Sameed Khan

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

WiFi Automatic For Android Auto-Enables WiFi When Charger Is Connected

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If you own an Android device, you’ll agree that connecting your device to a computer and enabling WiFi are mostly a subsequence of one another. That is, whenever you’re close enough to a Wi-Fi network and a computer, you are bound to plug your device in for charging after connecting to said Wi-Fi network or vice versa. There is a free application on the Android Market that handles this task for you. WiFi Automatic auto-enables Wi-Fi when your device is plugged in for charging via USB and disables it whenever it is disconnected. The app has been around for a while now. This review is for those who are still unaware of the tool and are fond of automizing their devices. Read More

Amazon Cloud Player For Web & Android Streams Music From Your Cloud Drive

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No matter how larger a capacity your Android's overall storage has, if you are a die-hard music fan, you will probably never be able to contain the entire music collection on just a SD card. Maybe you do not need to spend too heavily on a large capacity SD card, or worry about getting your device's limited space consumed by just a handful of albums anyway, because of all the various online music streaming and storage services that are available these days. Talking of cloud services, Amazon has just recently launched its very own online streaming and storage service for the web and Android devices. The Amazon Cloud Drive service allows you to upload music, videos and documents to your personal Cloud Drive and in conjunction with Amazon Cloud Player, lets you stream your music library on your computer via the web or on your Android device via Amazon MP3. New users receive 5 GB of free cloud storage, which can be upgraded to 20 GB for a year if you purchase an MP3 album from the Store before the 31st of December, 2011 or for an annual payment of $20. As of this writing, the cloud player service is only available for US residents. Read More

Retroid For Android Adds Retro Effects To Your Photos

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Avid photography fans have plenty of quality apps to choose from the Android Market. That being said, most of the apps are either plain camera replacement solutions or, at best,support integration with some sort of social networking service to allow users share their snaps with the entire world. If, however, you’re fond of adding snazzy effects to your photos before sharing them over the web then you should definitely give Retroid for Android a try. The freeware allows you to retroize photos taken from a shortcut within the app itself, plus any image stored on the SD card of the device. New to the Market, the freeware doesn’t (as of this writing) offer as many effects as older, more popular picture editors, but the ones that it does look absolutely amazing – as good as, or perhaps even better, than those offered by the iOS’s flagship photo-snazzifier, Instagram. Also, the developers have promised additional effect packs in future updates. Read More

How To Fix Battery Drain Issue On A Rooted Android Device

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On several Android forums around the web, Android users have been regularly reporting rapidly draining batteries after flashing custom ROMs (such as Cyanogenmod 7, MIUI and other lesser known ROMs) to their devices. As you would already know, numerous factors contribute towards hogging and draining your limited battery resources, but on the positive side, there are certain effective methods that can help you with rectifying said issue, and get the maximum life out of your Android's battery. In what follows, we will provide you with a step-by-step solution to said problem. Read More

Dock4Droid Is Android’s First Dock Task Manager

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Google mobile operating system, Android, and customization go hand in hand with each other. The platform is highly flexible and adaptive in in every sense of the word. Along with mass customization, another thing that strikes about Android is its capability to handle multitasking. In this regard, there are plenty of alternative options out there which allow users easily monitor and switch between their Android tasks and apps. The developer behind the previously reviewed Taskie has revamped the gesture-based task manager and released the same app to the Android Market with a new name – Dock4Droid.

Dock4Droid provides a highlighted (as per default settings), perpetually accessible gesture area at the very bottom of the screen that allows users to quickly switch between recently opened applications with the swipe of a finger but unlike its predecessor, Taskie, it displays a good-looking scrollable icon-roll of recent tasks. The latter makes Dock4Droid a faster and more effective task switcher than its predecessor and most of the other task manager apps available on the Android Market. Read More

Take Screenshots On Rooted Android 3.0 Honeycomb Tablets With Screenshot ER

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Screenshot ER is the first Android screen capture app to support rooted devices running Android 3.0 Honeycomb. But that’s not the only good part about it. The app sports an assortment of options that can prove to be very handy in certain scenarios. In addition to the screen capture convention of snapping on shake, Screenshot ER has the ability to take timed screenshots via a homescreen shortcut and a notification icon, both of which can be enabled or disabled from the app’s settings menu. The above mentioned feature is ideal for larger Android devices or users who would rather avoid shaking their devices repeatedly. Please note that Screenshot ER works on all versions of Android, from 1.6 to 3.0, but has been developed keeping Honeycomb tablets in mind. Read on after the jump for more info. Read More

Easy Filter For Android Makes Blocking Unwanted Calls And SMS Simpler

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Easy Filter is a free app for Android that provides an easy yet efficient way to block incoming phone calls and SMS. The freeware allows you to choose from multiple blocking scenarios, selectively block/filter SMS or calls from numbers added to the blacklist (Block List) and view the history of filtered calls and messages while keeping the said blacklist and filter records secure behind password protection. Read More

Taskie Is A Fast, Gesture-Based Task Manager For Android

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Taskie is a free application for Android that allows you to exit from and switch between recently opened applications using simple built-in gestures. It provides a highlighted virtual gesture area at the bottom of the screen wherein users can swipe left or right to quickly switch between recent tasks or double-tap to exit from an active task to the homescreen (as per default settings). The application is nothing like Itchhing Thumb, which is basically a launcher add-on that provides a separate interface, or rather, an interface wrapper wherein users can preview, kill and switch between active tasks and launch any application using user-defined gestures. Also, Itching thumb might be more feature-rich in comparison to Taskie but the latter is way faster in usage. That is what Taskie is about – fast access to recent tasks. Read on after the break for more info. Read More

Camera Streak For Android Simulates Long Exposure Photography

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Commendable camera-based Android apps are hard to come by. However, apps from said genre do tend to attract a lot of attention. Users like to be creative with the way they take pictures and sometimes, the plain stock camera app just doesn’t cut it. Camera Streak is a fairly new arrival on the Market that provides you with the tools to set your inner photographer free. The freeware simulates long exposure photography by capturing and superimposing multiple snaps, allowing users to capture light streaks (trails of a light source) and motion, that is, different instances of a scene merged within a single picture via a simple and easy-to-use user interface. More after the jump. Read More

Listen To Google Reader Feed Items On Your Android Device

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It’s tiring enough to read off a computer screen for long hours, let alone off the much smaller screen of a mobile device. New to the Android Market, GoogleReader Reading is a free app that reads out your Google Reader feed items for you – your very own RSS feed secretary. So whenever you feel like giving your eyes a few moments of rest, launch the app and let it do the reading. The app is in no way meant to replace conventional RSS feed readers, only to increase productivity and allow users to multitask – listening to their favorite feeds while driving or taking a walk. Read More

weScribble For Android Lets You Draw With Your Friends Over Wi-Fi

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There are countless applications on the Android Market developed for the sole purpose of providing the user with a few moments of fun every now and then. For instance, you can easily find an that lets you kill some spare hours scribbling, doodling, drawing or sketching your thoughts on a blank canvas. Similarly, you may find certain apps that let you indulge in some fun activities with your mates dwelling a few hundred kilometers from you. Then there are a vast number of games that can keep your attention and interests captivated for prolonged hours. How about getting your hands on an app that merges all three said concepts together?  If you’re fond of said genre of apps, weScribble is a fresh entry you might want to try out. The extremely simple and fun-to-use freeware allows Android users connected to the same Wi-Fi network to draw on a shared canvas, promising hours of fun with friends and family. Doodles galore! Perhaps, an ideal way to play tic-tac-toe with your buddies on your smartphone. The beauty of weScribble lies in the fact that it lets multiple players join in the fun, so that you can have hours of non-stop fun with your friends and family members. Read More

Auto-Enable Speakerphone On Incoming And Outgoing Calls [Android]

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Do you use an Android phone often while multitasking and don't have your hands free to hold it to your ear and have a conversation every time you get a call, but instead prefer to put it on speakerphone and have the conversation while working? If you have been manually doing it so far, we've got a solution that will eliminate the need to do so, and do it automatically for you! New to the Android Market, Auto Speakerphone for Android is a handy application that, when enabled, automatically turns on the speakerphone in the event of an incoming or outgoing call. To learn more, read on after the jump. Read More

Customize Notifications For Calls, SMS, Gmail, Gtalk & More On Android

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WhoIsIt Lite is a free, comprehensive tool for contact and application-specific ringtone and notification management. The freeware allows users to assign separate ringtones and vibration patterns to incoming calls, SMS, MMS, Gmail, Google Talk, Google Voice and K-9 notifications collectively or for each contact. In addition, users can set the application to announce a notification with a default or user-defined (custom) announcement, complete with the name of the sender – a feature that you are bound to have fun with. And that’s not all! The application can backup and restore contact settings to and from your SD card when required. The paid version of the app has been around for a while. It's about time a free version hit the shelves. Read More

Full HDMI Mirroring For Rooted HTC EVO 4G With HDMwIn

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A couple of weeks ago, we reviewed the beta version of FullHDMI, an application that overrides the HDMI-out restrictions on rooted HTC EVO 4G phones. The full version of the application hit the Android Market 5 days ago with a price tag of $2.99. Wait! Don’t let the price tag scare you away. We understand that although the hack is one to die for, some users might not be eager enough to spend extra cash on a feature they could do without. Good news is, they won’t have to. That’s right, a free alternative to the application is now available on the Android Market. HDMwIn, like FullHDMI, allows you to mirror everything on your EVO 4G’s screen onto an external display at up to 720p. Normally, you would only be able to clone video playback. So if thinking about playing Android games on an HDTV makes you drool uncontrollably, read on after the jump for more info. Read More

GO Contacts For Android: Ideal Alternative To Stock Dialer & Contacts

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The acclaimed GO Dev Team, after receiving satisfied nods from Android users all around for GO Launcher, GO SMS and GO Weather, has added another peach of an application to the Android Market. Go Contacts is a free contacts manager and dialer app that is, as claimed by the developers themselves, good enough to replace the stock Contacts and Dialer applications, perhaps even better in some respects. Read More

Get Detailed App Information With Apk Info For Android

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Ever wanted the ability to easily get detailed information on all the applications installed on your Android device in a single interface? Apk Info for Android is a simple but handy utility that allows you to view detailed information on all the applications installed on your Android device. Particularly useful for new developers, the freeware displays everything from the app and package name of a selected application to its activities and permissions. Read on after the jump for more info. Read More

Avoid Accidental Phone Calls With Outgoing Call Confirm For Android

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While there is little doubt in anyone's mind that the future of mobile industry lies in smartphones, tablets and other touch-enabled devices, there are certain issues associated with touchscreens that need to be recitifed in order to make the use of these gadgets more user-friendly. Its frustrating when your phone connects a call without your intentional consent, isn’t it? Every time you forget to lock your Android phone, there is a chance that in the few seconds or minutes before the screen times out, you might accidentally dial a number from your contacts list. New to the Android Market, Outgoing Call Confirm is a free app that remedies said problem. When enabled, the application alerts you by playing the default ringtone, causing the phone to vibrate or both when an outgoing call is placed while displaying a prompt and waiting for a confirmation. Read More

Listen To Incoming SMS And Respond via Speech-To-Text [Android]

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Just recently, we reviewed three of the very best SMS/text message readers on the Android Market. If you liked or are currently using any of those three, we bet you’ll love this one. Hands Free SMS for Android not only reads out incoming SMS but also, as the name implies, allows you to respond to them via voice input using the native speech-to-text conversion application. And its free! DriveSafe.ly, one of the three aforementioned apps, offers the latter feature only after a paid subscription. Read on after the jump for more info on the free alternative. Read More

Schedule Display Brightness And Wi-Fi/Data/Bluetooth Toggling On Android

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There aren’t a lot of applications on the Market that provide you with comprehensive aid in conserving the battery life of your Android device. JuiceDefender, which has been around for quite a while now, is probably the best application of said kind, with more features and customizability than any other similar app on the Market. However, not all said features are available in the free version. Moreover, for certain novice users, the high level of customizability may sometimes become a tad confusing. A recent addition to the Android Market, Power Scheduler is a simple-to-use alternative to the aforementioned app. In addition to having a minimalistic interface that is extremely easy to understand and get used to, the application sports a few extra features that JuiceDefender doesn’t. That is, apart from allowing users to set schedules for the level of screen brightness and switching Wi-Fi/network data on or off, the application allows the same for Bluetooth and Airplane Mode. Read More

Cool Cleaner For Android Makes Clearing History And App Cache Easier

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Cool cleaner is a free Android app that brings all major application cache files and history data under one hood and allows you to do away with them with a couple of taps. Quite a handy application to have if you want to regularly clear cache that certain applications might be accumulating, or to be able to clear browser, call and search history of certain Google apps without having to do it separately for each of the mentioned applications. Read More