Awais Imran

Writer
Passionate writer at AddictiveTips, Software Engineering student, casual photographer, sharer of amusing links and an amalgam of all things geeky. I've written for popular websites like Redmond Pie, Hongkiat, Sizlopedia, Smashing Lists, and WCCFTech. I (used to) run my own blog as well: artsyHANDS. Looking forward to hearing from you!

[Ask The Readers] iOS 7′s New Jony Ive-led Design Direction: Yay Or Nay?

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With a completely overhauled design, and a appreciable list of awesome new features, iOS 7 is arguably the most exciting version of iOS to date. But not everyone is a fan of the new design. Based on my own observations of the people I follow on Facebook and Twitter, half of them really, really like the change, while the other half thinks this signals the end of iOS as we know it. In this Ask The Readers feature article, we briefly discuss iOS 7’s design, and then ask you to chime in with your opinion. Read More

Overview Packs Mail, Reminders, Calendar Events Into One iOS NC Widget

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iOS doesn’t have any widget APIs for developers to use to build their own widgets, but that isn’t much of a problem if your device is jailbroken, as there are dozens of capable widgets to choose from under alternative app store Cydia. Today, we came across a nifty new widget for iOS Notification Center called Overview that will make you slightly more productive. Check it out after the jump! Read More

The Best Apps, Tips & Tweaks Of The Week [06.09.13]

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It’s that time of the week again when we round up the most popular as well as the less-popular but useful apps, tips and tweaks that you may have missed during your hectic workweek. This time around, we discuss Vine for Android, Bing Translator for Windows 8 and RT, a super-secure web browser for Windows by Bitdefender, a tweak for enabling push Gmail on iOS Mail and a couple of exciting Windows Phone apps, among other excellent apps and tips. Read More

[Ask The Readers] These Are The Best iOS 7 Concept Designs; Which One Do You Like The Most?

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With Android already ahead in terms of features and catching up fast on design, and iOS 6 having received a lukewarm response, Apple is dealing with a lot of pressure from the community to really deliver with the next major release of iOS. WWDC 2013 is set to kick off tomorrow at Moscone Center in San Francisco, and iOS 7 is the product announcement everyone is looking forward to the most. There are strong rumors of a Jonathan Ive-led shift to a “flat design” overhaul, so in this Ask The Readers feature article, we go through some of the best flatly designed iOS 7 concepts. Read More

Best Apps, Tips & Tweaks Of The Week [06.02.2013]

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It’s that time of the week again when we round up the most popular as well as the less-popular but useful apps, tips and tweaks that you may have missed during your hectic workweek. This time around, we discuss the Chromium-powered preview of Opera 15, an account-less to-do list sharing web app, a Chat Heads-like floating notification system for Android, an excellent anti-tracking add-on for your browser and a new media manager for Windows, among other excellent apps and tips. Read More

Popular To-Do List & Email App Mailbox Now Optimized For iPad

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Mailbox is arguably this year’s most popular third-party email app for iPhone and iPod touch, and it has now finally been optimized for use on the iPad. Feature-wise, things in the latest version i.e. 1.3 remain largely unchanged vis-à-vis the original release in February. This means you are still limited to using Gmail accounts, cannot set separate signatures for separate accounts, and will only have portrait orientation to use the the app in. Let's check it out in more detail after the jump! Read More

[Ask The Readers] Physical Or Virtual: Which Android Smartphone Key Layout Do You Prefer?

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The first Android smartphone – the HTC “Dream” – came with a trackball and five hard buttons on the front: home, menu, back, call accept and call decline. Though as Android has evolved over the years, so have handsets running the OS and by now, we have lost the trackball and phone call buttons. In 2011, Google announced Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich running on the Galaxy Nexus, which used virtual buttons Back, Home and Multitasking Tray, along with on-screen menu buttons that only show when required, replacing their hardware counterpart. Read More

Best Apps, Tips & Tweaks Of The Week [05.19.2013]

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It’s that time of the week again when we round up the most popular as well as the less-popular but useful apps, tips and tweaks that you may have missed during your hectic workweek. This time around, we discuss announcements made at Google I/O 2013, Cydia for Android, Hipstamatic’s take on Instagram, and an unreal file manager for Windows, among other excellent apps and tips. Read More

How To Upload EPUBs & PDFs To Google Play Books And Read On Web, iOS & Android

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Google announced and discussed updates to almost all of their major services yesterday at what is being regarded as one of the biggest Google I/O event yet. Many of you must already be aware of the feature additions in Search, Maps, Play Services etc. by now, but you may have missed one very useful feature update to Play Books in all the chaos that is the technology blogosphere on the day of a new keynote. The latest version has a couple of new features that give it a serious edge over competing products from Apple and Amazon. This includes the ability to upload your own eBooks in EPUB or PDF format to your Play Books account, and keep your reading progress across all your devices in sync! Check out the details after the jump. Read More

Best Apps, Tips & Tweaks Of The Week [05.12.2013]

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It’s that time of the week again when we round up the most popular as well as the less-popular but useful apps, tips and tweaks that you may have missed during your hectic workweek. This time around, we discuss Viber’s new desktop apps, a unique new launcher for Android, an amazing new widget system for iOS, and a near foolproof method for recovering your Facebook account, among other excellent apps and tips. Read More

View Contact Photos Beside Each Text In iPhone Message Threads

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Seeing contact photos in text message threads and conversations is common on services like Viber, Whatspp, and KIK, as well as the built-in Messages app on Android, but it’s not the case with the stock Messages app on iOS. With tight Facebook and Twitter integration for updating contacts (which includes updating their photos), photos in message conversations should have been included by default in iOS 6. You needn't give it a second thought if you're jailbroken, though, as there is a new jailbreak tweak for that! Check it out after the jump. Read More

Share & Discuss Recorded iOS Gameplay Videos Online With Everyplay

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Gaming is largely a social activity, as games with a strong multiplayer component are almost always dominating the charts. Though there's another social aspect to gaming that hasn't picked up until recently for home and portable gaming consoles: sharing and discussing gameplay videos online. Two examples of this growing trend are Sony including a dedicated Share button on the DualShock 4 controller for sharing gameplay (live, if you want) directly from the PlayStation 4, and Applifer launching Everyplay for iOS to allow gamers to record gameplay videos, share them on a variety of social networks, and discuss tips and tricks. Today, we will be discussing the latter. Read More

The Best Apps, Tips & Tweaks Of The Week [05.05.2013]

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It’s that time of the week again when we round up the most popular as well as the less-popular but equally useful apps, tips and tweaks that you may have missed during your hectic workweek. This time around, we discuss an awesomely easy way for transferring files from PC to Android, Google Now for iOS, a new digital jukebox for Windows, and a significantly improved Facebook app for Windows Phone, among other excellent apps and tips. Read More

How To Use Google Now For iPhone In Unsupported Regions

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Last night, Google released Google Now for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad in the form of an update to the Google Search app available in the App Store. It is working well so far for people in many major countries, but those living outside them receive a popup message telling them Google Now isn't yet supported in their country. Well, we have found a way to bypass said region restriction and as always, we're going to walk you through the entire process. So check it out after the jump, and get Google Now up and running on your iDevice no matter where you are! Read More

How To Add Transparent Icons To iOS Home Screen Without Jailbreak

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Earlier, we discussed how it was possible to use custom icons for any app on iOS without jailbreaking. Well, in the words of Steve Jobs, there’s one more thing: adding blank, nearly transparent app icons to your iOS device home screen without jailbreaking. In case you're wondering why would anyone want to do this, there are design enthusiasts out there who want to be able to customize the way their devices look, and since iOS doesn't offer much customization options for the Springboard, one way to tweak things your way would be to use a custom wallpaper designed with to work with transparent icons on top of it to add the visual effect you want. Check out how you can go about pulling off this apparent wizardry after the jump. Read More

Get Search Autocomplete Functionality In Safari For iOS With Platinum

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Google Chrome on iOS comes with a neat feature that autocompletes your search queries for you as you type. Based on what you start your query with, you get real-time search suggestions, and you can select one of them to search for directly or further build on. Now, while Mobile Safari does give you Google-powered search suggestions, it does not let you quickly choose a suggested query to further build on top of. Today, we came across a new tweak that ports Google Chrome’s search autocomplete functionality to Mobile Safari. Check it out after the jump. Read More

Google Now Finally Launched On iPhone, iPad & iPod touch

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One of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean’s most surprisingly useful features was Google Now: the intelligent personal assistant that – besides processing basic commands like Siri on iOS – would very intelligently present you with the “right information at the right time”. Now, the acclaimed service is available on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Check out the details after the jump. Read More

How To Change iOS App Icons Without Jailbreak [Guide]

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Apple's mobile operating system isn't exactly known or praised for offering users a lot of control. In fact it is notorious for being a walled garden, with Apple pretty much enforcing upon users what it thinks is right, and not giving them many options to tweak it to make it suit their individual needs best. Without jailbreak, iOS offers significantly limited customization when compared to Android; you can’t replace the keyboard, switch to a different launcher, customize app icons… or can you? Yes, we've come across a method that allows you to change the appearance of your app icons without fondling saurik’s beard! Check it out after the jump. Read More