedom Pro
Bluetooth Keyboard
Price: 59.95/$90.99
More info: www.mobilefun.co.uk
With big keys and a Qwerty
setup, the Freedom Pro comes
well recommended by us.
Can you replace your
laptop with your phone?
Is there a need for hefty laptops when you have an
all-powerful Android device to hand?
Best Bluetooth keyboards
056-057_AND_025 56 30/04/2013 09:18
Set us a challenge!
Test us out through
Facebook and Twitter
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
share your thoughts
twitter
@lgrobot
Follow us on Twitter and
send your comments
Success
rating
85%
Gmail
Price: Free
Developer: Google Inc.
App checklist
VLC
Price: Free
Developer: VideoLabs
Cloudskipper
Price: Free
Developer: cloud.tv
OnLive
Price: Free
Developer: OnLive
SkyDrive
Price: Free
Developer: Microsoft
App Update Notier
Price: Free
Developer: Paradise Android
AppMgr Pro III
Price: 1.32/$1.99
Developer: Sam Lu
Easy Battery Saver
Price: Free
Developer 2Easy Team
Verdict:
Complete
The quality of the apps on the
Play store means that for the
most part you can use your
phone as replacement for
your laptop. It isnt perfect,
however, and wed love to see
more media player apps follow
their desktop counterparts.
T
he technology in smartphones
is constantly improving in
all areas, enabling users to
perform things that could only be
done on a laptop until recently. With
this in mind, weve asked whether it
is possible to put away your laptop
and solely use your phone instead?
Weve put together a list of apps that
cover a wide variety of tasks you can
do on a laptop to see if your phone is
a viable substitute.
Working with documents
As Android users, were spoilt for choice
when it comes to word processors. The
best of the bunch is Kingsoft Ofce,
which can rst and foremost be
integrated with all your Microsoft Word
documents, presentations and
spreadsheets. Apart from the editing,
theres also the ability to create
documents from scratch and share them
to your contacts. Email is also another
strong point of the catalogue of phone
apps available, and with the likes of
Gmail and Outlook having brilliant Android
apps, you wont have any problem
managing your inboxes. To help manage
all of your documents and emails youll
want to invest in some suitable cloud
storage. Once again theres plenty of
choice, but the likes of SkyDrive are
much harder to use on your phone when
compared to their desktop counterparts.
Having fun with your
media les
We also like to have fun on our laptop,
AndroZip gives you full access to les
whether it be watching videos, browsing
the web or playing a game your laptop
can cater for it all. Cloudskipper Music
Player is a superb mobile audio streamer
that includes some handyediting tools. It
would be great if it had a few more ways
of integrating your playlists in one place,
but that isnt too much of an issue. VLC
is one of the most highly regarded
desktop clients for watching videos and
you can expect the same exceptional
experience when using the VLC for
Android Beta app. Where Android phones
have yet to catch up with their laptop
counterparts is the gaming side of things.
Apps like OnLive offer access to some of
the biggest AAA titles, but there are
compatibility issues with some games
and nothing beats the experience of
playing a game with either a proper
controller or mouse and keyboard.
Simple utility tasks
One of the most overlooked aspects of
laptop usage is the utility and data
management side of things. Whether its
managing your battery, storing les,
dealing with updates and general
management, your laptop can handle all
of this with ease. Thankfully, some of the
best apps in the Play store can ll this
void on your phone. Easy Battery Saver
can be used to keep on top of your
battery life and offer improvements,
AndroZip File Manager can give you
access to all your les, including hidden
ones on your device. Both the AppMgr
Pro III and App Update Notier are
suitable choices when you need an app
to help manage updates and downloads.
57
[tip] Take
advantage of
the 30-minute
demos of each
game on
OnLive so you
can try before
you buy.
[tip] VLC caters
for a wide range
of obscure le
types, so no
matter what
format your
video is in, VLC
should be able
to open it.
SkyDrive is great, but better on a desktop?
Kingsoft Ofce 5.3.3
Price: 1.32/$1.99
Developer: Kingsoft Ofce
Software Corporation Limited
AndroZip File Manager
Price: Free
Developer AgileSoft Resource
056-057_AND_025 57 29/04/2013 17:51
58
Back up
with App
Wererabbit
If youre forever downloading apps,
youll need a decent app manager
and AppWererabbit (Toolbox) is an
easy-to-use alternative to the more
widely known Titanium Backup.
AppWererabbits home screen lists
all of your apps; tap on any to launch
the available options, including
Manage which helpfully takes you
straight to the App Info page. From
here, you can perform additional
tasks such as reviewing app
permissions and requests.
AppWererabbits standout feature
is its automatic backup functionality.
From the main screen, tap the three
dots in the corner and select Backup
all to back up your apks (this doesnt
include app data and settings). You
can send these backups to
Dropboxs cloud servers or share via
email, and whenever new apps are
downloaded, AppWererabbit
automatically creates a backup, so
you dont need to worry about
manually backing up new apps.
Although the advanced options
require root, AppWererabbit is
worthwhile even if you havent rooted
your device, especially since the
automatic backup functionality
works regardless.
Keep
track of
wakelocks
App wakelocks are a double-edged
sword: theyre a battery drain, but
they can also be handy for keeping
the screen awake when youre
watching a movie, or keeping email
apps running in the background.
Wakelocks can be benecial, but
youll want to keep an eye on them
for the sake of your battery lifespan.
The Wakelock Detector app helps
you keep track of wakelocks.
Download and wait a few hours so it
can gather information about how
your apps are working. When you
eventually launch Wakelock Detector,
it displays partial wakelocks by
default, but tapping the Wakelock
Type and Sort By buttons enables
you to drill down into these stats.
Tapping on any app opens up a menu
with additional information, so you
can review exactly how your apps are
using wakelocks.
DriveDroid
Once youve mastered hacking your
device, you may want to start
Hacker Zne
Explore the limits of your Android device
status update
Which devices are best for
the hacking scene?
Tips and tricks
AppWererabbits interface gives you easy
access to all of your apps
Review which apps are holding battery-
sapping wakelocks
quickhacks
Intelligent Ringer monitors noise
levels and adjusts the ringtone
volume accordingly, saving you
the embarrassment of ringtones
in quiet cafes, and ensuring you
never miss a call because your
phone is tucked away.
Automatically
adjust ring
volume
Download Intelligent Ringer
from Google Play, open the app and
tap Start. The app begins monitoring
surrounding noise levels. Tap
Menu>Settings to modify Intelligent
Ringers default setup.
1
Some important options are
the sliding Sensitivity scale, which
changes Intelligent Ringers
sensitivity to surrounding noise
levels, and the boundaries for
minimum and maximum volume.
2
Pocket mode is additional
volume thats added when
Intelligent Ringer detects your
device is in your pocket or bag.
Once youve set the additional
volume, scroll down and activate.
3
Launch the app Set your limits Pocket mode
Nexus 4
Rooted? Yes
Active Development:
Yes
At such a low price the
Nexus 4 is set to
become one of the
must-have devices for
developers. Great
news for the rest of us!
HTC One
Rooted? Yes
Active Development:
Medium
Most of the usual
suspects are present
and correct. Hopefully
there will be more
unique tweaks and
mods still to come.
Sony Xperia Z
Rooted? Yes
Active Development:
Low
Minimal ROMs or mods
for the Z so far, but
bloat-free ROMs are
available. Remember
you will need to unlock
the bootloader rst
as well.
Samsung
Galaxy S4
Rooted? Yes
Active Development:
Medium
You can expect this
new device to be
adopt by devs just a
widely as its
predecessor the
Galaxy S III was.
058-059_AND_025.indd 58 29/04/2013 17:51
for even more tips & tricks
59
H
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Z
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Boost your
sound with
Awesome
BEATS
The sound quality of mobile devices
isnt always great, which can be
particularly painful for music lovers.
AwesomeBEATS is an app that
boosts sound quality, in a similar way
to CyanogenMods DSP Manager.
The installation is trickier than most
apps, but this is understandable
considering the range of ROMs
supported in a single package.
To install, download the
AwesomeBEATS zip (http://forum.
xda-developers.com/showthread.
php?t=1728391) to your device. Boot
into Recovery and install the zip,
which launches an installation
screen. When prompted, select a
version thats compatible with your
ROM and reboot. Youll need the
MUSICFX to launch the
AwesomeBEATS control panel. You
can modify all of your sound settings
from this screen.
Root your
AT&T
Samsung
Galaxy S III
The CASUAL rooting tool now has
support for rooting the AT&T
Samsung Galaxy S III. To root this
device using CASUAL, download the
program onto your PC by visiting
http://forum.xda-developers.com/
showthread.php?t=2189536. Once
the jar le has nished downloading,
check your version of Java is up to
date by visiting http://www.java.
com/en/download/installed.
jsp?detect=jre&try=1. If it isnt, youll
need to update before you can
launch CASUAL.
Once youre ready to root, enable
USB Debugging and attach your
Samsung to the PC. If your device
isnt recognised, try another USB
port. Then, simply press Do It and
follow any instructions that appear
onscreen to root your AT&T Samsung
Galaxy S III.
modifying your PC. Linux is an open
source computer operating system
available in many different avours,
called distributions. Each
distribution has a unique
combination of the Linux kernel,
tools and apps, and is accessed via
an image le which is used to create
a bootable CD or USB drive.
DriveDroid helps by turning your
Android device into a bootable USB
drive for trying new Linux
distributions on your PC. Download
the app, ensure USB mass storage is
enabled and attach your device to
the PC. DriveDroid comes with a
built-in Linux store, enabling you to
download distributions from inside
the app. Tap the + in the corner of
the screen and select Download
Image to browse the available
distributions. Alternatively, create a
blank image by tapping the + and
selecting Create blank image.
Name your image and specify its
size, and itll appear as an empty USB
drive on your PC.
Once youve got an image le,
select it in DroidDrive and your phone
will host it. Restart your PC and the
image le will boot on your computer.
Access a range of Linux distributions from
inside the DriveDroid app
CASUAL is an easy-to-use, one-click
rooting solution
Share your tips
Discovered a great hack or
tweak? Let us know!
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
send us your comments
email
Is there anything youd like to see us
cover in the mag? Drop us a line!
Make sure you select the correct version for
your current ROM
OS
Short for operating system. Often the
Android ROM will be referred to as the
OS this just means the system les
on the Android device that make up
your user experience, similar to
Windows, Mac OS X or Ubuntu on a
desktop computer.
ROM
Stands for read-only memory. In the
context of Android, the ROM refers to
the les that make up the operating
system installed on your device.
Gaining root privileges allows for
replacement of the standard ROM
with a custom one.
Root
Rooting your phone gives apps access
to parts of the OS that are normally
hidden from consumers. This enables
you to run more powerful software and
install custom ROMs on your phone.
ROM Manager
An app available from the Android
Market that enables you to install
a whole new version of your OS with
a single click. It requires a rooted
phone to use and is ideal for those
new on the scene.
Titanium Backup
This app from the Market enables you
to back up everything on your phone
apps, data, settings and all. It means
that you can restore your phone to how
it was, even after youve updated or
changed the ROM.
Unrevoked
Available from www.unrevoked.com,
this is a one-click tool that can be
used for rooting many popular
HTC smartphones.
ADB
Stands for Android Debug Bridge. ADB
is mainly used for software
development, but it also has some
uses for hacking your phone. It can be
used to push les onto the system
folder, for instance.
Nandroid
You might come across the phrase
perform a Nandroid backup. This
means using a custom recovery tool
to make a back-up image of everything
currently on your phone: OS, apps,
data, etc. Its very useful should you
wish to restore your phone to its
previous state later.
Radio
Radio refers to the software on your
Android device that deals with making
phone calls and data connections.
Updating your radio version can bring
better battery life and signal strength
to your device. Some ROMs require the
latest radio.
Flash
The storage in your device comprises
ash memory, a type of solid-state
storage. The terms ash or ashing
mean installing new software onto your
devices storage.
Get up to speed on all the
terms you need to know
when hacking your phone
Hacking the easy way Get great new features without getting your hands (too) dirty
Remote Turn Off
Free
From: XDA Developers: http://forum.
xda-developers.com/showthread.
php?t=2207126
Need root? Yes
Turn off your
Android device
remotely by sending
it an SMS message.
Handy if you have a
tendency to leave it
at the ofce
C Shaker
Free
From: Google Play
Need root? No
Perform tasks such as
launching apps or
turning on Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth connections,
by shaking your device.
Shake-sensitivity can
be scaled, if youre
worried about
damaging your phone.
FolderMount
Free
From: Google Play
Need root? Yes
Enables you to take
folders of application
data and mount them
to your SD storage
card, freeing up
precious internal
memory. FolderMount
can also link folders to
a USB drive.
Jargon
Buster
latest versions of BusyBox and
Terminal Emulator at this point, but
both are available for free from the
Play store. Open Terminal Emulator
and type the following, hitting the
enter key after each word:
su
awesome
reboot
Once your device has rebooted, open
Settings and select Sounds. Tap
058-059_AND_025.indd 59 29/04/2013 17:51
Hacker Zne
60
ESSENTIAL
HACKS
THAT YOU MUST TRY TODAY!
Amazing practical hacks that will help you get the most from your phone or tablet
D
o you root your Android device as soon as it comes out of the box? Do
you chop and change ROMs on a weekly basis, just because you can?
Then chances are youre ready for a project a bit more ambitious. Over
the next ten pages well guide you through some of the ways you can put
your enthusiasm for all things hacking to productive use from running
Android apps on your laptop to setting your tablet up as a fully functioning
computer. Well even show you some of the things you can do with that old
Android phone going sat unused in your drawer. You dont need to be an
expert, of course. While some of the projects here do require you to at least
be familiar with the ins and outs of ashing ROMs and using a custom
Recovery see our guide in issue 16 for a comprehensive introduction and
also to have a device that is already rooted (and with an unlocked bootloader
if needed too), weve also thrown in a few ideas that you can take on without
any real knowledge of the more technical side of things. Hopefully the
projects here will also give you inspiration to go even further with your hacks
and tweaks, and truly unlock the potential of your Android device.
Double your battery life
Increase your RAM
Add extra storage
Automate common tasks
Speed up Wi-Fi
Improve your camera
Save large games to SD card
Share saved game data between devices
Back up and restore apps
Remap your hardware buttons
Hacker Zne
Explore the limits of your Android device
Discover how to:
10
060-069_AND_025.indd 60 30/04/2013 09:12
61
H
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Z
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Share your saved
games across devices
Want to play the same game on two different devices? DataSync is the answer
I
f you own more than one Android device theres a good chance that you
have installed some of the same apps on them. While this is ne for most
things, it can be a major source of frustration when it comes to games. You
reach a certain level on your phone, but when you pick up to play on your
tablet you have to start right back at the beginning.
What you need is to be able to share your progress between your devices.
By syncing progress from one Android to another or even by saving your
progress to the cloud, you can introduce cross-device continuity into your
gaming world. This might prove useful for a game with levels that require a
particular amount of control, or if you simply want to get a better
appreciation of the graphics.
All of this (and quite a bit more) can be achieved using DataSync, a free
application from Google Play that requires two or more rooted Android
devices for successful use.
Whether you plan to sync via Bluetooth,
the cloud or your local network, other Android
devices must also have DataSync installed. A sync
can be completed by tapping the sync button on
the other device soon youll be seamlessly
picking up where you left off.
Using your synced app
6
DataSync can sync your mobile game or
app data to Dropbox or Box cloud storage
accounts. Youll nd the option to use this paid
feature in the Settings menu, and naturally you will
need to input your username and password for
your preferred cloud service.
Prepare your account
2
As apps are added to your queue, youll notice the
total increase at the foot of the screen. When
youre done, click the save icon and name the
queue, then tap the sync button to sync with
another device, cloud storage or a local backup.
Save your queue
and sync
5
If you are planning to sync your app, game or data
with another device, use the networking section of
the Settings menu, where you will see options to
add a device and specify a server port (although
the default 4444 option should be okay).
Syncing to another
Android device
3
With your method of syncing established, it
is time to choose the app or apps that you want to
sync between your devices. All you need to do is
return to the main screen of the app and in the
Applications tab scroll through the list, tapping the
apps you want to sync.
Time to sync
4
Works with Android 2.1 and later Difculty Intermediate
Available free from Google Play, DataSync will need
Superuser (root) permissions assigning upon rst
run. Once this is done, you will be presented with
the Queues view. For now, ignore this and instead
swipe left to view the applications you can sync.
Install & grant
Superuser permission
1
060-069_AND_025.indd 61 30/04/2013 09:12
B
attery life continues to be one of the biggest concerns for Android users.
There are many simple ways you can improve on it reducing your screen
brightness, reducing the number of apps syncing in the background, even
switching off 3G or 4G when in areas of limited coverage. Your experiences with
any or all of these methods may vary.
Yet there is one technique you can use that is guaranteed to work every
time: undervolting. This hack reduces the voltage the processor uses, and can
be set at different levels for different clock speeds. Thus, if you want to try
and minimise battery usage when your phone or tablet is in standby mode
you can focus your undervolting efforts on the slowest clock speeds, or if
youre a power user you might tweak the voltages at the higher clock speeds
to try and eke out a little extra performance under more intensive tasks.
Undervolting is a relatively safe process, although if you set
the voltages too low your device may become unstable or
even crash altogether, so you should take small steps
to begin with. Its also worth bearing in mind that
it only affects the processor, and the greatest
battery drain the screen will remain as
power hungry as ever. Ideally undervolting
should be used as part of a wider
series of tweaks to squeeze out as
much power as you possibly can
from your devices battery.
Get much
longer
battery life
By undervolting your battery you can considerably
increase the time you need between charges
Works with All rooted Android devices Difculty Advanced
This hack reduces the voltage
the processor uses, and can be
set at different levels
Hacker Zne
62
060-069_AND_025.indd 62 29/04/2013 17:52
What you
need
Before you begin you
need to root your
device and perform a
Nandroid backup. You
will also need a
custom kernel that
supports
undervolting.
Were using
Francos kernel
with the franco.
Kernel updater app.
1
Before you begin you must perform a Nandroid backup
on your device. As with most hacking topics this is an
essential way to enable you to restore your device
should anything go wrong.
If your device becomes unstable or unresponsive due
to selecting a too-low voltage, hold down the power
button or pull the battery in order to reset it. If you set
the voltages so low that your device will not boot at all
then you will need to restore a Nandroid backup or
reash the kernel in order to return to the default values.
Safety first
Flash the
kernel
Having installed the app,
open it and ash the
latest version of the
kernel. Go to franco.
Kernel updater and
select Download latest
stable kernel, then
choose the option to
ash it and reboot your
device. The entire
process takes less than
a minute.
Tweak the
voltage
Re-open the app and
select Frequencies/
Voltages followed by
Voltages from the list.
Hitting the -25 mV option
reduces voltages by a
small amount, and is a
good starting point. You
can also tap a frequency
and input your own
number. Remember
take small steps.
Save and
reboot
Tick the Set voltages on
boot box to ensure your
settings are applied. Exit
the app and reboot.
When it restarts it should
be using the new lower
voltages that you have
set. You probably wont
notice any difference,
but you can check in the
franco app to make sure
the settings are in use.
2 4 3
Adjust the
voltage
The principle of using this
app is the same as with
the Franco one. Swipe to
the Voltages screen and
youll see the different
clock speeds you can
adjust. Select one and
move the slider down to
your required level. The
CPU History gives you an
idea of which speeds are
most used.
Save and
test
As before, save your
changes and ensure they
are applied when you
boot your device, then
reboot. Test a few apps
and use the device
normally for an hour or so
to ensure there are no
problems. You can now
return to the app and
push those voltages
lower if you wish.
Over-
volting
Finally, if youre a
particularly hardcore
user you might want to
go the other way and
overvolt. This supplies
more power to the CPU,
and could be used in
conjunction with
overclocking. Be warned,
though, this may shorten
the lifespan of the
battery and processor.
8 10 9
Test apps
work
Now test a few apps and
games, and put the
device into standby, to
make sure that it all
seems to be working. Its
a good idea to leave
some time between
tweaks, just to be sure
theyre okay, but once
youre happy with the
changes, go ahead and
experiment further.
Manual
ashing
If you cant use Francos
kernel then you might
need to manually ash
one that works with your
device. Head over to the
forum for your handset at
xda-developers.com to
locate a suitable kernel.
Once found, download
and ash it in the same
way you would ash a
custom ROM.
Voltage
control
With your new kernel
ashed, download the
Voltage Control Extreme
app. This gives you a
range of controls for the
kernel, including over and
underclocking, as well as
access to the voltage
settings. You will need a
compatible device and
kernel, and most popular
ones are supported.
5 7 6
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Works with Android 2.3.3 and later Difculty Intermediate
Automate
common tasks
With MacroDroid
you can program
Android to
complete a whole
range of
everyday tasks
T
hose nighttime emails can prove particularly annoying,
especially at 3am. A common way of avoiding the alerts
is to disable connectivity as you go to bed, but if youve
had a long day or a busy evening, you can very easily forget
to do that.
So why not automate the process? Using a tool such
as MacroDroid (Google Play, from free) you can program
Android to behave in particular ways based on time,
location and other criteria. Creating a trigger and an
action is simple, and by adding constraints to the macro
program you can, for example, make a call at a particular
time of day or answer calls automatically.
MacroDroid can also be used to disable Wi-Fi
connectivity and mobile data at a particular time and then
reactivate it later on such as when you go to bed and
when you intend to wake up.
Creating a macro to do this is straightforward, and a
good way of exploring the potential of this app. It might
just give you a good nights sleep, too! Follow the eight
steps across these pages to get started.
Conrm your constraint and tap the right
arrow to give the macro an appropriate name and
save it. Make sure the name you assign is
descriptive, as you might end up with quite a few
macros that you will need to quickly identify, so
keep it memorable.
Save and name
5
Youll nd MacroDroid available in the Play
store, where it is listed as a free app. After
installation, launch the app and select Add Macro
to begin. Note that you can nd details about
triggers, actions and constraints by long-pressing
the corresponding item.
Add a new macro
1
Your macro isnt quite ready yet you need
to add a constraint which will limit the action weve
already set so that it only works under certain
conditions. Set a Time of day duration from the
point you wish to disable wireless, ending one
minute before the trigger time set earlier.
Limit macro behaviour
4
For this tutorial were creating a macro that
will disable and enable Wi-Fi at particular times of
the day. To start with, we need to select our
trigger, in this case the Day/Time Trigger option.
Select, and set the time with which to trigger the
macro using the intuitive selection boxes.
Select your trigger
2
A trigger requires an action, so browse
through the list for Enable/Disable Wi. The Enable
Wi option should be chosen here, putting you half
way towards your smartphone connecting to your
local wireless network each morning. To nish, you
need to add a constraint.
Adding an action
3
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Works with Android 1.5 and later Difculty Easy
A saved macro can be found in the List
Macros screen, where the trigger, action and
constraint will be neatly summarised along with a
toggle to simply switch the macro on and off. Also
be aware of the pen icon, for editing, and the trash
can for deleting.
Review and edit
6
Additional triggers, actions and constraints
can be unlocked in MacroDroid via the
Settings>Enable Root Features checkbox, while
the Template Macros screen lists several
pre-installed macros that you can use as they are,
or as a starting point for your own.
Find more triggers
7
The free version of MacroDroid is limited to
just three macros. If you foresee this application
proving particularly useful, the upgrade button
enables you to remove this block and enjoy
unlimited macros, as well as the ability to import
and export macro lists.
Beat the limit
8
Increase
your RAM
Youll nd Startup Manager in the Play store
(choose between the free ad-supported and
paid versions). After installation you will need to
assign Superuser/root privileges to the app,
something that is only possible if you have
rooted your handset.
Install Startup Manager,
assign permissions
1
Upon launching, Startup Manager will scan
Android to check for apps that are congured to
open at startup. There are three views: User,
System and Customize. Use the Disable All
button in the User view to instantly block apps
from opening automatically.
Manage your
startup items
2
Each item listed is accompanied by a
blue circle with a minus symbol by tapping this
you disable the app in question, preventing it
from being launched when you start Android.
Mistakes can be undone by tapping the grey +
symbol that appears instead.
Disabling startup items
3
The Customize view is probably the most
important. Using the Add Startup Items button
you can select apps that will load when your
phone boots. As a nal check, activate the third
option in the Settings screen to see which
items couldnt be disabled.
Customise startup apps
4
Is your Android running out of precious memory? By
blocking applications from automatically launching
you can keep vital resources available for the apps you
really need
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Save large
files to an
external
card
Save space by forcing apps to store
data on your SD card
D
espite your phone shipping with 16 or even 32GB of internal storage,
you might have noticed this total slowly ebbing away, chipped at with
every app you install from the Google Play store.
One common reason for this is that associated data things such as
podcasts or large games (typically the ones that appear to install quickly
before announcing that they need to download more data) takes up space
on your internal SD card. A solution to this might be to move some of your
standard, small data les photos, music etc to your external SD card.
This can be ddly and inconvenient, however, but there is a better
solution in the shape of FolderMount, a root application that enables you to
automatically store games, podcasts, navigation software les and so much
more on your external SD card.
FolderMount, a free download, works by enabling you to pair folders,
tricking the Android OS into thinking that the data le is on the internal
storage rather than the external SD card. The end result is a smartphone or
tablet with improved performance. Heres how it works.
After installing FolderMount
from the Google Play store
and assigning Superuser
permissions as required on
the rst run, tap the +
symbol to add a new folder
pair. Folder pairs are synced
to fool Android into allowing
app data storage on an
external SD card.
Understand
folder pairs
1
Although data might appear
in both the source and
destination locations, it is in
fact only present in one
place. You can check this by
unpinning the paired folders.
Use the Settings screen to
ensure that your paired
folders are mounted when
you boot Android.
Data is not
duplicated
5
When a new folder pair is
added by a user, FolderMount
will offer to move the data.
Tap the Yes command to
agree and wait patiently for a
moment. Once the data is
moved to the external
storage location, tap on the
pin icon, which should turn
green instantly.
Edit a saved
folder pair
4
One of the most common
uses for FolderMount is to
move space-hogging video
les to your external storage
card. A drawback of this,
however, is that you might
end up with duplicates in your
phone gallery. Use the
Exclude from media scan
option to avoid this.
Exclude
media les
3
Assign an appropriate name
and then select the Source
folder the location on your
Android phone where the app
or data you wish to move
currently resides. Tap the tick
symbol to conrm the
request, and repeat the
process for Destination,
adding a folder if necessary.
Congure
folder pairs
2
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Improve Nexus camera quality
The Nexus 7 comes with a very basic front-facing camera, but you can upgrade its video to 720p with a simple hack
Youll now see your drive listed most le
systems are supported including those used on
Windows and Mac. Tap the drive to view les then
simply access the les as you would normally.
They will open in their associated app.
Access your les
2
When youre nished you must remember
to unmount the drive to prevent any errors
occurring if you unplug it while it is still in use.
Return to USB OTG Helper and tap the Unmount
button. You can now safely unplug your drive.
and unmount
3
Head over to the Play store to download
USB OTG Helper. Plug a USB drive into a micro USB
adapter and attach it to your phone. The app
should launch automatically and detect the drive.
Tap the Mount button to access the drive.
Mount a drive
1
A
s our phones get faster and their screens get bigger they are
becoming more and more useful for consuming content. But
HD movies are enormous les and you wont t many into the
typical storage allowance on most phones. But if your device has USB
On-The-Go support you can easily add temporary storage to your
device, onto which you can store full-length movies or a larger music
collection. You could access documents brought with you from your
work computer, or if you add a memory card adapter you could even
remove the card from your camera and instantly view, edit and share
the photos as soon as you take them. Using the USB OTG Helper app
on a rooted device the entire process can become completely
seamless too.
Increase
your storage
Seamlessly add a USB ash drive to your device
and make extra room for a multitude of media
Works with Any device with USB OTG Difculty Easy
Works with Nexus 7 Difculty Intermediate
The Nexus 7 doesnt provide
access to the camera at all, by
default. The camera app is installed
but the app icon is missing. Head to
the Play store and download Camera
Launcher to add that icon.
Mount a drive
1
In order to add support for
720p video you must ash the le
located in this thread: http://bit.
ly/10VCZeQ. Your device must be
unlocked and rooted and you should
ash the le like a custom ROM.
Flash the mod
2
An app such as ROM Manager
is the easiest way to ash a zip le, if
youre unsure on how to do it
manually. It should only take a few
seconds to complete, and once it is
done, restart your Nexus.
Restart the device
3
Now launch the camera app
and switch into video mode and you
will nd you can now shoot in HD. With
the software limitation on quality
removed, your video calls on Skype
should also be improved.
Get shooting
4
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Boost your
Wi-Fi signal
Dont feel limited by your current
wireless networking speed use a
Wi-Fi boosting app to make sure
youre always connected to the
fastest available signal
One downside of wireless booster apps
is the impact on your devices battery.
Wi-Fi boosters require additional power to
increase wireless speed, so dont use one if
your battery is low.
3
The app features a very simple UI,
enabling fast wireless signal
optimisation at the tap of a button.
Optimisation occurs in the background you
dont have to do a thing!
2
A popular way to deal with weak wireless
signals is to install the free Wi Booster
2013 app from Google Play. Note that this is
an ad-supported app.
1
Works with Android 1.6 and later
Difculty Easy
Works with Android 1.6 and later Difculty Easy
Remap your
buttons
Use Other key settings to nd the long
press option for your phones camera button, and
tap the Choose Application button to nd the app
you wish to use. Click OK to conrm, then Back
and Close. You can now try your remapped
hardware button.
Set new actions
4
After installation you will want to run
Home2 Shortcut and start conguring Androids
hardware buttons. However, due to the nature of
the app and its ability in reassigning key mappings,
the Complete action using box will be displayed.
Avoid tapping the Always option!
Home2 Shortcut
1
Even if you dont want to congure the
Home button, you still need to select your
preferred home application. With this set, you
shouldnt have any problems returning to the
home screen, so you can turn your attention to the
key you wish to remap.
Home application
3
Get started by tapping Choose Application
to assign an app to a double-tap of the Home
button. Continue by conguring the double-tap
speed, which features several options, from Very
very short to Very long. This can be changed after
mapping the hardware key.
Get started
2
H
ow many of your Android devices hardware buttons do you use? You might, for instance, never use
the camera, thereby inadvertently creating a redundant button. But it doesnt have to be this way
you can congure your Android camera button (or any others) to behave in a particular way,
launching specic apps that can make life easier.
This is made possible with an app such as Home2 Shortcut, with which you can recongure the
Home, Search, Menu, Back and Camera buttons on your phone or tablet in order to quickly launch your
favourite apps without browsing menus.
Improve your mobile efciency by remapping hardware
buttons to launch favourite apps
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Back up and
restore your apps
Avoid factory reset blues by restoring backed up software in minutes
W
hether youre resetting your phone to factory settings
in order to overcome a problem or youre updating
Android, losing your apps can prove a bit of a
nightmare. Sure, you might use Google Play to get your apps
back, but installation this way is slow, with software only
available to be reinstalled one at a time. So what other solutions
are there? ES File Explorer is popular, but perhaps the ultimate
backup/restore app for Android is Titanium Backup, a tool that
can easily and quickly back up and restore apps from a folder
on your SD card or elsewhere.
With Titanium Backup you can do so much more than
back up apps, with messages, calls, bookmarks and Wi-Fi
access points among the options.
There is a caveat, however in order to use Titanium
Backup, your Android device must rst be rooted. This is a
small price to pay for such exibility though.
In the Batch screen, scroll down to the
Restore section and use the appropriate option to
restore your backup. Titanium offers more than
just backups, and you will notice many options
here, including delete tools and even moving
downloaded apps to the SD card.
Restoring apps
6
Upon rst launch you will need to make a couple of
checks. First, ensure that you are happy with the
listed backup directory you can change it in the
Preferences menu. Also check that your Android
storage is sufcient to run a backup.
Check storage in
Titanium Backup
2
Backing up your apps in bulk is easily done
by tapping Run, conrming the selection and
tapping the green tick to nish. Depending on the
number of apps, this might take a while to nish.
App backups are stored in the location you
checked earlier.
Setting backup options
5
Via the Backup/Restore screen, view the
list of the apps that will be backed up. To back up
an app, tap it and select Backup! from the
sub-menu. Closer inspection will reveal the
Restore option. Tap this to restore the app from its
backed up state.
Prepare to back up
3
Scrolling through the list and backing up
applications one at a time might prove heavy
going, of course, which is why Titanium Backup
offers a batch option, available via the icon in the
top-right corner. Use this to back up apps, system
data, or both.
Back up apps in batches
4
After installing this free app from Google
Play, you should see notices to alter your system
conguration. You can save time with this
beforehand, however open Settings>
Applications and check the Unknown sources box,
then Developer options and check USB Debugging.
Congure your phone
1
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72
Apps
30 most innovative apps
Ground-breaking software that will change the way you use your Android device
T
here are thousands of apps on the Play store that are worth your attention. So many in fact that it can get a bit daunting choosing which ones
deserve some of the space on your Android device. But dont worry, because thats where we come in. Some apps make your Android device
look nice, others alter some of the tasks it can perform, but there are a rare few which actually revolutionise the way you use your phone or
tablet. Here then are the 30 most innovative Android apps, along with the reasons why you should have them on your phone.
072-076_AND_025.indd 72 30/04/2013 09:09
73
Apps
Field Trip
Price: Free
Uses your location to keep you
up to date with deals, facts
and interesting places around
you. Perfect for ensuring you
get the most out of the cities you visit.
Popup Widgets
Price: 0.99/$1.52
Shrink your widgets to save more space
on your home screens
Widgets are great. Not only do they let you customise your
home screens, they give you quick access to the apps and
information you need. The problem is, they can take up a
lot of space. Some people dont mind that, but if you
prefer your home screens to be sleek and organised,
Popup Widget is the app for you. This neat little app lets
you create app icon-sized shortcuts that, when tapped,
bring up a widget. You can arrange them just like youd
arrange your apps, and when you access a widget it
pops up in front of your homescreen, letting you
access its features without having to nd
somewhere to put it that doesnt spoil
the look of your phone or tablet. You can
even change the size of the widget
when it pops up, play around with the
ensuing animation and alter the
settings so the widget disappears
when you swipe away. Widgets
give you the freedom to have a
home screen that suits you,
and Popup Widget
extends that
freedom with a
neat, stylish UI.
AutomateIt Pro
Price: 1.00/$1.60
Using simple strings of if/and
code you can use this app to
make your phone work for you,
including turning on your
music player when you insert your
headphones, for example.
iOnRoad Augmented
Driving Pro
Price: 2.99/$4.99
Mount your Android device to
your windscreen and this app
warns you of upcoming
dangers. Youll need to watch
the road, but its a clever use of your
devices camera.
CamScanner
Price: Free
Scan a document on your
phone and this app will
automatically change it into a
PDF, saving you a lot of hassle
with scanners, wires, and emailing things
to yourself.
Swapps!
Price: Free
A swipe from the left-side of
the screen instantly brings up
a list of all the apps youve got
installed, whatever app youre
in or home screen youre on.
Notif Pro
Price:
0.61/$0.99
Add reminders to your
notications bar
Notif lets you leave yourself
messages and reminders in the
notications bar of your device. Got
some things you need to pick up
from the
shop? Leave
yourself a
list in the
bar. A nice
looking app
with huge
potential, no
forgetful
Android user
should leave
home
without it.
Skyvi (Siri for
Android)
Price: Free
A viable alternative to Apples
Siri AI engine
Siri has been hanging around on
Apple devices for a while now, but
there are plenty of options available
to Android users who want their
own digital
assistant.
Skyvi is one
of the best
around, and
lets you
send texts,
search the
internet,
and even
have a chat
with your
phone.
Awesome
Drop
Price: Free
Drag and drop in a web
browser to sync les
Theres something so simple about
Awesome Drop that it almost
beggars belief. Point your PCs
HTML5-enabled web browser to a
URL, type the code you nd there
on your phone
and you can
simply drag
and drop les
to your browser
and sync them
with your
phone. Its that
easy and an
app we think
can be of great
use of you.
Choosing
your
widgets
Once youve
brought up the app
and tapped to
create a new
widget youre given
a long, detailed list
of all the different
widgets youve got
installed on your
Android device.
Popup Widgets in action
Changing
a widgets
size
When you have
selected the
widget you want to
make a shortcut
for, you can set the
size the widget will
be when it pops up
with just a few
swipes. Its a very
intuitive process.
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74
Apps
GO TouchHelper
Price: Free
A gorgeous app that gives you quick access to
the most often-used parts of your device
If youre not sure about switching to a different launcher app, GO
TouchHelper offers the perfect solution. Essentially its an app that
collates the most important parts of your Android experience into one
easy-to-understand screen. Youll see the people you contact most
frequently, the last text message you received, the time, your alarms,
and a host of other useful and pertinent information. There are
themes you can download to change the look of the app too, although
the default setting is probably one of the nicest looking apps weve
seen. GO TouchHelpers strength is that it bypasses a lot of what
goes into customising your Android device. Heres everything you
need presented in one great-looking package. Youve still got the rest
of your phone for your apps and les, but the main stuff youre going
to be using on a regular basis is collected in one handsome and
incredibly easy-to-use application. And if you want you can make it
look like your phone is running the Windows Phone OS. GO
TouchHelper is a great idea, brilliantly implemented, that makes you
think about the different ways you use your Android device. And it
looks great too.
Filter
Price: Free
Dim your screen far more than
the native settings allow
Staring at a screen is a
decent way to get a
headache, and while
Android has built-in
brightness controls,
sometimes theyre not
enough. Thats where
Screen Filter comes in.
Fine grained controls
let you set your level,
and you can even use
Locale or Tasker to
change brightness.
GMD Gesture Control
Price: 3.53/$5.56
Use multi-touch gestures to
navigate your Android device
There are some things the iPad does out of the box
that your Android device simple doesnt, and chief
among them is multi-touch gestures. But, if your
Android is rooted, you can buy GMD Gesture Control
from the Play store and set up and use custom
swipes to
change
applications,
close what
youre
working on
and an awful
lot more.
Shush!
Price: Free
Turn your ringer back on after a
set time
Shush! is a clever, free
application that lets you
set a time limit for turning
your phone on silent.
Mute your phone and
Shush! will then pop up to
ask you how long you
want it to be quiet. This
essential download
means youll never miss
an important call because
you forgot to put your
ringer on again.
Onavo Extend
Price: Free
Extends your Android data plan
An ingenious app that
could save you money
on your 3G, Onavo
Extend essentially
compresses the
amount of data youre
using, nding some
pretty impressive
savings for you in the
process. If you often
nd yourself going over
your data limit, then you
need to grab this app
right now.
WiFi Mouse Pro
Price: 2.52/$3.86
Turn your Android device into a
wireless mouse and keyboard
It feels pretty old fashioned using a mouse
nowadays, so why not use your Android device
instead. Grab WiFi Mouse from the Play store, then
install a bit of software on your PC and in no time
you can be using your tablet or phone to navigate
through your computer.
The app can act as a remote control as well.
Multi-touch gestures let you switch window
focus and much more.
Swap between right and left-handed mouse
modes with ease.
Lets you use speech to text input quickly
and simply.
Access your
settings from
the bar in the
middle of the
app, changing
things with a
few taps
Your most
regularly used
apps appear in
the home bar, so
its quick and
easy to get
straight to them
072-076_AND_025.indd 74 30/04/2013 09:16
Apps
75
Feedly
Price: Free
A gorgeous RSS reader designed
for Android devices
An RSS reader might
not sound like the
sort of app youd put
on a list concerning
cutting-edge
innovation, but Feedly
is such a unique way
to keep up to date
with your favourite
sites and blogs itd be
wrong not to. Slick,
polished and special,
try this and youll
never go back.
Zooper Widget
Price: 0.99/$1.99
Build your own custom time and weather widget
The Android OS is all about individuality. There are so many
layers of changes you can make to your phone or tablet
that theres no reason two devices should ever look alike.
Zooper Widget embraces that philosophy wholeheartedly,
letting you create your own unique widget using the
parameters of the app. You can choose your font,
positioning, angle and the information that the widget
displays. Best of all, its a widget built with your devices
battery in mind, designed only to use power when you
want it to. Theres a huge amount to customise, and
some great templates to start you off too. Along with a
clock and the weather, you can add your calendar to the
widget and keep up to date with what youre supposed
to be doing. Smart and brilliantly designed, Zooper
Widget manages to capture the Android ethos its
stylish, individual and it just works.
Waze
Price: Free
Community generated trafc alerts
Waze is designed so you
dont have to combat the
long commute to work
alone. Its a social network
for drivers that lets you
add alerts and
recommendations to keep
others abreast of what the
ow of trafc is like. Just
driving with the app open
sends details to the Waze
servers about trafc
speed. A great idea that
can only get better as
more people pick it up.
Sidebar Pro
Price: 1.28/$1.99
Adds a swipeable sidebar to your
Android experience
Sidebar Pro makes the most of the swipeable nature of
touchscreen devices, letting you drag a customisable
bar in from the side of the
screen. You can access
your favourite apps, kill
programs that are running
in the background, and ip
a series of toggles. Clever
and elegant, Sidebar Pro
adds an extra level of
control to your overall
Android experience that
feels like it should always
have been there.
Magnifying Glass
Price: Free
Use your devices camera to
zoom in on things
Magnifying Glass lets
you use the camera on
your Android
smartphone to magnify
text for a much closer
look. A simple user
interface makes
zooming in a piece of
cake and the app uses
the focus modes and
ash of your devices
camera to ensure the
image youre looking at
is crystal clear.
Device Info Ex
Live Wallpaper
Price: 0.72/$1.12
Displays pertinent information
about your Android device
Live wallpaper is cool, but
its rarely useful for
anything other than
showing off. Thats where
Device Info Ex Live
Wallpaper comes in. Using
this app you can use your
wallpaper to display a
mind boggling array of
facts and gures about
your device, from internal
memory usage to CPU
specications.
Google Keep
Price: Free
Keep track of your thoughts,
ideas and plans with this
stylish and easy-to-use
note-taking app from Google
that syncs across all of your desktop and
mobile devices.
Vivino Wine Scanner
Price: Free
Take a photo of the wine
youre drinking and this app
will match it with its database
of over 500,000 tipples,
showing you reviews and tips.
Running Trax
Price: Free
Sick of jogging to the same old
songs? Running Trax updates
weekly with 40 new songs to
keep you running, for a
subscription price of just 4 a month.
Viddy
Price: Free
Instagram for video. Capture a
15-second clip, add one of a
wide range of different and
exciting lters, then upload
them to your social networks and share
with your friends.
Ginator
Price: Free
A brilliant app that lets you
quickly create an animated gif,
then share it with your friends.
Fun to use and surprisingly
addictive, youll be gifng everything.
072-076_AND_025.indd 75 30/04/2013 09:17
76
Apps
Set the
position
Long press on
the Toucher point
to move it around
the screen. When
youre happy with
where it is, just
lift up your nger
and itll stick in
that spot.
Up close with Toucher
Choose
your apps
Choose any of
the apps on your
device to sit in
the favourites
section. Tap on
the one you want
and itll be there
next time you
open the app.
Toucher
Price: Free
Everything you need right at your ngertips
Sometimes its the simplest ideas that you get the most out of. Thats especially
true with Toucher, an app that lets you put a single nger in charge of the most
important aspects of your Android device. Once youve installed the app youll see
a grey circle at the side of your screen tapping that opens up the Toucher
launcher, which gives you access to a variety of different options. You can set up
your favourite apps, for example, and access them at anytime by tapping the
circle, which handily hovers in the corner even when youre in a different app.
Youll also get quick access to a set of toggles that let you play with the basic
settings of your phone, like turning off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth or changing the
brightness. Its great to have constant, quick access to the apps you use the
most, and you can customise them too, if something new enters your app
rotation. Throw in downloadable themes that let you change the way the launcher
looks and youre left with a strikingly simple idea that gives you an extra degree of
control over your Android device, and looks brilliant while its at it.
Emoji Keyboard
Price: Free
Turn your Android keyboard into a hotbed of
signs and symbols
Rooting your Android device
gives you lots more freedom
to play around with the way
things are presented,
swapping out the fonts, for
example, so they display tiny,
cute emoticons. Obviously
youll need some way of
sending these Emoji, and
thats what Emoji Keyboard is
for. With a few taps you can
add a massive array of faces,
symbols and signs. Simple
and fun, Emoji Keyboard lets
you express the gamut of
human emotions, all from the
comfort of your rooted device.
Gesture Launcher
Price: Free
Open apps with a quick
onscreen scribble
If youre sick of searching when
you want to start an app then
Gesture Launcher could
revolutionise your Android use.
You can set different scribbles to
different apps so all you need to
do is open Gesture Launcher,
doodle the right shape on the
screen, and your app will load.
Lock Pattern Generator
Price: Free
Create new lock patterns to protect
your Android device
The lock pattern on your Android device is probably
pretty easy to crack, but this app lets you generate
complex patterns to make sure your phone or tablet
doesnt get any unwanted attention. Fast and simple
to use, this takes one of Googles innovations and
moves it a step further.
Tapping on the
Brightness button
lets you cycle
through four
different settings to
pick the one thats
right for you
If you need to turn
Toucher off, simply go to
the app and hide the
touch point
072-076_AND_025.indd 76 30/04/2013 09:13
We dont keep
secrets
Learn the truth about iPhone, iPad, Android, Photoshop and
more with the Tips & Tricks series expert advice and tutorials
TM
BUY YOUR COPY TODAY
facebook.com/ImagineBookazines twitter.com/Books_Imagine
F1 2013
Timing App
Playmarkers
Scan these QR codes for direct
links to the Google Play Store
Apps
78
A host of information is at your ngertips,
including tyre type and DRS zones
Follow a race with fully interactive 3D maps
Want your money back?
Youve got 15 mins to decide!
refund keep
15min wonder
0-5 minutes The
interactive map is a whole
new experience.
5
10 15
!
5-10 minutes Its
amazing all the data available
at your ngertips.
5
10 15
!
10-15 minutes This is an
app that will change the F1
racing experience forever.
5
10 15
!
Without question, the best
racing app out there today
Performance
Design
Value
specification
Designed for: Phone and tablet
Requires Android: 2.1 and up
Price 19.99/$33.99
verdict
Are you looking for the
full F1 racing
experience? Follow your
favourite driver
wherever you are with the F1 2013
Timing & Track Position app, the only
ofcial F1 Timing app available on the
market. This brilliant app delivers
up-to-the-minute track positions and
data streamed from the track
directly to your Android device.
Whether youre on the go or sitting in
the comfort of your home in front of
the TV, the app delivers live F1 racing
data to your Android device. Once
youve tried this fantastic app youll
never be able to watch Formula One
without it again. F1 Timing works on a
variety of the most popular Android
devices including the Samsung
Galaxy S, HTC Desire, Nexus One,
Motorola Milestone and Sony
Ericsson X10 to name a few.
The F1 Timing app instantly
delivers track positioning and data
stream from the race course to your
smartphone. Follow your favourite
drivers through the interactive 3D
map and watch the race unfold
before your very eyes. The map
includes all sorts of features,
including the ability to focus on a
driver and rotate the map. The F1
Timing App puts you in the drivers
seat like never before. The Live
Leaderboard lets you know whos in
the lead. You can even view pit
stops, so youll be the rst to know
who will cross the nish line rst and
emerge victorious.
Theres plenty of useful data
available at your ngertips just
waiting to be discovered. Not only
can you view an interactive map,
youll even receive live tyre data
feeds to your smartphone. If youre a
data junkie this is a must-have nd
out the exact tyre type and
compound each driver is using at any
point in the race. Not only that, you
can even view the two previous tyre
types used. Depending on the
weather conditions, tyre types can
be a factor in inuencing the results
of the race.
The Live Timing feed delivers a
host of useful data to your Android
device. Receive up-to-the-second
positions, lap times, gaps, sectors
times, circuit data, speeds and race
status. DRS (Drag Reduction System)
Zones, a new addition to F1 in 2011,
have been brought to the app.
Whats a DRS Zone? Theyre a point
in the track where drivers can gain an
aerodynamic advantage to pass
fellow drivers on their way to victory.
These zones are clearly marked on
the track, so youll know if a last
second come-from-behind victory
could be on the cards.
Youll never need to worry about
checking Formula1.com again for the
latest news. Breaking F1 news as it
happens is instantly delivered to your
home screen so youll never miss an
important news story again. You can
tinker the news settings to make
sure your racing experience is
perfect. Our only major complaint is
at 19.99/$33.99 the app is very
pricey. The free version is hardly
worth downloading its just an
advertisement for the paid version.
You can barely do anything.
If youre a serious F1 racing fan
this app is a must-have, but if youre
a casual viewer you might consider
saving your money.
F1 2013 Timing App
Follow the thrills, spills and spins wherever you are in the world
like this? try this!
Livesports24 F1 Racing
View up-to-the-minute leaderboards,
including team, position and best lap results.
UNOFFICIAL LIVE F1 TIMING F1 nuts will appreciate this app, but
its not a patch on the ofcial offering.
best free
alternative
Zoom in on live
maps and watch
the race unfold in
front of your eyes
078-079_AND_025.indd 78 29/04/2013 16:56
Rethink
Must-Have
Recipes
WiFi Signal
Booster Burn Note
79
Rethink
Tasks done the new way
Smartphones were
supposed to make our
lives a lot simpler, not
more hectic. Feeling
overwhelmed with all the apps you
have to check and the tasks you
have to remember on a daily basis?
Take control of your smartphone
and your life with Rethink. Rethink
is a revolutionary way to keep track
of all your daily tasks in your busy life.
This isnt your typical run-of-the-mill
task manager app Rethink takes
task management a step further by
allowing you to create context-
sensitive task reminders. Youre no
longer bound simply by time you
can create tasks that are triggered
by events in your daily routine, so you
can concentrate on the important
things in life and not have to worrying
about picking up bread and milk at
the supermarket.
Rethink offers the perfect balance
between simple, yet effective, in one
powerful app. Setting up task
reminders is quick and easy. You can
set up task triggers when you arrive
at a specic location, contact friends
and family, connect to a Wi-Fi
network or at a specic time of the
day. For example, if you need to buy
some stamps from the post ofce
you can create a reminder next time
youre driving by so youll remember
to stop in. Do you ever nish a
conversation with a friend and only
seconds later realise you forgot to
mention an important detail? Create
a reminder next time your friend calls
or sends an SMS message so you
wont forget.
This is only the beginning of how
Rethink can make your life a whole
lot easier. There are a host of extra
features including the ability to
trigger multiple tasks, synchronise
tasks with your default calendar, and
colour code tasks for easy
management. Never feel
overwhelmed again with Rethink, the
application that promises to change
your life.
Tasks To Do
Let this application make you
super-organised and efcient.
Whether youre a master chef or youre looking at improving your
cooking skills, the Must-Have Recipes from BHG app has something
for everyone. Better Homes and Gardens delivers its top recipes,
cooking tips and advice in this cracking app for free. With over 500 recipes to try,
youll be a world-class chef in no time. Recipes include mouth-watering full
courses, main dishes, salads, side dishes
and even grilling favourites.
This isnt your garden variety cookbook
app each recipe includes full colour
photos of the nished dishes. If you arent
as handy around the kitchen as youd
hope, there are 75 how-to videos that will
teach you the ropes and make cooking
seem easy. Do you want to spice up a
certain recipe? Add special notes to any
recipe to add your taste of avour. If 500
recipes isnt enough, you can purchase
additional recipes in batches of 100.
Price Free
Designed for Phone and tablet
Requires Android 2.3.3 and up
Must-Have Recipes
Cooking has never been this easy
BETTY CROCKER MOBILE COOKBOOK Each recipe includes a
list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions to follow.
like this?
try this!
WiFi Signal
Booster
A free wireless signal boost
Theres nothing worse than
a weak Wi-Fi signal. When
youre downloading
content on your phone the last thing
you want to be worried about is your
network signal. Weak network
signals are a thing of the past with
WiFi Signal Booster. This app is easy
to use, yet powerful. Simply connect
to a Wi-Fi network, press WiFi Boost
and youll have a
strong Wi-Fi signal
in seconds. How
does this work? It
simply refreshes
your Wi-Fi signal so
youll always have
the strongest
connection.
Price Free
Requires Android 1.6 and up
Burn Note
Protect your private
conversations
Price Free
Designed for Phone/tablet
Burn Note brings the
security of the BlackBerry
to your Android device. The
classic this message will self-
destruct line from the classic spy
comedy Get Smart is the best way to
describe this useful app. Burn Note
is a secure way to send messages
and keep them private. Each
message sent is deleted instantly
without a trace. Once the receiver
downloads the message the clock
starts ticking. Once
time is up the
message is
deleted. Messages
can be sent to
fellow users, email
recipients and links
to use anywhere.
Take your mind off daily
tasks and let Rethink take
care of the rest
specification
verdict
Price 1.35/$1.99
ANY.DO The simplicity in this apps design means it wont get in
the way of any of the tasks you actually need to do.
best free
alternative
EDITORS
CHOICE
078-079_AND_025.indd 79 29/04/2013 16:56
Photo
Effects Pro
Playmarkers
links to the Google Play Store Uber
Opera
Browser
Beta
Apps
80
Lets face it, there are a slew of photo editing apps already available
on the market. What sets this one apart from the pack? Not only is
Photo Effects Pro free, it has a host of easy-to-use effects at your
disposal. With over 50 free space effects, youll transform your photos from
average to amazing in seconds. These
unique effects include Pencil Sketch,
rounded corners, Tint image, shaded
image and many more. The app includes
all the basic abilities youd expect like
cropping, rotating and adjusting contrast,
plus you can dress up your photos with
unique frames.
You watch the effects transform your
photos and then, best of all, you can
instantly share them with the world via
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, or
dress up your phones home screen by
using them as wallpaper.
Price Free
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP EXPRESS Super-powerful, market-leading
portable software from Adobe.
like this?
try this!
Photo Effects Pro
Dress up your photos with unique effects in seconds
Why hail a cab the old fashioned way when you dont need to? Limos
have nally moved into the 21st Century with the introduction of Uber.
Touted as everyones private drive, Uber lets you request a private car
all from your Android device. Youll never
whistle for a cab again.
Not only can you request a cab, the
driver will know your exact location. Paying
for your ride couldnt be easier the fare is
charged directly to your credit card and
youll even receive an electronic receipt
in-app and via email. Uber is only available
in a select few major cities across the
world, including New York, San Francisco
and Toronto, but the service is quickly
expanding. The only downside about the
app is the GPS can be nicky it could
take the driver a couple minutes to gure
out your exact location.
Price Free
Designed for Phone
Uber
Hail a limo straight from your smartphone
GETTAXI TAXI CAB APP Simplifying the booking process even
further, so you never have to leave the app.
like this?
try this!
Opera
browser
beta
Operas new rendering puts it back
among the web giants
Opera browser beta is a rst look at the future of the Opera
Mobile web browser. Its a major change for the software, moving
to the WebKit rendering engine for the rst time, putting it
alongside the likes of Chrome in terms of its speed, accuracy and
functionality. For existing users of Opera Mobile this move takes some
getting used to. The entire UI of the app has been redesigned, with some
of the elements that made Opera Mobile so successful in the past being
reworked theres a nice tab switching feature, for instance, while the
Speed Dial page now also includes additional panes for your browsing
history, as well as a Flipboard-style highlights screen.
It is fast, and for the most part creates the pages as you would
expect, although like with Chrome you will occasionally see fonts
being displayed at different sizes where you would expect them to
be the same. As a beta app, Opera Browser is still very much a work
in progress, with features like the bookmark-syncing service Opera
Link yet to be fully implemented (at the time of writing). However, it
is fast and stable enough to use as your main browser, and with
improvements delivered regularly, gets better all the time.
Get to know the Opera browser
If youre a fan of Opera browser on your PC, youre
going to love bringing this powerful, yet simple
browser to your Android device
Discover
Get the news relevant to
you delivered directly to
your browser. The unique
Discover features send
recommendations for
news, entertainment and
other popular content
tailored to your likes.
Speed Dial
Operas unique Speed Dial
feature saves you time by
displaying your favourites,
bookmarks and saved web
pages for your pleasure.
Customise by adding
folders or reorganising
with a nger swipe.
Off-Road
Suffering from a slow Wi-Fi
connection? Looking for a
much-needed speed
boost? Select Off-Road
mode to save your
precious data and browse
the internet at
lightning-fast speeds.
080-081_AND_025.indd 80 29/04/2013 16:57
Qustodio
Parental
Controls
81
Protect your child by blocking access to apps
they shouldnt be using
Qustodio
Parental
Controls
The best app for protecting your child
Do you share your
smartphone with your
children or teenager? If
so, parental controls
are a must, especially for young
children. You dont want your child to
stumble across something online
and be scarred for life.
While parent control software has
been around for years on PCs, there
arent as many options available for
protecting your child on your Android
device. Qustodio is a parental control
app that promises to keep your child
safe on the go. This powerful app
enables parents to manage and
monitor how their kids are using their
Android phone or tablet. Install the
app on each of your devices for the
utmost protection.
What sets Qustodio apart from
the rest of parental control apps out
there? It enables you to monitor your
childs web surng activities and
block harmful websites based on
lters, set access time limits and
quotas, and display whether your
child is spending most of their time
doing homework or playing games.
The premium version is money well
spent you can monitor and block
apps and games. Qustodio lets you
rest at ease and never worry about
your childrens online activities again.
Norton Family
parental control
Help understand and manage your childs
mobile activities, so they can surf worry-free
and safely.
If youre looking for a quick,
reliable browser you cant go
wrong with Opera
Performance
Design
Value
specification
Requires Android: Varies with device
Price Free
verdict
Google Chrome
The king of browsers. Theres a reason
why its the default Android offering.
Speed Dial
View your most frequently visited
websites with Speed Dial. Add links to
your favourite sites here for quick
access. This page works alongside the
more traditional bookmarks page
Fast search
Opera browser beta has done away with
the dedicated search box, and instead
you can simply type whatever you want
to search for into the address bar
History view
A quick swipe to the left reveals
your browsing history for easy
access. Well organised and laid
out, the pane makes your history
more readily available than on any
other browser, and quickly
becomes a feature you will start to
use more often
Tabbed browsing
The tabbed browsing UI has been
redesigned. Your tabs still appear on
their own screen rather than at the top
of the window as on some other
browsers, but they are much larger and
more accessible than they were on the
older versions of Opera
Price Free
EDITORS
CHOICE
080-081_AND_025.indd 81 29/04/2013 16:57
Google
Translate
Playmarkers
links to the Google Play Store Sky Movies Traxsource
Apps
82
Netix isnt the only movie streaming app in town. Sky Movies has
recently launched its movie app for Android devices. The Sky Movies
app is supported on all Android devices, but youll only be able to
enjoy movies with Sky Go-compatible devices, including the Samsung Galaxy
devices, HTC devices and LG Nexus 4.
This app is a must-have for movie fans.
With over 600 movies on demand at your
ngertips youll be able to stream and
enjoy your favourite movies while youre
on the go. All you need to enjoy lms is
Wi-Fi access or a mobile data
connection. These movies are going to
cost you not only do you have to pay for
movies, theyll also use a ton of your
data, something to be aware of if youre
on a data-capped plan. The movie
selection is very impressive, especially
compared to Netixs offering in the UK.
Price Free
BBC iPLAYER The ultimate catch-up TV service is feature-packed
and works an absolute treat.
like this?
try this!
Sky Movies
Enjoy your favourite movies while youre on the go
The internet is all about the ubiquity of content. Unlike TV or radio,
anyone can post content about almost anything. Traxsource is
similar to YouTube, but instead of videos it allows music sharing.
Traxsource is the ultimate underground music store. It lets you discover music
outside the mainstream and features sweet-sounding content from DJs,
clubbers and aspiring artists.
Downloading and enjoying music
couldnt be any easier. Browse, listen and
add music to your cart in seconds. Your
account is synced up to your Traxsource
account online and you can transfer your
tracks to your wishlist in an instant to
save for later. Browsing for music is easy.
You can browse by your favourite music
genre, listen to the top DJs on charts and
even search top sales charts. Best of all
you can try before you buy and keep a
playlist of your favourite tunes in-app.
Price Free
Traxsource
Enjoy underground music from your Android device
GOOGLE PLAY MUSIC Its getting better and better. Googles
answer to iTunes is well worth a look.
like this?
try this!
Google
Translate
Break through language barriers
For cosmopolitan types,
having instant access to
translations is a must.
Samsung clearly thinks so, as it
has built translation directly into
the S4. But Google Translate was
rst, and with a recent update is
now even better.
Google Translate is hands down
the best language app on the
market, and should be your go-to
translation app while on the move.
This brilliant app brings the
powerful web-based version to
your Android device. With the app
you can translate text and speech
in over 60 languages spoken
worldwide, with many of them
Online-Translator.com
This app offers the standard
translation features, but also includes an
ofine phrase book perfect for travellers.
being able to be downloaded for
use ofine. Google Translate
takes text translation to a whole
new level learn the
pronunciation of words and
phrases by listening to your
translations spoken aloud. Typing
your translation can be time-
consuming and a real bore so
you can translate in a variety of
ways, including voice, handwriting
and even through your
smartphones camera. This
powerful app isnt only a
translation tool view dictionary
denitions for words and phrases
instantly. If youre constantly
translating the same words or
phrases, save them to your
favourites to view at a glance. The
newest and best feature is Google
Translates ofine language
support. Users with Android 2.3
and up can translate even without
Wi-Fi access.
Google Translate is our
favourite translation app
out there
Performance
Design
Value
specification
Price Free
verdict
EDITORS
CHOICE
082-083_AND_025.indd 82 29/04/2013 16:57
83
Traffic
Monitor
Keep a lid on your devices
roaming charges
With so much rich content
out there you can easily
blow through your phones
data plan before you know it. Trafc
Monitor helps keep track of your
Wi-Fi and cellular trafc, allowing you
to keep track of phone calls, roaming
charges and SMS messages. You
can quickly browse your daily data
usage. If your
device seems
slow, test speed
with the built-in
speedometer. The
app even lets you
kill apps that are
slowing down your
performance.
Price Free
Comic
Book!
Magically turn yourself into
an action hero
Price 1.19/$1.99
Requires Android 2.3.3 and up
Have you ever dreamed of
staring in your very own
comic books? ComicBook!
makes those dream a reality. In
seconds transform your average
pedestrian photos into comic heroes
and villains. There are a host of
special effects, including image
lters, comic fonts, customisable
captions, a library
of classic comic
graphics and over
a dozen multi-
panel page
layouts. You can
even add captions
and create your
own book to share.
HeyTell
A virtual walkie-talkie for
your Android device
Are you tired of constantly
exceeding your phones
minutes and incurring
costly charges? Are you looking to
take a break from SMS messages?
HeyTell is your virtual walkie-talkie
app. It lets you exchange short voice
messages with your friends and
family. Best of all youll save your
precious daytime minutes one
message uses about the same data
as an email. If
youre looking to
hold an online
meeting HeyTell
has you covered
exchange voice
messages with up
to 25 people
simultaneously.
Price Free
3G
Watchdog
Never exceed your data
cap again
Price Free (2.16/$2.99 for pro)
Looking for an easy way to
manage your data usage?
Look no further than 3G
Watchdog, your data guard dog. Not
only does this powerful app monitor
your data usage, you can customise
it for daily, weekly and even monthly
reports. It will warn you when youre
going close to your data limit youll
receive a warning
to cut back on your
data usage or
suffer a shock
come bill time. We
all know apps are
notorious for using
a lot of data, so its
time to ght back.
Unity
Launcher
Browse your Android device
in seconds
You dont need to have an
Ubuntu phone to enjoy its
powerful app launcher
technology. Unity Launcher brings
the app launcher to your Android.
After spending a minute or two
tweaking the app youll be browsing
apps in seconds. Adding an app to
the launcher is easy. Simply select
your desired apps
and pin them to
the launcher. The
customisation
doesnt end there
add shortcuts,
reorganise apps
and change icon
backgrounds.
Google
Analytics
Gain insight into your
website visitors
Price Free
This is an app from Google,
so you know it has to be
good quality. Google
Analytics lets you view up-to-date
info from your online prole. View real
time statistics, customisable
dashboards and intelligence events
on your phone. If youre running an
online business, this app is a
must-have. It lets
you drill down and
really understand
visitors. The app
isnt without its
limitations you
can only add and
manage your
Gmail account.
Feedly
Your personal breaking
news desk
Tired of scouring the web
for your favourite content?
Save time with Feedly, the
ultimate news aggregating app.
Feedly gathers up content from your
favourite websites including RSS
feeds, blogs and YouTube videos and
delivers you instant updates. Unlike
other news aggregator apps, Feedly
delivers content in unique pocket-
sized cards which are quick to load
and easy on the
eyes. It works on
loads of devices
and theres no
need to waste
time customising,
as Feedly instantly
syncs and does all
the hard work.
Price Free
Janetter
for Twitter
Manage your Twitter
accounts from one app
Looking for an easy way to
manage your Twitter
accounts? Janetter is a
simple, yet powerful way to use
Twitter to its fullest. Cycle through all
your favourite bookmarks with the
simple swipe of a nger and update
your bookmarks simultaneously.
Display thumbnails of tweets with
photos for easy
viewing and lter
tweets with
keywords you
wont want to see.
If youre a heavy
Twitter user, the
Pro version is well
worth a look too.
quickhits
082-083_AND_025.indd 83 29/04/2013 16:57
Apps
84
EVERNOTE
GOOGLE KEEP
vs
head
If push comes to shove, which
one of these smooth note-taking
apps comes out on top?
head to head tohead
Google Keep is a solid enough start but lacks the features and
overall usability that Evernote can currently offer. We expect big
things from Keep in future updates, so expect us to revisit this head-
to-head in due course to see things hotting up nicely.
All your notes are saved in
chronological order and can be
customised at any point. The
mass delete option is a great
little feature for clearing
unwanted notes.
Although the ultra-modern
look of Keep is really nice
on the eye, it can leave
your messages looking
rather clumsy and in no
particular order.
The homepage has a list of
creation options to help
create the type of note you
need for that specic time.
Youll also nd options for
non-text notes.
Keep comes with a handy
guide to creating your rst
note and the rest of it is
pretty self-explanatory.
Creating media notes isnt
as simple, however.
Google has yet to
implement many extra
features in Keep, but thats
primarily due to it being
such a new app. Expect
some big additions soon.
One of the best things about
Evernote is how
customisable it is. Theres a
wide variety of features and
plenty of text editing
features to boot.
Evernote has recently
launched a partnership with
art-based app Skitch,
enabling you to sync image-
based notes through your
Evernote account.
Google Keep links with
many of the other Google
apps available for download
from Google Play. Syncing it
with Google Calendar opens
up new features to explore.
And the
winner is...
SEND AND SHARE
EXTRA
FEATURES
STAYING
ORGANISED
CREATING NOTES
Evernote has long been at the top of all
note-taking apps on the Google Play store,
but Google has recently launched its own
rival to the crown, Google Keep. Weve
put both head-to-
head to see which
one deserves a
place on your
Android device
Evernote has an
accompanying desktop
client that you can use to
edit and save notes. You
can also easily share notes
via email and Bluetooth.
All the usual sharing options
are present and you can
even sync your notes to
your tablet and desktop
computer. Send your notes
to contacts via Gmail.
LINKING WITH
OTHER APPS
specification
Requires Android: 4.0.3
Price Free
Google Keep Evernote
specification
Requires Android: 1.6
Price Free
EVERNOTE
084_AND_025.indd 84 29/04/2013 16:58
facebook.com/webdesignermag twitter.com/webdesignermag
DESIGN INSPIRATION BEHIND THE SCENES STEPBYSTEP ADVICE
Available
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newsagents and
supermarkets
ON SALE NOW
50 must-have web tools | Create responsive layouts | Interactive vector graphics
PRACTICAL TIPS INDUSTRY OPINION
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www.webdesignermag.co.uk
WebDesigner_House ad_new.indd 1 17/04/2013 11:03
Zombie
Minesweeper
Playmarkers
links to the Google Play Store 10000000
Games
86
Price 1.59/$1.99
Requires Android 2.1
10000000
Dungeon crawling with a very different twist
Dungeon crawlers tend to
be rather repetitive affairs,
but 10000000 looks to
turn the genre completely on its
head. As well as including the usual
dungeon crawling aspects,
10000000s main selling point is
with its puzzle aspects it has
implemented. As you explore various
caverns, a jumbled match of icons
will appear underneath, with the idea
of piecing the icons together. Once
youve done so, youll unlock the item
they represent and many of which
youll nd you need to beat monsters
or nd secret parts of the cavern.
Theres plenty of pressure to do this
quick, as youll soon nd youre up
against the clock to match up the
icons before a monster kills you.
There are power-ups and upgrades
you can buy to help better prepare
your hero, but the choices are pretty
limited. All in all, 10000000 wont
appeal to die-hard dungeon crawler
fans out there, but should certainly
please the casual gamer.
what weve
been playing
Star Wars Pinball
1.32/$1.99
What isnt there to love about
this pinball and Star Wars
hybrid? All the movies are
represented and all the familiar sound
effects and characters are present.
Temple Run: Oz
0.65/$0.99
Even though the Temple Run
formula has been done to
death, the Temple Run: Oz
game offers some really unique features,
including ying in a hot air balloon.
twitter
@lgrobot
Recommend a game
The things people do for love
Any game that involves
zombies, Minesweeper
and a love story is going
to be a winning
combination, and thankfully Zombie
Minesweeper is just that. Youre put
in the shoes of a girl on her way to a
date with her boyfriend, but there
seems to have been a pesky zombie
outbreak and mines have been
littered all over the place.
In essence, the game works in the
same way as the classic
Minesweeper game: you need to try
and navigate the correct path to your
goal in this case a detonator
while making sure not to set off any
mines in the process. Level variation
isnt the best, but there are plenty of
to get through, with later levels being
remarkably difcult.
At the same time youll be
attacked by waves of mutant
zombies, be it in the form of a bear,
snail or rabbit. Killing them with your
equipped shotgun will keep you alive,
but you need to carefully manage
your ammo as well. On occasion
youll encounter bombs that you can
use to get rid of multiple enemies at
the same time, but theres little else
in the arsenal of weapons, which is a
bit of a pity. Another problem is that if
you arent quick at guring out the
correct Minesweeper path to follow,
then youll soon run out of the ammo
keeping off the zombies from
gnawing at your head.
There are some lovely 3D graphics
on display here and they are made
even better with the 2D sprites that
appear on your screen from
time-to-time. The same can be said
about the music and its as eerie and
chilling as youd expect. Despite the
tense music, the developer has done
a good job at keeping the comedic
value throughout.
Combining these two elements
makes for a surprisingly good puzzle
game which has enough blood-
splattering fun and longevity to keep
you playing for a while.
Price 0.97/$1.47
Requires Android Android 2.3
Zombie
Minesweeper
Take advantage of each monsters special ability Be quick on your feet to solve the puzzle
086-087_AND_025.indd 86 29/04/2013 16:59
Check our website for
even more game reviews
PAC-MAN +
Tournaments
Ravensword:
Shadowlands
Spider:
Secret of
Bryce Manor
87
Games dont come much bigger than
Ravensword: Shadowland and it truly is a game
of epic size. At its core, Ravensword is a
traditional RPG that enables you to explore the kingdom of
Tyreas and the mysteries it holds. Ravenswords kingdom
is massive and the exploring aspect means youll never
know what youll nd around the corner. The various
villains and monsters you come across come in different
shapes and sizes and each has their own strengths and
weaknesses for you to exploit. Due to its size, it can be
quite easy to get lost and this is even more frustrating if
youre playing a time sensitive quest. On top of all this,
youll still nd all the traditional RPG elements included,
meaning all those wanting some classic Dungeons and
Dragons-styled gameplay wont be disappointed. If you
need a game to take up a few hours of your time, look no
further than Ravensword: Shadowlands.
Ravensword: Shadowlands
Price 4.63/$6.99
An RPG of epic proportions
If you were under the preconception that a
spider exploring an abandoned mansion to nd
out why its empty is a stupid idea for a game,
then chances are youll want to stay well away from
Spider: Secret of Bryce Manor. The game is a mixed
bunch of genres and puts you in control of a spider hero
as he explores Bryce Manor to uncover the mysteries of
why it was abandoned. To do so he must traverse different
areas of the mansion, each with its own dangers and
obstacles you must overcome to progress. Dangers come
in the form of bugs and household objects that can injure
you and the game is pretty unforgiving with the health it
gives you. The platformer aspects of the game work
surprisingly well and the control system is a pleasure to
use. Its also a beautifully drawn game and the interaction
you can have with the world around you, creating webs
between items for example, is a brilliant addition.
Spider: Secret of Bryce Manor
Price 1.28/$1.99
Platform game with a dark twist
PAC-MAN is one of the
most iconic characters
in the video game
industry and his latest foray on to
the Google Play store looks to
take players back to his roots.
This is classic PAC-MAN and
includes all 256 levels as the
original arcade game did back in
the day. Alongside this is a new
tournament mode that enables
players to compete against each
other for real prizes. Its a nice
blend of both classic gaming with
new techniques to freshen it up.
To control PAC-MAN youll nd a
virtual joystick at the bottom of
your screen as you play. Its fairly
easy to use, but if youve got big
PAC-MAN + Tournaments
PAC-MAN is going back to his roots
ngers, dont be surprised to get the
odd movement wrong. Levels get
progressively harder and the longer
you go the more strategy thats
needed to navigate around the
course successfully.
After playing for a while, youll soon
realise that despite Android games
getting graphically better on a weekly
basis, games like PAC-MAN will have
an everlasting appeal to hardcore
and casual gamers alike. For a free
download, PAC-MAN + Tournaments
is denitely worth checking out.
Price Free
Shiver: Hitchhiker
1.97/$2.99
This spooky hidden object
game wants you to explore
the mystery of the vanishing
hitchhiker. The short story is compelling
and there are some good ideas used.
Real Boxing 2.99/$4.99
The most impressive boxing
game weve seen on Android.
Put together combinations to
drain your opponents health
bar and get the KO victory. Not as owing
as some of its console counterparts.
Toy Story: Smash It!
0.65/$0.99
Take over as the famous band
of Toy Story characters as you
try and defeat the invading
alien race. Each character has their own
special moves based on the lm series.
AVP: Evolution
3.24/$4.99
Its the classic Aliens vs
Predators formula, but this
entry attempts a 3D version
and with great success. Collect different
weapons and face off against opponents.
quickhits
Lazors Free
Using a laser as a guide, in
this clever puzzle game you
need to move blocks and
mirrors to bounce the laser to
hit certain targets. Not as easy as it
sounds at all!
Pro Snooker 2012 Free
Take part in various snooker
tournaments in one of the
rst 3D snooker games for
Android. Perfect your shot
with a variety of advanced controls. Its
really hard to fault this game at all.
Capture captors when they turn blue
EDITORS
CHOICE
086-087_AND_025.indd 87 29/04/2013 16:59
Reviews
88
Asus Padfone 2
The Padfone 2 is a superb marriage of tablet and smartphone, though
the tablet is denitely the poor cousin
Work
Working with documents is unsurprisingly a
treat on the tablet
good
for...
I
f youve got some spare cash burning a hole in
your pocket and you cant decide whether you
want a new phone or a tablet, the Asus Padfone
2 might come to your rescue. Its both. The phone
is a fully edged handset, self-contained and able
to work on its own in all the ways you expect a
high-end Android handset to.
But when you fancy a 10.1-inch tablet instead,
you have one of those as well. The phone slots into
the back of a tablet shell and gives its big screen
and battery a heart. The combination price of 599
One thing to be aware of right from the start is
that the tablet doesnt do anything on its own. It
has no internals, as such, and it needs the phone
to be slotted in before it will even switch on. The
tablet then uses the phones 13-megapixel camera
(hampered down to 5.5 megapixels) and headset
Great phone
Half of the Padfone 2 is a very decent
smartphone rivalling some of the biggest
names on the market, especially with a
quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM
Dumb tablet
The 10.1-inch tablet doesnt have a life of its own.
The phone needs to be docked before you can use it
No memory expansion
Neither phone nor tablet have any memory
expansion capability so you may need to pick
whether you want to prioritise your phone content or
tablet content
Smart battery
Neither phone nor tablet have any memory. The
phone and tablet both have batteries that can
combine to give great life. Itll also work so that your
phone is almost always well charged
USB
micro USB provides charging in both tablet and
phone, but Asus uses a modied cable and standard
ones tend to come adrift readily
is high enough to initially take some of the gloss off
what is undoubtedly an innovative product you
might have been hoping more for a two-for-the-
price-of-one deal and it might be more than youd
ever have expected to spend on a phone. But if you
are in the market for both a phone and a tablet, the
price combination is quite attractive. Asus has
married the two elements in such a way that the
combination offers a couple of distinct
advantages too most notably when it comes to
power management.
088-089_AND_025.indd 88 29/04/2013 16:59
89
Review
Long life
Theres plenty of battery power here to last
you through extended periods
Gaming
The big screen is good for gaming, but the
tablets pixel density could be better
Time saving
Install apps once for both tablet and phone for
the perfect marriage
the Nexus 4. It is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core
processor with 2GB of RAM in support, and it zips
along. Its 4.7-inch screen, with 1,280 x 720 pixels
looks great. The phone runs Android 4.1. It isnt
Vanilla Android, but the skin is light and subtle and
the tweaks feel necessary rather than bloat.
The tablet is slightly less impressive. The 1,280
x 800 pixels on offer are barely any more than you
get with the phone, but stretched across an extra
ve inches of screen. The drop in relative
resolution is noticeable, taking the device from
high-end phone to mid-range tablet. To help things
somewhat Asus has implemented a special
outdoor brightness mode that racks up the
brightness, but this pushes the battery hard. You
can still take calls when the phone is docked via
speakerphone or a Bluetooth headset.
As well as providing the larger screen the tablet
houses its own battery, and its use has been
implemented very intelligently. You can set things
up so that the tablet battery is used rst so you
have a well charged phone when you undock, and
can use the tablet battery to charge the
phone. This really comes in handy
if you nd phone power
running short
during the day
as theres no need to hunt
around for the mains adapter. Because
both devices have micro USB slots you can charge
them both individually.
For some reason our review unit didnt come
with the slightly modied micro USB cables that
Asus wants you to use, and our normal charge
cables kept slipping out.
That said, the relatively low screen resolution of
the tablet, and the lack of micro SD storage on
both devices could be ongoing issues, but in
general we cant help thinking that the Padfone 2 is
a fantastic piece of kit.
Its a great idea, and Asus is one of relatively few
companies with the design and build chops to pull
it off. Its not an option if you ever think you might
want to use the tablet and phone at the same
time, but theres undoubtedly lots to like.
A fantastic idea well
implemented, though the
tablet does feel like an add-on
rather than an equal
Verdict
N/A N/A
worse than better than
Asus Padfone 2
Value for money
Not cheap, but cheaper than separate
units in almost all cases
Features
A truly innovative two products in one,
with high-end specs to match
Design
Clever docking mechanism and some
stylish hardware
Performance
A fast and capable phone coupled with
a fast but less impressive tablet
Operating system...............Android 4.1
Processor...................................Quad-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm
Snapdragon S4
Memory.......................................32GB storage
Dimensions..............................phone: 137.9 x 68.9 x 9mm
tablet: 263 x 180.8 x 10.4mm
Weight..........................................Phone: 135g, tablet: 514g
Display size...............................Phone: 4.7-inch, tablet: 10.1-inch
Display resolution...............Phone 1,280 x 720 pixels,
tablet: 1,280 x 800 pixels
technical specs
Price 599
More information
www.asus.co.uk
information
Asus Padfone 2
Battery life
Battery life is
generally
excellent and
you can charge
the phone from
the tablet
slot, the phones Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi and 4G
connections, and, of course, its processor and
memory. The small phone screen, too, transforms
into a large tablet one.
The layout of apps and widgets on phone and
tablet are managed separately so you can
personalise things as if they were two separate
devices, but when you download apps and other
data you do so to the handset as the tablet has no
storage of its own. Some apps can be set to
automatically switch between devices when you
dock and undock so it is always optimised for the
screen size you are using.
Thats not the bed of roses you might think,
because memory is limited. Theres no memory
expansion on either the phone or the tablet, and
the 32GB on the handset is down to just over 25GB
of actual free space out of the box. This is one of
the downsides to the two-in-one approach, since
the likelihood is youll use a phone and tablet in
different ways the phone for music; the tablet for
movies, for example and you may
need to compromise
between them.
In design terms
Asus has done
its usual
slick
job. The
tablet is a bit of a
block, but it has a nicely
rubbery back and gently
curved edges. The handset has the optical illusion
of being tapered thanks to a metal strip along the
long edges that is thinner at the bottom than the
top. The phone feels solid in the hand and its build
quality is good.
The docking mechanism is secure and easy to
operate you just push the handset into the slot
till it will go no further, and it slides out easily too.
The switch from phone to tablet mode happens
automatically, and almost seamlessly. The phones
specs are very good, matching leading devices like
088-089_AND_025.indd 89 29/04/2013 18:38
90
Reviews
Toshiba AT300SE
With the AT300SE, the
PC manufacturer has
yet another crack at the
Android tablet market.
Does it nally have a hit
on its hands?
W
ere heading rapidly into
what has been described
as the post-PC era. Mobile
devices and mobile operating
systems are at its heart, with
traditional computers being
reduced to specialist products.
The transition has seen some
manufacturers thrive, with
companies like Samsung and
Apple leading the way into this
brave new world. Others, who had
dominated the PC and laptop era,
have struggled to make any kind of
impact in the tablet space. Toshiba
among them. The name of its new tablet
alone AT300SE betrays this struggle. Its
the name of a computer a machine rather
than some cool gadget accessible, nay, desirable,
to anyone. Can Tosh really hope that this is the
device to nally make its mark?
Work
Some applications are provided to help you
work on the move
good
for...
Looks good
The general build is
pleasing on the eye and the
stippled backplate helps
with grip
Minimal
connectivity
Connectivity options are thin on
the ground. We especially
missed HDMI-out support, which
is standard on most devices at
this kind of price point
USB charging
Charging via USB is a big
plus for any tablet as it
means you dont need to
carry additional cables
Stereo
speakers
Twin speakers on the
bottom of the chassis
deliver stereo sound.
However, due to the odd
positioning theyre likely to
become mufed as you
rest the device in your lap
Two cameras
Front and back facing cameras
give you photography and video
chat facilities. The former is
excellent for Skype or Hangout
use, but the device is likely too
large to encourage use of the
main one on the rear
10.1-inch screen
The 10.1-inch screen is bright
and clear, though the
resolution puts it a clear step
behind the best of the
competition. Its a long way
short of being a Retina display
090-091_AND_025.indd 90 29/04/2013 17:00
91
Review
Gaming
The quad-core processor can handle
demanding gaming apps with ease
Travel
Charging via micro USB means one less thing
to carry around with you
Media
The micro SD card can be a storage
destination for large media les
The AT300SE is actually a revamp of a 2012
model, the AT300, rather than being an entirely
new product. But thats really of little consequence
as it sits in the market right here, right now,
competing with the rest of whats available for your
attention. So well assess it for what it is here and
now, rather than for how it came to exist at all or
how it compares to that earlier model. The device
is pitched directly into a market sector that is
rather crowded, and so has a very familiar
sounding set of specications: a ten-inch screen, a
1.3GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 1GB of
RAM, 16GB of built-in memory. That Tegra 3 is
actually a ve-core processor, with the fth core
kicking in at times when processor demands are
low in order to help save battery power. Thats
not new, of course.
In design terms the AT300SE is quite sleek. Its
all plastic body is nished with a silver back thats
stippled to assist with grip. The curved
edges look neat, and the
Twin speakers on what is effectively the long
bottom edge of the tablet deliver somewhat
disappointing sound. There isnt a lot of bass,
maximum volume isnt particularly loud, and of
course if you use the tablet lounging around and
propped against your clothing the sound is made
quieter. Good headphones usually deliver better
quality audio than the speakers on a tablet, but in
this case, unfortunately, they dont and the tinny
tones still reign supreme.
There is some good news in that the Toshiba
AT300SE runs the almost up-to-date Android 4.1,
and it comes with a strong range of applications
built in. Evernote, Skitch and Chrome are among
these, and you also get a le manager and DLNA
app. For those interested in using the Toshiba
AT300SE for work theres a wireless printer app,
ThinkFree Ofce Pro and Splashtop for remote
access to a desktop screen. Toshiba also seems to
The tablet is average in
virtually every way. It does
what it does well enough, but
theres a real lack of surprises
Verdict
Toshiba
AT200
issue011
Nexus 10
issue020
Toshiba AT300SE
Value for money
Youd do better paying a little more for a
Nexus 10 slab
Features
All the basics are certainly here, but
there are no surprises or wow factor
Design
Tidy and ergonomic without really
offering anything outstanding
Performance
That quad-core processor is powerful
and able to handle all apps and games
Processor...................................Quad-core 1.3GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3
Memory.......................................16GB storage
Dimensions..............................261 x 180 x 10.5mm
Weight..........................................625g
Display size...............................10.1-inch
Display resolution...............1,280 x 800 pixels
Expansion slot.......................micro SD
technical specs
Price 299
More information
www.toshiba.co.uk
information
Toshiba
AT300SE
That Tegra 3 is a ve-core processor
kicking in when processor demands are low
Battery life
The battery
ought to get
you through a
good days
productivity
thickness of the tablet, at 10.5mm, makes it feel
solid and secure, especially when held in both
hands. It isnt totally robust though. We could ex
the back a little between our hands. But it feels
quite tough. The average weight of 625g ought to
make it fairly comfy to hold for reasonable
extended periods.
Connectivity options arent the best. There is a
headset connector and micro SD card slot, a
volume rocker and micro USB power connector,
and thats it. If you need HDMI look elsewhere. The
plus side of charging via USB rather than a
proprietary connector is welcome though.
The ten-inch screen looks a little lost inside a
thick bezel and its 1,280 x 800 pixels dont mark it
out as anything special. In fact it is perfectly ne for
everyday use, but there are higher resolutions to
be had on tablets and 1,280 x 800 is pretty much
workaday. As is so often the case with tablets, the
very reective nature of the screen can make it
difcult to use if you are sitting near a window.
think you will want to use its very own eBook store
and a Play store alternative in the shape of Toshiba
Places, which sells music, video and games. Were
not convinced that you will.
What the Toshiba AT300SE does, it does well
enough, but it does suffer from something thats
totally out of Toshibas hands. That is the fact that
the still excellent Google Nexus 10 has a higher
resolution screen by a country mile (2,560 x 1600),
double the RAM and a newer version of Android.
Because the Nexus comes from Google itll keep
getting software updates before the competition
too, and the 16GB version costs only 319 which is
barely any more than the AT300SE.
If you want a tablet that handles all the basics
and a bit more, and you dont have the patience to
shop around, then this tablet will sufce. But the
moment you start comparing it to the rest of the
market packed with innovative designs or
aggressive pricing then the AT300SE shows itself
to be a thoroughly average piece of kit.
better than worse than
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Reviews
CAT B15
Can being rugged and tough really be a
substitute for style and sophistication?
The B15 puts the theory to the test
Being tough
Theres no need to worry if you drop your
device on the oor or in water
good
for...
Hard exterior
Both the metallic and rubber edgings make
sure that the B15 can withstand the harshest of
conditions. Its waterproof up to one metre,
dustproof and can withstand being dropped on
to a concrete oor without breaking
Stock Android
Youll nd a vanilla version of Android 4.1
pre-installed on the phone without too much
interference from CAT involved. There are some
ofcial CAT applications which are helpful if you
regularly use the companys store
More storage
The 4GB of storage wont be
enough for people who want to
put some media les on the
phone, so youll need to use the
B15s micro SD slot to expand the
memory up to 32GB
Dual-SIM
We dont encounter many dual-SIM
phones, so to see the B15 include this
feature is a massive plus. Its simple
enough to change between the two if you
arent sure how the process works too
Wet, wet, wet
Although the display may include a
rather basic 480 x 800 resolution, one
of its outstanding features is its wet
nger tracking software that lets you
use the capacitive touchscreen no
matter how wet it is
It absolutely excels
in being a rugged,
tough and durable
smartphone
Lack of power
Despite the dual-core processor doing a
good job at keeping things ticking over
nicely, the 512MB of RAM lacks the
power to help the B15 complete some
more of the advanced tasks that are
occasionally required
092_093_AND_025.indd 92 29/04/2013 17:00
93
Review
Apps
Theres a good range of pre-installed apps
included and more available on the Play store
Stock Android
Running a stock version of Jelly Bean means
you get Androids best features
Browsing
Chrome is readily available for you to use and
browse the internet
T
he B15 is never going to win any style points,
but then this isnt your typical phone. At its
core, the B15 is all about being tough and is
primarily aimed at those needing a phone to keep
up with their rough and tumble lifestyle. If you dont
fancy your HTC Ones chances of surviving your
workplace then this is the kind of the device you
need instead.
The hardened exterior of the phone lends itself
well to this and the IP67 rating for ruggedisation
means it is waterproof at up to one metre for 30
minutes and is also dustproof. It can also
withstand drops from up to 1.8metres. All the
standard ports can be found around the edging
and each has their own rubberised cover to keep
them well sealed. Our testing gave us no reason to
doubt the phones rugged credentials.
Between the side volume rocker and headphone
jack is a dedicated camera button. It can be a bit
temperamental to use, but you wont really want to
use it too much, anyway, as the ve-megapixel
camera offered here isnt really that good. Colours
certainly look vivid, but overall image quality is
slightly grainy and a lot of our images came with a
small level of distortion added.
Removing the backplate can be a bit of a pain,
but for a phone thats meant to be tough, perhaps
thats actually a good thing. What youll initially nd
when the plate has been removed is a large
2000mAh battery. It can easily provide you with a
whole day of average usage before needing to be
charged, but if you plan on streaming a lot of media
the battery life will lessen considerably.
Also there is a micro SD slot that can handle a
storage card up to 32GB. With the B15 you get a
paltry 4GB of internal storage, so the option to
expand is very welcome. What youll also nd under
the backplate is arguably the best feature of the
B15. Theres room for dual-SIM cards which helps
give you superb network coverage wherever you
are, and to ensure you can keep your work and
business lives separate. We dont see many
phones with this feature included, so to nd it in a
phone like the B15 was a really nice surprise.
Turning on the phone reveals Android 4.1 in all its
glory and even better when you consider the phone
runs the stock Android OS. The four-inch screen is
decent enough and includes a handy wet nger
tracking software enabling you to use the
capacitive screen when its pouring down, but the
poor 800x480 resolution leaves the colours
looking grainy and pretty dark throughout.
Moving through the phone is fairly nippy, thanks
to the dual-core processor and youll nd a
selection of decent apps already pre-installed. On
top of that youll also nd the full range of Google
apps already at your disposal and a handy
Bluetooth Proximity app that gives your Bluetooth
connection a bit of a boost when needed.
If youre already a CAT customer, then youll be
pleased to see the range of CAT-based apps
available to you as well.
Where the B15 does let itself down is with its
sometimes sub-par performance. The lowly 512MB
of RAM is somewhat less than weve become
accustomed to and is very noticeable when using
more intensive apps, or trying to use multiple apps
at the same time.
But then perhaps that is to be expected.
Although priced in line with a typical mid-range
device if you take off 100 or so for the
ruggedisation then youre very much into entry-
level territory, and that is where the specs of this
device lay. So in all its very much a love-hate
relationship with the CAT B15. The device is ne for
all basic tasks but nothing more ambitious and the
camera is underwhelming.
But it absolutely excels in being a rugged, tough
and durable smartphone that will be useable in
nearly any situation, and that is the priority of a
niche device such as this. If you can look past its
faults and enjoy a hectic lifestyle, then the CAT B15
is a well-priced device in a market with relatively
limited options.
Theres no doubting the B15s
tough credentials, and though
it lacks in certain areas should
fulfill its main purpose well
Verdict
N/A N/A
worse than better than
CAT B15
Value for money
You do pay a small premium for the
ruggedisation, on top of average specs
Features
Stock Android is a big plus and the
range of CAT-based apps are good too
Design
Its not sleek, obviously, but the rugged
build lends it a reassuring toughness
Performance
Not slow by any means, but the lack of
RAM hinders the phone occasionally
Processor...................................Dual-core 1GHz processor
Memory.......................................512MB RAM, 4GB storage
(expandable to 32GB)
Dimensions..............................125 x 69.5 x 14.95mm
Weight..........................................170g
Display size...............................Four-inch
Display resolution...............800 x 480 pixels
Expansion slot.......................micro SD
technical specs
Price 299.99
More information
www.catphones.com
information
CAT B15
Battery life
2000mAh
battery copes
well with the
phones dual-
SIM
capabilities.
092_093_AND_025.indd 93 29/04/2013 18:40
94
Accessories
Minx Air 100
T
he Minx Air 100 is a big unit, but
one that screams style and
sophistication as soon as you
take it out of the box. Along the front
of the Minx is a mesh grille and every
bit of it is used to create a fantastic
sound experience from the two
four-inch drivers that are enclosed.
Along the top are your basic playback
and Bluetooth controls and around
the back are all the standard ports.
Theres also a handle to help you lift,
but you wont want to move it around
too much as its surprisingly heavy
and the handle doesnt have any grip.
Controlling the Minx can be done in
a variety of ways. For one you can
connect to the unit through Bluetooth
and stream your music wirelessly with
little to no interference, but you can
use the 3.5mm audio jack to connect
your Android device to the unit, or use
one of the dedicated Minx apps. By
venturing on to the Play store you can
download a few Minx apps to help
wirelessly control the unit and also
link it with many internet radio sites.
The apps are pretty good to use, but
we recommend sticking with Spotify
and TuneIn Radio for streaming.
Sound quality is beyond what we
expected from this piece of kit and its
really hard to nd any real fault with it.
It can be customised to your exact
preferences and musical tastes and
the range of presets at your disposal
is also impressive. The two drivers
enclosed in the front mesh may not
be the biggest youll ever see, but
they provide enough power to keep
even the most die-hard music fans
happy. If youre on the lookout for a
new speaker that gives you plenty of
bang for your buck, then look no
further than the Minx Air 100.
94
Does the Minx provide awesome sound for the hefty price tag?
The pinnacle of design and
sound technology in one
expensive package
Performance
Design
Value
specification
More information
www.cambridgeaudio.com
Price 329.95/$TBA
verdict
Accessories
EDITORS
CHOICE
Powerful sound
Youll nd two drivers located within the mesh front
of the Minx Air. Both work perfectly in sync to offer
incredible and immersive sound without having any
sound interference that can impact on the quality.
On top of that, you can use one of the Minx Air apps
to tinker with each driver
Hefty unit
The Minx Air isnt the biggest speaker
weve come across but its surprisingly
heavy. Theres a decent handle located
at the back of the speaker which can
be used to move the unit around
094_097_AND_025.indd 94 29/04/2013 18:39
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Despite this charging cradle not being the most aesthetically pleasing of products, it
does go above and beyond what youd expect it to do. You can safely slide your Nexus
7 into the holder with no worries that itll topple over thanks to the weighted back of the
cradle. If you use a case on your Nexus 7, simply remove the holder within the cradle so
it can also be tted without too much effort. As well as charging the tablet, you can
use the accompanying cable to attach the cradle with
your computer and begin transferring your documents
and media les between the two devices. If you decide
to purchase one of these cradles, theres no doubt youll
get plenty of use from it time and time again.
Using a Bluetooth keyboard is generally a much easier process than using the
virtual pad on your phone or tablet. The i-Connex looks to capitalise on this by
offering users a full-size Qwerty keyboard that can be folded in half and easily
transferred from place to place. All the keys feel solid to use, but the spacebar could
do with being bigger as its easy to hit a different key by accident. Youll also nd
several shortcuts to some basic functions lined on the left-hand side of the
keyboard and once again they work a treat.
Along this side youll also nd the Bluetooth
pairing switch which is used to connect to your
device and we didnt encounter a single issue when
trying to connect the two devices together.
Price 19.95/$30.99
More information
www.mobilefun.co.uk
Price 49.99/$69.99
More information
www.freedominput.com
Charge, sync and enjoy your Nexus 7 with this cradle
A full Qwerty keyboard for your Android phone or tablet
Nexus 7 Desktop
Sync and Charge Cradle
Freedom i-Connex 2
Price 19.99/$24.95 More information http://evernote.com
If youve ever been in the situation where you want
to create a digital copy of any text youve written
down without needing to type it out again on your
phone or tablet, then the Evernote Smart Notebook
is a great solution for you. In essence this is your
standard notebook in which you can write, doodle
and jot down things in, but what makes it stand out
from your standard notebook is the smart
technology involved within it.
By writing into the notebook, and then taking a
picture of it through the Evernote app, your written
text will be changed to a digital format, but one
thats easier to read than if you tried it with a regular
notebook. If you have scruffy handwriting, fear not.
By taking a picture, the app will ll in the gaps for
you and leave you with a perfectly legible piece of
text to save straight into the Evernote app.
Located at the back pocket of the Evernote
Smart Notebook are an assortment of Smart
Stickers that can be used to tag your work when
youve taken a picture of it. By applying one of the
stickers you can then take a picture of it and the
app will automatically put it in a category based on
the sticker. It works surprisingly well, but make sure
you create your categories beforehand. There are a
limited number available so you may nd youll need
to purchase more in due course. A great product for
people who regularly use the Evernote app.
Theres more than meets the eye
with this smart notebook
Evernote Smart
Notebook
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094_097_AND_025.indd 95 29/04/2013 18:13
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Accessories
96
Accessories
Battery boosters
Which one of these portable chargers should you buy?
solBAT II
Price TBA/$19.99
More information www.scosche.com
The solBAT II is an environmentally friendly and
convenient way to give your phone a quick charge. It
sports a rather unassuming black fascia with a solar
panel on its back. By using the suction pads, you can
attach the charger to any surface and start using the
solar panel to charge your phone via micro USB. Theres
an array of signals at the front to let you know when the
device is charging, but they can be a bit temperamental.
Family Charging Station
Price 17.99/$24.99
More information www.mobilefun.co.uk
Okay so we might be stretching what a
portable charger really is here, but the
Maxima is a fantastic charger thats
capable of charging up to three devices at
the same time. The unit comes with a
variety of different heads that can be
attached to the Maxima for your phone to
connect to. It comes with a handy metal
bar that stops your devices from falling
over and also a UK mains charger if you
need to give the Maxima a recharge.
Kensington
AbsolutePower
Price 99.99/$119.99
More information www.kensington.com
For the wallet-busting sum of 99.99/$119.99, the
Kensington AbsolutePower comes with an array of
connectors, enabling you to charge anything from your
Android phone all the way up to a laptop. The charger itself is
small and sturdy and has three ports to allow three separate
devices to be charged at the same time. Its larger than most
other portable chargers, but you get a lot more charging time
out of it before needing to recharge it.
An environmentally
friendly and convenient
way to give your phone a
quick charge
094_097_AND_025.indd 96 29/04/2013 18:13
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EDITORS
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i1Eco
Universal
Charger
Price 22.99/$33.99
More information www.idaptweb.com
Although the i1Eco sports an odd
design when compared to other
chargers, it does exactly what
youd expect it to do. The i1Eco
enables you to charge two things
at the same time, with one
through a USB connection and the
other through an interchangeable
head. Once your device has
nished charging the i1Eco
automatically turns itself off to
save electricity, but can then be
brought back to life by pressing
the button located on its side.
Dual Power Bank
Price 39.99/$61.19
More information www.thumbsupuk.com
Boasting a massive 6600 mAh capacity, the Dual Power
Bank is a compact charger that enables you to charge two
separate devices at the same time. At the front of the
charger youll nd a small LED display that indicates the
current level of charge the unit has left and a small button
that toggles the display on and off. The Power Bank does
exactly what youd expect it to do, but the aluminium casing
can get a bit hot after prolonged use.
Powerseed PS-15000
Price 50.00/$TBA
More information www.powerseedhk.com
The rst thing you notice about the Powerseed charger is that its very
heavy because of the power it includes under its plastic chassis. By using
the two USB ports on it you can connect two devices at the same time
and keep an eye on the charge level by taking a look at the small LED lights
on the front of the Powerseed. Also included is a coiled cable that can be
used in conjunction with one of the several connectors that are also
included in this bundle.
PowerSkin Hybrid
Battery Charger
Price 54.99/$79.99
More information www.power-skin.com
What could be more portable than a charger that literally sticks to
the back of your phone. The PowerSkin PoPn has a wall of
suction cups that line the back of the charger and after sticking it
to the back of your phone you can use the attached micro USB
dongle to start charging no wires and no fuss. Under the
plastic case is a 2000 mAh unit which will give your phone a quick
boost when needed, but dont expect it to charge anything bigger.
094_097_AND_025.indd 97 29/04/2013 18:13
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MONTH
13 June
ALL NEW
ANDROID
IS HERE!
Everything you need to
know about the fantastic
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operating system
Issue 26
goes on sale:
THE LATEST
DEVICES
ON TEST
Sony Xperia Tablet Z and
other amazing Android
kit reviewed
MASTER YOUR
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Get to grips with the best
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Your amazing Android snaps
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email
Taken a great shot with your Android
phone or camera? Send it to us at:
From Paz Sarmah
Used Samsung Galaxy S II
From Russ Lewis
Used Samsung Galaxy S III
From Philip Head
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From Tasch Bliss
Used Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro with Vignette
098_AND_024 98 30/04/2013 10:19
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