Sameed Khan

Executive Editor
Electronics engineer | Writer/Blogger | Technology & Graphic design enthusiast | Avid PC gamer | Twitter | Google+

[Giveaway] Play PC Racing Games With Your Android Or iPhone Using Tilt Racer

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Though the trusty old keyboard and mouse combo works well for almost all PC games, the avid PC gamer never settles for anything less than what fits each genre the best, like the arcade fighting stick does fighting games and the Sidewinder does the racing genre. However, if your enthusiasm for PC games isn't at the point where you'd want to spend the dough required to buy a separate controller, you can always settle for using your smartphone or tablet as one. There are now more than just a couple virtual gamepad apps available for both Android and iOS; some meant for all genres - such as DroidPad and WiFiPad - and others, like FlyPad for iPhone, that are focused on racing games. New to the market, Tilt Racer for Android and iOS aims to improve upon the latter with a better control scheme. Join us past the break to learn what it has to offer. Read More

How To Get Stickers In Facebook Messenger For Android Right Now

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After it was released in a pool of hype, Facebook Home instantly became the target of heavy criticism from tons of disappointed fans, most of which found the lock and home screen replacement app impractical as a daily driver. There was one feature, though, that was and continues to be lauded by users - the globally accessible Chat Heads. While Facebook Messenger and thus, Home, for Android were the first to receive this feature, it was soon rolled out for the iOS variant of the official Facebook client, but to select users and heavily tied down by the limitations of Apple's mobile OS. Perhaps to give their iOS userbase something to be happy about, Facebook included chat Stickers in the update, which can be best described as enlarged, glorified emoticons. Although Stickers are yet to make it to Messenger for Android officially, they've been discovered hidden away within the current version of the app, and you can get early access to them with a simple trick, discussed past the break. Read More

How To Fix Adobe Photoshop CS6 Background Flickering In Windows 8

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Microsoft took a leap of faith with Windows 8, and for the first couple of weeks after its release, it seemed the dramatic change of direction wouldn't pay off the way the Redmond giant hoped it would. The new OS and its Modern UI seem to be catching on, but at a snail's pace. Apart from the fact that quite a majority of users find themselves out of their confort zone when using the new interface, Windows 8 currently has quite a few compatibility issues as well; some with drivers and others with apps. One of the latter happens to be with the (currently) latest version of Adobe Photoshop, namely CS6. Read More

How To Install & Run Facebook Home On Unsupported Android Devices

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As announced at Facebook's "New Home on Android" event, and a few days after its APK was leaked to the interwebs, Facebook Home was released to the Play Store today, but only in the US, and that too for a limited number of devices, namely HTC One X, One X+, One, Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II and Galaxy S4. Where Facebook might be justified in localizing their product, we're sure there are countless users pouting in disappointment at having such a major release kept out of reach, and that too without an ETA on support for other regions and devices. Now, if you're a resident of the US and happen to own one of these devices (two of which are yet to hit the shelves), you needn't read on. If you own a supported device, but are in an unsupported region, you should only need to sideload the APK of the final release. If, however, you don't fulfill any of these requirements, as should be the case with quite a majority of Android-toting Facebook users around the world, join us past the break for a step-by-step guide on making your device Facebook Home-compatible! Read More

View & Create DIY Guides With Autodesk Instructables For Android & iOS

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Autodesk acquired Instructables in August last year, releasing an impressive iPhone app for the online DIY portal and social community six months later.  The app has now come to the Android platform, bringing with it a vast, user-populated database of tutorials for do-it-yourself projects spanning over six different categories. Instructables for Android and iOS isn't just a collection of how-tos though; the app, like it's web counterpart, lets you create your own guides with the help of an innovative, easy-to-use tutorial builder that easily comes out on top when compared to previously reviewed Snapguide for iOS and How To for Android.  You can follow other community members, favorite and comment on their tutorials and even take part in DIY contests to win real-life prizes, all from the comfort of your smartphone or tablet. Read More

Official 9GAG App For Android Now Available For Download

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It's been a long wait for humor-loving Android fans, but it's finally over. The official 9GAG mobile app for Android has, much to Bad Luck Brian's dismay, made its way to the Google Play Store. When the app debuted on the iOS App Store, we made no secret of our disappointment with what it had to offer then. It's not that the app was bad; it's just that as popular a brand as 9GAG is in the world of online humor, we were expecting a much more fluid experience from their long-awaited official client. However, it seems the app has come far since thanks to several improvements and UI changes spanning over subsequent updates. Thankfully, Android users get to use the new and improved version of the app from the get go. One less app for iOS users to brag about! A closer look at the Android app after the jump. Read More

What Are iOS 6 Game Center Challenges & How Do You Send Them To Friends?

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Although we’ve seen a flurry of popular mobile games going cross-platform this year, the iOS App Store as yet remains the richest gallery of smartphone games, while Game Center, owing to little or no competition, retains its crown as king of mobile gaming ecosystems. The iPod touch isn’t the world’s most popular handheld gaming device for nothing. With the release of Mountain Lion, Game Center expanded beyond iOS and onto OS X, adding cross-platform gaming to the mix, but Apple didn’t stop there. Out of the many new features brought on by iOS 6, there is one that encourages users to be more social on Game Center. Labeled ‘Challenges’, this feature allows you to invite your friends to beat your score or unlock a certain achievement in a game of choice. The process, though fairly simple, has the tendency to confuse novice users. Hence, a brief guide is in order. Read More

iOS 6: A Complete Guide To New Features

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Around this time last year, we brought you a comprehensive guide to the new features of the justifiably lauded iOS 5, and with the newest iteration of Apple’s mobile OS, the sixth in the series, now out and about, we’ve prepared yet another detailed walkthrough of apps, features and improvements for you. All but a few new features in the final build were announced at the release of the first iOS 6 beta in June, or discovered shortly after. The remaining were presented at the much-anticipated iPhone 5 launch event on September 12, and released for developers as part of the GM (Gold Master) version. If you don’t own a Dev Center account, your hands much must be itching with anticipation right now. So, to save save you the trouble of rummaging through the OS to find any and everything new, here’s a thorough run-down of what iOS 6 brings to the table. Read More

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Announced: Here’s A Summary Of Its New Features & Improvements

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The fifth Google I/O began today amidst much anticipation fueled by recent announcements, rumors and leaks regarding Google’s flagship Android tablet, and the latest version of their mobile OS, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, which is what we’ll be discussing here. Although not as huge an iteration as Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean adds a lot of much sought-after features, interface tweaks and improvements, while keeping almost all of its overall look the same as that of the former. Join us after the break for a summary of the salient new features and improvements in Jelly Bean. Read More

Best Siri Cydia Tweaks & Add-ons

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Following the announcement and subsequent release of the iPhone 4S, an escalating hype began to surround one of its most prominent new features – the system-wide voice assistant that was instantly recognized by many as the game changer in speech recognition applications. Although the excitement died down shortly after, it was rekindled by the release of untethered jailbreak for the device, and the many Siri-exclusive Cydia tweaks and add-ons that began to roll out with it. Seeing as it’s been a while and a lot of tweaks have made there way to the store, we decided to compile a list of the best ones. If you own a jailbroken iPhone 4S, read on past the break for ways to enhance your Siri experience. Read More

Conversocial Is An Efficient, Collaborative Social Media Management Web App

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Keeping up with social media chatter can become increasingly tedious if you’re equally active on two or more networks. Most users turn to social media aggregation apps such as TweetDeck and Seesmic, though for companies (or individuals with multiple online businesses), such simple tools seldom suffice. They requiring a comprehensive suite of social media management and analysis tools the likes of Conversocial. The web app allows managing multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts and pages from one place, supports team management (pro version only), provides analytics for each individual account as well as for all social media accounts combined, lets you add multiple RSS feeds and set them to be published to any or all of your social media accounts, automatically populates a Priority Inbox with social media interactions containing certain pre-defined and user-specified keywords (helps separate interactions that might require your immediate attention), and lets you mail yourself interactions within a time period of your chocie in the form of a CSV text file. Read More

Download Our Windows 8 Metro Wallpapers

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Have Windows 8 on your PC but can't find Metro-themed wallpapers to match the new look? The consumer preview comes packed with a single default wallpaper and, as of this writing, you'd be hard-pressed to find Metroish Windows 8 wallpapers on the web. So, we decided to make a few of our own and compile them in one place to save our readers some time and effort. Hope you like them! Read More

How To Download APKs Of Android Market Apps To Your Computer With APK Downloader

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Certain Android-powered mobile device manufacturers (Amazon and Barnes & Noble, for instance) design their variants of the OS without the Android Market, forcing users to make do with the limited number of apps in their native app stores. You could always install apps of your choice on a Market-sporting Android device, extract their APKs and side-load them onto such devices, but why go through all that trouble when you can use APK Downloader, a Google Chrome extension that lets you download Android Market APKs directly to your desktop. The extension seems to bypass any location or device restrictions, allowing you to easily side-load apps that aren’t yet available for your region, or try out those that are supposedly incompatible with your device. APK Downloader hit the blogosphere a couple of days ago, shortly after which the developer took it down, fearing that it would be used for pirating paid apps. Fortunately, courtesy of the persuasion of a few users, the developer has now released a new version of the extension that only allows downloading free apps. Read More

15 Best Free Photo Editing & Sharing Apps For iPhone, iPad & iPod touch

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The genres of photography, image editing, styling and sharing, being among the most popular on the iOS App Store (after platformers and games in general, of course), are becoming increasingly saturated, which makes it quite hard for both new users and seasoned iPhoneographers to pick out the good ones. Seeing this as another opportunity to help our readers out, we’ve compiled a list of fifteen of the best free apps from the aforementioned genres. Read More

APP Lock: PIN Or Pattern Protect Individual User, System Apps & Incoming Calls [Android]

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Not everyone likes to have a master password, PIN or pattern lock applied to their smartphones at all times. It becomes quite tiresome if a friend is playing around with your Android phone, and you have to enter the unlock code every time the screen times out. Then again, you might not want your SMS threads, gallery, Market, email and social networking apps unprotected while one of your mischievous friends is, as he/she says, playing Fruit Ninja on your phone. It is in such situations that apps like APP Lock for Android come in handy. The app lets you lock individual user and system apps with a PIN or pattern of your choice. The concept isn’t new to Android at all. A much older app with the same name (App Lock – App Protector) and previously reviewed Visidon AppLock are based on the same functionality. In fact, the latter even provides the option to set a face recognition lock for individual apps. However, when it comes to looks and simplicity, APP Lock races ahead of the two aforementioned (and most other) alternatives. If you’re setting an authentication screen to appear every time you launch a particular app, you’d probably prefer if it were easy on the eyes. That’s not all; the app even lets you PIN/pattern protect incoming calls. Read More

Join The Dark Side Of The Force With Darth Maul Me For Android

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If you’re a Star Wars fan, then you must be brimming with anticipation for the upcoming 3D variant of The Phantom Menace. For those of you who don’t yet know, Lucasfilm recently announced that a 3D version of Star Wars: Episode I will be hitting theaters around the globe on February 10, 2012. To promote the launch of the film, the production company has released an app for Android smartphones that is sure to keep you entertained till the film is finally released. It’s called Darth Maul Me, and is its name suggests, it turns photos of you or your friends into the saberstaff-wielding, crimson faced villain from Episode I. For details, screenshots and more from the dark side of the force, proceed past the break, you must. Read More

150 Best Android Apps Of Year 2011 [Editor's Pick]

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2011 has been an important year for Android. With devices like Samsung Galaxy S II, Motorola XOOM and Kindle Fire turning heads in the market, atop the release of what is arguably the best iteration of the mobile OS (Ice Cream Sandwich) yet, it was only a matter of time before the head honchos of mobile app development began hopping onto the Android bandwagon. Not only has the year seen many big names debut on the Android Market, but many novice developers make big names for themselves, and to top it all off, the Market is now home to over 400,000 apps. There is no denying the fact that it is still way behind the iTunes App Store in both quantity and quality (especially where the visual appeal of UI, in general, is concerned), but the degree of improvement that the platform and its apps have undergone the previous year surely exceeds the expectations of most of its fans.  Here at AddictiveTips, we've been observing the progress of the platform and its app repository quite closely, bringing you the best apps in and out of the Market day after day. As the year ended, we decided to take a trip down memory lane, and compile a list of the ones we found to be the most unique or useful of lot. Read More

Add Facebook Friends By Touching Your NFC-Capable Android Phones Together

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If you thought NFC (Near Field Communication) was just a means for wireless monetary transactions, Add Friend for Android is bound to open your mind to a plethora of possibilities. This simple yet inspiring free app employs NFC to lets two users become friends on Facebook simply by touching the backs of their phones. Being one of the few NFC-based mobile apps out there, and the only one (we’ve come across) that links the technology with the world’s leading social network, the app is a welcome addition to the Android Market. Head on past the break for further details and a demo video. Read More

How To Disable/Hide Google Search Bar In Android 4.0 ICS Stock Launcher

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Among the many features and interface elements that Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich took from the tablet-exclusive Android OS variant, Honeycomb, is the static search bar that it displays at the top of its stock launcher. Being omnipresent (accessible from each of the five home screens of the stock launcher), it eliminates the need for you to make room for a search widget on the home screen. That said, users who don’t use the search application that often might consider it dead weight doing nothing more than making their home screen look all cluttered. XDA-Developers member oscillik has found a workaround that allows you to hide the search bar. Read on past the break to know how it’s done. Read More

Official App For New Social Network Chime.in Available For Android & iPhone

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From the developers of Ubersocial for Android (formerly known as Twidroyd) and the suite of Twitter mobile/desktop clients and browser extensions known as Echofon, UberMedia has stepped into the social media circus with their very own network, releasing iPhone and Android clients for it the very next day. Chime.in is essentially a mashup of Twitter, Facebook and Reddit that allows users to follow what’s going on around the web according to their interests and reap monetary benefits from their posts (called “chimes” that include textual status updates, photos, videos, links and polls) through the network’s advertising service or their own ad networks. Read More