Android.app.Directory v1 2013

Entertainment

Games

Comics

Social Networking

Music

Productivity

Lifestyle

Reference

Travel

Sports

Android App Directory

Volume one

TM

Your guide to the best applications available for Android Apps from everoyn categoryid Andro Market

603 apps & games for Android reviewed

Shopping

Health & Fitness

News

Photography

Finance

Business

Education

Weather

Books

Tools

Volume 1

Android App Directory TM

Welcome Welcome to the first ever edition of the Android App Directory, where we provide the essential guide to getting the most out of the Android Market. There’s so much choice out there that you need help to know which apps deserve your money and – more importantly – your time. Split into easy-toread sections and covering everything from the essentials to the warnings on what to avoid, not only will we help you find the apps you want but we’ll also teach you about plenty of new ones along the way! Ryan King – Editor

Our top five Bouncy Mouse Free

Welcome to the spiritual successor to Angry Birds

VirtuaGym Free

If you want to get into shape, start with this app

WhatsApp Free

The messenger to ensure you’re always in touch

Page 50

Page 64

Page 78

Offical eBay App Free

The ideal way to buy and sell while on the move

Rain Alarm Pro £2.65/$4.29

Perfect for those who want to plan for the weather

Page 113

Page 163


Imagine Publishing Ltd Richmond House 33 Richmond Hill Bournemouth Dorset BH2 6EZ % +44 (0) 1202 586200 Website: www.imagine-publishing.co.uk

Editor in Chief Dave Harfield Editor Ryan King Design Danielle Dixon, Annabelle Sing Printed by William Gibbons, 26 Planetary Road, Willenhall, West Midlands, WV13 3XT Distributed in the UK & Eire by Imagine Publishing Ltd, www.imagineshop.co.uk. Tel 01202 586200 Distributed in Australia by Gordon & Gotch, Equinox Centre, 18 Rodborough Road, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086. Tel + 61 2 9972 8800 Distributed in the Rest of the World by Marketforce, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0SU Disclaimer The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited material lost or damaged in the post. All text and layout is the copyright of Imagine Publishing Ltd. Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the publisher. All copyrights are recognised and used specifically for the purpose of criticism and review. Although the magazine has endeavoured to ensure all information is correct at time of print, prices and availability may change. This bookazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein. Android App Directory Volume 1 © 2011 Imagine Publishing Ltd ISBN 978-1-908222-3-50

Contents Your guide to the best apps for Android

8

24

Books Use your Android to bring the

Business/ Finance From changing currency to

traditional paperback into the modern world.

keeping your finances in check, these are all the apps you need.

34

42

designed to keep boredom at bay while you’re on the move.

gaming than Angry Birds, as our exhaustive list of games show.

Entertainment The catalogue of Android apps

58

Health/ Medical Whether you’re self-diagnosing or just wanting to look after yourself, check these apps out.

6 Android App Directory

Games There’s more to Android

66

76

hectic, here’s a selection of apps to help you stay on top of it all.

out for blasting some tunes or watching funny videos.

Lifestyle With modern life being so

Media These apps will kit your Android

84

News/ Magazines/ Comics Whether reading the news or

96

Photography

How to turn taking pictures into an art rather than a forgotten-about function of your Android.

laughing with comics, our apps cover all the bases.

104

114

their productivity and these apps will help show you how.

Whether it’s simple groceries or wine buying, check these apps out.

Productivity Everyone can do with speeding up

120

Social Networking Everyone is connected thanks to

Shopping

130

140

Formula 1, MMA… all the bases are covered with these apps.

health is vitally important and these tools will show you how.

Sports Golf, football, baseball, boxing,

social media and with these apps, you won’t miss out.

Tools Keeping your Android in good

148

162

trustworthy travel companion once it has these apps.

it won't take you by surprise thanks to these top picks.

Travel Your Android will be your most

Weather It’s raining, it’s pouring but

Android App Directory 7

Android

Books/Reference/Education

Books/ Reference/ Education ■ View Wikipedia on Android

■ It’s currently the best Wikipedia browser

Whether it’s teaching your younger ones or perhaps learning a few things yourself, these apps will help enrich your mind with some incredible knowledge and keep you mentally sharp as well as thoroughly entertained Top paid apps

Top free apps

Wikidroid Plus ★★★★★

Thesaurus ★★★★★

SpellChecker Pro ★★★★★

Aldiko Book Reader ★★★★★

WolframAlpha ★★★★★

Dictionary.com ★★★★★

Staff pick of the section Kids Numbers ★★★★★


Google Sky Map ★★★★★

Price: £1.22/$1.97 Developer: Sirius Applications Ltd.

Wikidroid Plus

There’s a Wiki in your pocket Wikidroid Plus is an paid upgrade available for Wikidroid for Wikipedia. This unlock allows you to browse Wikipedia on your phone freely without the burden of advertisements while supporting the developers of this fine application. However, there are no other features unlocked by paying for the Plus upgrade. Upon loading the application, you’ll be greeted with today’s featured article – from here you can search for the article you wish in the search bar located at the top of the application. Wikipedia articles are optimised for display on your phone while still offering all of the information that you would find on your desktop computer. There are also a few extra features such as the ability to share articles with friends or save them to your phone’s cache, allowing you to re-visit them later without requiring an internet connection. Wikidroid Plus is one of the best ways to view Wikipedia on your Android device.

Rating ★★★★★


Android

Price: Free Developer: Livio

Thesaurus

Quickly find a synonym from the palm of your hand The Thesaurus application is a great way to quickly find a synonym for any word from your Android device. Whether you’re writing an essay or a work report, a fresh look at language can really help out sometimes. Upon loading the application you’re presented with a search field; tap in the word you’re looking for and the application will swiftly display a list of alternatives which can then be tapped to view definitions and additional synonyms. The application connects to the internet to retrieve thousands of words and there’s no in-built dictionary so you’ll need an active 3G or Wi-Fi connection to use this app. Developer Livio has done it again, providing another great books and reference application that’s easy to use and boasts a simplistic and minimal user interface. The application is free and is not ad-supported, meaning you can freely search for words without intrusive adverts getting in the way. Additionally, the application is only a meagre 69k so you needn’t worry about long downloads or it taking up valuable space on your device.

We tried the application in various situations, searching for different words and phrases and each time it came back with a vast selection of results; from here we tapped through the different suggestions to find other alternatives. The application’s dictionary is pulled straight from AlterVista.org, meaning it is reliable and is regularly updated with the latest synonyms. Results are displayed on a white background in a black font making it easy to read your search results in any situation – something we found to be very useful. While using the application we didn’t experience any issues with crashing and it seemed to use a very small amount of the phone’s available memory, meaning it will work smoothly on almost any Android device. This quick, light-weight and easy-to-use application is one of our favourite solutions for a mobile thesaurus and we highly recommend you give it a try – after all, it is free.


■ The search results are always reliable

■ While basic, the user interface is clean and functional

■ It really is a wonderfully useful and accessible app


Android


Price: Free Developer: Intellijoy

Kids Numbers and Math Lite A fun and mobile way to learn numbers and math Kids Numbers and Math Lite is an interactive way to help teach children basic numeracy skills such as addition, subtracting and counting. This colourful application offers various modes, each appealing to different age groups ranging from five to ten years old. These are: learning numbers, counting, choose max and minimum numbers, addition, subtraction, advanced exercises and find a match. These all have basic functionality within the lite version, however, users wanting more challenges and games can upgrade to the paid version of the application for just £1.84 (approx $2.98) from the Android Market. Kids Numbers and Math Lite is a colourful and vibrant application that is aesthetically pleasing to children and it utilises colour and sound to enhance the learning experience. There are also a few additional features such as shaking the phone to change the background from day-time to night-time and counting with stars rather than just numbers, which are all nice touches.

As mentioned before, the application uses sound to aid the child in learning, so when playing activities such as counting, the number is both displayed on screen and said out loud through the phone’s speaker. Although if you’d rather your child play in silence, sounds can be disabled in the application’s preferences. There’s a good amount of separation between activities that are more learning-focused and those that are more fun. Activities such as ‘Find a Match’ feel a great deal more like a game to the child while still helping them to understand and associate numbers. The touch controls of Android smartphones make the application easy to use for younger children rather than trying to get them to interact with a complex UI. The application makes it impossible to fail an activity, meaning there’s no chance of your child getting frustrated or upset as a result of playing. Kids Numbers and Math Lite is a great way to introduce your children to mobile education while being a lot of fun to use.


■ Fortunately, the sounds can be quickly disabled

■ The bright and breezy visuals will help keep younger fingers busy and always makes it crystal clear what’s being shown


■ There’s a clear distinction between the activities available


Android

■ The voice that reads out words can be hard to understand

■ It can be a genuinely insightful way of learning words as well as spelling ■ Different difficulties mean adults can take part

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: Socratica, LLC

Spelling Bee

Buzz, buzz, buzzzz… test your knowledge in a spelling bee Spelling Bee is yet another great educational application from famed developers Socratica. The application allows you to study words and then test your knowledge in a spelling bee. The great thing about Spelling Bee is its versatility; thanks to its difficulty settings it can be suitable for both children and young adults with easier difficulties tasking you with spelling much simpler words such as ‘shopping’ while harder difficulties may ask you to spell words such as ‘magnanimity’. The study option allows you to read up and learn or revise words before testing your newfound knowledge in a spelling bee. This can either be done in a timed quick-fire fashion or you can disable the timer in the settings to provide a slower and more relaxed pace. Additionally you can customise how long the spelling bee is and set how many rounds you’d like to play, meaning you can have a short and quick session or a longer test after some deep, engrossed studying.

There are thousands of words built into the application so you’ll constantly be finding and learning new ones. Spelling Bee is also aesthetically one of the nicest applications we’ve seen of its kind, with bright and colourful backgrounds and easy-to-read fonts – it’s a real bargain for its tiny price tag. The only issue we experienced while playing was with the voice that reads words out in the spelling bee – it is very generic and almost reminiscent of Microsoft Sam. As such, it was sometimes hard to actually understand what it was you were supposed to be writing down. The music is fun and fits the application’s aesthetic, although if found irritating it can easily be disabled with a tap. Spelling Bee is a great way for both children and adults to learn and revise their vocabulary and features thousands of words varying in complexity. For just over 60p (approx 99c), you can’t really go wrong!

Rating ★★★★★ Android App Directory 11

Android


■ x x

■ The accuracy of Spell Checker Pro, as you can imagine, is absolutely spot-on ■ While great for formal work, you can use this app with social media too

Price: £1.88 Developer: Androidsx

Spell Checker Pro This will help yoo spel properli

While text speak may have nudged the need to spell correctly down the list of priorities for many a phone user, there are still times where you’ll need to get the correct spelling for a text, email or just for the sake of being literate. This is where Spell Checker Pro steps up and performs this essential task. Versatility is obviously the most important thing here, and Spell Checker Pro earns top marks. As you might expect, it has the basic function of allowing you to copy and paste text into the correct box. When Spell Checker Pro questions the spelling of a word, it’ll highlight it in red and, when tapped, gives you options on what it thinks the word you were trying to spell was. Easy to use, and the simple layout also helps. There are various languages to choose, from English to Danish, Italian, French, Spanish, German, Swedish and Polish. Unfortunately, there isn’t an option to break down English further so you have, say, an American English option. But as we say, it’s versatility that’s where you’d imagine a spell checker earns its stripes, and that’s definitely the case for Spell Checker Pro. You can access the app via the notification bar, so it saves on the needless legwork if you want to quickly send a 12 Android App Directory

text or do something trivial. Even better, the app itself allows you to send mail and messages, update Facebook, tweet and so on, which means you can quickly and painlessly make Spell Checker Pro an integral part of your Android experience. It also has voice recognition, so you can say the words to check the spelling. This is very hit and miss, however, and isn’t nearly as reliable as just typing the word. Even so, if updated, we can imagine that this will make foreign language spell-checking incredibly easy. What’s holding Spell Checker Pro back from earning an illustrious five-star rating is its rather bizarre demand that you have internet access each time you want to use the app. This is presumably the concession it makes for the fact that it’s such a small download – its word databanks are kept on the Spell Checker Pro servers, we assume – but this seems like a needless solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. It means you need internet access to use the app, and while that won’t be a problem most of the time, it does mean the app isn’t quite perfect. A shame but, even so, this app is still highly recommended.



Android

Price: Free Developer: Google Inc

Google Sky Map Look up and reach for the stars

Sometimes, it’s the simple ideas that are the most fascinating. That’s definitely what makes Google Sky Map such a brilliant and compelling app, as it simply shows you a star map of what is in the sky wherever your phone is pointing. It’s incredibly accurate and quickly and smoothly rotates to follow wherever your phone is pointing. Aim it at the sky and you can quickly see what planets, stars and constellations lie above. While this might seem like a somewhat useless tool during the day, as you can’t actually see what stars and planets are in the sky, as soon as night approaches it becomes a fun and educational tool. By pointing your phone at the stars, you can see what star it is you’re looking at and also where it is in relation to other planets and stars in the vicinity, and you can disable the automatic view to manually scroll around the night sky and see what else lies next to it. It’s a shame there isn’t more information on what the planets and stars actually are or even their history, as this would have added the extra information necessary to make this a musthave app as well as one of the most fun educational apps on Android Market.

That’s not to say that there aren’t other features to play around with. There’s a gallery, which gives you gorgeous pictures of constellations, before also giving you a prompt, should you want to track them in the night sky and make your own comparison. You can also search for planets and stars by entering them into the Google Sky Map search engine, which will bring up an arrow to point the way to where they’re located, while a night vision mode also enables you to pick things out with ease as darkness falls and the stars come out to play. Best of all, you have the option of enabling and disabling what shows up, so you can have a night sky that just shows the planets above you. It’s a surprisingly spooky view and one that reminds you how big the universe is. Mostly, though, Google Sky Maps takes a simple idea and allows your own interest in astronomy or the universe around us to create the spark. As it’s a free download, there’s no reason not to download it and have a quick play around. You’ll find it’s far more compelling than you first think.


■ x x

■ The panel on the left allows you to toggle what is or isn’t on the sky map view ■ You can search for specific planets or stars and be guided towards them


Android


Price: Free Developer: Dictionary.com, LLC

Dictionary.com

Take Dictionary.com out with you The Dictionary.com application brings everybody’s favourite dictionary website to your mobile. This easily accessible app allows you to search for word definitions and synonyms on the fly. Dictionary.com’s clean and simplistic UI allows you to jump straight into a search, returning the definition of your searched word. Additionally the application features a thesaurus providing you with a quick way to find synonyms for a word. Search results display every detail you may require including multiple definitions, the phonetic spelling and the word type. There is also a speaker icon next to every word which you can tap to hear the word read, although as with most applications this is a generic computerised voice which can sometimes be hard to understand. The search feature will remember recent searches too, allowing ease of access to previous queries. The application is completely free although this means that it is also ad-supported which can get a little irritating sometimes as you tap something and accidentally hit an advert, opening the phone’s browser.

One of our favourite features was the option to favourite words; this meant we could save a word we were using frequently to return to its spelling and definition along with an option to find alternatives with the application’s thesaurus. There’s plenty of other neat features in the application too, such as a random ‘word of the day’ on start-up and a voice search option allowing you to say the word you’re looking for. The voice search is somewhat flawed but can occasionally be helpful with simple word searches. The application is also customisable with a setting to change the background you view definitions on. There’s also an option to share words and definitions with friends via popular social networks such as Facebook and Twitter and via email or SMS. Dictionary.com is, in our opinion, the best and most concise dictionary application available for Android devices and due to its source material remains the most up-to-date way to search for vocabulary on an Android device.


■ x

■ Chose from one of the background options available for the app ■ Search for a word you want a definition for


■ Definitions are clear and easy to read


Android

Price: £0.60/$0.97 Developer: Udell Enterprises, Inc

Moon Phase Pro Bring the moon to your mobile

■ You’ll find answers to all your questions

■ There’s plenty of keyboard for you to type on…

Moon Phase Pro allows you to view the current phase of the moon’s cycle from the palm of your hand. Using your location, obtained via GPS, the application accurately displays a 3D image of the moon in its current state. The percent to full, time until the new moon and moon rise is also displayed on screen to provide additional info. The application also features a calendar view which allows you to view the moon’s phase at any given date past or present. You can also optionally set the application to notify you 24 hours before new, full and quarter moons. Additionally you can enter a custom location rather than using your current location to view the moon’s status elsewhere in the world. Our favourite feature of Moon Phase Pro is setting the current moon phrase as your wallpaper which updates in real-time as the moon’s cycle progresses.


Price: £1.22/$1.98 Developer: Wolfram Alpha, LLC

WolframAlpha The answers to everything... from your phone!

The WolframAlpha application brings the popular search engine to your phone. In short this app does plenty; calculating thousands of different equations, displaying facts about the universe and beyond, converting units and much more. Upon starting the application you’ll be greeted with an advanced input window, from here you can type almost any calculation or question and find an answer in next to no time. The application will quickly pull results and answers from the internet, returning almost every detail you could need. You can also share or favourite your results to keep them for later use. Additionally the application features a search history feature allowing you to quickly revisit searches. WolframAlpha is a great way to access expert knowledge quickly and easily – a must have for any student or academic.


■ Learn the moon’s phases

■ Alter the settings to how you wish

■ There’s an exciting countdown until the next moon


Android


■ There’s a dictionary to help you find what you’re looking for

■ The on-screen video will show you how to perform the sign you wish to display

■ It’s easy to find what you are looking for, with the app broken down into categories

Price: £1.83/$2.95 Developer: Appsavers.com

ASL Dictionary

Learn sign language on the move ASL Dictionary is a quick and easy way to start learning American Sign Language. This application features over 4,800 signs, each with its own video demonstrating how to perform the sign. This application’s UI is very basic and perhaps could do with a lick of paint, however what it lacks in design it certainly makes up for in content – as stated before, there’s 4,800 different signs to learn from ASL Dictionary including 765 words with multiple meanings – that’s a lot of signing. The application covers various categories of vocabulary such as; time, money, dates, months, years, general numbers, finger-spelled alphabet and common phrases such as “You’re too late”. The application allows you to quickly search for the word you’re looking for, providing suggestions as you type. Alternatively you can browse words by categories or just view them all in an A-Z view. Upon selecting a word, a video will quickly be downloaded and play, the application can optionally 16 Android App Directory

cache videos to your phone’s memory to allow you to quickly view them again offline – however you will need an active 3G or Wi-Fi connection to download the video for the first time. The application translates idioms and generally provides sign solutions for almost all and any vocabulary you may need. The only downside to this application is if you are caching the videos, then you may find yourself quickly taking up a great deal of space so it may be an idea to only cache the few words or phrases you’re focusing on learning at that time. You may also find the application taking a great deal of time to download the videos if your 3G connection is poor, so you may want to keep this application for in the home. Despite this, ASL Dictionary still provides a quick and easy way to start learning or further expand your knowledge of sign language in this intuitive mobile application.



Android

■ The app is bright and colourful

■ Is this a piano, or is it a xylophone? Hmm… ■ The different shapes are shown in lots of ways

Price: Free Developer: Intellijoy

Kids Shapes

Teach shapes with your mobile Kids Shapes is yet another bright and colourful Android application designed to help make teaching children fun. This child-friendly application provides children aged two to five a fun way to learn shapes. The application features two modes; one which reads out shapes and teaches the child to associate various objects with shapes such as triangular road signs. The other tests the child’s knowledge by asking them to touch the correct shape. The application is bright and colourful and makes use of common objects such as sandwiches, CDs and clothes to help teach children various shapes. There’s also no penalty for selecting the wrong shape so there’s no need to worry about your child getting worked up or upset over the game. This free application is a great way to both entertain and educate young children while introducing them to your Android device.


Price: Free Developer: Sunny Day

Kids Piano Lite Learn to play the keys

Kids Piano Lite is a fun application that turns your phone into a child’s piano. By tapping the screen you can make various sounds and play short simple tunes – a great way to keep your children entertained (although you may want to invest in a pair of headphones for your own sanity). The application features a free play mode in which any key of the piano can be hit in any order, alternatively there’s the song mode which prompts you to hit certain keys in order to play short songs such as ‘Happy New Year’. There are also a handful of games which involve things like matching notes or whacking mice that pop-up to play sounds. Unfortunately, as the application is free it’s ad-supported which can become a little irritating if your child accidentally taps the advert, opening the phone’s browser – although adverts are only present within the menu so there’s no worry of that mid-game. Kids Piano Lite is a fun and simple way for children to make music with an Android device.


Android


Price: £1.83/$2.96 Developer: Udell Enterprises, Inc

TerraTime

The most advanced clock you’ll ever use TerraTime is an interactive clock application. The app features a 3D interactive globe displaying informative such as sunrise and sunsets along with a daylight map. There are also plenty of other real-time features such as a daylight map live wallpaper and a day/night clock widget. One of the most exciting features of the application is that all of the simulations are generated from real accurate satellite imagery around the world.

■ Discover when the sun will rise


Price: Free Developer: Aldiko Limited

Aldiko Book Reader An entire library just a touch away Aldiko Book Reader is an alternative reader to Kindle. The application supports thousands of books and eBooks, delivering them straight to your Android device. The app features huge catalogues of books, both old and new, a lot of which are often available to download completely free of charge. Additionally, a great feature of Aldiko Book Reader is the ability to import your own PDFs and read them with the app. Aldiko is comfortable to read and is hugely customisable; allowing you to change the font type, colour, margin and brightness. There’s also a bookmarks option to save your favourite books you’re reading. ■ The app has an iBooks feel to it


Price: Free Developer: Martin K.

Price: Free Developer: SusaSoftX

Improve your English on the move

Become a walking science boff

Test Your English

Test Your English is an app that allows you to practice and improve your English reading and writing skills. The application offers various texts and tests to refine your knowledge. There’s a plethora of readings, with over 300 multichoice tests to improve your written grammatical skills. Each test consists of ten questions, at the end of each test you’re evaluated and given a score to improve upon. You can view your scores later on from the scores tab and see how you have improved. Test Your English is a great way for those who wish to better their knowledge of the language. ■ Perfect your English with this app

18 Android iPhone App AppDirectory DirectoryVolume 5


Science Facts Spanning across almost all aspects of science, Science Facts offers weird and interesting facts about almost anything that will be sure to amaze your friends. This free-to-download application allows you to browse facts either randomly or by category and also features the ability to share a fact with friends via social networks or SMS. The only real downside is that the application is ad-supported which can sometimes cause issues, however, most of the time we found it to be great fun and used the application to ‘wow’ each other with astonishing and interesting facts.



Price: £9.19/$14.84 Developer: LDS Scriptures

Price: Free Developer: Zoodles

Mobile scriptures

Make learning fun!

LDS Scriptures App LDS Scriptures App is a full-featured scriptures application featuring bookmarks, phrase highlighting, notes, tags and multiple pages. This application features tons of content from conference talks to hymns and manuals. Optionally you can also install all of the content onto your phone for quick access offline, although you’ll need 200MB of free space to perform this task so it may not be advisable for those with less memory available. Our favourite feature of the LDS Scriptures App is the ability to sync with your other devices such as the iPhone, iPod touch, PC, Mac and Linux.


Kid Mode

Kid Mode is yet another quality fun educational Android application for children. The app features various games and activities to help children of various ages learn essential skills. One of our favourite features in Kid Mode is the licensed characters such as Dora the Explorer and the Cookie Monster making an appearance, which will help encourage children to learn when there’s a face or two they recognise. With plenty of games to choose from for all ages and a price tag of absolutely nothing, you can’t really go wrong with the Kid Mode app. ■ We all love the Cookie Monster


Price: £6.10/$9.86 Developer: Brak Software

Price: Free Developer: LifeChurch.tv

Teach yourself Japanese

Carry the Bible in your pocket

Human Japanese

Bible

Human Japanese is an engaging, well-made app that can help you to learn Japanese from the basics to more advanced vocabulary. The app features over 500 pages of text, animations of every Hiragana and Katakana character and more than 1,800 recordings of vocabulary words and phrases spoken by native speakers. There are also various interactive games and quizzes available to further enhance your learning experience. This application is a pleasure to use and is a great place to start learning Japanese the easy way. ■ Learn Japanese with this guide


Android

The Bible app allows you to keep the entire Bible in several translations on your mobile. It offers various other neat features such as highlighting sections of the Bible and bookmarking or sharing them. You can also create an account to sync your settings and highlights across other platforms. There’s also a handy notes feature, allowing you to write and save notes. ■ There are lots of options on offer


Android


Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: THUP Games

Price: £1.99/$3.23 Developer: Escapist Games Ltd

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox

Star Chart

Stargazing just got a whole lot simpler

For those who like to monkey around…

Star Chart brings astronomy to your Android device. Aim your phone at the sky and it will display the current constellation you’re looking at. The app uses your phone’s GPS to track your location and match it to local star systems and reproduce an accurate 3D-augmented universe on your screen in real-time. It can even identify your star sign in the sky!

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox is a fun and colourful app to teach kids aged two to five about colours, letters, counting, shapes, differences and matching. This vibrant game features many colourful characters that children are sure to love. It includes various games, each focusing on a different area and featuring cute monkeys! As you go on, you’ll unlock various stickers which can be viewed to show progress. ■ One of our favourite educational apps


■ Discover planets in the night sky


Price: £0.69/$1.13 Developer: AR Entertainment

Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: Exaybachay

My First Puzzles

Perfect Ear Pro

My First Puzzles is a colourful and vibrant application aimed at children aged between two and six. The app features 14 different puzzles to be solved, each resembling a type of animal. The application is bright and colourful and makes good use of sound so will appeal to a wide range of children while improving their motor skills. My First Puzzles has to be one of our favourite puzzle-solving applications for children currently available on the Android Market.

Perfect Ear Pro is a musical app designed to improve your ability to detect pitch, aiming to benefit both professional and hobbyist musicians. It features eight exercises, each training a different aspect of your hearing. There are also custom exercises available to use along with a scale viewer. There’s a selection of instruments and guitar skins available along with a largely configurable interface to customise the app to your liking. Great for honing your musical ear.

Solve jigsaws on your Android

■ Digital puzzles can improve motor skills



Enhance your musical prowess

■ This will have you in tune in no time



Price: £3.06/$4.99 Developer: Webrich Software Pvt Ltd

Android

UK Driving Theory Test

Price: £2.60/$4.27 Developer: KreApp Development

Probably best not to use while driving…

Carry the stars in your pocket

UK Driving Theory Test takes the popular concept of a practice test on the PC and brings it to your Android device, featuring over 970 questions. The application features a Study mode allowing you to prepare for your test, optionally specifying which topic you’d like to revise – afterwards you can choose to take the mock test which, after completion, will inform you of the areas you need to gen up and improve on. UK Driving Theory Test is a great way to gauge your knowledge before you go in for your actual theory test and is a bargain for just over £3! ■ Getting you in the driver’s seat

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £9.19/$14.99 Developer: MobileCaltronics.com

MathPac: CollegeCalculator

Mobile mathematics at your fingertips MathPac: CollegeCalculator is a heavyweight, comprehensive mathematics app for Android. MathPac allows you to perform advanced mathematical tasks such as graphics, tracing, minimum and maximums, intercepts, intersections and more. This is a must-have for any students in need of a concise and complex maths revision tool, however its uses don’t end with education as it features various practical features that can help with finances and the like too. ■ The numbers add up with this app


Mobile Observatory Pro Ever wanted to view the stars from your mobile? Now you can, thanks to Mobile Observatory Pro. This novelty app allows you to zoom around the night sky, showing stars, planets and deep sky objects. The application also features a Live mode, letting you point your phone’s camera at the sky and see an augmented display of what you’re currently looking at – a neat feature that’s fun to try each night. ■ Appealing to the inner astronomer


Price: Free Developer: Socratica, LLC

U.S. Presidents Pledge to your Android

U.S. Presidents is a free app from popular developer Socratica. It enables you to learn about the US presidents of the past including facts such as years in office, birthplace, party, vice presidents and much more. After reading up about the leaders there’s a Quiz mode to test your memory. For those after details on a specific president, the app features a search and index feature too. U.S. Presidents is a fun little trivia application that is sure to teach you something new every day. ■ Great for those tricky pub quiz questions


Android


Price: Free Developer: Iammar

Brilliant Quotes & Quotations

Thousands of quotes in the palm of your hand Brilliant Quotes & Quotations has over 2,700 stirring quotes from over 180 famous people of both the past and present. The quotes are grouped into categories for ease of viewing and can also be accessed by searching for a specific author or quote. The app features a customisable widget to display quotes on your homescreen and an option to post quotes to social networks. ■ Words of wisdom to get you through the day


Price: £6.12/$9.99 Developer: American International Press

MacGyver How-To Handbook

Become as handy as MacGyver when in a tight spot Ever wanted to know how MacGyver did all that awesome stuff? Now you can with the MacGyver How-To Handbook for Android. This handy app shows you step-by-step instructions on how to do many of MacGyver’s tricks along with a list of materials required and a scientific explanation as to just how it works. Wow your friends and become the new MacGyver!

■ Ever wanted to be a secret agent?


Price: Free Developer: Tim Clark

Price: £0.78/$1.24 Developer: TECHNO SQUARE Inc

Stay cool with this quick way to look up urban slang

A pocketbook in your… pocket

Urban Dictionary

Urban Dictionary is a strange place and now with the Urban Dictionary application you can bring all that strangeness to your mobile! This hip app allows you to quickly search for words from a user-generated source of modern slang and find definitions to those weird and zany terms people seem to use. There’s a few neat features such as the ability to share words with friends, check a daily word and shake the phone for a random term. There’s also a widget to display a random word and definition on your homescreen, but take care who sees it! ■ Great for translating the cool kids’ lingo

22 Android App Directory App Directory Volume 5


Pocketbook Appendix+ Pocketbook Appendix+ is an easyto-use pocketbook appendix containing tons of information on Japan such as conversion tables, postal charges, emergency numbers, time difference and much more. This application is great for those with a desire to learn more about Japan; additionally it might just be a lifesaver for those visiting Japan. Pocketbook Appendix+ is the ■ A mine of data on Nippon premium version of the application meaning it features no adverts and additional features such as a size table, web colour code, yakudoshi and stamp duty among other things.



Price: £1.89/$3.07 Developer: Visalia Mobile Ltd

Sundroid Pro Sunrise Sunset Put the sun in your pocket!

Sundroid Pro Sunrise Sunset provides you with everything you need to know about the movements of the sun, moon and planets, calculating the time of sunrises, sunsets, twilights, golden hours, length of day and the path of the sun. This is great for those wanting to track the sun’s movements through the year as well as to know sunrise and sunset times, whether for professional or ■ Keep close tabs on everything solar romantic purposes!


Price: £2.99/$4.86 Developer: Moon+ Reader

Moon+ Reader Pro Read under the moonlight Moon+ Reader Pro is an eBook reader solution for Android devices, boasting powerful controls and full functions. The app supports TXT, HTML, EPUB, UMD, FB2, CHM, ZIP and ORPDS files, making it one of the most versatile readers available for Android yet. The application can be tailored too, enabling you to optimise your reading experience. ■ A comprehensive eBook reader app


Price: Free Developer: Geometer Plus

Price: Free Developer: Wiki apps

Take your library out with you

Browse Wikipedia from your mobile

FBReader

Wikipedia Encyclopedia

FBReader is a highly customisable and versatile eBook reader for Android devices, supporting EPUB, OEB and FB2 files. The app is fast and lightweight and makes reading on your Android a joy. FBReader supports eBooks purchased elsewhere along with connecting to various online eBook stores to allow you to purchase and read books from the web. The wide range of customisation options makes this a winner! ■ Read eBooks with ease – all for free!


Android

Wikipedia Encyclopedia allows fast access to the world of Wikipedia from your Android device. The app formats articles to a mobile-friendly version while allowing you to modify the display, changing the font size and, if you like, the language too – making it accessible to everybody. You can also select and copy text which is often useful for making notes from a Wikipedia article. ■ Browse Wiki while you’re on the go


Android

Business/Finance

Business/ Finance ■ There are a wealth of features available here

■ You can sync your documents with your PC

Price: £9.19/$14.89 Developer: DataVis, Inc.

Looking after your business or even looking after your money might seem like cumbersome, stressful and long-winded practices but these Business and Finance apps will take a weight off your mind by doing the hard work for you Top paid apps

Top free apps

Checkbook ★★★★★

ES Task Manager ★★★★★

Easy Money 1.0 ★★★★★

Exchange Rates ★★★★★

Converter Pro ★★★★★

Entrepenuer Mobile ★★★★★

Staff pick of the section Budget Book ★★★★★


Tips Calculator ★★★★★

Documents To Go

All-in-one document solution Documents To Go offers two versions for basic and advanced users. The basic free version is a no nonsense viewer to open attachments and view the contents of a variety of documents including PDFs. While this may be enough for some, the real benefits come with the full version. The full version key also allows you to edit, view and create Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents from your phone. The interface is logical, easy to navigate and offers the full list of features. Unlike other office apps the editing functions on Documents To Go are really comprehensive. You have access to rich text formatting options in Word as well as table and graph functions and even track changes on Word documents. It offers support for opening documents from Gmail or other email clients and has options to view recently created and accessed work. Additionally you can sync documents between your phone and computer.


Business/Finance

Android

Price: £12.25/£19.85 Developer: NitroDesk, Inc

Exchange by TouchDown Key Corporate email on your Android

TouchDown first launched in 2008 and has been added to and tweaked ever since, the result being solid software that can be trusted. Exchange by TouchDown links your Android device with your corporate mail and all the extras that come with it such as calendars, contacts and tasks. Changes made on any application of your mail account should be automatically synced allowing seamless use between phone and PC. To use the Key the free version needs to be installed first. Installing and syncing Exchange mail to applications can be a frustrating process but TouchDown handles it well and takes you through the installation process with step-by-step screens. A notable feature of the Key is the customisation options available. Users can adjust and modify the email screens and settings to their liking – though the screens and menus take no prizes for unique aesthetics being able to customise parts of the application give it a comfortable feel. Corporate data separation is another handy feature to have. Private and work life is often bundled together in phones and on PC, and to have a function that recognises these as two

separate data sets is a real advantage and it focuses your attention depending which one you are working in. On the security side TouchDown scores high, subscribing to a host of security features such as PIN, remote wipe, data encryption and storage card encryption. It also supports sending and receiving S/MIME signed and encrypted emails ensuring your mails are not intercepted and reach only your intended recipient. While some users have reported sync problems, this wasn’t picked up during testing, though with all apps your device model and current software all play a role in the functionality. We recommend using the free version extensively and then purchasing the key when you feel confident that this is the corporate mail application for you. This particular application has not had any recent changes and other Exchange apps are slowly taking on new functionalities and increased usability. While it is a trusted staple and reports only few hangings and glitches it may get left behind if no major revamps take place in the near future.


■ The TouchDown app has been tweaked since its release in 2008


Android

Business/Finance

Price: £7.93/$12.85 Developer: Pageonce

Pageonce Pro

Combine your financial info in one place Pageonce Pro gives you with an overview of your finances and lets you control and manage them through one app, but you need to first load up your bank accounts and credit cards to use it. To begin, you connect the app to all of your financial institutions and accounts allowing it to access balance updates and notifications. Adding your info and accounts is not always simple as you navigate a series of automatic lists and options, although you do have the option to manually input your information. The software supports a wide variety of banks and companies, though it is more geared up towards an American market. You can also add any rewards programs you subscribe to and keep track of points and rewards as they become available. The overview screen, which appears upon launch, presents you with six easy-to-read boxes; Bank, Bills, Credit Cards and Investments balances are displayed above an Alerts and Tips tab respectively. One thing to consider is that while the information collected from your financial institutions may be accurate, it’s not necessarily in real-time. Banks often take a while to update your current balance and for this reason many apps that do not reply on direct bank info have found quite a large market.

■ The app is clearly laid out and easy to use ■ Your information will be safe here


The Tips and Alerts tabs prove a useful addition to the menu. Alerts notify you of upcoming bills and will keep the notification visible until it has been dealt with. The tips side connects you to a host of extremely interesting and useful financial articles – for those who don’t care to read up on things of this sort unfortunately this tab cannot be removed and the launch screen can’t be modified. The ‘Top Developer’ badge promises the highest security checks and processes to keep your data safe – settings are verified by TRUSTe, VeriSign and McAfee. Additionally your Pageonce account is anonymous and does not require your personal information such as name or address, or even bank PINs. Nevertheless, seeing all your financial information on one screen can be unnerving and it’s a good idea to review the privacy settings on your Android device to be sure you know who has access to your app. The app would increase in usefulness if you could add and manage your own projected budgets but on the whole it makes for a tidy piece of software that would serve you well if you’re happy to divulge your financial info to your device.


Business/Finance

Android

■ Keep track of the money you have and when you need to pay bills

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: Digital Life Solutions

Checkbook

A smart simple ledger to keep your finances balanced Checkbook lets you manage your money as you go, deducting purchases, adding income and processing transfers. Designed to help you avoid costly account slipups and overdraft charges this app relies on simple screens and uncomplicated options that allow you to do what you need to without getting bogged down by superfluous functions. Initial setup of the app requires some patience and the menus aren’t as logical as you might expect. Adding new account options take precedence over adding a transaction, even though you would expect to perform the later more often. The app is completely manual. You may think this is a disadvantage but for the security conscious, being able to manage your money without handing over your account information is really a good thing. Of course this leaves room for human error and discrepancies between your bank statements and your mobile ledger. To remedy this, it allows editing of any transactions meaning you can make a quick note of transactions as they happen and then go back and add more details as you wish. True to its stated aim, Checkbook does get around slow account updates which may leave you accidentally in the minus due to

miscalculation and it does put the power in your hands as you can accurately record what you spend, when you spend it. If this is important to you – the manual input is worth it. You can also make a list of scheduled transactions, such as debits and other payments that will be deducted from your account when they are due. View all your upcoming transactions in one screen with those not yet processed highlighted in red to give you an accurate indication of the amounts you can expect to deduct. A vital function that Checkbook does take into consideration is exporting your transactions into a spreadsheet to keep as part of your traditional financial records. You will need to install applicable software to perform these exports but you can select any range of dates meaning that this app is not only a useful management system but a handy record-keeping solution too. Although you can have multiple accounts on one app, it only works on one phone and cannot support joint accounts and access from more than one device. Additional settings include keeping your account info private by adding a password before launching the application.


Android

Business/Finance

Price: £2.15/$3.52 Developer: Sam Lu

aCurrency Pro Currency comparisons and conversion

A currency converter with an added homescreen widget, aCurrency Pro offers hourly exchange rate updates on over 160 currencies. The app has a professional and efficient feel to it, which leaves the opening screen rather bare and the functions unclear at first. You’ll need a play around to get a feel for what it has to offer. Focus is on currency trends and previous data, with the actual conversions looking like more of an add-on than a main function. You have the ability to produce graphs and view data from a range of fields, you can view history charts to note currency changes and trends and compare currency values over specified dates. This proves useful if you regularly rely on bespoke financial data for your transactions. To ensure accurate information, a widget is available to autorefresh at intervals of your choosing. You can only work with one currency at a time; the list of usable currencies is presented in a scroll-down format. Take care not to install this app onto your SD or the widget functions won’t work.


Price: Free Developer: JPMorgan Chase

Chase Mobile

Mobile banking for Chase users

You’ll need to be signed up for Chase online banking services before being able to use this one. A plain blue login screen offers options to access your account, contact Chase directly or find the nearest branch or ATM. You will, of course, need to be in a country where Chase branches are operational. Once logged in, you have access to the same services you would if you were logging in from a computer. You can view your accounts, make payments, and edit or cancel current payments. Additional services include making deposits directly through your device and even depositing cheques. QuickPay allows you to send money to anyone with a US bank account with only their email address or phone number. This is a handy tool for money transfers. On the whole, Chase’s app is comprehensive and is surely popular with its clients.


ES Task Manager

■ Restarting an app occasionally can improve performance

■ Some currency converters update more often than once every hour, but this works well enough


■ Make conversions in either direction

■ You might be surprised at how much is running in the background on your Android device, sucking down battery life

Business/Finance

Android

Price: £3.69/$6.04 Developer: Handy Apps Inc.

Easy Money 1.0

Money management with options

■ Sadly, it won’t boost your finances. You’re on your own there

■ The ability to check recent activity is useful for fraud prevention

■ Being able to find the nearest ATM is very handy in unfamiliar places

Price: Free Developer: EStrongs Inc.

Better, stronger, faster

A neat little app to manage the money you have and the money you owe. The main screen is divided between Cash, Credit Cards and Bank Accounts, which you can add as you need. You can view the total balance between all your accounts – both those in the plus and in the red. While perhaps not practically useful it is a sobering value to consider and it does give you a holistic picture of your current financial situation. There is extensive space to add as many budgets as you like to keep each area of your spending on track. You can also choose the account that your spending will come from and mix up accounts within one budget. For example, in your accommodation you can pay your rent from your current account and your gas bill from your credit card. Programming recurring expenses and adding bills is simple, and the app holds extensive categories for your spending. The illustrated menus add a breath of character and colour to a financial process that can be quite drab and boring.


This task managing app aims to let your device perform better and faster in the hopes of giving you a superior Android experience. While the jury is out on whether a task manager can actually speed up your phone, ES Task Manager gives a commendable performance and gets our recommendation for a task manager if you choose to use one. Killing tasks is performed with a simple tap and an ignore list ensures that you won’t kill off any important apps in error. You can use the manager to categorise, install and uninstall your apps and give yourself a handle on what you have on your device at any one time. You can also monitor your battery life by percentage on launch of the app. The task manager can be integrated with ES File Explorer – we recommend you do this, as the features on the File Manager are really worth it. Useful functions include access to FTP servers and Dropbox folders, as well as document viewers and editors, and access to your home PC via Wi-Fi with SMB.


■ Ensure that you never get caught short with careful budgeting in this app


Android

Business/Finance

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: Adonis Apps

Price: Free Developer: Adonis Apps

Debt Payoff Planner

Mortgage Calculator

See the light at the end of your debt tunnel This clever little app allows you to attack your debt with multiple strategies and options, paving a clear path for you to be free of your niggling credit commitments. It takes advantage of one of the basic human reactions; if you can see it visually you’re more likely to believe it’s possible. With graphs and charts you’ll be shown your situation and how different repayment strategies affect your bottom line. The initial input is time-consuming, but once that’s done the app walks you through the rest.

Quick monthly payment calculations

This app takes the mental strain out of your mortgage payments. After filling out a few fields, you can view your monthly payment and easily see whether it is affordable. The app comes in a simplified free version and a pro version, which allows you to calculate refinancing costs to see whether this is a beneficial option for you. Another feature is the graphical representation of your repayments, which shows an end to your mortgage.

■ Find your quickest route out of debt


■ Not a bad price to get set on this road


Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: Vervv

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: Asif

Ledgerist

Converter Pro

Virtual ledger to track your cash Ledgerist takes you by the hand and leads you through its interface and menus. It’s designed to take the hassle out of keeping your books balanced, and if you think in the logical way it is set out, it’s an app you’ll be using on a daily basis. It easily handles recurring transactions and has a superb filter to sort and view them. One improvement would be to include a field to add cheque numbers and to pay more attention to a running balance. ■ Keep track of your expenses the easy way



Simple conversion and no more ‘Less is more’ is certainly the ethos of this app; white text on a black background, scroll down menu and a limited list of options. It’s actually quite refreshing. Sure, you can’t convert ancient Hebrew measurements into Masonic timecodes, but when would you ever need to? This covers everything from length to bits and bytes, bandwidth, fuel consumption, frequency, wavelength and energy. The app allows you to set your preferences so your most-used measurements appear at the top of the list when you launch it. Simple and uncluttered. ■ How many bits to the mile?


Business/Finance

Price: £18.25/$29.88 Developer: LogMeIn Inc.

LogMeIn Ignition

Price: £1.31/$2.15 Developer: Thomas Schiffler

A whopper of an office app

Easy income and expenditure

Budget Book

The most distinguishable feature of this app is the price. Once that has been digested, the inevitable question comes: what does it do? Quite simply it allows you total control of multiple computers. It’s clearly aimed at the business sector as it allows you to run any business software such as Salesforce and CRM, something that other desktop control apps don’t feature. To make you feel as though you’re getting your money’s worth, the LogMeIn app offers fast operation, and setup and installation are simple. To get the most out of it we recommend you run it on a tablet. ■ You don’t need a Windows phone to run Windows 7 on your handset


This budget tool relies heavily on categories and time periods to organise, track and analyse income and outgoings. Analysis is output in the form of a pie chart. On the functions side, Budget Book fares well, as on top of the usual input fields and export options you have access to a calculator and can administrate a number of accounts. The language settings can be configured separately to your device and the app also comes with password protection. ■ Data can be exported easily


Price: £2.45/$4.01 Developer: Spotlight Six Software

Price: £3.06/$5.01 Developer: Christopher Perry

Make every minute count

Your finances in real-time

Timeclock – Time Tracker If your time equals money, this app could be your solution. It allows you to keep track of billable hours, with plenty of functions to handle any situations such as interruptions and lunch breaks. Also, you don’t need to keep the app open for it to keep ticking over. It starts when you say and stops when you say. In app years it’s pretty old, having hit the market in 2009, but rather than being outdated it’s a solid contender among timing apps, with user-friendly menus and the option to export all data as CSV files for record-keeping and invoicing. ■ Make sure to bill your clients for the time they use


Android

Moola Checkbook The result of transactions reflecting on bank statements has surely been felt by most people on a tight budget, often with heavy overdraft fees and other bank charges. To counteract this, Moola Checkbook offers an app that puts you in control of your balance, recording your transactions in real-time and giving you a more accurate picture of your money than your bank will. Simple functions on this app include auto entry of payees and the ability to back up your files. ■ Moola offers several backup options


Android

Business/Finance

Price: Free Developer: Entrepreneur Media

Price: £7.39/£11.84 Developer: CAMCARD

Currency Guide

Entrepreneur Mobile CamCard

If know about Forex you’ll love this. Along with a currency converter that deals with over 160 currencies you can view daily market news, access real-time trend charts and currency rankings. For a geek out sessions play the surprisingly satisfying global currency quiz game.

Connect to daily business dos and don’ts from the website Entrepreneur.com. The app allows you hone in on the information that means the most to you by customising screens and selecting the topics you want to see – you can share info via social networking sites.

The look and feel of CamCard offers a bit more pizzazz than other apps with similar function. Use your camera to take a shot of a business card and the info is automatically stored as a contact in your phone, you can even add to a note with extra info on your new contact.

Price: Free Developer: Indeed.com Mobile

Price: £0.92/$1.48 Developer: FXware

Job Search An app that pulls together search results from job boards, recruitment agencies and company recruitment from ten countries including the UK and Ireland. The one really nice touch is that it allows you to view jobs posted since your last visit every time you open it up.





Price: £9.23/$14.93 Developer: Mobile Systems

Price: £1.75/$2.83 Developer: MMSOFT Design

Price: Free Developer: SmartDog Studio

Price: £1.79/$2.99 Developer: Binary Solutions

The concept is the same as other OfficeSuite apps, access and edit wherever you are, but the wide range of supported files and formats is what sets this one apart. You can access, create and edit documents and even store them remotely via Google Docs integration.

Keep an eye on your computer with this encrypted app that will take control of a PC from anywhere. Key features include monitoring updates and processes, sending commands to control current activities and receiving updates when users log in or out.

This allows you to manage and control your phone in a web browser, and transfer files and folders between computer and phone without a USB cable. The FTP server provides more than acceptable speed levels and for 2.2 users.

To get the most out of this PDF app you will need to install a file manager and have access to a signature library on your phone. You can then fill PDF fields, sign off documents, create new PDF’s and share as you please.

OfficeSuite Pro


PC Monitor


Remote Web Desktop

Fill and Sign PDF Forms



Price: Free Developer: DataVis, Inc.

Price: Free Developer: NetQin Mobile Inc.

Price: Free Developer: InfoLife LLC

Price: Free Developer: superdroid.net

This is the free version of the app. Here you can open and view a host of documents. Supported files include .doc, .docx,. xls,. xlsx,. ppt,. pptx. If you don’t need to create or edit documents this viewer will be just enough for you.

Create blacklists to filter out unwanted callers, block unsolicited and spam messages. The premium account offers something a little more sneaky – a private area on your phone hidden from other users with an invisible icon so no one knows you’re using it.

A nimble little number to install and delete apps from your SD card. Easy Installer works with .apk files and can search by name and even batch install from your card. Additional features include sharing apps with friends via email. Supports froyo and Gingerbread.

This app targets malware on your device using a cloudbased anti-virus engine. The basic features include a task and software manager, and live updates. For storing sensitive data the app offers a password protected strongbox.

Documents To Go 3.0

Rating ★★★★★ Price: Free Developer: Citrex Systems, Inc.

Citrix Receiver If you use Citrex to host your application this receiver will give you remote access to all your documents, apps and desktops. Information is stored on the server rather your device. For non-Citrex users a demo model is available to test virtual environments.


Call Blocker


Easy Installer

Super Security Standard



Price: £3.07/$4.96 Developer: Edward Falk

Price: £1.22/1.97 Developer: Frank Android Software

Price: £2.46/$3.97 Developer: flictec Inc.

This app sells itself as an improvement on the original and loved HP12C. It performs just as well and offers all the original functions and more – whether or not the 12C needed improving upon is up to you. A similar free version is available to test before purchase.

This app is designed for users who claim mileage expenses. Whether for tax or other purposes the features should have your situation covered. You can add multiple vehicles and accounts, a handy auto trip starter means every journey is recorded.

This app fares well in the spending tracker sector. It’s set up to handle businessrelated finances and offers multiple books and multiple currencies. Simple to navigate once you get used to the set up, the analysis tools are what may sway you to pick it over others.

RpnCalc Financial


Mileage Tracker

Spendroid



Price: £1.14/$1.84 Developer: taobits.net

Price: £3.69/$5.96 Developer: Ghost Pattern Software

Price: £1.83/$2.96 Developer: Udell Enterprises

Price: £3.05/$4.93 Developer: EuroSmartz

Especially good with percentage and tax, this app is designed to handle office specific calculations. It assumes that most calculations will be financed based and sets answers to two decimal places by default.

This email client allows you to access your Novell mailbox and perform regular mail functions remotely. Additionally you can accept or decline tasks and meetings, and view notes. Test the Lite Version to see whether your server is compatible before purchase.

Simply a clock that shows you time zones from across the world, allows you to set alarms for different time zones and even shows a 3D globe to help you adjust to new time zones. This is the ultimate time zone app and a must for frequent travellers.

Print is an app that allows you to… print. Whether it's web pages, your gallery or something else, Print works with all printers via your Mac or PC and even some wireless printers without needing extra software. A very good app for printing anything from your Android.

Office Calculator Pro

Rating ★★★★★ 32 Android App Directory

GW Mail


Polyclock


Print


Business/Finance

Price: Free Developer: Russell Wilson

Exchange Rates One converter may be just as good as another but this one has the advantage of being free and free of ads. With an easy to use, bright and pleasing layout this app gets you the figures you need fast and allows you to view multiple currencies on one screen.

Android

Price: £3.00/$4.85 Developer: Mercury Technologies

Price: Free Developer: Paypal Mobile

Price: Free Developer: Cisco Systems, Inc

The HD 12 C is an emulator of HP’s well loved and enduring 12C financial calculator. This true-to-original version offers all functions you’d expect and a few more. It performs well and is an investment well made.

PayPal continues its successful onrush of traditional payment methods with this app that allows you to manage your account, send payments and view transactions from your phone. PayPal applies its rigorous safety features to its mobile service.

This free app comes with functions that take you through the entire meeting process from planning and setting up through to the selection, connection and management of others around your virtual boardroom.

HD 12C Financial Calculator



Paypal


Cisco Webex Meetings


Price: Free Developer: Qiwi Wallet

Price: Free Developer: Steve Coward/Philly Android

Price: £14.30/$23.13 Developer: Sunnyside

Price: £6.19/$9.99 Developer: Quantum Solutions

This payment solution provides you with various options to settle bills, buy goods and services and transfer money between a limited number of systems. You can use your virtual QIWI card, a mobile phone account or preregistered bank cards.

This free calculator offers both simple and advanced modes to help you split the restaurant bill between multiple diners and work out the individual tip using built in percentages. Good for those in a hurry and those whose purses appreciate precision.

This app allows you to create PDFs and send invoices. The functions don’t stop there though – along with a host of services business owners and the self-employed will the service that flags up expiring estimates, bills and due invoices.

Enhanced Mail sells itself as a fast and lightweight email client, its real strength lies in the easy to use interface and clever features such as a comprehensive search function which allows you to look through your entire range of mail accounts including text messages.

QIWI Wallet

Tip Calculator



Mobilebiz Pro Invoice App


Enhanced Email


Price: £12.39/$20.00 Developer: Emtrance Technologies, Inc.

Price: £6.19/$9.99 Developer: two forty a.m LLC

Price: £6.19/$9.99 Developer: Abby Software House

Price: £3.09/$4.99 Developer: Splashtop

On top of the obligatory email client functions, such as calendar, notes and easy-tonavigate mails, Moxier offers highly regarded security features to keep your private data to yourself. Features range from application lock to data encryption and client certificates.

This app is designed for those who forget to turn their ringtone off in the cinema. It takes away the pressure of remembering when to switch to silent by relying on advanced algorithms based on location and time to assess your situation and decide when you need to hush.

This app allows you take a photo of business cards and save them as contacts. Once saved you can look up more info about your new contact via social networking sites. Another app designed to replace dusty A-Z card holders.

Control your computer from your phone. You can get to all your files and the app software can locate your computer automatically. It’s Windows and Mac enabled but a dual core processor is a must to get the best out of it.

Moxier Mail

Rating ★★★★★ Price: Free Developer: Adao Team

Adao File Manager

This free file management app deals with all things file related. It allows you to copy, cut and paste files on your device, create shortcuts and also manage your SD card with a series of basic commands.


Locale


ABBYY Business Card Reader


Splashtop Remote Desktop


Price: Free Developer: Proid Mobile, Inc.

Price: Free Developer: Notification

Price: Free Developer: Wyse Technology Inc

Failure to remember a USB cable may not be a disaster anymore – this app allows you to connect directly to your PC and drag and drop files. Working directly with FTPs some users may have to install a client such as Filezilla.

This Craigslist apps offers access to most of the market sites. You don’t have to login to your personal account but you can manage your current items, and buy and sell. It’s good for browsing items on the move.

Using RDN or VNC Protocols this app is another in the line of apps which allow you to connect to your desktop and access files wherever you are. A pro version is available with added features such as RDP file redirection.

Software Data Cable


Sell On Craigslist!


Wyse PocketCloud


Price: Free Developer: Tom Tasche

Price: Free Developer: Chistoph Studer

Price: £9.23/$14.90 Developer: ThinkFree Mobile

Price: £2.99/$4.82 Developer: Money Toolkit Limited

A severely limited but useful free app that lets you open up your .odt and .ods files from a variety of sources including Gmail and Dropbox. It currently does not support editing or any other document formats but it does what it says on the tin and it does it well.

This app automatically saves all your text messages into you Googlemail account. Useful for informal conversations you may need to keep the details of – Google’s powerful email search functions allow them to be easily accessed and recalled as you require.

One of a growing number of productivity apps that allows you to access, edit and synchronise Office documents from your handset or tablet. However the editing function can be temperamental depending on which program you are working in.

Money Toolkit allows you to keep track of your finances and supports most banks. It has a clear interface which is fun without feeling too throwaway given the subject matter and is definitely worth considering to keep on top of your financial affairs.




Openoffice


SMS Backup

ThinkFree Office

Money Toolkit


Android

Entertainment/Music

Entertainment/ Music ■ Whatever film it is you want to see, Movies will help you

■ You can find the nearest cinema wherever you are

Price: Flixster, Inc Developer: Free

If you’re bored and find yourself at a loose end, your Android will save you in a pinch providing you have the right apps. Here, we have the pick of the bunch for Entertainment and Music, ensuring you never find yourself with nothing to do again Top paid apps

Top free apps

Headset Droid ★★★★★

Vevo ★★★★★

Hi-Q MP3 Recorder ★★★★★

Movies ★★★★★

DJ Studio ★★★★★

WinAmp ★★★★★

Staff pick of the section TuneWiki ★★★★★


FatBooth ★★★★★

Movies

Because going to the cinema should be simple Having access to an up-to-date release list of upcoming films is helpful to anyone, whether you’re a movie-buff or irregular cinema-goer. This Movies app from Flixster keeps that stream of information constant in the palm of your hand. In other words, it’s the content of the Flixster site, bundled into an app. Spread across the five tabs are its various uses, ranging from features as written by Flixster on the homepage, film trailers or even locating nearby cinemas. Its biggest selling point is the Box Office tab, which highlights newly released or upcoming films, their latest trailers and photos and even links to the latest showings in your nearby area. Where possible links to aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes means you’re likely to know what you’re getting, too. Movies is a handy app for anyone who is a regular cinema visitor, and its smooth interface means it’s easy for anyone to get to grips with.


Entertainment/Music

Android

Price: £3.06/£5.02 Developer: Max MP

PowerAMP Media Player Stop fretting. Here’s the player for you… Of all the apps available on the Android Market, it seems that half are immature fart apps, and the rest are media players. While those figures may well be exaggeration on our part, the truth is the basic music players of smartphones just don't cut it for most people. Sure, if all you’re after is the odd tune the rare time you have to get the bus into town, then the basic application is fine, but if you’re a regular music listener then you’ll be well aware of the problems of in-built media software. So it’s up to the Android Market to fill this gap; which then offers a tough decision: just which one is right for you? If you’re not willing to spend money, then we’ll direct you to the Winamp app, but everyone else will want to take note of PowerAMP Media Player. It’s largely the quality of everything that makes PowerAMP the very best paid-for media player. Its sleek, uncluttered menus do nothing to hinder navigation, though the buttons are perhaps a little small and could cause issue on smaller devices. There are no gimmicks: transfer your songs onto your phone and play. And of course PowerAMP will automatically download cover art – if you require it to – so you won’t be left staring at a blank screen either.

An in-built equaliser means you can adjust the various dials to tune your audio to your preference, use any of the presets or even create your own for regular use. Unlike most other equalisers on the Market, this one is unlimited, smooth and effective. That’s it for obvious features, however it’s the behind-the-scenes tweaks that really impress. A multitude of options are available for crossfade and gapless listening, as well as specific adjustments to the equaliser for the more confident music fan. There’s even a handful of UI themes, for those who like customisation. Additionally, PowerAMP is one of the few media players on the market that enables lock-screen controls, giving users the opportunity to skip or alter songs without having to unlock the device and enter the app itself. Not to mention the four different widgets available for your home screen, ranging from full-screen menus to 4x1 slots including cover art. It really is an impressive, well-designed and considered media player, and well worth your money. If you’re still unconvinced, try the 14-day trial version to see just how right we are.


■ On smaller smartphones you may find that the buttons are a little too small ■ The equaliser and options available make this stand out from the crowd


Android

Entertainment/Music

MixZing Upgrader

Price: £3.07/$5.03 Developer: MixZing

Music but with added adverts

MixZing Upgrader is a rather pleasing app, and it has to be said that while the software isn’t the most visually appealing, it is functional and the sound quality is as high as can be expected. MixZing even recommends new songs based on the artists you listen to stored on your device and will play random selections flawlessly from its server. Even cover art and ID3 tags are handled automatically by being dragged from the service, keeping all but your most obscure songs and albums neat and tidy. The equaliser provided works as well as can be expected, though regular warnings will appear informing you how high settings will cause issues with your phone – making the feature a little redundant. Unfortunately, however, MixZing’s biggest flaw is in its pricing. Despite paying a high price for a media player – there are free ones that do the same just as well – you’re still left with adverts regularly at the bottom of each screen. If you are looking for a media player, it may be worth trying the free version first and seeing if it’s to your liking.

■ It’s a good app, but you might be able to get ones that do the same for free


■ There’s no complaint when it comes to the sound quality

Price: £2.99/$4.90 Developer: Shazam Entertainment Limited

Shazam Encore

Never forget the name of a song

Discovering music is easier than ever before with Shazam. At the touch of a button the app will listen, detect and tell you what the song is, who sang it and which album it’s from. Shazam works in tandem with the Amazon MP3 app, enabling tagged songs to be bought directly from Amazon and downloaded to your phone or played through Spotify. Not to mention the extra links to the artist’s discography, any upcoming tour dates and related YouTube videos. Then there’s the widget, which sits neatly on the home page for instant tagging. People paying for the app will be rewarded with unlimited tagging and the removal of ads, as well as earning song recommendations based on the most recent tags. Whether that’s worth purchasing depends on just how much tagging – and sharing with your friends – you decide to do. Try the free version first, and see just how impressive this app really is.


■ Shazam is easy to use and the interface is clean

■ The app will identify almost any song you throw at it

Entertainment/Music

PS3 Trophies PRO

Android

Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: Nicolas Ortiz

Now you can show off through your phone Having all the features of the PlayStation Network is one thing, but this app has so much more. It has everything you might need: messages with your friends, keeping track of who is online, viewing your most recent Trophies and even comparing them with your friends list. Its presentation is decent too, opting for stylish panels and all Trophy icons as your navigate the various menus. While the basic layout is a little lacking, there’s enough effort and quality gone into the app that makes it well worth the asking price. There’s even a general group chat for other users of the app, though this is perhaps a suspect addition that is less necessary and could be used in a negative way by unpleasant users. Still, if you’re a social type always looking for new people to play online with, it’s an excellent feature. However, in an effort to cram all these features into the app, the developer Nicolas Ortiz has opted for a rather cluttered appearance – a similar complaint of his Xbox Live equivalent of this app too.

■ This is a great app if you’re a big fan of Trophies


■ The appearance is rather cluttered and can be confusing

Spotify

Price: Free Developer: Spotify, Ltd.

Get your music on the move Spotify has already been making a name for itself across the internet, offering users a wealth of songs to listen to and add to their playlists. It only seems natural, then, that an app should be made to compliment the service. While you can sync the app with your PC’s Spotify software, thereby adding a stream of songs available to you, to get the full use of the service through your phone you will need to subscribe to a premium package for a monthly fee. Once done you can search through and add any of Spotify’s songs to your phone, listen to them on the go or prepare an offline playlist ready to use when out and about – saving on those 3G charges. The app itself is very stylish and well presented, and its functions all work as smoothly and cleanly as you might expect. However, it’s still quite limited by requiring the monthly subscription – so you have to ask yourself, is Spotify worth your money? If it is, then this app is a perfect compliment to the service: otherwise, it’s probably not worth it.


■ The app does require a monthly subscription, which you have to decide if you use it enough to make it worthwhile

■ There are a wealth of top tracks available at your fingertips


Android

Entertainment and Music

Price: Free Developer: Nullsoft, Inc

Price: Free Developer: Jango.com

With the Winamp app you can sync all your PC’s music collection to your phone to listen to on the go without struggling with the interface at all. Additionally, there are a ton of extra features, such as more than enough free, streaming podcasts to keep you entertained until the end of days, so you don’t even have to rely on your own music library to break the silence. As said, all of this is built into a very slick and well-presented interface that won’t give you any problems navigating the options. Simply put, this is the only media player you need.

Jango Radio plays custom playlists based on your decisions, all free and streaming through Jango.com. The fact that it’s free will obviously be the biggest appeal to Android users but unfortunately, it’s not perfect. While the music plays just fine, the overall presentation and a handful of bugs slightly let down the experience. Jango Radio is an interesting app, especially for those who like to explore new music rather than rely on old album favourites, but it’s a largely uninspiring way to execute what should be a vibrant, thrilling idea. Even so, you’ll get plenty of mileage from this app.



Winamp

Price: £2.63/$4.31 Developer: idkom

Audio Recorder Machine

There are plenty of audio recorders available on the Android Market, so you have to stand out among the crowded competition in order to capture your audience. Unfortunately Audio Recorder Machine does nothing special to separate itself from the better recorders available, especially the ones that are free, so its lackluster layout and overly simple design makes it impossible to recommend even though it performs its one task well enough. It’s not worth the high asking price either as a professional recorder or dictaphone.

Jango Radio

Price: £3.10/$5.08 Developer: Contrasonic

Chordbot Pro

This is a great app for the budding songwriters out there. Chordbot Pro enables users to string together a variety of chord progressions to craft the tune you want, whether it’s a carefully orchestrated masterpiece or a chaotic mess of bum notes and noise. This lets you do just that on the move, with a slick and clean interface that is necessary for its use. It could do with a few extras as the price is certainly nothing to be sniffed at, but what it does is really well put together. It’s definitely a fun app to play around with for both seasoned songwriters and those who can’t play a single note.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £0.92/$1.51 Developer: Akop Karapetyan

Spark 360

Spark 360 proves that sometimes it is worth paying for an app over the free alternatives. There are a number of Xbox Live based apps, but none are as smoothly presented or as functional as Spark 360, which enables you to check the online status of your friends, send and receive messages and even view your Achievements, all within a simple layout. Essential for Xbox 360 owners and especially those who have hooked their console up online, where the world of friends lists and Achievements plays a much bigger role.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £18.47/$30.26 Developer: Sling Media Inc

SlingPlayer Mobile

The idea behind SlingPlayer Mobile is to enable users to connect to their SlingPlayer DVR devices from anywhere with an internet connection, letting you watch TV content on your phone. However, at a rather gruelling price – which we feel should come free for anyone with access to the device – it’s simply not worth it.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £0.92/$1.51 Developer: Nicolas Ortiz

Xbox Live Statistics There’s nothing inherently wrong with the Xbox Live Statistics app, as it allows you to view your friends list, Achievements, messages and the like within its slightly clunky interface. Its only real issue, albeit a fairly significant one, is that it simply isn’t as good as the competition. In fact, Spark 360, which we have also reviewed here, is a much slicker and less confusing app – and all for the same price. Xbox Live Statistics has some well-presented effects, but for the most part appears cluttered compared to its rivals and that’s why we’re giving the nod to Spark 360 over this effort. An okay app that’s just pipped to the post.


Rating ★★★★★ Price: Free Developer: IMDb

IMDb Movies & TV Don’t pretend you’ve never heard of IMDb. The valuable and ever present internet movie database has been cleverly built into this app, which searches the website for the information you’re after, whether it’s the actors in the film you’re watching or the memorable quote you’re trying to remember. The menus are easy to navigate and the search function is quick, making this as mandatory an app as the website is useful. A must-have to save those annoying ’I can’t remember who he is!’ conversations that inevitably crop up during films.



Price: Free Developer: TuneWiki

TuneWiki – Lyrics with Music

With so many media players on the Market, it’s nice to see one with something of a unique selling point. While you can still play your own music through here, as you might expect, the beauty of this app is the lyrics software that can detect a song as you listen to it – whether through the software or other means – down to the very line it’s up to and actually start following along. Impressive tech and a well-made app which is far more accurate than you may initially suspect.

Price: Free Developer: Blizzard Entertainment, Inc

Battle.net Authenticator Key fobs are available that can be bought that do the very same as thing as this free app. The idea is that Battle.net Authenticator creates a randomly generated code to use in addition to your regular password, giving your Battle.net an extra layer of security to protect it against unauthorised access. And really that’s all there is to it. It’s something those with Battle.net accounts should really consider given it’s simple, effective and free and by that, we mean World of Warcraft players. Better to protect your account now than lose than level 70 character you’ve been grinding for all this time…

Rating ★★★★★ Price: Free Developer: Google, Inc

Androidify

There’s little use here, but that’s not to say it’s not charming. Recreate the famous Android dude – you know, the squat green alien – in your own unique way by picking from a large range of varied clothing, colours and accessories. The crafted droids can even be used as social media or contact images, spreading that Android word and proving your allegiance. It’s a classic example of the sort of app you think would be useless until you try it yourself and then you find yourself locked into see what configurations you manage to come up with. More importantly, you want to see what others come up with too. Very clever, Google.

Android

Rating ★★★★★ Price: Free Developer: mToy

Phit Droid

This charming puzzler is simple enough, requiring you to slot various shapes together to complete different sized squares and rectangles. Given it’s bursting with over 12,000 different puzzles, you can be certain there are enough puzzles to last you quite some time beyond the bus journey home. The fact that it’s free and supported by ads to compensate doesn’t make much of a difference here either, as the advert is usually well away from the puzzle action itself. Since the shapes don’t ever vary, however, it may get repetitive way before you make a dent on the mass of levels available.



Price: £0.82/$1.34 Developer: Tatsuo Nagamatsu

Price: £1.84/$2.99 Developer: Infolife LLC

This is actually an add-on to the free app Raziko which we have also reviewed, and so many of the issues from the main Raziko app unfortunately can be found here as well. The extension itself unlocks as many radio stations as you like, and as you might expect, removes any ads from the app as well. If you find yourself using Raziko a lot, then it’s perhaps worth considering this, given it’s not too expensive and you’ll have clearly learned to live with the faults given your heavy usage of the app. Otherwise, you probably needn’t bother.

If your songs are missing track information – such as artist, album or even cover art – then it’s because the ID3 tags haven’t been correctly set up by whoever created the original file. If your current media player can’t help, and they often can’t, then this is the app for you which searches and adds in necessary tags. It’s very basic and not much to look at, but gets the job done without forcing you to do the legwork in finding the necessary data and entering it in manually. Note that the more obscure, underground stuff you have in your music collection, the more iTag Pro is likely to falter trying to collect the info.

Raziko Extension

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £3.25/$5.33 Developer: Beatronik

iTag Pro

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £0.87/$1.43 Developer: Pedrocorp

DJ Studio

Any kind of mixing software is only going to be for fun on a phone, but this is as close as they come to being professional. It’s has all the necessary information available for budding DJs to mix their own tracks together, and even enables playlists to be uploaded to SoundCloud. It lacks any kind of tutorial, however, making the patient jockey the successful one. Worth the higher-than-usual price.


Robotic Guitarist Without multi-touch use available, this app doesn’t truly achieve what it sets out to do: to teach you guitar chords. The basic layout doesn’t help matters much but when string touches may regularly result in a bizarre popping sound that is nothing like how you want a guitar to sound, it’s clear it’s not been optimised very well, let alone accounting for clumsy fingers swiping at the screen. Not really worth it then, though a free fully-featured version is available if you want to try it first before deciding whether it’s worth paying for the full version.


Android


Price: £0.87/$1.41 Developer: Jaytronix

Price: £3.50/$5.70 Developer: Jaytronix

Price: £1.32/$2.15 Developer: BrainCrash Soft

Price: £4.31/$7.22 Developer: NomadicWhales.com

FourTracks PRO

A.D.A.M.

As a pocket–sized multitrack recorder, Music Kit has a lot going for it, including a metronome for timings and a guitar tuner that works ably from the microphone. Of course such a small package means there are compromises, and won’t substitute PC–based software. Otherwise, it's recommended.

It has a number of profiles available and the customisation of every single volume output your phone is capable. This is its only real use, so if you’re quite happy managing volume through your phone’s standard, in-built software then there’s no real reason to get this.

A rather budget appearance and limited functionality bring down what could be a fairly competent music recorder. The good sound quality and the ability to import tracks, however, help to improve matters, though it’s highly recommended that you try the lite version first.

Brief moments of fun can be garnered from this App as you tap out tiny piano beats over a handful of samples. Unfortunately there’s little more to it than that, but what more could you expect from a replica piano on your phone? A decent idea, but one that is shortlived thanks to lack of content.

Music Kit

Volume Ace





Price: £1.32/$2.15 Developer: TVK Development

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: flex friday

Price: £1.32/$2.15 Developer: MoviBot

Price: Free Developer: carnero

This fantastic little App turns those buttons on your headphones – you know, the ones that rarely work with any of your phone’s software – and enables you to customise them to function just how you want them to, ranging from skipping tracks and increasing volume to even launching specific apps.

This is about as basic as they come, enabling you to tap the screen to make a particular drum sound. With a budget appearance and lack of customisation, there’s little to suggest that this should be the App for you – least of all due to the lack of any real use.

The idea behind GuitarDroid Pro is fantastic: a handheld, tactile tool that helps practise chords for playing the guitar. Touch screen technology is made for this kind of use and we commend it highly. Unfortunately, without multi-touch or the ability to bend strings it's not quite perfect. Still, highly recommended for the beginner.

Think of C:Geo as a modernday treasure hunting, with users of geocaching.com hiding their own secret stashes of paraphernalia. The idea isn’t to collect items, but to find a concealed capsule, while the app directs you – through GPS – to its exact location. A great App for those who enjoy a little exploration.

Headset Droid

Virtual Drums Pro



GuitarDroid Pro


C:Geo


Price: Free Developer: Gordon Edwards

Price: £3.10/$5.05 Developer: Krugism Development LLC

Price: £5.58/$9.09 Developer: PVRcom, LLC

Price: Free Developer: William PAUMIER

It’s a little weird this one. Scanner Radio enables you to tune in and listen to any police and fire department radio chatter from around the world to find out just what kind of nasty goings-on are happening. If that sounds useful to you or might satisfy your morbid curiosity then this app is most definitely for you.

Doesn't really live up the expectations that sets out to do. We're pretty sure that you won't be finding any paranormal activity. And for its overpriced fee this is an even harder sell than any other. Simply avoid.

your smartphone. Except the high-price – including a subscription – does not warrant the low rent menus and sub-par construction. This is especially true when you consider you can usually do the same through your phone’s web function.

go wrong? FMY Life takes those days and puts them into text form, so other peoples personal struggles become your amusement. Users submit their ‘FMY’ moments, while you giggle at other peoples misfortune. Enjoyable enough, if simply presented.

Scanner Radio

Entity Sensor (EMF DroidTV Primetime FMY Life Ever had one of those days DroidTV Primetime enables Detector) where everything seems to you to watch television from

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £3.09/$5.03 Developer: JHyperfine Software




Remote For iTunes

Price: £2.04/$3.32 Developer: Yuku

Hi–Q MP3 Recorder

Price: Free Developer: Amazon.com

Price: £0.82/$1.33 Developer: Widebeam

This app is a basic, but works brilliantly. After syncing your phone to iTunes, its wealth of songs are manageable from your phone. It’s yet to include Apple TV, but if all you want is to navigate your music library then this is the App for you.

If you’ve ever felt the need to record sound, then this app is a good choice. Records anything in high-quality compression with the ease of dragging files to and from your phone. Try the lite version first to check it works with your phone.

If downloading songs from Amazon.com is something you’ve done regularly, then this app is a necessity. While you can purchase songs and albums through the app itself, the beauty lies in the cloud player which can be used to play your purchased music wherever you have an internet connection.

As the official app of the famous comedy series, Fonejacker follows the same idea of letting you prank your friends over the phone thanks to various different phrases using his famous characters plus some brand new ones created especially for the app. Completely juvenile but still good fun.



Amazon MP3


Fonejacker


Price: Free Developer: JiVi & Co

Price: Free Developer: UChin Kim

Price: Free Developer: sto-helit.de

Price: £2.18/$3.55 Developer: Beatronik

This free app takes any picture of a face and well, fattens it up. Daft and ridiculously good fun, the in-app camera isn't always up to the job but taking a picture normally and importing it works just fine. It's already proved one of the most popular iPhone apps.

Whether it's incoming calls or your own voice, Ultra Voice Changer allows you to distort voices with its comedy settings and record the results. It's a bit fiddly to set up how you want but as a free download, it's a great party-piece.

For a free audio book player, this has all the necessary features and the required stability to stand out as perhaps the only one you need. Save and restore positions for each track, separate folders, it's a brilliant little app.

Another app that lets you mix and match your music library with a simple two-decks interface, Pocket DJ Vintage performs the basics well enough to provide plenty of fun for those with extensive music libraries. It can be fiddly to use but it's a solid entry-level DJ app.

FatBooth


Ultra Voice Changer


MortPlayer Audio Books (beta)


Pocket DJ Vintage



Android

WireGoggles

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: Ubermind, Inc

iLightr

Price: Free Developer: Myxer

Price: £1.75/$2.85 Developer: Droidsware

There are plenty of photo editing Apps already on the Android Market, and this one is as good as any. By offering a series of effects – most notable the wireframe effect that highlights any sharp edges – this App enables you to take cool images with your phone.

This app provides a virtual lighter for you to play with, flicking it to light it and can be interacted with through touch and by blowing on it. It’s as realistic as you can expect an app like this to be, but beyond that there’s little reason to buy this one. Try the lite version, instead.

If you have a perfect song you’d like to use as a ringtone, but find the intro takes far too long to get to the bit you like, then this is the app enables you to trim songs, select from others pre-made tunes and even match popular trimmings of your chosen song.

Just switched from iPhone to Android? Want to listen to your music but can’t get used to the damnable interface? The switch would be easier with this app, but a temperamental interface can make using the software awkward. It's hard to recommend.

Price: £1.23/$2.00 Developer: Dozing Cat Software


aPod

Myxer




Price: £4.95/$8.06 Developer: On Cue Productions

Price: £1.23/$2.00 Developer: Twanky Deuce Software

Price: Free Developer: Mick Graten

Price: £1.23/$2.00 Developer: Team Robot, LLC

This is one of the most costly Android apps, which is unsurprising considering the professional talent that has gone into its creation. It’s really only useful to professional singers, but those with a decent voice may well benefit too. A simple user interface and numerous vocal coach tracks make this handy for any singer.

There’s little to recommend this app since its use can be just as suitably handled by any other media player available. While it may be fun to take on car journeys and join in songs with your friends, you can do that anyway with any other method, and this budget appearance and functionless app isn’t a better substitute.

There are a few apps like this and this one is no different. Take a song, trim it down and use it as a ringtone, or just find others and download those. A slicker UI and the fact that it is free makes this the best of the bunch.

This is a World Of Warcraft equipment app. Based on the website from the same developer, this app enables you to look at your WoW character’s gear set and where best to optimise for your role and current stats.

VocalEase

★★★★★

Karaoke–A–GoGo

Make A Ringtone MP3 PRO



Ask Mr. Robot Gear Optimizer


Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: Outfit7

Price: Free Developer: MixZing

Price: Free Developer: VEVO

Price: £2.63/$4.28 Developer: flattermann

There are so many of these types of irritating apps – that you literally have your pick of animals. If you like baby hippos that repeat everything you say in a daft voice then get this one, otherwise it’ll just be a waste of your money.

This is about as comprehensive a media player can get. With an equaliser, automatic cover art and customisable ID tags, this is as much like using a PC version. It’s slick, quick and chock full of features – it’s just a shame it’s a little confusing to navigate.

You may have already heard of VEVO, a music video streaming service from the web. A lot of effort has gone into making this free app, so its high quality interface, slick navigation and impressive videos means it’s a highly recommended app for all music video lovers.

Do you have a Logitech SqueezeBox or its smaller cousin, the Touch? If so, then this app might be of use, enabling you to control the hardware with your smartphone, which reproduces information of the songs playing.

Talking Baby Hippo

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £3.51/$5.71 Developer: Samalyse

TapeMachine Recorder The essential sound recorder. With a multitude of features – from editable recordings to desktop widgets and Dropbox compatibility – as well as easy-to-navigate menus, this is by far the best recording utility for your phone.


MixZing Media Player

VEVO



SqueezeBox Commander


Price: £1.57/$2.56 Developer: Currach Software

Price: £2.47/$4.04 Developer: Christopher Souvey

Price: £2.47/$4.04 Developer: niko twenty

The idea behind Musical Ears is to tune your hearing to certain notes, which is helpful to anyone who has to regularly sense the pitch of notes. The app itself is fairly basic and limited, and doesn’t support a wide range of sounds and pitches, but for the inexperienced tuner, it’s well worth taking a look.

As a jack-of-all-trades, this app seeks to bundle all kind of instruments and tools for the musical person on the move. For the most part its many pieces will mean it has something for someone, but a basic appearance stops it from really excelling at what it does.

A solid synthesiser with a number of samples and features for anyone who enjoys crafting their own beats. However, it will take patience to learn due to limited explanations, but has an improved Android tablet optimiser.

Musical Ears

Musical Pro



Electrum Drum Machine


Price: £6.19/$10.07 Developer: Uloops labs

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: Dennis Lockshine

Price: Free Developer: Tatsuo Nagamatsu

Price: £0.82/$1.33 Developer: Lisbon Labs

A confusing layout limits what could have been a fantastic portable music studio. It’s a shame since a number of useful features make it a great app for musical types. There’s the option to download other users songs, so just one more reason why its interface is a disappointment.

As a media player that handles all file formats, there are no apps as functional as this. It’s no frills and very basic but if there is an audio file you simply have to listen to, then this is the app to use. We would recommend trying to find one through other means first, though.

Raziko tunes in to a number of Japanese radio stations and plays them for free. Japanophiles will appreciate this, but unless you understand Japanese you really won’t get much use from it. Raziko is about as basic as apps come, but fills a specific niche.

Another app that does exactly as the title suggests, it allows you to put your face in place of actors, rock stars, famous paintings and more. It either lets you have a laugh at yourself or others thanks to the range of offensive options included but sadly, it's also very glitchy.




Uloops Studio Pro


WavPlayer

Raziko

FACEinHOLE


Android

Games

Games

■ Cutting the ropes in the right order is how you complete levels

■ It’s not as random as Angry Birds, making it more of a puzzle game

Sometimes, you have to relax. Other times, you want to pass a few minutes while waiting in a queue. Maybe you’re getting fidgety during an advert break. Whatever it is, there are times when you want to switch off your mind and switch a game on. Here are the top picks Top paid apps

Top free apps

Cut The Rope ★★★★★

Bouncy Mouse ★★★★★

Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus ★★★★★

Angry Birds ★★★★★

Game Dev Story ★★★★★

Bebbled ★★★★★

Staff pick of the section Doodle Jump ★★★★★


Order & Chaos ★★★★★

Price: £0.62/$1.00 Developer: Zeptolab

Cut The Rope The cerebral Angry Birds Seeing as almost every physics-based game on Android is likely to earn a comparison to Angry Birds, here’s another one. Cut The Rope is the thinking man’s version of said game, a cerebral puzzler that also relies on planning ahead and physics but nowhere near as much luck. Each level begins with a single piece of candy with several ropes attached to it and a small monster on the screen. You have to get the candy into the monster’s mouth by cutting the ropes attached to the candy. It sounds easy but it soon becomes tricky, as you have to figure out the right order and predict how the candy will fall depending on what rope you cut first. Complicating things are extra elements such as bubbles that carry you upwards, stretchy ropes and so on. Then there are three stars dotted across each level, which have to be collected if you want to show real Cut The Rope mastery. It’s the classic play for a few seconds, waste an entire evening type of game. Compelling, addictive, brilliant.


Games

Android

Price: Free Developer: Rovio

Angry Birds The Avian-Porcine War spreads to another platform What else can be said about Angry Birds at this stage? Since its 2009 release, the simplistic physics-based puzzle game has exploded with such popularity that even if you’ve never played it, knowledge of it has been psychically imprinted somewhere in your brain. In case you’ve been living in a well-insulated cave though, Angry Birds sees you flinging an assortment of infuriated avians at a variety of protective structures built by spherical pigs, with a loose ‘plot’ explaining that the curiously green porkers have stolen a bunch of eggs from the feathered ones. The control system is ridiculously simple and intuitive – pull back a bird in a catapult, line up your shot, and let fly. Each bird – with the exception of Reds, a generic cannonball type – has a special function, evolution having clearly weaponised their normally brittle frames. An additional tap of the screen after firing sees Yellows gain a burst of speed to zoom through wood, Blues divide into three to shatter glass, Black bomb birds explode stone, Whites drop an explosive egg, Greens return – boomerang style – to attack vulnerable points, and so on. However, while it proves addictive enough to try and rack up a high score and the coveted three star rank on each stage, Angry Birds can be endlessly frustrating. The physics frequently defy

logic, with structures that should easily collapse and crush pigs into bacon standing strong with only a splinter of wood holding it in place. Other times, you’ll destroy nigh-on everything in a stage with a single bird and still only get one star. The scoring system seems arbitrary at best. Android players also have the dual-edged sword of Angry Birds being free through the Market (along with its similarly complimentary spin-off, Angry Birds Seasons and movie tie-in Angry Birds Rio). On the one hand, we get one of the best games of the last two years for nothing. On the other, it’s ad-supported, with a lingering banner on each level sometimes obscuring your targets. Those willing to jump through some hoops and access Amazon’s own Appstore can choose to buy a non-ad-supported version for about £2, but otherwise you’re stuck with the ads. Despite the hype, Angry Birds is not without its flaws. However, regular free updates of new content tips the approval scale well into Rovio’s favour, making Angry Birds one of the premier mobile games on any platform and arguably one of the first games you should download on your fresh Android phone before you begin to experiment with others.


■ Angry Birds has become one of mobile’s biggest games, thanks to its accessibility

■ Your first shot is often crucial so level previews are important to your initial strategy. Work from the back or begin by clearing the first tower? Decisions, decisions


Android

Games

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: GameHouse

Doodle Jump

A game scaling new heights of weirdness Doodle Jump doesn’t care about things like sense. It’s a game that sees you controlling a besnouted, green, four-legged mutant, seemingly the videogame descendent of Q*Bert, as you bounce him higher up a series of platforms. Why? No one knows. The Doodler just has to climb higher, like some quaintly-animated salmon swimming upstream. Maybe, like the salmon, he gets to mate if he bounces high enough – though no matter how high you get, it’s never high enough. Maybe bouncing ever higher is a metaphor for the Buddhist concept of striving for Nirvana, forever unreachable to all but the purest man or Doodler. Perhaps we’ll never know. More likely, the cutesy visual trappings of Doodle Jump are just there to serve the simplistic gameplay mechanic. The default controls utilise your handset’s motion sensors, so a simple tilt to the left or right directs the Doodler’s direction. The screen has no spatial borders, so bouncing him off the right edge will see him reappear on the left of the screen – a useful tip to remember to access some platforms. Controls can be set so that a tap of either side of the screen moves him in that direction, though that method is best reserved for larger tablets than regular phones.

■ x x

■ The game is highly addictive as you attempt to beat your high score ■ There are themed backgrounds to make things interesting


As you climb, you’ll also come across the odd power-up – rocket packs shunting you upwards at great speed, trampolines or springs giving you a boost or propeller hats to gently lift you higher. However, there are also hazards; black holes that kill you, crumbling platforms and even the odd enemy floating about. A tap of the screen fires a shot at the often imaginatively designed bad guys, and while most can be avoided or taken out with one shot, mini ‘bosses’ sometimes appear requiring several hits to destroy, or exceedingly skillful bouncing to avoid. More than anything, Doodle Jump is a callback to the early days of console gaming. There’s not really much to the game, just a simple, single-minded purpose that offers enough hooks to keep you returning for that never-satisfied “one more go”. With five different backgrounds, each seeing the art style and monster designs change according to their themes – Christmas, Halloween, Jungle and Space, plus the default graph paper background – and online competitive scoreboards, there’s enough variety to keep you bouncing for a very long time.


Games

■ The colourful visuals add to the game’s enjoyment

■ Slice your way through a variety of fruits to reach a new high score

Price: £0.77/$1.26 Developer: Halfbrick Studios

Fruit Ninja

You’re slicing my melon, man Fun fact – historically, ninja didn’t exist, at least not as they’re depicted in movies over the decades. It’s easy, then, to accept the shadowy blade-masters guiding players against such fearsome foes as coconuts and watermelons. There’s even the odd strawberry, waiting to be sliced into pureé with a flick of your finger. Yes, it’s all a bit silly, but as a framework in which to wrap the mechanics of slicing up flying fruit – while avoiding bombs, of course – it could be worse. Miss any of the edible projectiles that pop up and you lose a life; lose three and it’s game over. Hitting multiple items in one strike gives a score bonus, while shining fruit activate special features to mix things up. Even on higher difficulties though, the game often comes down to frantically running your finger back and forth to hit as many pieces as possible. At its heart, Fruit Ninja’s cheery visuals and easy challenge make it better suited to younger players but older ones will get some entertainment from it too.


Android

■ There’s a lot of green here, at least it brightens up the battle…

■ Robo Defense doesn’t do anything particularly new, but what it does it does well

Price: £1.85/$3.00 Developer: Lupis Labs Software

Robo Defense

Another prophecy of the inevitable robot uprising The touch interface of mobile devices makes them perfect for strategy games, something Robo Defense takes great advantage of even if it doesn’t do anything strikingly new. As waves of robots advance on your hi-tech fortress, you’ll buy and place turrets in their way. Destroyed robots earn you money, but any that get past will damage your base’s health. Placing the various defense mounts is as simple as dragging them into place, while a second tap allows you to upgrade them when you have enough funds, turning missile silos into anti-air rockets, for example. With different upgrades offering better defence or offence against certain types of robots, you’ll have to think hard about how best to distribute your resources. Thankfully, an uncluttered and simple-to-follow screen layout allows you to follow all of your stats with ease, and impressively detailed (if perhaps a bit small) graphics never help prevent the action deteriorating into a visually confusing mess. An equally impressive list of achievements and the option for online play boost Robo Defense’s overall appeal.


Android

Games

Price: £1.25/$2.00 Developer: BitHack Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: Galapagos

Apparatus

Construction gaming at its best

Trial Extreme Been there, crashed that

The initial levels of Apparatus are so easy they’re almost throwaway. Set up a simple track of wooden boards to guide a marble into a pot. Easy! Make a springboard to fling the next marble up into a basket. Piece of cake! Then, somehow, 17 whole days have passed, you haven’t seen sunlight, and you’re constructing mechanisms so complex that you have no idea where you started – all just to get the next marble to its designated goal. To say Apparatus is addictive is an understatement, and if you’re nerdy enough, you’ll be marvelling at its brilliant use of physics the whole time. If anything breaks the spell, it’s the game’s own tendency towards imprecision. Placing two planks of wood together should bring up a hammer icon, allowing you to join them, though this often fails to materialise. Other similar things conspire against you, usually when you’re one or two pieces away from finishing your proudest construction yet. Persistence wins out though, with the freedom to create and the numerous solutions to each level making this a gripping title.

Another motocross racer meets stunt bike game, Trial Extreme is one of the best looking in its class, though the heart of the gameplay isn’t much changed from any similar titles you’re likely to discover on the Android Market. Controls are tilt-based, though how the game responds to the accelerometer’s internal shifts seems arbitrary at best. It’s fiddly and annoying, and takes far longer to get the hang of than it should. Once you do, you’ll be able to pull off some nice trick, from wheelies to back flips. The game does offer a nice selection of courses at least – 60 at present, plus the occasional update bringing more – and the escalation of difficulty is pretty fair. As with almost any game allowing for catastrophic crashes though, you’ll soon find yourself tiring of the proper game and instead amusing yourself by killing the rider over and over again. Trial Extreme has its charms, and if you’ve the patience to master its controls you may even enjoy it as you’re intended to.


Rating ★★★★★ ■ The graphics are pretty impressive

■ Is he going to make that landing? Do you really care?!

■ Before you know it you’ll be constructing creations that test the laws of physics!

■ The early levels may start off easy, but the difficulty soon ramps up


Games

■ The cutesy visuals will appeal to young players

■ You’ll need to splash some cash to get access to all the tools and levels on offer

Price: Free Developer: Psym Mobile

Gem Miner

Is this a hidden treasure? Who doesn’t love prospectors? Actually, most people probably, especially after their portrayal in Toy Story 2. As such they’re not the likeliest candidate for a gaming mascot, yet somehow the designers at Psym have somehow managed to make the cutesy style of both character and world work. Going down the mines, you’ll dig up coal, gems and the odd fossil to sell back on the surface, using your funds to garner new items to help you excavate even further. Your stamina is limited though, so you can’t dig too far in one go, and your subterranean explorations run the risk of causing a cave in. While each mine is randomly generated and the game allows for three save slots, players are in for an unpleasant surprise when it becomes clear Gem Miner is an extended trailer for its full version, Gem Miner: Dig Deeper, which will set you back around £1.30. Nowhere on the app does it make this clear until you start noticing items that are unavailable in the “demo version”. Still, it’s a fun little game, if a bit confusingly marketed.


Android

■ Shoot your enemy before he shoots you

■ It’s a great game that wouldn’t be out of place on the PS3 or Xbox 360

Price: £4.29/$6.99 Developer: Gameloft

Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus Mobile warfare, evolved If Gameloft was to announce a port of Modern Combat 2 to one of the home consoles, it wouldn’t be surprising in the slightest to see it hold its own in a market already dominated by the likes of Call Of Duty and Battlefield. As it is, as a mobile game, it’s ahead of its rivals in so many ways that it’s not even a fair competition. Although the title and even concept is a clear play on the market leading Modern Warfare, Black Pegasus is resolutely its own beast – same genus, different species, if you will. With four multiplayer modes (Battle, Team Battle, Defuse the Bomb and Capture the Flag) catering up to ten players at once, there’s a wealth of FPS action here. Our only warnings would be that the virtual thumbstick controls still haven’t been nailed, and if you’re using anything older than an HTC Desire HD you should forget about trying to run this – it’s a system hog in the worst way, though you’ll understand why once you lay eyes on its amazing visuals.


Android

Games

Caligo Chaser

Price:£1.84/$2.99 Developer: Com2uS

Less time chasing, more time fixing please!

■ The stereotypical spunky hero makes an appearance in this JRPG

With Caligo Chaser, Korean developer Com2uS has made a commendable but flawed attempt to create the classic JRPG experience in mobile form. The plot is your general fantasy affair, giving enough reason for your spikey-haired lead and his allies to go off and save the world. Curiously, while touch-screen devices are probably the one platform best suited to turn-based combat and menus, Caligo Chaser instead uses virtual thumbsticks and buttons for real-time battles. Unfortunately, neither are anywhere near responsive enough to engage in the real-time brawls the game offers. It’s almost a positive then that, while the game has some dazzling graphics with fantastic character designs and lush backgrounds, heroes and enemies alike suffer from a terrible animation frame rate, leading to slow and stuttering movement. Another tragic downside is its huge file size – kiss goodbye to 19MB of your phone storage, as it’s currently not able to be moved to your memory card. There’s a lot of sadly missed potential here, as with a little more care this could have been amazing.


■ The action is slow and the frame rates are often appalling

Price: Free Developer: Magma Mobile

Bubble Blast 2 Forever bursting bubbles

Somewhere between transcendent obsession and rage-fuelling frustration lays Bubble Blast 2. Like most mobile puzzles games, its conceit is an easyto-learn, difficult-to-master task – and from the title, we’re sure you can guess what that is. Each stage of its staggering 5,500-level puzzle mode gives you a set number of moves to clear the screen of multi-coloured bubbles by setting off elaborate chain reactions. However, early levels confuse with their simplicity while later ones become infuriatingly challenging. Arcade mode inverts play, the player surviving as many rounds on as few touches as possible. Annoyingly, while the ads allowing the developer to offer the game for free aren’t too bad, you will occasionally get a ‘Magma Mobile News’ icon cluttering up your notifications bar, or offers to try other games from the developer when you start it up. If you can overlook the invasive updates, the game is worth a look.


■ If you have a penchant for bubbles, this game is for you

■ The cartoon stylings of the game will no doubt appeal to many

Games

■ There are three different game types to choose from

Android

■ If you’ve got a device good enough to support it, the graphics are great

■ There’s a selection of quality cars on offer for you to race around in ■ It’s the standard gemsmashing fare we had come to expect

Price: £0.69/$1.13 Developer: Electronic Arts

Bejeweled 2

A diamond in the rough?

It’s a good thing that Bejeweled 2 is only 70p, since after tricking you with an initial 1.3MB install, it then instigates a mandatory 25MB download, invariably taking longer than 15 minutes to download – even on Wi-Fi – and making a mockery of the Market’s already laughable time limit for refunds. For most users, whether you like the game or not, you’re stuck with it once you’ve bought it. Thankfully it’s at least a good game, if you like its brand of gemswitching, colour-matching, combo-starting gameplay, that is. If you’ve not played Bejeweled, or one of its many (many, many…) spin-offs or clones, we’ll have to assume you’re reading this in the post-apocalyptic future, having found this book in the ruins of the old world. With three modes – Classic, the general level-based gemsmasher; Action, a time-based challenge, and Endless – each offering a slight twist on the usual game, there’s enough variety to keep you entertained but not enough to make it worth the wait, the file size or the inconvenience. As it is, the free Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook is the better option.


Price: £3.07/$4.99 Developer: EA

Need For Speed: Shift A very needy racer

You may think that Need For Speed is about racing one of 20 high spec cars around nearly two dozen tracks in some of the world’s greatest cities, each with day and night versions. You may think it’s about speeding through a career mode or just burning rubber through a quick one-off race. You might even think it’s about experimenting with a huge amount of upgrades, customisations and performance tweaks for each of the motors. You’d be wrong though. Yes, Shift offers all of the above, and it does all those things exceedingly well. But what it’s really about is segregation. Technological segregation. Because, if you’re unfortunate enough to be slumming it with a device more than five minutes old, you can expect slow response times, forced closing and – seemingly only on the Chicago track – a memory error that causes a system crash. Not exactly what you want after spending over £3. If you’re rocking the latest piece of mobile tech bling, Need For Speed: Shift offers a lot of game for not a lot of money, and some great visuals. For anyone else, it’s more like a cheap banger than a sporty runaround.


Android

Games

Price: Free Developer: Nikolay Ananiev

Bebbled

Price: Free Developer: MotionX

Forever blowing Bebbles?

Bouncing your way to victory

Another day, another ‘burst colourful gems’ puzzler – but Bebbled is a bit special. For one thing, it’s one of few games to perfectly balance immediately captivating play with just the right level of difficulty. You’ll scratch your head at many stages, but never so much that you’ll want to chuck your handset across the room. For another, Bebbled is the work of solo Bulgarian developer Nikolay Ananiev; an extraordinary feat given the depth the game offers. The basic game mode sees you remove ‘bebs’ from the screen with two pokes, one to select the cluster for deletion, another to confirm, and collapse the field to form larger groups of one colour. Removing anything above two gems – the minimum – yields a bonus, and you’ll soon be feverishly planning dozens of moves ahead for maximum effect. A set of Christmas themed levels offer set objectives – clear all glowing bebs, remove all yellows, and so on – that mix the gameplay up a little. For a free game, it’s a staggering achievement, and best of all, it’s currently ad-free! Easily one of the best puzzlers in the marketplace despite some fierce competition and there's no excuse not to check it out given it will cost you absolutely nothing.

It sounds like a horribly unappealing premise. You control a mouse who leaps between pegs dotted around the level, bouncing from his tail which grabs onto each peg. Yet somehow, Bouncy Mouse proves to be not only one of the best free games on Android but perhaps belongs in the conversation as one of the best games overall. The secret is the bouncing. Bouncy Mouse not only swings to a stop with some clever momentum physics but also bounces off any surface that he comes into contact with. The idea is to negotiate a safe passage through each level, while collecting as much cheese as you can, before knocking out the Captain Cat at the end of the level with one final swing. It combines the clever thinking and planning of Cut The Rope with the random physics and unpredictable nature of Angry Birds to create a game that feels like a hybrid of the two, yet something unique. There are also plenty of unlockables you can get to dress up your mouse while the game is stuffed with character, having more personality than 100 other games available on the platform. The free version means you have to put up with adverts, some of them placed in awkward positions, but don't let that put you off giving Bouncy Mouse a try.

Bouncy Mouse



■ For a free game, Bebbled manages to stand out amongst the competition

■ It has the perfect level of difficulty


■ Levels get tricker as more obstacles stand in Bouncy Mouse's way ■ Bouncy Mouse himself is adorable, especially once you dress him up!

Games

Price: £1.81/$0.99 Developer: Kairosoft

Price: £3.06/$4.99 Developer: TBS Games

Conquering the games industry is fun

What is it good for?

Game Dev Story Here you're a would-be game developer where good reviews earn you money, to help improve your next title. It’s a simple premise, blending strategy and puzzle elements into an attractive, playable whole. While gameplay is technically merely issuing commands through onscreen menus, Game Dev Story is charming and enticing enough to see you skipping meals to ensure the growth of your company. ■ The pixel art helps Game Dev Story stand out


UniWar

A solid turn-based strategy game with sci-fi trappings, Uniwar pits two armies against each other on maps consisting of hexagonal spaces. Although the three selectable races offer no surprises – armoured humans, warrior insects, etc – the depth is found in combat, with one-onone and team matches.. Online only, the turn-based set-up and a useful notification system lets you keep track of your ongoing battles easily enough, and although it’s a shame there’s no local singleplayer option, the ability to have 20 different games on the go should keep strategy enthusiasts busy enough. ■ It's not as complex to play as it looks


Price: £0.99/$1.61 Developer: Connect2Media

Price: Free Developer: MHGames

Holding out for a hero? You’ll be waiting a while

A true diamond in the rough

Go! Go! Rescue Squad!

Jewels

Jewels may be a brazen copy of Bejeweled, but it’s free, small and can be stored on your SD card. There are a few things that make it inferior to Bejeweled; the graphics are notably underwhelming for one, but for basic gem-matching puzzle gaming, Jewels is probably the best option on Android. Four different modes and online ranking via the third party ScoreLoop service arguably make it the superior choice.

Playing as a brigade of firemen, this cutesy puzzle platformer sees you rescuing a bunch of selfabsorbed characters from hazardous situations, usually by picking them up and throwing them to safety or putting out fires to clear a route for them. The biggest problem with all this shrunken down heroism is that it’s incredibly slow, with each move taking ages to set up and, with the marker lines for thrown items, demanding far more precision than you’ll have the patience for. Difficulty in selecting different squad members when you need to switch between them make this frustrating enough and you’ll want to leave them all to burn. ■ Don't let the cute graphics fool you


Android

■ Not up to Bebbled's level but still quite fun


Android

Games

Price: £1.84/$2.99 Developer: NVIDIA Tegra Partners

Price: £1.49/$2.42 Developer: Hexage Ltd

Pinball HD for Tegra

Everlands HD

Nothing to see, move along

“I’ll take an ‘E’, please, Bob”

Only available on those devices equipped with NVIDIA’s Tegra tech, Pinball HD is really just a way to show off both the enhanced graphical power of the hardware and the realistic physics of the game. The three tables available are all fairly nice designs, though there’s no ‘wow’ factor to anything the game does – no hidden tricks, no interesting bonuses, nothing. It’s almost as if the aim were to create the most generic pinball game ever. If you have the correct anaglyph specs, there’s the option to play in 3D but that’s a momentary distraction at best from a resoundingly average game. ■ It’s pinball – just like you’ve always known it


Price: £3.05/$4.99 Developer: Com2uS

A lightweight among heavyweights Much like Wii Sports stripped the convoluted rules away from baseball, so too does Homerun Battle peel away everything of the sport besides turns at bat, attempting to hit as many home runs as possible. Touch and tilt controls work well, trying to predict the pitcher’s bowl with the accelerometer and hitting the screen to swing your bat. It’s deceptively easy to knock balls out of the park to begin, but that novelty soon wanes.

52 Android iPhone App AppDirectory Directory

■ This game is where the wild things are


Price: £1.82/$2.99 Developer: Konami Digital Entertainment

Homerun Battle 3D

■ Fun to start but a bit of a one-trick pony

We never thought the TV quiz Blockbusters would inspire the field of mobile games, but here we are with Everlands – an adorable turn-based strategy game played out on a hexagonal board. Unlike the quiz, the challenge is to conquer the whole board rather than just a line, by pitting different animals against one another. Each creature has different stats and abilities, giving the game a Top Trumps feel. Great fun.


Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 Fancy a kick-around? Although Konami’s long-running franchise has enjoyed mobile outings before, this is the first appearance on an Android device. The chance to play in official UEFA Champions League and Europa League matches should please most fans, though it lacks the full roster FIFA is able to boast. A variety of control mechanisms ostensibly gives more input to players of various abilities, but instead it makes gameplay a bit muddied, with no ‘best’ scheme – though on a positive note, anyone playing on an Experia PLAY handset will be able to overlook that problem. ■ PES 2011 is good fun, but not without its flaws


Games

Android

Price: £1.74/$2.84 Developer: MADFINGER Games

Price: Free Developer: DroidHen

Kurosawa never made videogames, but if he did…

Really? Are they even trying here?

A nameless samurai, hordes of enemies, RPG elements and satisfactory controls make this one of the best action games on any mobile platform. The real selling point though is the beautiful art style, evoking Japanese woodbrush painting and running in stunning 60fps. Vengeance is the closest any game has come to properly utilising a virtual joypad too – it’s still not perfect, and an errant thumb will see your gameplay interrupted but it’s far better than most. Attacks combo nicely, and the puzzle elements aren’t overly taxing or confusing. All in all, a brilliant game.

Clones of popular games are an inevitability for Android, iOS and even web development, but the plagiarists usually at least make some cursory efforts to be different. We suppose, in swapping a ninja for some sort of Roman gladiator, that cursory effort has been made, but even down to the slashed wooden backgrounds, this is identical to Fruit Ninja. A minor difference is being ranked on how well you slice each fruit, but it’s nowhere near enough to differentiate it. And, in truth, how many fruit chopping games do we need?

Samurai II: Vengeance

■ Kick some serious ass – samurai style


Fruit Slice

■ A fruity app that seems very familiar…


Price: Free Developer: Yobonja

Price: £1.82/$2.99 Developer: PlayCreek LLC

The RSPCA would have a fit

Grisly title, fun game, happy players

Blast Monkeys

Death Worm Poor Moki – the hungry little monkey just wants some bananas but is that any reason to fire him out of a cannon? Yes, actually, since it allows for a fabulously creative puzzle game. Everything is pretty direct to start with, requiring straight lines or the occasional rebound shot, but soon you’ll be chaining cannon shots together, ploughing Moki into other contraptions and power ups to navigate each tricky level. Fun, bright and entertaining.

■ One of the best games for monkeying around


If B-movie Tremors got a videogame, this would be it – only instead of playing the heroic inhabitants of smalltown America, you’re controlling the subterranean carnivore. This is, of course, utterly brilliant. Swimming around in the ground, you’ll jump out to chomp down on unsuspecting wildlife, humans and even vehicles. Get more than one in a single jump for a score boost, and successful dinners with each jump build chain combos. To make matters really unfair on the surfacedwellers, you can eventually breathe fire too. Gleefully evil fun. ■ Think Earthworm Jim’s evil cousin


Android

Games


Price: Free Developer: InZweiZeiten

N.O.V.A. 2 HD

Red Stone

While Red Stone may be a simple blocksliding puzzler which looks as inviting and fun as a grey slab, it doesn’t really need any frills to still offer a tough mental challenge, which it certainly manages. However, with only a dozen or so stages and only a few customisation options to freshen things up and keep them interesting, there’s not much here. Once you’ve solved a stage there’s no incentive to replay, besides giving your brain a thorough battering from the sheer difficulty of the puzzles involved. Red Stone is an unspectacular but passable app, especially considering it’s available for free.

An FPS scaled down to mobile proportions, N.O.V.A. 2 nevertheless stands its ground against the likes of Halo, and looks so good you won’t believe it’s running on your phone. Set six years after the first game (with bonuses for those who played it), this sequel balances sci-fi storytelling with frantic action, and brilliant multiplayer.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: Free Developer: Roman Mašek

Open Sudoku

The numbers game keeps growing in popularity, reflected by the fact that there are dozens of Sudoku apps on the Market. Even so, none compare to Open Sudoku, which effortlessly conquers a crowded field. With 90 games pre-installed (30 each of easy, medium and hard) plus the freedom to install hundreds more or even create your own, there’s a near-endless supply of Japaneseinspired number crunching to keep you occupied. All this and it’s available free of charge. Throw in automatic saves and the ability to make notes and you’ll never have to attempt one on paper again.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: Free Developer: Matt Wachowski

Trap!

Ugly to look at and confusing to play, Trap! sees you striking lines to capture ground on a grid, avoiding balls that shatter your unformed walls and trying to catch power-ups. However, there’s no way to control the direction of your lines, and as the balls increase with speed it becomes impossible. Frustrating, and best avoided.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £1.84/$2.99 Developer: Polarbit


Raging Thunder

Hot Springs Story Raging Thunder looks the part of the competent racer – sort of a scaled-down Need For Speed. However, awkward controls (touchscreen that doesn’t work well and an overly precise tilt-sensor) make it frustrating. Tournament modes and great visuals help but it’s the sort of game that would benefit greatly from a controller.

While you might expect a quick re-skin of Kairosoft’s better-known Game Dev Story, Hot Springs Story plays more like a Theme Park game, placing you in control of both building and managing a Japanese spa. Your progress is ranked in an annual report while a slow drip feed of new customer types, investments and buildings keep things fresh even after you’ve spent hours building your spa. While it’s certainly playable on a phone, the construction elements and scrolling backgrounds benefit from larger tablet screens. Either way, it’s more than worth its miniscule price for the amount of fun you’ll have.



Price: Free Developer: Backflip Studios

Paper Toss

Surprisingly high quality visuals elevate this exceedingly basic title, where you flick balls of paper into waste baskets, adjusting direction to compensate for wind from a moving fan. Despite three difficulty options, each stage is exactly the same, and success seems more down to luck than skill. As you might guess from the concept, it’s really not the kind of game that packs in any sort of long term appeal, otherwise you’d spend more time doing this sort of thing in the office. Good for killing a few minutes when longer games are, well, too long (like when you’re waiting in queues mainly) but that’s about it.



Price: Free Developer: Creative Mobile

Drag Racing

An involving offering, Drag Racing has all the racing and vehicle customisation options you’d expect to find in console racing games, albeit shrunk down. Races are thrilling, with splitsecond timing required to get the perfect start and shift between gears. With online races and achievements to unlock, this is a fantastic game.


Games


Android

Price: Free Developer: Psym Mobile

Order & Chaos Online

Abduction!

If a tenner each month for Warcraft is too much, Order & Chaos might be for you – at £2.99 per six-month subscription, it’s a much smaller hit on your wallet. It has outstanding 3D visuals, four races, endless customisation and hundreds of quests. However, it’s Wi-Fi only and demands a high-spec device for best results.

Take Doodle Jump. Replace Doodler with a cow. Add four finite difficulty modes of bouncing a cow to a waiting UFO and two infinite modes and you have Abduction! It’s not a simple clone though, as obstacles that boost score or affect the state of platforms pepper the world and make things a little bit trickier than the game it may have been inspired by. Though less graphically diverse than Doodle Jump, it’s very similar. Abduction! is definitely worth a try regardless of whether you have tried Doodle Jump or not, as it’ll either be a free variant or your first exposure to this type of game.




Grand Prix Story After games companies and hot springs, Kairosoft’s newest – and most expensive – anime-styled sim-strategy places you in charge of a motorsports team, out to win various championships. The same sense of humour that infuses the earlier games is still present, as is the endearing pixelart style which made Kairosoft famous, but the appeal of the management style gameplay could well be wearing thin with fans. Still entertaining, especially for those who haven’t tried Kairosoft games before, it’s just hard to swallow at nearly twice the price given the free alternatives available.

Price: Free Developer: Rovio Mobile

Angry Birds Rio More bird-slinging in this movie tie-in to Dreamworks’ summer spectacle. Only now you’ll have to free captive birds and take down evil monkeys. Significant graphical improvements and the introduction of boss fights makes this more of a proper sequel than an expansion. Well worth a look for existing fans.



Price: £1.84/$2.99 Developer: NaturalMotion Games

Price: £2.43/$3.96 Developer: Andrey ‘Zed’ Zaikin

Backbreaker 2: Vengeance

Alchemy Premium

There’s something strangely entrancing about Alchemy. It’s not a game, per se – not in any traditional sense anyway. You just drag elemental icons around to create new ones. That’s pretty much it. Look at the screenshot and you can see how easy and simple it is. Starting with the classic four, adding water to earth makes swamp. Fire and air makes energy. Energy and swamp makes life. On it goes, as you keep building elements ever upwards into new ones. There’s no point, no reason, yet it becomes impossible to put down. It is probably a fraction too expensive for what it is, though.

Stripping American football down to a minimalist core, Backbreaker reduces the game to a series of dashes for the end zone. The original was well received and this graphically lush sequel reverses the action, as you try to stop touchdowns from your rival. There’s still not much here to warrant a paid app though.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £1.84/$2.99 Developer: Zynga

Drop7 by Zynga For one of the most original puzzle games on Android, Drop7 isn’t the easiest game to understand. Numbered tiles drop on a 7x7 grid, vanishing when you gather a cluster the size of any one of its component numbers. See? Not exactly the simple rule set of Tetris now, is it? Even so, once you grasp its complexities, you’ll be able to set off huge combos and it becomes a fiendishly addictive game. It’ll just take you a while to get there and will more than likely sit on your homescreen untouched in favour of simpler puzzle games with easier learning curves. A great game once you get into it though.


Rating ★★★★★ Price: £2.11/$3.43 Developer: Electronic Arts Nederland B.V.

Worms

Who doesn’t like Worms? Anyone playing this low-quality port, that’s who. Poor quality sound and convoluted controls remove any of the fun you may remember from the classic strategy title. The levels and tactics remain essentially the same – you just won’t want to struggle against this port itself to play them.


Android

Games

Price: £1.21/$1.99 Developer: Phil Hassey

Pocket God

Galcon

Price: £1.83/$2.99 Developer: Concrete Software, Inc

Playing something like a shrunken god simulator, with you exploiting powers to rule over wacky islanders with as much benevolence or malevolence as you like, Pocket God boasts great graphics, but it seems to be trying too hard with all the references and in-jokes.

Galcon is a space strategy game pitting you against players worldwide. Controlling planets and attacking others lets you conquer whole galaxies. Ten difficulty levels and five modes provide plenty of variety, though some will be deterred by the unsophisticated graphics.

Essentially a spatial awareness puzzle, Nintaii has you shifting a block around 3D levels, orienting it until you can drop it through a hole. It sounds simple, yet rarely is. It is, however, one of the most addictive puzzlers available. Occasional response errors lose some marks.

Price: £1.21/$1.99 Developer: Armor Games

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: ngmoco

Shift Puzzle Game Originally a web-based game, Shift makes the jump to Android. Each monochrome level is navigated by shifting between its black and white halves, forming hidden routes. A steady difficulty curve make this one of the best brain-teasers around.



Price: £1.83/$2.99 Developer: Mikengreg Games

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: Shadowpuppets

Playing Solipskier is simplicity itself – drag your finger across the screen to create the slope for your skier. Achieving high scores is a greater challenge, requiring keen attention and sharp reflexes to best utilise jumps, tunnels and other obstacles that can boost or ruin your score.

A real test of the grey matter, as you refract and combine the component elements of light using prisms, mirrors, black holes and more. It’s not the most accessible of games to get into, but once you do, you’ll find yourself losing hours to it at a time.

Solipskier

Prism



Rating ★★★★★ Price: £1.83/$2.99 Developer: Namco Bandai

Pac-Man Championship Edition It’s Pac-Man – that’s really all you need to know. Innovative multiplayer and a few updated modes keep things fresh but there are no real surprises here.


Nintaii

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £1.49/$2.42 Developer: Hexage

Radiant HD Not only is Radiant inspired by retro shooters such as Asteroids and Space Invaders, but it has the audacity to be as good as or better than them too. Throwing in a story mode, epic boss battles and joyous splashes of colour, this is one of the best shooters on Android.


Price: £3.06/$4.99 Developer: Polarbit

Price: Free Developer: Com2uS

Price: £1.31/$2.13 Developer: Osaris Games

Price: £1.29/$2.05 Developer: MassHabit Games

Reckless Racing is undeniably one of the best-looking and most engaging racers on Android. However, a mandatory and incredibly slow install to your SD card will drive many to give up before they get to actually play it. Worth the wait, but still annoying.

The point of Slice It! is to divide various geometric shapes into a set number of segments. While the childlike crayon visuals give this puzzler a certain appeal, the overly precise demands will frustrate players, as will the frequent pop-up ads between levels.

Stunning futuristic racer in the WipEout mould, with amazing tracks and fantastic use of the tilt controls. Five ships with individual stats and weapons give plenty of variety over the game’s modes, and online ranking adds a competitive edge. An utterly superb little game.

Old-school platforming returns, as the cartoony protagonist navigates a series of themed levels. Tapping the screen anchors him to walls, allowing you to swing around, or attaching two forms a catapult. Frustrating moments mar this otherwise fun title.

Reckless Racing

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £0.60/$0.99 Developer: Gamevil Inc

Zenonia 2

Spectacular graphics. Unrivalled character customisation. An engaging story with an interesting cast. If this were on a ‘proper’ console, Zenonia would still be considered a brilliant game. Some control lag issues hinder it slightly, but even so, this is a great RPG.


Slice It!


Turbofly 3D


Squibble


Price: Free Developer: Trendy Entertainment

Price: £3.06/$4.99 Developer: Namco

Price: Free Developer: Spacetime Studios

A cutesy approach to dungeon-crawling, Dungeon Defenders combines real-time combat with tower defence to create a unique experience. Possibly the best implementation of multiplayer for a phone game, too.

wrestlers old and new, plus a robust character creation mode and console-worthy graphics make Impact stand out. All the more disappointing that each match comes down to a glorified game of rock-paper-scissors, then.

An open world and diverse character creation are just the tip of the iceberg in Pocket Legends, which offers the most competent and involved MMORPG on your handset. The only downside is that many of the best features are premium purchases.

Dungeon Defenders: TNA Impact First Wave Deluxe An impressive roster of



Pocket Legends


Price: £1.99/$3.23 Developer: measuredsoftware

Price: £1.81/$2.99 Developer: Mika Mobile

Price: £0.50/$0.81 Developer: Mark Line

Price: Free Developer: Zynga

Those of you old enough to remember Micro Machines on the Mega Drive will be at home with Pocket Racing, offering the same brand of top-down excitement. Touch controls aren’t terribly intuitive but work wonderfully once you’re used to them. Simple but satisfying.

Anyone familiar with Castle Crashers will notice similarities in Battleheart, though this incorporates more RPG elements. The biggest turnoff is its file size – over 30MB, which some handsets will refuse to download. If you have the space it’s worth a look, though.

trying to get your rocket all the way into space, collecting falling stars as you ascend and avoiding birds, jets and meteors. Nothing special in the slightest, but it’s an acceptable distraction. Make sure you turn off the awful music, though.

It’s Scrabble, but with a different layout. It’s Scrabble, only played really slowly as moves relay back and forth between your contacts. It’s Scrabble, only it crashes far too often. It’s Scrabble, except for the ads after each move.

Pocket Racing


Battleheart


Bottle Rocket Dash Words With Friends This tilt-based game sees you



Arcade Games

Android

MX Moto

Price: £3.06/$4.99 Developer: Larva Labs

Retro Defense

Price: £1.46/$2.34 Developer: Fruxotic Games

Price: Free Developer: Sunflat

Although its intention is to be a speedy stunt racer, with bike tricks pulled off with flicks of your handset, more entertainment is to be found in the ability to fling the rider around like a ragdoll after crashing – especially since the game has a tendency to force close mid-race.

Cross Tron with pretty much any tower defence game and you have Retro Defense, bringing a colourful look to tried-and-tested gameplay. Unfortunately, the aesthetic style is its biggest selling point, as outside of the looks there’s very little surprise or innovation here.

Using foodstuffs as materials in this construction puzzle adds a fun twist to otherwise staid gameplay. Careful planning is needed to prevent your structure collapsing. Frustrating but thought-provoking.

‘Basic’ doesn’t come close to describing how resoundingly simplistic Action Potato is. It’s a glorified Whack-A-Mole, where you poke pots to catch potatoes, avoiding rotten ones and aiming for hearts for extra lives. It’s not really good or bad; it just sort of exists.

Price: £1.21/$1.99 Developer: Djinnworks


Spaghetti Marshmallows


Action Potato



Price: Free Developer: Gameview Studios

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: Super Combo Collective

Price: Free Developer: OKENKO LLC

Price: £3.99/$6.52 Developer: TwoHeads Games

Starting off as an aquarium sim with a healthy number of customisation and creation tools, the real addictive quality of Tapfish comes with its breeding feature. Ignoring the laws of nature, cross-breeding the species in your tanks creates wholly unrelated creatures.

An interesting take on ‘match three’ puzzle games, Wiz Kid Jr takes great advantage of touch controls to allow you to draw the exact pattern of ghosts – each with different attacks affecting the field – that you want to remove. Neat visuals and chirpy tunes round it out.

Motion-sensing in construction games is a mixed bag. While stationary, it gives delicate control over how you stack your smiling, animated block. Moving around, it’s useless, each jolt toppling your skyscraper. Sit still, and this is one of the best of its kind.

It’s hard to believe how much tension Aftermath XHD squeezes out of your phone. Armed with whatever you find, you can only attack what you see with your torch – and the undead are everywhere. Genuinely scary, it pushes the boundaries of mobile gaming.

Tapfish


Wiz Kid Jr

Shaky Tower


Aftermath XHD



Price: £1.83/$2.99 Developer: Kinetic Bytes

Price: £1.83/$2.99 Developer: Jason Allen

Price: £1.99/$3.23 Developer: Herocraft Ltd

Price: £1.40/$2.27 Developer: CatfishBlues Games

An all-encompassing pool game that includes snooker, billiards and other variants, Pool Break Pro offers canny touch controls with slick 3D visuals for all games. Online multiplayer with a built-in chat client is also available, making this the definitive pool game on Android.

This is really just an average bowling game with a space theme, with levels based on planets in the solar system. It is a looker, though, particularly on tablets, and the physics of bowling have been captured well. Nice, but nothing to go over the moon for.

Existing somewhere between Harvest Moon and FarmVille, this gives you all the predictable elements of farm management. However, outside of using your finger to choose exactly where to plant seeds, it feels like it takes its best ideas from its peers.

A mirror universe version of Geometry Wars, which looks impossibly similar to it. The key distinction is that here your neon-hued angular ship is capable of destroying enemies, rather than endlessly avoiding them. A nice twist, to be sure, but far too familiar.

Pool Break Pro

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £1.83/$2.99 Developer: polarbit

Galaxy Bowl

Farm Frenzy


Hyperlight



Toon Warz

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: Glu Mobile

Bonsai Blast

Price: £1.83/$2.99 Developer: Bendroid LLC

Price: £1.49/$2.42 Developer: Hexage Ltd

It almost feels condescending to remark on how enjoyable Toon Warz is – it’s just not expected that mobile FPSs will be any good. While the graphics here are a bit blocky and dated, the actual shooting action is unrivalled, bolstered by precise controls. A brilliant bit of gaming.

Bonsai Blast is a cheerylooking puzzler where coloured marbles roll along a winding path, waiting for you to shoot clusters of three or more to break the chain. It’s simple and addictive, and an unapologetic clone of PopCap’s Zuma. Fraudulent fun.

It’s surprising there aren’t more adventure games on touch devices – the interface is perfect for them. Mystique has so far proven itself to be a prime example of how good they can be, all full of compelling plot-based puzzles.

Leading Buka to her “happy place” probably sounds more euphemistic than it is. It actually just involves guiding her through space with taps and drags on the screen and destroying asteroids with long presses. It’s exceedingly basic and even later levels offer no real tests.


Mystique: Chapter 3 Obitus



Buka


Price: Free Developer: greenrobot

Price: £2.45/$3.99 Developer: Requiem Software Labs

Price: Free Developer: Chickenbrick Studios

Price: £1.76/$2.84 Developer: Awesome Software

K’umpa almost feels like it’s making too big a deal of what it offers, wrapping up entertaining marble-rolling in a hugely elaborate Incan theme. Assorted obstacles and one-way systems need to be steered through, with some creative maps along the way.

A somewhat more realistic take on Worms, with military units at various vantage points, arranged for turnbased combat. Impressive sci-fi weaponry adds a nice dimension, while online play and dozens of achievements add a strong competitive side.

Despite a futuristic makeover, Cestos is essentially a digitised version of marbles. Being multiplayer-only requires a permanent data connection, but victories earn you countless accessories with which to customise your marbles and avatar. Odd, but just roll with it.

Another WipEout-style futuristic racer, Speed Forge plays well and certainly looks the part, yet overall it’s a sparsely populated piece of software. With only six tracks and three vehicles, you’ll find free demos with more than you get for your money here.




K’umpa


Armored Strike

Cestos

Speed Forge 3D


Android

Health/Medical

Health/ Medical ■ While not great for stationary exercisers, it’s great for runners

■ GPS tracking will help you monitor your performance

You don’t just want to keep your Android in fighting shape but yourself as well. You can combine the two as our comprehensive list of Health and Medical apps will ensure there’s not a single inch of flab on yourself or your Android Top paid apps

Top free apps

Endomondo Sports Tracker ★★★★★

VirtuaGym Fitness ★★★★★

CardioTrainer Pro ★★★★★

Runkeeper ★★★★★

Daily Butt Workout ★★★★★

Pull-Ups ★★★★★

Staff pick of the section Push-Ups ★★★★★


Pure Sleep ★★★★★

Price: £2.59/$4.25 Developer: Endomondo

Endomondo Sports Tracker

The best fitness app out there? Fitness trackers and performance motivators are ten a penny on the Market, but despite such an abundance of competition, Endomondo is still one of the best options out there. GPS accurately times each performance, with the Time Goal mode training you for improved results. With a pre-installed list of dozens of sports, it’s capable of gauging your responses accordingly – distinguishing between cycling for transport and cycling as a dedicated activity, for example. Facebook integration, allowing your friends to comment on your updates, and in-app playback of your music playlists are both great if you feel in need of a spot of motivation. The only function that doesn’t really work is monitoring stationary exercises, such as weight lifting, as it still tries to measure in distance. Hopefully updates will address that. It’s a bit of a toss up between this and RunKeeper as to which is the best fitness app.


Health/Medical

Android

Price: Free Developer: FitnessKeeper Inc

Runkeeper

Is the best known fitness app still ahead of the pack? RunKeeper has been away from the starting blocks for a while now, initially building a rep for itself over on iPhone as THE app for tracking your distance training exercises. While it’s still one of the premier options to build your outdoor routines around, it is starting to show its age a bit now. The good, first though, which is that where RunKeeper excelled in the past, it still does. Tapping into the GPS functions of your phone, the app will precisely track your progress in everything from cycling to downhill skiing, though its greatest strength is still in monitoring running. It will also keep a record of all your activities, including time of day, distance covered, average minutes per mile over that distance, and then combines all that info to work out the number of calories burned. Each time you use the app, a Google Maps record of the route you took is generated and saved for your evaluation purposes afterwards. These can then be stored in your account on the RunKeeper website. The link-in with the site is one of the core functions of RunKeeper, in fact. While the app can be used without setting up a free account there, doing so does enable some added functions,

such as RunKeeper Live. Online, it also allows you to investigate your long-term development in much greater detail, get involved in RunKeeper-based Fitness Classes, and link the app to your foursquare account – and yes, there are extra badges to be earned for doing so. However, there are a few functions that more recently developed rival sports apps offer that RunKeeper still hasn’t implemented itself. The most obvious is the inability to access your music library in-app. Yes, you can have a music player running in addition to RunKeeper but having to switch between apps is an inconvenience at best and an interruption to your workout (affecting your time and performance record) at worst. On a shallower front, it’s also become drab-looking in comparison to some flashier newcomers. On a more practical but related note – and like any dark-hued app – it can become difficult to actually read the screen in direct sunlight. Those quibbles aside, for a free fitness app RunKeeper still can’t be beaten – though a more fully featured update wouldn’t go amiss in the near future.


■ x x

■ GPS tracks the route that you take whether running, cycling or even skiing ■ Information such as time taken and distance covered is recorded and stored


Android

Health/Medical

Price: £2.45/$4.02 Developer: Appventive

ICE: In Case of Emergency Entirely contrary to purpose

In recent years, old-fashioned medical alert bracelets – pieces of jewellery bearing important notices about any health problems that the wearer might have – have given way somewhat to USB versions. A more high-tech offering, they allow patients to carry much more information with them about their medication needs, allergies, pre-existing conditions or anything else that someone attending to them in an emergency may require. That’s essentially what the ICE app is; a way of storing all your medical and healthcare information on the everyday item you’re most likely to have on your person you at all times – your phone. Initial set up requires you to list your basics, such as name, height, weight and blood type, and then it’s up to you how much additional info is required. It’s not terribly intuitive though and the touchscreen is barely used (you’ll select a category by touch but then have to hit menu to be able to edit anything) but battle through and you can list a wide range of conditions, what treatment you’re currently on, what treatment you’d need in a crisis, and so on. It’ll even record your NHS number, contact phone numbers and insurance details

■ x x

■ All your emergency contacts, as well as NHS number and vital statistics can be accessed easily ■ Each time your mediation is changed, update ICE with dose details


– literally whatever you might need someone to know in a worst case scenario. However, while it might be useful and may well store an incredible amount of information that far exceeds anything that a medical alert bracelet can, there’s one – if you’ll excuse the term – fatal flaw with ICE: the emergency responder likely won’t know the data is there in the first place. Even though the software can display the relevant info without unlocking your phone, you’d need to be in a position to either get to your phone yourself, gasp a desperate “Phone!” clue to a hypothetical paramedic and hope he doesn’t think you just want to update Twitter with “Totally having an anaphylactic shock lol!” or be in the company of a friend or family member who is aware of both your needs and that you have ICE installed. If you are, it’s then questionable as to why you’d need ICE in the first place. As a free app, this would be a useful back-up or personal reference for your own purposes at best. As a paid one, it’s pointless, a waste of money, and definitely not to be relied on.


Health/Medical

Android

Price: £6.15/$10.97 Developer: WorkSmart Labs

CardioTrainer Pro A top-notch fitness companion ■ Ailments and possible cures are listed

■ We recommend you see a doctor first

Price: Free Developer: Epocrates

Epocrates

■ Identify medication by pill type

Like installing a really nosey doctor on your phone One of the main rivals to US-based health database WebMD, Epocrates has actually been in the mobile app space for a while longer – and is making the same kinds of mistakes. A mandatory sign-up with the Epocrates web service denies quick and easy access, and offers no indication of why, exactly, you need to sign up in the first place. Once you have – indeed, if you choose to at all, rather than just uninstalling the program straight away – you will at least find a phenomenal amount of medical information, right down to what certain pills should look like. Ability to search by symptoms or affliction name helps find whatever you’re looking for, though with this clearly targeted at healthcare professionals it’s not likely to be of great use to everyday users. The biggest problem is that even for someone with the appropriate training or knowledge base, a lot of the information is regionally specific to North America – different drug names and even terminology rendering it confusing to British readers. Between registration woes and Amerocentricism, Epocrates simply isn’t worth the hassle.


Straight to the point: this is a fantastic piece of exercise software. In fact, it’s more than just software – it’s a full suite of features that provides near enough everything that you could need to plan and monitor your workouts, covering everything from running to yoga. For regular workouts, there’s a nice colour-coded planning function, and videogame style ‘achievements’ for hitting certain targets of calorie burn. Your music playlist is automatically integrated and it even supports bluetooth headsets, so you don’t need to hold your phone while exercising. Interval training – the current love affair of the fitness industry – is heavily pushed, though each stage just sort of starts, with no slow down/speed up warning. You’ll also be able to track your progress, monitoring weight loss and performance, with clear indicators of improvement. The only downside is how inconvenient it is to get the Pro version working – you need to install the free version then purchase an upgrade. With the freebie version being severely stripped down, basically only offering run tracking for outdoor workouts, you really should just be able to buy Pro outright.


■ You can easily monitor your cardio training

■ The interface makes your workouts much more interesting


Android

Health/Medical

White Noise

Price: £1.22/$2.00 Developer: TMSOFT

Hippy claptrap or sleepy science? The idea of white noise – ambient background sounds that you don’t consciously listen to – aiding sleep is a bit vague, striking as something removed from science and falling somewhere between new age healing optimism and “what can it hurt?” curiosity. It’s into that latter category we fell when presented with the White Noise app. So, with more than a modicum of skepticism, we fired it up and left it on as we dozed off one night. Of the 40 different tracks on offer, we played it safe and went for ‘Extreme Rain’, plugged the phone in to charge overnight. Then, much to our surprise, we awoke feeling considerably refreshed. It’s hard to objectively view the success though, as there’s possibly an element of a placebo effect at play; that is, you think it will work, so you sleep better. And frankly, some of the sounds – including, ironically enough, white noise itself – are so painful on the ears we doubt anyone could drop off to them. Even though hitting ‘back’ often exits the app White Noise may be worth a try, particularly if you’re already open to the concept.

■ The soothing pitter patter of rain will either calm you or make you visit the toilet. Lots!


■ Going to sleep hearing the waves lap the shore will make you think you're on holiday

Baby ESP

Price: £3.06/$5.02 Developer: Hewitt Software

Whatever happened to the parents? Babies are, by their very nature unpredictable, unintelligible heaps of wants and needs. They’re also adults-in-training, and just like anyone you know who’s old enough to control their bowels and dress themselves, babies are individuals – even twins will differ from each other. So anything claiming to let you “know exactly what your baby needs” seems dubious at best. While Baby ESP lets you store all sorts of information about your child’s life – from medicine schedules to how long breast feeding is taking – it just comes across as a really creepy roboticising of childcare. Any parent who needs an app to “know at a glance the time since baby’s last meal, nap or diaper change” probably should have thought a bit more carefully before having a kid in the first place. Weird detachment aside, children are hard work and very time consuming, as any parent will tell you. The chances of wanting, or even remembering, to enter the time you last threw a poop-filled nappy away is minimal at best. If you have time to fiddle with this, you should probably go check on your baby…


■ In the grand scheme of things, the amount of time a baby takes to feed will tell you nothing

■ Map every action, meal and motion that your baby has each day

Health/Medical

Price: £2.99/$4.90 Developer: Fenlander Software Solutions

Ultimate Weight Watchers Diary All about the numbers

Price: £1.22/$2.00 Developer: Guy Hoffman

C25K Pro

Bland and boring – no motivation to run at all

Some colourful visualisations of your weight-loss aside, this is a very stern app, all boring text boxes and numbers – which isn’t great for anyone trying to lose weight and looking for motivation. It’s good at what it does though, and as that involves tracking a wealth of data about what you eat, it’s inevitable that it’s going to look a bit dry. Despite being a third-party app, it’s compatible with all of Weight Watchers’ points-based diet schemes, though people looking to measure their food intake in more universal terms might be better off going for an overall calorie counter. ■ Although functional, it looks pretty boring

Rating ★★★★★ Price: Free Developer: Rittr Labs

Push Ups

No app can take the pain away Rittr Labs has put out a whole mini-suite of exercise specific training apps on the Android Marketplace, each of which aims to help train you up from blubbering weakling to muscled Adonis through a persistent monitoring of your ability on a daily basis. Taking a base reading of how many push ups you can complete in one go, it then calculates a system for you to follow, including rest periods, over subsequent days. Of course, to see any improvement requires commitment from you, but the app serves as a great guide if you have the self-control and determination to stick to it. ■ Plan your push up work out program for top results


Android

C25K aims to get you from sitting on the couch to running five kilometers over the course of a few weeks. Each day has a set plan to follow, incorporating a warm up period and runs of varying intensities. It requires a lot of commitment but those who do will see results. However, the grey on black background makes it nearly unreadable in daylight. With no GPS mapping, it pales against the likes of RunKeeper. ■ Other apps do the same better


Price: Free Developer: Rittr Labs

Sit Ups But which one?! This is the only one of Rittr’s offerings that poses a problem to your exercise plan. Unlike push ups, pull ups or squats, the range of exercises that constitute a ‘sit up’ is so broad that a target of doing 250 in a single session would be feasible for one form, while the same amount of another would tear your stomach asunder. With no way to specify form or factor in added weights (stomach crunches holding dumbbells, for instance) this is suited to those who know what they’re doing and what they want to achieve. ■ A counter for those who already do sit ups


Android

Health/Medical

Price: Free Developer: VirtuaGym

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: Daniel Miller

With eight different routines for three fitness levels, covering dozens of exercises for both home and gym-based workouts, VirtuaGym is an amazingly versatile app that covers everything you’d expect an app with such a name to cover. Animated guides are extremely helpful as they show how best to complete each exercise, while optional integration with the associated website allows for greater tracking of your progress. For a free app, VirtuaGym out-performs many of its pay-for rivals and is much cheaper than getting a personal trainer. Highly recommended.

While this application would probably make Sir Mix-a-Lot cry, that would be from the workout pain more than anything else. Daily Butt Workout, as the name suggests, represents a great option for those wanting to trim down the area of their derriere. While the exercises target the whole lower body, they all have some impact on junk-filled trunks, and can be tackled individually or in one of two short routines, depending on your level of fitness. It’s ultimately a bit minimalist and there’s still the argument that you can’t spot reduced fat, but even so you can’t argue with that price; we’d bet our bottom dollar it’s worth its money.

Daily Butt Workout

VirtuaGym Fitness


Rating ★★★★★ Price: Free Developer: Medical Joyworks

Price: Free Developer: azuzi

Prognosis: Your Diagnosis

AnyTimer Pill Reminder Remembering to take pills, whether it’s medicine, vitamins or contraception, can be a bit of a pain, particularly if you need to take them more than once per day. Indeed, it can even be potentially life threatening, depending on the medication you have to take. AnyTimer enables you to make multiple customisable schedules for your meds, which is perfect if you’re on more than one course, and even allows you to add reminder notes to each. Potentially a literal life-saver for busy people and as it’s free, there’s no excuse not to download it should you worry about losing track of the pills you’re taking.

Prognosis: Your Diagnosis is set up like a quiz, with patients presenting different symptoms. You’ll choose which tests to perform and how to proceed with their treatment based on authentic medical information, then choose a final course of action. It’s hard to determine who this is aimed at though, as performance rankings after each case make it feel like more of a game than an authoritative healthcare app, which might put some off.


Rating ★★★★★ Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: Tesla Software LLC

Price: Free Developer: Rittr Labs

While it’s yet another ambient sound sleep enhancer, this offers a bit more of a visual flair than White Noise. Indeed, it looks rather nice and is clearly laid out. It also claims to train your brain through binaural and isochronic audio patterns while you sleep; no, we don’t know what those are either. However, for the same price as White Noise, this does have a better selection of sounds and music, and gains a point for it. Definitely worth the money if you have trouble sleeping.

The biggest difference between Squats and Rittr’s other exercise guides is that this one wants to kill you. The lowest target to aim for is 100 reps in one session, scaling up to 250 monstrous, leg-burning, butt-toning, core-enhancing squats. That’s not easy and, as such, only the hardcore fitness fanatics will have the mental strength to endure the challenges here, let alone pass the physical obstacles Squats happily throws at you. Other than a significant jump in cruelty, it works exactly the same and just as well as the Push Ups, Sit Ups and Pull Ups apps and is equally well organised and presented.

Squats

Pure Sleep

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £2.44/$3.99 Developer: MyNetDiary.com

Calorie Counter PRO As much as good exercise will help with weight loss, reconsidering your diet in conjunction with increased physical activity is just as important to burning off that excess fat. Calorie Counter PRO helps you do just that, giving you the caloric value of damned near anything you might fancy noshing on. Well, as long as it has a barcode. A barcode scanner, recipe guide and daily database updates help this cover everything you’ll need and leaves you without using the classic excuse of the failed dieter: ignorance. It’s definitely worth the cost just for how professional and effective the app is.


Rating ★★★★★ Price: Free Developer: Rittr Labs

Pull Ups

Rittr’s fourth offering targets that most hated yet satisfying exercise – the pull up. As with its siblings, it helps build you up to your target number of reps through set reps and rest periods, responding to your feedback after each session. If Rittr collected all four of its exercise trainers into one app, it would be a perfect personal trainer.


Health/Medical

Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: Rodale Inc

Men’s Health Workouts

Android

Price: Free Developer: WebMD LLC

Medscape

There have been no updates to this archive of largely musclebuilding workouts for a while now, but what’s here will still provide a good selection of exercises for all levels of fitness and ability. Clear photos demonstrate proper form, and guide you through the right number of sets and reps to see results. Effective if a bit outdated.

Medscape might well be the ’most comprehensive‘ Android resource of health knowledge, news and reference. We say ‘might’ because the app also forces registration for ‘the service’ before it allows you to see anything, which will likely put a lot of users off using it at all. Once you’re on, there’s nothing that would have needed your personal info either, which is even more concerning. Given the wealth of alternatives available – some on these very pages – we suggest you turn a blind eye to Medscape and concentrate on those apps which don’t demand such details in the first place.



Price: £2.13/$3.49 Developer: UnifyLog

90Droid for P90X

Price: £2.49/$4.05 Developer: MD2 Solutions

Weight Watchers Diary

90Droid for P90X is an exercise programme designed to increase your fitness level in just 90 days. This application both tracks your progress and guides you through the rigorous training period but is solely targeted at those already committed to it, as opposed to anyone who is just looking to get started. Know what you’re doing and it’s brilliant; start using it ‘raw’ and you’ll quickly be lost. As such, we suggest this to extend other apps once you’ve taken your first tentative steps into the world of fitness to get the most out of it. Otherwise, it’ll be intimidating and likely to scare you off altogether!

Weight Watchers Diary won’t be for everyone but for those who are following the regime, this is a godsend. Incorporating a barcode scanner that will instantly calculate the value of any recognised food according to their points scheme and auto detection of location (for differences in UK/US plans), it’s a very useful tool to track your food intake according to the diet system. It’s not quite as useful as Calorie Counter PRO however.



Price: £1.83/$2.99 Developer: Azumio Inc

Price: Free Developer: Healthagen

iTriage

Instant Heart Rate Pro We were sceptical that an app could take your pulse but, by using a neat bit of tech with your phone’s camera, that’s exactly what this does – and it’s shockingly accurate too, matching your heartbeats per minute once calibrated. However, even adding in tracking and heart rate history can’t stop it feeling like a pricey gimmick.

A mini-encyclopaedia of medical ailments, treatments and procedures in your pocket, iTriage offers users a wealth of information on just about anything that can go wrong with the human body. It’s useful but also surprisingly informative, and we were taken aback by how compelling it can be looking up ailments and their remedies just for general interest. However, wading through the content isn’t the easiest – searching for ‘broken arm’, for example, yields nothing, while ‘fracture’ brings up far too many results. Ultimately, it ends up as more of an academic resource than a practical one.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £1.83/$2.99 Developer: WorkSmart Labs Inc

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: Daniel Miller

Racing for CardioTrainer Daily Ab Workout While we liked the core CardioTrainer application from WorkSmart Labs a lot, this premium add-on with a price to match is little more than money grabbing. It basically enables you to race against your own progress, using GPS technology to map your routes and timing you along them. It sounds like a clever idea, but once you’ve tried it, you’ll quickly realise that it’s a feature which should really have been part of the alreadyexpensive CardioTrainer Pro app (£6.14/$9.99) to begin with. Disappointing then and we recommend you stick to the core version and don’t shell out the extra money.


Like Miller’s Butt Workout, this helps target a specific area and promises a catwalk model’s stomach in just minutes a day. With two five-minute programmes or individual exercises, with tuition from a ‘certified personal trainer’, the effectiveness can be felt but everything centres on toning, rather than weight loss and cardio.


Android

Lifestyle

Lifestyle

■ With monochrome style, it’s a slicklooking app

Whether it’s cooking, going to sleep or even a personal interest of yours, there are plenty of areas of life we could do with some help in. That’s what these apps are for as our Lifestyle section ensures you can rely on your Android to help you out in all areas of your life Top paid apps

Top free apps

Jamie's 20 Minute Meals ★★★★★

Sleep as an Droid ★★★★★

My Movies Pro ★★★★★

mnuze ★★★★★

Galaxy Tarot Pro ★★★★★

AroundMe ★★★★★

Staff pick of the section Mixology Drink Recipes ★★★★★ 66 Android App Directory

In The Kitchen ★★★★★

■ This should ultimately serve you better than an alarm

Price: Free Developer: Petr Nálevka

Sleep as an Droid

Sleep soundly with this app Ever had those days when you feel you haven’t properly woken up? Perhaps you’re waking up in the wrong part of your sleep cycle. The theory is that while we sleep we enter numerous periods of light and deep slumber. If you wake during a light period then you should feel refreshed. In contrast should you rise from a deep sleep the resulting feeling of grogginess could stay with you for hours. Sleep as an Droid is a comprehensive alarm clock app that measures your movements as you sleep. The idea being that the less you move the ‘deeper’ asleep you are. Once you enter a period of light sleep that is close enough to your designated alarm time the app will gently nudge you awake. It’s a unique idea but we’re left wondering how the app copes with two people sharing a bed and as any parent will tell you, when you have young children you don’t need a fancy alarm clock.


Lifestyle

Android

Price: Free Developer: Rosewood Aqaurium Studios

Horoscopes

See what the future holds with this comprehensive app Android users who have a penchant for following their daily horoscopes are absolutely spoilt for choice when it comes to astrology applications. With so many apps to browse through it’s hard to know where to begin and what applications (if any) are worth your money. We’ve been trying out a few horoscope apps and for a balance between features, information and cost we found ourselves using this free app. There may be flashier astrology apps available but we found that the wealth of advice available in Horoscopes is enough to keep both novice and keen astrologers busy. As expected there are the usual daily Western horoscope updates which also include views for the previous day, a weekly summary plus further insights into character and love life traits. Readings can be shared either via SMS or email. There’s also a similar set of options for viewing Chinese horoscopes. If you don’t know your Chinese star sign it’s not a problem, simply tell the Horoscopes app your date of birth and it will work out your birth sign for you. Further to the standard horoscope reading there is also a fairly comprehensive section dedicated to the topic of biorhythms. These involve three regular

cycles that have an influence over certain aspects of our lives, the Physical Cycle, the Emotional Cycle and the Intellectual Cycle. These all last for different periods of time and Horoscopes is able to track your current point within each cycle. The biorhythm section of Horoscopes consists of five pages. There’s a summary of all of your cycles, while further pages offer a visual representation of your current status for each cycle via graphs. Being somewhat new to the idea of biorhythms we did find ourselves questioning what the graphs themselves actually meant, a little information here would have helped us understand better. Overall, Horoscopes is an app that is more about information than features. The UI may not reach for the graphical potential that other astrology apps achieve but we found the calming blue tint to be a good fit for the topic involved. It’s a shame that there isn’t more integration with social networks such as Twitter or Facebook but these are perhaps things to be added in further updates. The important thing is that Horoscopes delivers on the main ingredient of an astrology app and that’s information, lots of it.


■ x

■ You can also learn and view your own Chinese horoscopes ■ There’s a lot of information packed into this free app, so it’s good for the curious


Android

Lifestyle

Price: £3.29/$5.40 Developer: Binnerup Consult

My Movies Pro

Sync your DVD and Blu-ray collection online My Movies Pro is an Android-based extension of the ‘My Movies’ brand, a collection of programs that can be used to manage and categorise DVD/Blu-ray collections. Using the Android app, your films can be added to your personal database, the details of which automatically sync to your My Movies account online. It’s possible to track movies that you currently own, previously owned/rented or are still wishing to see, therefore avoiding the hassle of renting or purchasing the same movie twice. To start using the Android version of My Movies, a user account has to be created and we found ourselves initially having a hard time doing this on our Android handset. After a dozen failed attempts we headed over to the My Movies site only to find out that our account had actually been successfully created after all. Once logged in, the main screen contains five tabs, the first one being ‘Collection’. New titles can be added to your collection simply by scanning the barcode with the camera on your handset. The extensive ‘My Movies’ database had no problems digging up the correct information for our discs and even made easy work of our imported DVDs. Entries can be displayed in a grid, list or via an

■ x x

■ Seriously, who doesn’t own Die Hard? And if you don’t, you need to buy it now! ■ Store all of your DVD collection for easy reference


interactive ‘cover-flow’ interface if the phone is tilted horizontally. Choosing a title brings up that particular movie’s entry on the database with information on cast, release dates, plus trailer and IMDb links. You can add as many titles as you wish although the Free version of My Movies will limit you to just 50 entries in your movie collection. The second tab in the main window is ‘Persons’, a list of actors and directors that feature in the movies from your collection. Clicking on a person opens links to a biography and to any of their films you may own. Sadly, the default view for this feature is a basic list of names, and having thumbnail images could have really bought this feature to life. The next two tabs are ‘Releases’ and ‘Trailers’. The former lists any recent DVD/Blu-ray releases in your country while ‘Trailers’ is a browsable list of trailers for upcoming and currently showing movies. The final tab is ‘Settings’ which provides some basic choices regarding data and display tweaks. For the ardent film fan looking to organise their precious movie collection, My Movies is an ideal app to use.


Lifestyle

Jamie’s 20 Minute Meals

Android

Price: £4.99/$8.18 Developer: Zolmo

Jamie Oliver makes his Android debut

The successful iOS cooking app makes its way to Android with 60 recipes covering a variety of tastes and occasions. Whether you’re looking to whip up a tasty soup, a quick curry or a delicious pudding there’s plenty of content to get stuck into and lots of help along the way. Each recipe is laid out with striking photography, easy-to-follow steps and video downloads that cover the trickier aspects of each meal. There’s also advice on essential kitchen equipment and basic ingredients you should always keep in your cupboard. Once you’ve chosen your meal there’s a built-in shopping list function that cleverly breaks the ingredients down to aisles so even your shopping trips can clock in at under 20 minutes. Presentation throughout the app is excellent, the user interface has a classy design and is very easy to navigate. We particularly like how the recipes can automatically alter the ingredient quantities to be based on the number of diners. Whatever your culinary skill, if you fancy doing some cooking Jamie’s 20 Minute Meals is a great app to download.

■ There are plenty of recipes on offer, all of them tastebud-tingling


■ Jamie himself will offer plenty of cooking tips along the way

Price: Free Developer: Esca Mobile Ltd

mnuze

A takeaway menu for all occasions

Gone are the days of searching through the endless piles of takeaway menus in your drawers. With mnuze you can use your handset to browse the menus of your local takeaways, compare prices, and order directly from the app itself. Searches are performed via GPS or postcode and can be filtered by the type of food you’re looking for. Mnuze’s expansive database ranges from the big companies such as McDonald’s and KFC to the more unique local offerings that are tucked away in your area. Searching for results is a quick process with info that details the distance from your location, and whether they are open. Selecting a restaurant opens a new widow displaying contact numbers, delivery details and the menu itself. The menu function is excellently implemented, the information is clear and making alterations to your shopping basket is easy to do.


■ It’s easy to use and will have you ordering in no time

■ The app offers a range of details for your favourite takeaways


Android

Lifestyle

Price: Free Developer: Jon Lerner

Bartender

Try these homemade cocktails

■ Whether you like yours shaken or stirred, this app will have the cocktail for you

■ The menus are both comprehensive and easy to navigate, even after sampling one or two of your creations!

Price: Free Developer: Digital Outcrop

Mixology Drink Recipes

Be the bartender you always wanted to be… If you’ve ever fancied trying out your untapped bartending skills then Mixology Drink Recipes should be the next app on your download list. With a huge database of almost 8,000 recipes covering 1,300 ingredients, Mixology also includes guides on bartending terminology and techniques (taking up 6MB on your handset). More than just a database, this app is also a versatile tool for creating new drinks. Alongside the standard search tools there’s also a random ‘slot-machine’ feature for those moments of indecisiveness. Best of all is the Cabinet function, where Mixology can suggest recipes based on the drinks you have to hand, for transforming random leftovers into tasty beverages. Having found your tipple of choice you can bookmark it for future reference or share your masterpiece by email or Facebook. For a free app, Mixology doesn’t skimp on presentation; the menus are colourful, clearly laid out and quick to use. Mixology is a highly recommended free download.


Among the many ‘cocktail creator’ apps on the Android Market, Bartender takes a different approach by inviting users to submit their own recipes. Not only does this make for a unique collection of drinks but it’s also the source of some ‘fruity’ titles! From the browse window, the drinks list can be arranged by name or rating. A search function is also included that will track down recipes containing specific ingredients. The recipes themselves are clearly displayed, with all the necessary information available on one screen. On the whole the UI is a little plain but it gets the job done. If you’re feeling creative you can choose to edit an existing recipe or upload your own creation. All submitted recipes are subject to a five star rating from other users, so make it a good’un! Bartender may lack flair but the unique content makes it a free app worth trying.


Days Left Widget

■ Never forget those important dates again with this handy countdown app

■ Team up the Days Left Widget with the free Catch Notes app to ensure you have all the details to hand

Lifestyle

Android

Price: Free Developer: Tweakersoft

AroundMe

Simple location-based searching

■ Sometimes the names can sound better than the reality!

■ All the info you need is kept to a single screen

Price: Free Developer: Leihwelt.com

Count down the days with ease There’s always those times in our lives when we can’t wait for a certain day to come around. It could be the countdown to a much-needed holiday, the impending release date of a new gadget or simply just waiting for the weekend to begin. With the Days Left Widget it’s possible to install as many widgets as you like on your homescreens that can track the remaining days until that forthcoming big event in your life. The widgets themselves are easy to set up and offer a couple of simple customisable tweaks including changing the colour scheme and adding an emoticon, should you fancy one. Tapping an active widget brings up a full-screen reminder, which in turn leads on to other options that include editing the countdown details or sharing it via Facebook, Twitter and any other available app on your handset. You can also add notes to any countdown by downloading the Catch Notes app, which also comes free of charge. This is a useful feature that can add a fuller description to a countdown with a generic, catch-all description, like Going Shopping, for example.


AroundMe is a search app that helps with hunting down a certain service in a particular location. Whether you need to find somewhere to eat, a bed for the night or the nearest bar, AroundMe can help you with that and plenty more besides. The main menu consists of 14 categories to get you started. Choosing one will list the closest of the businesses of that type from your current location or any other location you wish to specify – which is ideal for planning trips ahead of time or maybe during the commute. There’s also a Show Map button that offers a clear idea of where your results are located in relation to each other. Individual results can be selected which will then display the current distance, any relevant contact details and even a route on Google Maps to help you get there. AroundMe also has a search function that enables you to finetune your searches too. For example, rather than searching for all supermarkets in your area, you can search for a single chain instead – if you have very particular tastes! For location-based searching, AroundMe is a useful app, designed to get you out of a tight spot while on the go.


■ When you're in a rush and need a certain service fast, this app could be a lifesaver

■ AroundMe links up to Google Maps to show you the best route and all the nearest results


Android

Lifestyle

Deluxe Moon

Price: £3.58 Developer: Lifeware Solutions

Get yourself a new look at the moon For some people, the moon is nothing more than a piece of rock in the sky that shines down on us at night and affects the tides. For others it’s believed to be a force that carries an influence over many other factors on Earth such as animals, emotions, blood pressure and even finances. Lifeware Solutions has put together an app for those who like to track the moon’s phases and discover the relationships that can be found within. Deluxe Moon is a visually striking app, with its blue-tinted iconography conveying all kinds of information without overloading the display in the process. The main screen shows the current state of the moon based on your location, which is preferably measured by the GPS sensor in your handset. Swiping across the moon will skip its status forward or back in time with a smooth animation typical of the care and attention that the developers have put into their app. For ‘at a glance’ moon tracking, there’s also a selection of widgets that work well as homescreen eye candy.

■ Every stat you could want is available, from the phase to which sign of the zodiac the moon is in


■ The moon’s status at any given point in the future can be calculated

Price: FREE/£3.22 Developer: Galaxy Tone Software

Galaxy Tarot Lite/Pro Are the cards in your favour?

Tarot cards have existed since the 15th Century, but it wasn’t until the 18th Century that they were used for divination. The Galaxy Tarot app simulates this age-old method of fortune telling. Tarot cards can be picked individually or chosen together to make up a spread (a particular layout in which the position of each card determines its meaning). Galaxy Tarot Lite ships with three popular spreads, while the Pro version includes a further seven. Galaxy Tarot also includes changeable themes, the ability to save and share your spreads, and a ‘Card of the Day’ feature. The UI is slick but not so over the top that it hinders the readings, although with many screens to navigate we did occasionally find ourselves wishing for a shortcut to the main menu. For Tarot newcomers such as ourselves, we found that Galaxy Tarot Lite provided a hefty amount of insightful information into this particular culture.


■ The meaning and significance of individual cards can be looked up

■ The Lite version is supported by ads

Lifestyle

Price: Free Developer: Mizu Software Solutions

Relax And Sleep

Price: £0.61 Developer: Reactor

A pocket-sized orchestra of silence

A good app yet slightly redundant

If you’re the kind of person who needs background noise in order to get to sleep then Relax And Sleep is your one-stop background noise creator. The app includes over 35 ambient noises that can be played individually or grouped together with varying volume levels for each sound. There’s also a countdown timer that will mute your chosen sounds after a set period, and an alarm function for when you’ll need to get up again. Additionally, there’s a premium version, costing £1.27, which unlocks extra customisations, but the free version must be installed first in order to run it. ■ Who knew that an app about creating noise could be so relaxing?

Rating ★★★★★ Price: FREE/£2.35 Developer: Hisao Kitamura

Alarm Clock Tokiko Adaptable alarm but overpriced

Alarm Clock Tokiko is designed to go just that little bit further than the default Android alarm clock. Using the clearly set out interface, it’s possible to group together multiple alarms that can be activated with a single button press. We tested the free version, which limited us to just two alarms, but the paid version removes this restriction. This is a solid enough app with an intuitive interface, but as per the difference in download figures between each version, we do wonder whether the full app is ever so slightly overpriced. ■ Given that Android has a serviceable alarm already, the price is steep


Android

Simplynoise

Simplynoise is the mobile app version of the popular website simplynoise.com, a colour noise generator that can be used to aid sleep, block distractions and ease stress. It features three noise types (white, pink and brown), a volume oscillator to create a tide-like effect, and a sleep timer. Much like the website, the app has a very basic but classy-looking appearance that translates well to a mobile display. However, a Flash-capable browser can just use the website. ■ Only necessary for offline use


Price: Free Developer: Nikolay Ananiev

Tiny Flashlight + LED Simple, effective, and all in a tidy package There’s no shortage of flashlight apps, and to be fair most of them do a great job of turning your camera’s LED into a torch. Just because an app fulfils a simple purpose doesn’t mean it has to look basic, though, and if you’ll forgive the pun we took a shine to Tiny Flashlight due to the little touches it threw into the bargain. We very much liked the stylish appearance, the option to add homescreen widgets, and the fun, if pointless, combinations, such as police lights. Worth a look.

■ The little touches go a long way


Android

Lifestyle

Price: Free Developer: Allrecipes.com Inc

Price: Free Developer: Mippin.com

Allrecipes.com Dinner Spinner

Gossip Buzz Widget Miniature gossip widget with big news

Gossip Buzz Widget is an interactive news application that pulls feeds from a number of sources over a variety of topics including Gossip, TV & Film, Music, & Fashion so that you are one of the first to know the news. By default the widget takes up minimal space but on touch expands to display something similar to a scrollable newspaper. It’s a simple but great idea for news updates.

A superb free cookery app

Amongst the many cookery apps available on the Marketplace, Allrecipes.com Free Dinner Spinner has armed itself with a few unique tricks to make to it stand out amongst the crowd. There’s the brilliant ‘Dinner Spinner’ feature, a spinning set of wheels that randomly throws together a combination of food stuffs for your dinner tonight. These choices become the criteria for a number of recipe recommendations. There’s also the sheer number of recipes, well over 40,000 user submitted suggestions to try out in your kitchen, and all of them rated and reviewed. Most importantly not only is this app excellently produced and easy to use, it’s also totally free. Superb! ■ Let the food spinner decide your supper


■ The latest news direct to your phone


Price: Free Developer: Comitic

Price: £1.23/$2.02 Developer: Television Food Network G.P

Daily Horoscope

In The Kitchen

A world of astrology in your handset With over 5 million downloads under it’s belt this is easily one of the most popular Android horoscope apps. Daily Horoscopes includes updated coverage of zodiac signs along with readings for Chinese and Druid horoscopes. Just input your date of birth, and it will tell you your signs for these other forecasting chart. It’s also possible to look back over previous readings and share any favourites via Facebook. An ideal app for astrology fans charting their destiny. ■ A popular app to read on the way to work



Get handheld cooking advice from the TV pros Created by the Television Food Network, this contains recipes from the network’s roster of TV Chefs. With 20 experts at your disposal, a unit converter, kitchen timer and shopping list feature, the app has plenty of useful functions to justify the price tag. It also sports a slick and informative user interface that is easy to navigate. In The Kitchen is a pretty good app with some great features that place it above the many free cooking app alternatives available on the Android Marketplace. ■ Get hints and tips from celebrity chefs


Lifestyle

Price: Free Developer: Roboticode Ltd

Android

Identity In Christ Daily Bible

Price: £1.23/$2.00 Developer: Mihalich DS Group

Taking the word with you everywhere

Who needs pen and paper when you have this?

Private Diary (Free)

Identity In Christ is a free app that provides a daily Bible verse on your Android handset. Clicking on your verse opens an expanded view which allows you to choose links to other translations online or to see the whole chapter. Should you wish for more verses to guide you, you can simply click through the app to read more. Verses can be shared with others via email, SMS or copied into the clipboard for sharing with other apps (Facebook, Google+, Twitter etc). A selection of widgets are available as is the option for the app to make use of the notification bar. ■ When you're feeling spiritually down, a daily verse can put you right


Available in both free and paid versions, Private Diary is an Android version of your personal diary. Keeping a daily journal on your handset may not seem as worthy as the traditional pen & paper diary approach but there are some benefits to be had. For a start it’s possible to password protect your diary so you can feel safe that your thoughts and appointments stay secret. It’s also possible to categorise entries and back them up to an SD card. The full version includes different diary theme options, photo attachment features and exporting entries via email should you lose your phone. ■ Keep track of your appointments


Price: £1.17/$1.92 Developer: Daniel Velazco

Price: £4.34/$7.12 Developer: XXXchurch.com

Design your own Android bedside clock

Keep tabs on those surfing habits

Bedside

If you rely on your handset as an alarm clock but find the default options slightly lacking then Bedside could be an app of interest. Designed to work alongside your default alarm, Bedside allows alterations to the letters, icons and backgrounds that appear on your display overnight to help create your own unique bedside clock. There’s also a ‘Bedside Mode’ where your handset monitors a whitelist of calls allowing only certain contacts to reach you at night. Combined with the added ‘talking-clock’ functionality and the built alarm to appear in a future update Bedside is a very accomplished overnight app. ■ Making waking up more interesting


X3 Watch Accountability Given the fact that thanks to smartphones we’re now able to carry the entire Internet around in our pockets virtually anywhere we go, it stands to reason that there’s a murkier side to web browsing that we may want our loved ones to avoid. X3 Watch Accountability keeps track of the browser activity on most handsets and sends an email alert to a nominated ‘sponsor’ if any unwarranted web browsing takes place. Great for monitoring your children's phones. It is designed to be ‘always on’ and fully automated but the developers have managed to keep the app lightweight and unobtrusive so it doesn’t get in the way of your daily phone use. ■ Keep an eye on internet activity


Android

Media/Communication

Media/ Communication ■ All your favourites and subscriptions will appear in the app

■ The landscape view is clearly superior for watching video

Your Android will naturally keep you in touch with the world, but it has potential to be so much more than that. Here are the apps you need to help transform your phone into your personalised media and communications hub Top Paid Apps

Top Free Apps

AudioManager Pro ★★★★★

WhatsApp Messenger ★★★★★

Sketchbook Mobile ★★★★★

Dolphin Browser ★★★★★

XDA Premium ★★★★★

YouTube ★★★★★

Staff pick of the section File Cover ★★★★★


Tivo Remote ★★★★★

Price: Free Developer: Google Inc.

YouTube

The de facto online video service goes mobile Google owns YouTube and Google develops Android, so who better to create the official Android YouTube app? The number of features included is on a par with the desktop experience and in some ways the interface is preferable because it offers a lot more personality than the slightly bland website. Besides the expected inclusions such as favourites and full screen playback, you can also view videos within a web page without jumping to the app. This makes it feel like an integrated part of the OS rather than a standalone app and improves the general performance of video streaming. Add to this a homescreen widget that displays the latest videos and offers a personalised video feed and the entire experience feels much more complete than the competition. It is hard to criticise an app that is easier to use than the desktop service it is derived from and we have no problem in recommending this as the very best YouTube client available for Android.


Media/Communication

Android

Price: £1.86 Developer: JRTStudio

iSyncr for PC

iTunes is alive and kicking on Android thanks to iSyncr If iOS has one major advantage over the Android platform, it’s iTunes. The software provides seamless access to a huge library of music and, even better, allows a desktop and an iPhone to keep perfectly in sync. This integration makes music management a thing of the past. Unfortunately, on Android the process can be long-winded and haphazard at best. iSyncr is a solution that stands up well against all of the media-centric competition and brings a high degree of playlist management to the Android platform. It uses iTunes on a desktop, and there are versions for both Windows and Mac, which brings all of the familiar iTunes playlist management to the Android platform with no extra costs besides the low purchase price of the app. Setting it up is incredibly easy and simply requires attaching your smartphone to your desktop via a USB cable, selecting the drive you want to use and then running the app on the phone. Press ‘Sync’ and the process will complete. There is virtually no learning curve at all, and the efficiency of the process makes it feel as if iTunes was built for Android smartphones as well as the iPhone. You can specify which playlists to synchronise, which is useful because of the space limitations of expansion cards, and some

time spent setting up your playlists on the desktop will pay off in the end, as it will save you lots of trouble in the future. Smart playlists are also catered for, which is a major bonus because they can further reduce the time needed to manage your music on the desktop and phone. Everything from the songs you listen to most to the ones you give the highest ratings to can be automatically collated into specific playlists, and the synchronisation of play counts and your ratings when you connect back to your computer is also built in. Almost every aspect of playlist management is covered by iSyncr, including two-way music synchronisation, but there are some natural barriers to the iTunes system that no app can get around. Older songs purchased within iTunes that have DRM attached will not be able to play on an Android smartphone, but most of these will have been purchased several years ago. The app can spot the problematic tracks, however, and with luck they will be the minority. The Wi-Fi add-on means that you can also sync your playlists without wires, which further puts it into direct competition with iTunes and iOS. This truly is a superb media application.


■ The more time spent setting up your playlist, the more long-term trouble you save ■ While syncing can be a difficult process, it’s worth the extra hassle


Android

Media/Communication


Gmail

Price: Free Developer: WhatsApp Inc.

The most popular email service in the world fits Android perfectly Mobile email often means having to settle for a cutdown version of real desktop clients. Most mobile email software offers the ability to use push email and to send and receive attachments and that’s about it. There is little work put in to making the experience one that you can use to organise your communications and this usually means that you have to finish your email work when you get back to your desk. Gmail, on the other hand, changes all that by offering a near perfect representation of the online Gmail experience on an Android smartphone. Labels, stars, folders, spam filtering and all of the other main Gmail features are supported, and the entire system is designed to display all of these features. Labels are visible as are categories and stars next to each email which helps you to organise your inbox via your phone in exactly the same way you do at home. It is one of the very best mobile email experiences available and compliments the highly rated Gmail service perfectly.


WhatsApp Messenger

One of the best multiplatform messengers on the market BlackBerry Messenger, MSN, AIM… the list of instant communication services is varied, which means that it is hard to keep contact with all of your friends and colleagues with one app. When you consider that some services only work on specific mobile platforms, the diversity becomes even more scattered. However, WhatsApp Messenger works on BlackBerry, Android, Nokia smartphones and the iPhone and as such offers a much wider spread of potential users where you can send photos and video to contacts and hold group chats. The fact that it is always logged in, is free, stable and has a beautiful interface makes it the perfect tool to keep in touch with the people closest to you, and as the service becomes more popular, the more useful it will become. There really is very little to complain about regarding the presentation, stability or value this solution offers and it has the potential to grow into the first multiplatform instant messenger that can cater for all smartphone users.


■ Gmail excels by going that little bit further than other email clients

■ Full Gmail features such as labels, stars and spam filtering are all supported


■ WhatsApp looks like becoming the standard messenger service

■ You can also chat to iPhone, BlackBerry and Nokia users

Media/Communication

Android

Price: Free Developer: Kakao

KakaoTalk

18 million users can’t be wrong

■ This app will only be of real use to XDA developers

■ Even so, it sets a new standard for how forum apps should be used

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: XDA Developers

XDA Premium

KakaoTalk is an instant messenger service that currently boasts more than 18 million users which is an impressive number by any calculation. It works by using the phone number as the main form of identification, but still manages to allow the swapping of media and chats for free. You can send videos, photos and contact numbers which are immediately received by the recipient and even voice notes can be sent which allows for a more personal voice-based conversation. The service works on both Android and iOS smartphones and boasts the inclusion of the KakaoTalk emoticons to get the true meaning of each statement across. The use of a themed interface works well and gives more personality to the environment you are talking in, but some may not like the colour options offered which are at times too colourful. It is difficult to see how this service will compete with the likes of WhatsApp Messenger in the long run because it doesn’t support every mobile platform, but it does have the potential to make a mark in this area.


You can tweak every part of your Android device with this app Online forums have never been easy to present on a mobile device and the process of adding threads, replying to people and managing private messages has been even more difficult. XDA Developers gets around this by offering a standalone app that is designed to work with the XDA Developers forum and it does so with aplomb. You can change the look of the app and add shortcuts to parts of the forum that you access frequently, and the level of detail built into the app is impressive. If you want to tinker with your phone and customise as many parts of the system as possible, XDA Developers houses a collection of experts that few other online resources can match. From dealing with common problems built in to specific handsets to changing the ROM of your Android phone, it is all here and it will act as an excellent resource. Most users won’t need the services of XDA Developers, but those who do will benefit greatly from the app and the XDA experts.


■ The app’s layout is simple to follow and easy to use

■ There are 18 million users, so you should be able to find someone you know


Android

Media/Communication

Price: £1.86/$3.05 Developer: Smart Android Apps, LLC

Price: £0.62/$1.02 Developer: Autodesk Inc.

AudioManager Pro

Sketchbook Mobile

AudioManager Pro is unusual in that it provides an advanced audio solution, which works as a standalone app or as a widget on the homescreen. The size of the widget is customisable and there are many skins available. There are too many features to cover in a short review, but it is extremely good value.

It may feel like a stretch to offer a complex digital imaging tool on a smartphone, but there are times when an app like Sketchbook Mobile will come in very handy and keep the creative juices flowing. The more talented you are, the more you will get out of the app, and there isn’t an awful lot of competition available to this kind of standard or level on the Android Market. What makes it even more appealing is that the results are stunning, and Sketchbook Mobile really makes a mockery of its low price. You may well find more use for it and, at this price, it won’t take much use to justify the initial cost.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: Free Developer: Yahoo! Inc.

Yahoo! Mail

The official Yahoo! Mail app offers all of the main features of the service in mobile form, including photo previews, push notifications and many others, but there are some downsides. It can often be slow to receive new messages and some of the interface additions make the process unnecessarily long-winded to complete, when the focus of an email app should be on simplicity and ease of use. Disappointing, then, especially in comparison to what the Gmail app offers Android users. You would expect better from an official app, which should be setting the standard for other email clients.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: Free Developer: Opera Software ASA

Opera Mobile

Opera has a long history of providing fast and rich mobile browsers, and this is no different. It feels more like a desktop browsing experience than most mobile browsers, and extras such as the ability to share content via Twitter and Facebook make it a browser that you should at least try, to see if you prefer it.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £1.92/$3.14 Developer: Titanium Track

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £3.10/$5.07 Developer: Theron Rogers

Titanium Media Sync

Hide Pictures In Stocks

Moving files to and from an online service is a common activity, but one that can be cumbersome. The manual intervention required often makes the process not worthwhile, but Titanium Media Sync takes care of the entire process and even claims to be battery friendly, which makes it an ideal utility for an Android phone.

This is a very unusual app in that it hides your private videos and photos behind a fake app that looks like a standard stocks application. You may think that this is unnecessary and that a password would suffice, which is true, but consider its use in public places or work environments where you might not want prying eyes looking into your private and personal life and it makes more sense. Better yet, the methods used to hide photos and reveal them are intuitive and work very efficiently. While it’s not as cheap as you might want for an app serving a basic function, it at least does its job incredibly well.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £2.36/$3.86 Developer: AFZKL

mVideoPlayer Pro mVideoPlayer is unusual in the media app world in that it does not claim to support any videos not already supported natively in Android. It does, however, offer a much better interface for video management and supports subtitles, movie posters and many other features that come together to create an environment perfectly suited to mobile movie watching. It may not be the catch-all solution you might expect, especially with that price not coming in quite as cheap as you might have hoped, but it’s still an incredibly slick app that makes watching video on the move a joy.


Rating ★★★★★ Price: £1.74/$2.85 Developer: Hyperaware

Act 1 Video Player Act 1 is similar to many other video players, but offers superior seeking and screen gestures, which make the viewing experience feel more natural. Also built in are many extra features such as video streaming and the usual editing functions, but overall it struggles slightly in a very crowded area of the Android app market.


Media/Communication

Price: £0.62/$1.02 Developer: Tim Hoeck

Android

Price: £0.62/$1.02 Developer: CamFiler LLC

TivoRemote

Video Safe License This is more than just a remote control. It lets you save your favourite channels, add logos to speed up visual access to each channel and offers many more features in a well-presented interface. Crucially, you can also switch rooms in a snap, which makes this a highly useful tool for any TiVo owner. It is also good value.

This is a utility in the purest sense of the word. It enables you to hide your personal videos from the Android gallery and to protect them with a password. As boring as that sounds, it makes for a tool that does exactly what it needs to with no fuss. It’s something worth considering if you’re worried about what will happen if you lose your phone or it gets stolen, with the price point being cheap enough given that you’ll get peace of mind from having the app. Even better, it also feels like a built-in part of the system, which is an achievement in itself.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £4.35/$7.12 Developer: Jeyo, Inc

Wunder Radio

Digital radio is not a new idea, but we have reached the point where the performance is now as stable as we could hope for, with technology now matching ambition. Wunder Radio feels like the culmination of that, as it offers an unbelievable number of stations, and in our tests we had few problems connecting to any of them or keeping the stream live. It’s always a joy to have an app that feels as though it justifies the cost, as Wunder Radio does. The only downside is a slightly quirky interface, and it’s a shame that an old-fashioned problem undermines a fresh advancement in technology.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £1.86/$3.05 Developer: Alexey Demov

Video Caller ID

Voice calls are, of course, a vital part of any smartphone, and Video Caller ID is the perfect tool to add some fun to the experience. You can take a video of a friend and use it to play whenever they call you – or you could use a clip from Godzilla for your boss! It is easy to use and great fun for anyone with an Android smartphone.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £2.46/$4.03 Developer: Inisoft

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £2.46/$4.03 Developer: Heliodor

DicePlayer

Spy Camera DicePlayer could be seen as yet another Android media player, but it does include specific support for high-end smartphones such as the Galaxy S2 and Desire HD. It is capable of presenting movies in 1080p and can offer a better video playback experience than most. A vast number of video codecs are supported as well.

Spy Camera lets you take photos and hide the fact that you are doing so. It hides the preview from dominating the screen, silences the shutter sound altogether, and will only show a black screen throughout the process. There is absolutely no giveaway at all that you’re snapping a photo, even if someone is watching your phone the entire time. The lack of guidance due to the preview screen being disabled does make good photos much harder to take, however. The nature of Spy Camera itself is, of course, controversial and ultimately not recommended for privacy reasons, but ethics aside, the app does what it says it should.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £0.99/$1.62 Developer: usefl

File Cover

File Cover allows the passwording of photos and videos to keep them private and also has the added advantage of letting you organise them into folders, which makes it far more flexible than the standard Android gallery that quickly becomes cluttered as it fills up. It is an app that is unlikely to garner much publicity due to its understated appearance, which plumps for convenience over class. Even so, the functional look makes organising a large photo library ten times easier and, ultimately, that’s more important than looking good when you want your photos and videos to do the talking.


Rating ★★★★★ Price: £3.10/$5.08 Developer: Plex, Inc.

Plex for Android Plex is a multipurpose streaming media app that lets you stream all kinds of media from a Mac or PC to your phone, and also allows the streaming of content from a selection of online services. The presentation is excellent and it works as well as it looks. It is hard to criticise on any level and represents real value for money.


Android

Media/Communication

Price: Free Developer: Crackle

Price: £6.11/$9.99 Developer: Polyclef Software

Price: £1.83/$2.99 Developer: d0lph1nk1ng

Price: £2.18/$3.57 Developer: QDevPlus

This app streams movies and TV for free, which should ensure it's one of the musthave apps on Android. The problem is it's quite glitchy, requiring a lot of nudging from the user when the stream freezes, slows or stops altogether. Still very useful though.

EasyTether lets you use your Android phone as a modem for desktops and laptops for Windows, Linux or Mac OS platforms. It does not require root access and even hides the fact you are tethering from your network provider, potentially saving high tethering charges.

Android tablets can cope with all of the communication methods an Android smartphone uses, except SMS. SyncSMS gets around this by synchronising SMS messages with an Android tablet and even lets you send texts from a tablet via an Android phone.

VLC Direct Pro brings all your desktop music and videos directly to your Android handset. The performance is super smooth and the setup process takes a minute to effectively let you import a whole entertainment library. Even better, it works the other way round too.

Crackle - It's On

EasyTether



SyncSMS


VLC Direct Pro


Price: £2.32/$3.79 Developer: Ringo

Price: £0.97/$1.59 Developer: Daniel Velazco

Price: £0.91/$1.49 Developer: Jigawatt Labs

Price: £2.37/$3.71 Developer: y.gphonebook

There are numerous video and audio codecs available and this can make purchasing and downloading content troublesome. VitalPlayer Pro claims to support almost all codecs and it did well in our tests. The performance was also very smooth. It’s now a firm favourite of ours.

Sometimes you need a little help to get to sleep and music is one of the best methods of relaxation. MusicSleep lets you set a timer for the music to stop playing so you need not worry about dropping off and draining the battery. It only does one thing, but it does it like a dream.

If you own a Roku Player, the Roku Remote will prove a very useful app. It takes the place of a standard remote control and works as it should, but is of course confined to Roku owners. We would also like to see this offered free to customers who have paid for the physical product.

This app focuses on extending the feature set of the standard Android contacts and includes group folders, a QR code reader and many other extras to help manage your contacts. It’s a complex application with a few minor bugs but is worthy of consideration.

VitalPlayer Pro

MusicSleep



Roku Remote


gPhoneBookPro


Price: £6.11/$9.99 Developer: SHAPE Services

Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: Simply Applied

Price: £11.01/$17.99 Developer: Flipdog Solutions LLC

Price: £2.62/$3.99 Developer: BK Mobility

Not everyone uses the same instant messaging service and this can make keeping in touch tricky. Not any more! IM+ Pro supports Skype, MSN, Yahoo and countless other services and brings them all together in one app. It is presented cleanly and does the job perfectly.

Sign makes the idea of pressing buttons to call people feel like something from the last century. With this you can create custom signs which you input with your finger to contact specific people. It isn’t for everyone, but it is completely unique and very innovative.

The built-in Android email app is competent, but doesn’t offer many advanced features. This app uses a non-standard UI that some may not like, but for those that require more advanced mobile email this is a sound choice. The main obstacle will be the high price tag.

Speed dials are great but they are not very friendly. QuickDial lets you set all of your favourite contacts as photos and one tap will get you through to them. There are multiple options to tweak how the app works and the interface can be styled to your choosing.

IM+ Pro

Sign

Rating ★★★★★ Price: Free Developer: June Fabrics Technology Inc


MailDroid Pro


QuickDial


PdaNet

Price: Free Developer: SK Communications

NateOn

Price: Free Developer: Dolphin Browser


PdaNet has been around for years on various platforms and on Android it has got even better. It enables you to tether to a PC using USB or Bluetooth and even includes the ability to send SMS messages from a PC. The only limitation is restricted access to secure sites.

An instant messaging client that supports services such as Nate, Nate Mail and Cyworld. It has a pleasingly simple interface and works very smoothly, but the main downside is that it may have a limited audience because of the more obscure services it is compatible with.

The stock Android browser is regarded as one of the best mobile browsers around, but there is always room for improvement. Dolphin Browser brings many enhancements such as tabbed browsing, add-ons and some clever gestures for a brilliant browsing experience.

The Google Voice app is the perfect accessory for anyone who uses the service for voice calls, texts and voicemail. It uses the personalised Google Voice number for outgoing calls and is in effect a true extension of the desktop service, but sadly only US-based right now.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: Free Developer: Kenny Root and Jeffrey Sharkey

ConnectBot

This application lets you take advantage of SSH sessions to ensure the upmost security for your tasks and data. It works exactly as it should and will be of most use to those who need to use SSH on a regular basis. The fact that it is free is an added bonus.


Rating ★★★★★ Price: £1.82/$2.85 Developer: Sony Digital Network Applications Inc

Frame Grabber Choosing whether to shoot a video or take a photo is never easy, but Frame Grabber lets you pull one frame from a recorded video and turn it into a photo. The resolution is not as good, but this is still a worthwhile purchase.


Dolphin Browser


Google Voice


Price: £0.78/$1.22 Developer: Hiroshi Sakurai

Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: Poignant Projects

Image Shrink sounds like a basic app, but the potential benefits are huge. You can resize images with one click and use the resultant pictures in websites, emails and for any other task that requires a smaller image. It should really be built in to the main Android system.

Another app that will suit a select group of people. If you own a WowWee Rovio robotic webcam, you can now control it directly from your Android phone. This increases the flexibility of the product at least ten-fold. This is a no-brainer for WowWee Rovio owners.

Image Shrink


AndRovio


Media/Communication

Android

ChromeMarks

Price: £2.44/$3.99 Developer: snrb Labs

GrooVe IP

Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: HanTanKang

Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: Bolasol

Bookmarks make browsing, particularly on a mobile device, much quicker and this app lets you automatically synchronise your Google Chrome bookmarks with an Android phone. It works flawlessly, is well priced and may encourage you to use Chrome on your desktop too.

This app works in conjunction with Google Voice and is thus only of benefit to US users at this time. It lets you make unlimited calls via a smartphone data connection, rather than voice minutes, and could potentially be a huge money saver for constant callers.

Soul Movie Pro is designed for a group of people who require SMI and SRT video support. For those who know what these are, it can be very beneficial. We must say, however, that some tasks are better undertaken on a desktop and this might be one of them.

Springle is a novelty app that displays some clever animated tricks from the off. It is very impressive when you first use it, but the novelty will wear off fairly quickly and thus we are left asking if it is worth paying money for. We have to say, probably not.

Price: £1.25/$1.99 Developer: howardb


Soul Movie Pro


Springle



Price: £3.05/$9.99 Developer: Beejive

Price: £3.05/$4.99 Developer: Kaiten Mail

Price: £3.03/$4.95 Developer: CounterCultured

Price: Free Developer: eBuddy

BeejiveIM attempts to offer access to more instant messaging networks than any other app and it is certainly up there with the very best. In fact it is as complete an app as you could wish for and competes well with eBuddy Messenger in every area except the price.

If there is a weak point of Android, it is the built-in email client. Kaiten Email takes that weakness and produces a mobile email experience that is arguably better than on any other mobile platform. Everything from the compatibility to presentation is a cut above.

IRC is seen by many as a communications technology from the past and, for the majority, it is. However, there are still millions who use the facility and Android IRC retains the retro feel of the original system while maintaining the usability that once made IRC so successful.

eBuddy Messenger manages to succeed where many have failed and offers both an effective instant messaging experience on multiple services, while providing an interface that’s superior to most others. To top the goodness off, it is free so there’s no reason not to try it.

BeejiveIM


Kaiten Email

Android IRC


eBuddy Messenger



Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: Karl Ostmo

Price: £1.53/$2.50 Developer: Carlo Cuoghi

Price: £1.74/$2.84 Developer: Paolo Zuliani

Price: £0.87/$1.41 Developer: MBFG

BettrFlickr seeks to streamline the Flickr interface to make it cleaner on a smaller smartphone screen, and it does succeed. Some unusual design choices and a lack of full-screen functionality do seem at odds, however, with an app designed to display photos.

This app works with Samsung Galaxy S smartphones and tablets and can significantly increase the volume output through headphones, but not through the speaker. Conversely, it can be used to reduce the volume through the microphone to create clearer recordings.

Loops! may look like a novelty app at first glance, but it can be used for serious music creation. It is in effect a drum machine in your pocket and one that makes the process of creating drum loops much quicker. It has a limited audience but could prove invaluable to certain users.

The standard Android browser does not allow the downloading of videos from links, but Video Catcher does. When you click a video link you can select Video Catcher as the method to capture it and the download will begin. An unassuming but nonetheless helpful tool.

BettrFlickr


AudioBoost 2


Loops!


Video Catcher


Price: £3.66/$5.99 Developer: streamfurious.com

Price: £1.42/$2.33 Developer: KDJ Software

Price: £2.00/$3.26 Developer: arcMedia

Price: £3.49/$5.50 Developer: RadonSoft

This is designed to manage the streaming of audio and can be used for radio stations, podcasts and almost any other streaming audio service. It has a clean design and works well, but maybe doesn’t do as much as it could to stand out from the raft of similar apps available.

Gallery Pro presents photos and videos in a more pleasing way than the standard Android photo app. It is a jump above, but is also similar to the tweaks some hardware manufacturers have added to their phones so you should check if you already have certain features.

With so many video players on the Android Market that include support for additional codecs, it is not easy to be different. This app does, however, offer support for downloading media from YouTube, Veoh and other online services which makes it a genuine contender.

The majority of Android users will have little need for this app, but for those who do it will be a necessity. It can analyse audio with up to 120 bands and also undertake other specialised tasks using external microphones; it effectively makes the RTA experience mobile.

StreamFurious Pro Gallery Pro



arcMedia Pro


RTA Pro Analyzer


Price: £2.42/$3.95 Developer: Inisoft

Price: £3.49/$5.67 Developer: Guardam

Price: Free Developer: Talk Builder

Price: £3.94/$6.17 Developer: BUGUN Software

DicePlayer allows the playback of 720p and 1080p video on supported devices. Depending on the capabilities of the device, the results can be very impressive and this is an app for those serious about mobile movie viewing. The interface is also very well organised.

Network providers offer little support for blocking troublesome calls; enter GBlocker. It lets you block unknown callers, ranges of numbers and will even send out a message stating the call has been blocked. This is a brilliant solution to a very annoying problem.

Epinephrine is an instant messaging client that supports only MSN. This may seem like a drawback, but if MSN is your communicator of choice the UI is a cut above the rest and general performance is excellent. The customisation features are also plentiful.

If you only use one media player, BUZZ Player is the one that impresses above most others. It supports a huge number of media formats and also streaming over 3G, Wi-Fi and even GPRS. It is remarkably complete and should cater for all of your media needs with ease.



DicePlayer


GBlocker

Epinephrine

BUZZ Player


Android

News/Mags/Comics

News/Mags/ Comics ■ Keep tabs on the news and what the papers have to say

■ Have your pick of all the world’s newspapers at your fingertips

Have you heard the latest news? Thanks to these smart and slick Android apps, you’ll be up to date with what’s happening in the world in no time and also have the latest magazines and comics instantly available to read as well Top Paid Apps The Wall Street Reader Lite ★★★★★ Scott Pilgrim ★★★★★ Newsroom ★★★★★

Top Free Apps CNN App ★★★★★ MSNBC.com ★★★★★ Comic Strips ★★★★★

Staff pick of the section Mango ★★★★★


Zits ★★★★★

Price: Free Developer: Abhishek Kumar

World Newspapers

Start spreading the news The biggest news concerning this app is that it is completely free. Considering what you get – access to hundreds of newspapers from across the world – you can’t help but be impressed. The app is essentially list after list of newspapers, each categorised by their countries but with a search option enabling the user to jump straight to their paper of choice. Looking at the papers listed for the UK, for example, we were astounded: almost every newspaper produced in Britain is listed (the only exceptions being incredibly small ones). Tap the paper you want and you are immediately taken to that media outlet’s webpage. And if you are looking at a foreign-language paper, one press of the Menu button will call up the Translate option, using Google Translate to present the stories in English. One small issue is you have to scroll through long lists, but for such a useful resource, this can be forgiven.


News/Mags/Comics

Android

Price: Free Developer: The Zumobi Network

Msnbc.com

News giant scales down beautifully News doesn’t have to be stylishly presented but it sure does make a difference when it is. The Msnbc.com app for Android phones draws on content by NBC News, but it does so in a visually impressive manner that is noticeable as soon as the news feeds are ready to view. Each time you boot up the app, the news is updated, a process which takes just a few seconds. Once this has been done, however, load times are greatly increased and, straight away, you see a colourful wheel which is modelled directly on the Msnbc logo. This displays the categories of news that the app contains and it’s a rather novel way of presenting the vast number of topics that are on offer without cluttering up the screen. Pressing the Shows button on the menu screen brings up another selection of categories. As the name suggests this one relates to NBC’s programmes enabling you to read content generated by shows such as Dateline NBC, Nightly News and Hardball. As a bonus, each show also has a Twitter feed which can be accessed with a tap of the relevant icon. Taken together, the multitude of news, features, commentary and tweets make for comprehensive, rich content and there will be very few people who are not impressed by what is on offer here.

The writing is, as you’d expect, crisp and authoritative. Features are interesting and everything is presented as a list with the headline and date showing. The downside is that some of the headlines are not snappily written enough and stop mid-way because there is insufficient room. That said, you seldom fail to get the general gist of what a story is about from what is presented. As is expected from such apps, there is an ability to save stories so that you can refer back to them at a later time. You can also share articles and set up push notifications, meaning there is little excuse for missing some crucial breaking news and being left behind. The pedigree of NBC and its televisual nature also comes in handy: here you can view engaging videos although the app makers admit that there is currently a playback issue with any films that are more than ten minutes in length. One of the biggest disappointments, however, is the placing of the advertisements. They do get in the way and make the lists of stories feel unnecessarily cluttered. Considering the app is free, however, it is something that can be overlooked in the light of an otherwise superb overall multimedia package.


■ News apps don’t come much slicker or more authoritative than this one, based on NBC News


Android

News/Mags/Comics

Price: £1.83/$3.00 Developer: Dolphin Add-ons

Read It Later

Download internet articles to digest offline at a later date Time is one of those precious commodities that we seem to have less and less of. With Read It Later, you can make best use of that time by saving web pages and articles for offline reading at some other point in the future. As a time saver, it’s great, eliminating the need to send yourself email reminders containing links. Even better, it means you can read the articles no matter where you are: you can be in an area with no signal whatsoever and still be able to catch up on what you have saved. It’s brilliant when you’re in the air or on an underground rail system. Since Read It Later is also available in other formats (computer internet and iPhones/iPod touches to name just two) you can sync with these devices. So anything saved on your computer at home, your laptop or iPod touch can be viewed on your Android phone allowing you to continue computing on the move with as little disruption as possible. The app even remembers your scrolling position so you can pick up where you left off should you need to put your phone away mid-read. To save articles, once you have Read It Later installed on your smartphone all you have to do is browse the web and, when you

■ x x

■ Archive your reading list in order of importance or date it was saved ■ Pull articles from all over the internet and save them for later


come across content you wish to keep, hit the Menu button, select More, then Share and choose Read It Later. The web page will then appear in your app under the heading Reading List for later use. The app comes in two different flavours: one that is free, the other (Pro) which is paid-for. The Pro version allows for an unlimited number of saved items and better organisational powers such as the ability to search and list articles in order of newest, oldest, title or size. Articles can be tagged and the phone’s rotation can be locked. Which one you choose depends on how much you feel you will use the app. The Pro features are excellent but if you only save the occasional article then you may not be able to justify the cost, however low it is. Annoyingly, Read It Later’s buttons at the bottom of feeds can sometimes get in the way when you are scrolling and the app doesn’t make it clear how you can delete items from the reading list. The user interface could do with a rethink in this respect. A bit of experimentation is needed to work out what to do at times and it should be more intuitive.


News/Mags/Comics

Android

Price: Free Developer: Leetsoft

Mango – Manga Reader An extensive library of Manga at your fingertips Fans of manga will adore this reader and the scores of fan-translated offerings that it conjures up for your reading pleasure. The app claims to have more than 8,000 manga titles to choose from and new ones are constantly being added. With this on your phone, you will never be able to say you’re bored again. It barely takes any time at all to be able to get stuck into reading the goodies on offer. And when you do start feasting your eyes on the material, you can also begin to take advantage of the features which are aimed at making your life even easier, ranging from effortless zooming to easy page turning. Each of the pages look absolutely crisp on the phone screen and there are no obtrusive ads to ruin the reading process either. The manga can be read straight away or saved to your library. It is possible to save manga to the SD card and you can read even when you’re not connected to the internet so it’s great for moments when you don’t have a signal. It’s easy to use too: a series of menus burrow down to the selection of manga and it only takes a few taps before you have fresh reading material in the

palm of your hand. While the design of the menus could do with a bit of an overhaul (the text is written on top of manga illustrations and it looks a bit messy and could be difficult to read for some people) overall the app is a polished affair and the user interface will pose few problems. When you select any manga, you have to choose whether to read or save and you can’t cancel which is cumbersome if you have made a mistake but that’s the only bugbear we have in terms of getting around the app. A handy feature which more than makes up for that little issue is the advanced bookmarking system. You can stop reading at any point and come back to it. Bookmarks are updated as you read so you don’t even have to worry about doing it yourself during each session. The developer is also keen on feedback – very much so – to the point where every screen has a Send Feedback option in the menu which lets you share your thoughts so that the app can be improved as time goes on. We really like that approach and we like this app.


■ x x

■ View the detail of the illustrations with the helpful zoom feature ■ With more than 8,000 titles available you'll be entertained for months


Android

News/Mags/Comics

Price: Free Developer: Robot Media

Droid Comic Viewer

For hardcore comic fans only Using the Droid Comic Viewer, you are able to open images, comics and manga straight from your SD card. The app works as a straight-forward picture viewer, starting with a blank screen and asking you to press the Menu button or swipe up in order to start scouring your storage for the relevant content. It works with an array of files including jpeg, png and bmp as well as cbz/zip, acv, and cbr/rar. When you have a comic or image on the screen, you can press Menu to zoom in (or pull your fingers apart on the picture for the same effect). You can also rotate a comic or image and share the screen via email, Facebook and Twitter, to name just three options. Confusingly at first, the app calls itself ACV under the icon and when you press it and find yourself confronted by a series of files and folders, it can be off-putting. It underlines a lack of userfriendliness with the app and yet for comic fans, it’s a good way to view tomes that are otherwise unavailable via different apps and that you have already got stored away.


Price: Free Developer: Awesome Dev

Comic Strips

Essential comics download

With thousands of comic strips available to view for free, there is no denying that this app is an essential download. The neat homescreen offers six options including the ability to contact the developer, see other apps produced by the developer and delve into the settings. The options to go to search for comics, see your favourites and few your most recently reviews strips are the best Downloading and subscribing to comic strips is easy. You can choose to subscribe to each set of strips and in doing so you get the full archive. As you view individual strips, you can add them to your favourites or send them via social media or email while flipping back and forth from one strip to another. Given there is such a wide-range of strips on offer, you will never become bored, especially as new strips are added all the time, making it a must-have app for comic fans.


gReader Pro

■ It's worth paying and removing the ads ■ It's not user friendly, so only hardcore fans will get the most out of it

■ Although initially confusing, the results are often worth it


■ While unofficial, this Google Reader client is incredibly slick and ensures you don't miss a single story

News/Mags/Comics

Android

Price: £1.86/$3.03 Developer: Vadim Babin

Manga Watcher Nice ideas, but too technical

■ Comic Strips is essential for comic fans

■ It's an incredibly easy to use app

Price: £0.59/$0.99 Developer: Lima Sky

Never miss breaking news This unofficial Google Reader client comes at a price but it makes keeping up with your favourite websites so much easier than the majority of other feed readers. There is a free version but paying less than a pound/dollar allows you to view the content minus the annoying adverts and benefit from a great ticker widget so that you’ll never miss any breaking news again. The developers have produced a professional, slick app which works intuitively. You can add feeds, using the built-in search box to find suitable content, and then have them displayed on the main feed page. Numbered blobs inform you of the number of unread stories under each theme (and they can be marked as 'read' with a tap of the Menu button on your phone). You need to first log in using your Google account details, while articles can be read offline and there is support for podcast streaming and the sharing of content with friends. A Facebook options allows for direct wall posting. If a feed only shows a preview, then you only need to tap on the globe icon to go straight to the web for a fuller read.


Manga Watcher is a window on the world of Japanese animation. You are able to read content that has been placed on websites such as mangafox.com and mangareader.net. Performing a search for manga gives you options to download a large variety of strips. You choices are placed on a homescreen which resembles a bookcase for easy organisation. The downloading of strips is very fast. You can manually open each page at a time or flick from page to page as you would if reading a printed graphic novel. Manga can also be opened from your SD card with the app making use of png, jpg and zip files. The quality of the strips is excellent given that it is coming from reputable resources and the viewer makes light work of reading them. The strips can be shared via Twitter and Facebook and there are strips in a multitude of languages so there really is something for everyone. Although the bookcase homescreen looks fantastic, more could be done to refine the user experience and make it feel a little less technical.


■ The comic strips download incredibly quickly and can be shared with friends

■ It's not user friendly and can be quite frustrating to use at times


Android

News/Mags/Comics

Pure News Widget (scrollable) Read the latest news as it happens

Price: £0.87/$1.42 Developer: Francois Deslandes

Having to open an RSS reader app can be a pain to use if all you want to read are some blasts of data. With the Pure News Widget you can have your news delivered to the Android homescreen via a simple widget. Not only that but this app gives you the ability to scroll through the widget, making it a real window on the world with no effort involved. To do this, however, you need to have a launcher app installed. You can’t have scrollable widgets using the standard launcher (except with Android Honeycomb). The app supports ADW Launcher, Launcher Pro, LiveHome and Go Launcher Ex and yet we would hazard a guess that the majority of people won’t have these, nor have the inclination to download them, which means the benefits of this widget will be lost on you. So beware before you splash the cash. All in all, though, it works very well. The widget hooks up to Google Reader and you can see new thumbnails and take advantage of multiple skins and widget sizes.

■ Scroll through current events as they happen


■ Although this is a great app, you will need to download a launcher to use it

Price: £0.59/$0.99 Developer: Weiwei Bao

The Wall Street Reader Lite A great unofficial news app

As the best-selling newspaper in America (owned by a division of News Corp, but we won’t go there) The Wall Street Journal is an authoritative voice for international news. Wall Street Reader Lite is an unofficial app which allows you to access and read the paper’s free content. The whole app is menu driven so you can narrow down to your area of interest and view the articles. If one takes your fancy, click on it to open up the full story. There are slideshows and podcasts too. If you are going to be in an area without internet or phone access, use the offline reading option and save individual articles to the favourites folder. You can view the paid content if you stump up the £3.79/$6.19 cost of the full app.


■ Just tap on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions

■ Save stories to read later when you may not have internet access

News/Mags/Comics

Android

■ Your phone vibrates in line with the text

■ If you've not read these graphic novels you're missing out

■ A great read, it's just a shame that it's so short

Price: £1.79/$2.92 Developer: Cornerstone Publishing

The Adventures Of Simon Pegg A comic book with extras

Everyone’s favourite nerd Simon Pegg is not content with producing movies loosely based around comic books like Paul. Nor is he happy just being a writer. For now he’s appearing in his own comic books as he tries to save the world while quenching his thirst for Coke Zero. And it’s not a bad attempt at all. The comic strip makes use of some of the phone’s features such as vibration when a telephone rings on screen. It’s little details like that which help to bring this enthralling story even more alive and it’s splattered with Pegg’s trademark tongue-in-cheek British humour that will have you laughing out loud. As well as the comic itself, you get a synopsis and excerpt from Pegg’s book Nerd Do Well. There are only 68 pages but the little extras do make up for it, such as character biographies and pick your background music. For Pegg fans, it’s awesome.


Price: £3.49/$5.69 Developer: HarperCollins Publishers

Scott Pilgrim

A great introduction to the series The range of Scott Pilgrim graphic novels don’t come cheaply but fans will surely feel they are worth every penny. This first volume is packed with 149 pages of comic goodness displayed via 720 frames. And that just has to be worth the download price of this app. For newbies, the world of Scott Pilgrim consists of six black and white graphic novels by Bryan Lee O’Malley revolving around slacker and part-time Canadian musician who has to defeat a girl’s seven evil ex-boyfriends otherwise he won’t be able to get a date with her. The concept was turned into a hit movie and now you can live it out on your phone. Download a 39 megabyte file which doesn’t take too long, and then you are ready for the read. Small circles to the left and right of the screen let you go back and forth without getting in the way and you can also access a range of secrets. Disappointingly, the comments facility is disabled because of some naughty posters. Behave!


Android

News/Mags/Comics

Price: Free Developer: ComiXology

Price: Free Developer: Zolgatron

Comics

Rage Reader

The first port of call for comic fans

The more unusual style, shall we say

Comics has a brilliant way of presenting graphic novels, and the built-in reader is wonderful. Right from the off, you get a selection of free comics to get you started, and you can flick through their pages in the same way as you would navigate a selection of photos, which gives the whole thing a fluid and natural feel. It’s a class app with great features including automatic bookmarking, so you can just sit back and relax. And if you prefer the physical thing, then that is catered for too because you can even buy print copies from within the app. It’s the go-to app for comic fans, and although it’s not perfect as it can be fiddly, it’s still a comprehensive overview that does almost everything a comic fan could ask for. ■ Comics has a wide array of… well, comics


If you’re into rage comics, being able to browse a wealth of amateur works will be welcome. The comics are drawn by enthusiasts and tend to be drawn in simple software such as Paint. The app lets you see updates from Reddit and share any comics that you particularly enjoy via email, Facebook and Twitter. You can save comics to the phone too. It’s easy and blindingly fast, meaning you’ll never have to wait for the next comic. ■ It’s not a looker but it is funny


Price: Free Developer: Tortoise Software

Price: Free Developer: Nodjo

Basic Instructions

Fast Dilbert Reader

The work of a stand-up comic

When Scott Meyer was looking for work as a stand-up comic, he produced a series called Basic Instructions. As word of mouth got out, they became incredibly popular. With this app you will be able to tap into more than 400 comic strips, each one delivering basic life tips in the most irreverent, sarcastic and insulting manner. The full app strips away the ads and gives you full access to the entire archive, with search facilities and push notifications. ■ A fun way to learn important life lessons



Slow readers welcome too

The Dilbert cartoons have had office workers chuckling for more than two decades with their wry take on working life. With no ads to mar the experience, this app presents wave after wave of hilarious strips, which make you gaze in wonder at the sheer genius that could come up with so many witty observations over such a long period of time. Strips can be shared in the usual ways, including MMS, and download before you view them, which means there are no waiting times. Amazing. ■ Dilbert hasn’t lost its humorous touch


News/Mags/Comics

Price: £1.24 Developer: Weekend Coders, LLC

FeedR News Reader

Price: £3.00 Developer: Trileet Inc

The fast way to get news

Want full articles? Get full articles

Using FeedR, you can view feeds by category and colour-code them for faster searching. It boasts integration with a Google Reader account, although it works perfectly well without it. Articles can be read offline, complete with images, which is great if you’re stuck in an area with no reception. As with all of the best feed readers, you can share any news you wish. You can also have the feeder as a widget on your Android homescreen or create a shortcut to an RSS feed. Unfortunately, it looks rather dull and you can’t view all feeds in a specific category. ■ You can read articles offline, great for Tube journeys and the like


Newsroom

One of the major selling points of Newsroom is that you get full articles rather than previews. It’s been around long enough to be very polished and it boasts background updating, offline access and widgets that are so handily configurable that individual icons can link to separate feeds. One of the joys of this app is the wonderful interface, which handles all of the news. Only a lack of Google Reader support lets it down. ■ This is one of the better news apps


Price: Free Developer: Patrick Galley

Price: Free Developer: MobilesRepublic

Not up to standard

Become your own news dictatorship

Google News (Regional) They say the most important news is that which is happening under your own nose. Google News takes your present location and offers news tailored to your region, while also allowing you to see what is happening elsewhere. The app has not been made by Google but it is still of a reasonable standard, even if it does have issues such as the lack of auto-refresh. In essence, though, it just bookmarks the Google News page while including an advert, and even though this app is free, you would be better off just opening a browser and going there yourself. ■ It has the functional look, which isn’t all that appealing, even with images


Android

News Republic

For all the excitement of breaking news, head for News Republic, which scrolls the top stories across the top of the screen and pulls in other relevant pieces beneath. The main menu is a series of blocks, with indicators showing how many articles are unread, and you can search for featured news, categories, topics and articles to get what you’re after in custom channels. Articles can be shared, and you can also save your favourite pieces for later reference. ■ Customise your feed to get what you want


Android

News/Mags/Comics

Price: Free Developer: Klaymore

Price: Free Developer: MPM Software

DailyComix

Zits Comic fans will like this webcomic app. It includes a selection of comic viewers for many online publications which means you can use this one app for most of your reads. A handy feature is the ability to pick up where you left off and images can be enlarged with a click. Phones with Facebook installed can use the sharing facility too.

Zits is a comic viewer created by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman, which lets you see a daily strip and is guaranteed to keep all users – whether young or old – utterly enthralled. Strips can be saved to the SD card or sent by email, Facebook or Bluetooth for quickly and easily bringing a little humour into the lives of your friends and loved ones. Zooming in is as convenient as applying a single swipe of your finger. In fact, in general, it’s a very user-friendly app that works extremely well and the fact that it’s completely free seals the deal for us. For comic lovers everywhere, this should be at the top of your download list.



Price: £0.92/$1.50 Developer: Deep Powder Software

Marvel Superheroes


Jesus Hates Zombies

It is obvious as soon as you open this application that a lot of work has gone into it. You’ll find a vast gathering of biographies of both well-known Marvel heroes, along with a few lesser-known ones, listing a multitude of stats from their powers to the arch-nemeses who are constantly out to get them. It’s all gloriously geeky, of course, so there’s no surprise that some have complained it’s not comprehensive enough. The only downer is presentation, but when you throw in the descriptions of vehicles and equipment , you have an intriguing offering here. (Note, a cape is not included in the price.)

Offensive? Maybe. But then if you are offended by the thought of this app comic about Jesus’s struggle against zombies and his quest to kill the lot of them, the best advice is not to download it! But for everyone else, you will enjoy a humorous, welldrawn, crazy old story spread over an impressive 87 screens.



Price: £9.21/$14.99 Developer: Ty Landercasper

Price: Free Developer: Jason, Lin

Comic Reader Mobi

ComicBricks – Beta

You may gasp at the price, but when you get to grips with this app, you begin to appreciate its beauty in allowing full-size comics to occupy the whole screen of an Android phone. While the images may be small, you can use the magnifying glass features to enlarge the text boxes – and the clever trick is everything else remains small.

A Chinese comic viewer, ComicBricks can read comics from your Android SD card and additionally it can pull in graphic novels from your favourite comic sites, though it presently only supports four Chinese manga websites. It is compatible with both the JPEG and PNG file formats and is noticeably slicker than many of its competitors. Handily there is a batch download options available too, which makes life a whole lot easier and speedier when time is of the essence. All in all, ComicBricks – Beta is a very competitive – and, we’re pleased to say, free – rival to other comic viewers currently available in the Android Market.



Price: Free Developer: SK Communications

NateComics

We had issues with trying to get this application to work – it’s a temperamental beast at times, to say the least! It is aimed at people wanting to read NateComics. The strips are written in Japanese, but you can still appreciate the artwork and presentation of the app if you don’t speak the lingo. However, while the mangastyle artwork is pretty stylish, the technical difficulties put something of a black mark against it – quite a large one, in fact. Possibly worth a go if you’re a big fan of Japanese comics, but we’d suggest considering the other free comic applications reviewed in this section first.



Robot 13

You will have to start buying this if you become absorbed in Robot 13 and, chances are, you will become hooked. It’s original, looks great and has cool panning shots that show a lot of thought has gone into both the story and the presentation. Robot Media is doing a sterling job – long may the developer continue.


News/Mags/Comics

Price: Free Developer: Mariano Kamp

NewsRob (Google Reader/Rss)

Android

Price: Free Developer: CNN

CNN App

Syncing with Google Reader, NewsRob is an effective organiser of RSS feeds. Log in using your Google Account username and password and you get a host of features such as the automatic marking of news items, the ability to star posts and share them via email. Being unable to subscribe to feeds from within the app is one drawback.

This is the official CNN application and, as you may expect from such a major news organisation on the international stage, it is highly polished but, more importantly, jampacked with articles, videos and podcasts. For all you wannabe hacks who’ve always longed to play the role of citizen journalist, you can even become part of the news team by sharing your top stories with the iReport feature. The news is drawn from a wide range of topics with reports selected from all four corners of the glove sitting beside the usual suspects you’d expect to find, such as sport, technology, entertainment and travel. A sound purchase.



Price: Free Developer: FOX News Network LLC

FOX News

Many people will shun FOX News due to its right-wing stance on the news agenda. However, putting the content to one side for a minute, from a functional perspective, this app looks like a great deal of others, offering the usual range of news from across the world and closer to home as well as videos, slideshows and a favourites button so you can select the items you want to read the most. Popular shows can also be viewed and for those who prefer to go old school, you can also listen to FOX News Radio. It might not cost you anything, but keeping a ‘pinch of salt’ to hand might not go amiss.

Price: £1.83/$3.00 Developer: Androidsx

Any RSS reader + widget The key to Any RSS reader is the widget which takes your RSS feeds and, instead of making you open an app, places them directly on your homescreen for effortless monitoring. You can pick your own feed or one of many suggestions that the app offers and, we’re happy to report, it barely sucks any power from your phone.

Rating ★★★★★ Price: Free Developer: The Mainchi Newspapers

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: Webolicus

Mainichi News

Sun Alert Japanese readers will want to download this app given that it pulls content – in Japanese – from one of Nippon’s main newspapers. With a neat layout and Twitter integration, getting around the app is easy although some users have reported issues of crashing. But for anyone wanting to keep fully in the know, this is a belter.

If solar storms blight your life (and we have to admit, they don’t seem to affect ours too much), then you will most likely welcome an app which updates you on sunspots, solar activities and worldwide ozone levels. Sun Alert aims to forewarn people of potential threats to satellite communication or navigation systems with daily blasts of information and UV maps, all wrapped up in a functional design. With the intensity of solar storms supposedly set to peak in 2013, maybe this is one of those apps that will come into its own. A great pick for those with ambitions to be the next Sir Patrick Moore! (Supply your own monocle.)

Rating ★★★★★ Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: Fusion Mobile Solutions

iScanner

If you want to feel like an undercover agent, hacking into the system, this application enables you to listen in to feeds from police, fire and health services in the United States, delivering audio snippets of live ‘news’ from the front line. Depending on your level of interest, you can hear developments as they happen, tap into weather reports and listen to air traffic control messages. It won’t work in the UK and some feeds don’t work, however. The interface is clean and intuitive to use and you are able to search for intriguing tidbits via state, county or category. You can even eavesdrop on NASA shuttle launches.


Rating ★★★★★ Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: Handmark

Newsweek Mobile Newsweek’s strength is in compiling the most interesting and relevant news of the week into one easy digest. The idea is that it allows time-poor people to get the gist of current affairs which makes this app rather ironic as it can be very slow! Sometimes it shows up as having no articles but then they appear the next time you visit. Flawed.


Android

Photography

Photography

■ QuickPic can be made your Android’s only picture gallery

Shooting pictures is one of life’s simple pleasures, and there’s no reason to shell out for an expensive camera when your Android can do it for you! From camera filters to image editing, our photography pages will cover all the essential apps you need to start snapping Top Paid Apps

Top Free Apps

Picsay Pro ★★★★★

QuickPic ★★★★★

Camera Zoom FX ★★★★★

FxCamera ★★★★★

FlickFolio ★★★★★

Little Photo ★★★★★

Staff pick of the section Pro HDRCamera ★★★★★


Camera Fun Pro ★★★★★

■ For a free app, it’s very useful and extremely functional

Price: Free Developer: alensw.com

QuickPic

A lightweight replacement for your stock gallery An agile addition to your photo-viewing capabilities, QuickPic can either be used in addition to your stock gallery or can replace it entirely. Once installed, you can choose to open your images through QuickPic or your standard gallery. If you’re sold by it you could, if you have the option, make it the only gallery available on your device. The biggest benefit of QuickPic is speed. It is a lot quicker than any Android gallery and can handle hundreds of images without slowing down. The images are presented in grids grouped by individual folders. Images are really bright and dynamic on the flick-through presentation mode. You can also choose which folders to include in your gallery and keep your private ones hidden. This app does not support either Facebook or Picasa, nor does it support 3D images yet, though they may be features to keep an eye on in the future.


Photography

Android

Price: £2.46 Developer: Shinycore

Picsay Pro

Bright and colourful photo editing The tagline reads ‘The Fun Photo Editor’, and PicSay Pro surely knows what market to target. This app is bright, colourful and fun, and it walks the line between childish and charming, coming out just perfect for getting good results with a bit of banter. On the straight-up editing side, it offers the basic functions you would expect from an editing package such as sharpen, redeye, crop and straighten. Moving on from these functions, you can add and edit text and apply effects from Lomo and Tilt-shift to pencil sketches, among others. The cutting-out function works particularly well, and you can take pieces of one image and add them to another. The result is really natural and seamless, and it requires very little effort. The stickers make for particularly amusing results. A series of transferable cartoon objects such as hats and moustaches can be applied to your images; this is really great for making your own photographs to send to friends and family for birthdays and special occasions. Rather than looking kitsch and homemade, these images really come into their own and prove very addictive to play around with.

Most functions are fairly easy to figure out except for the tilt/ resize. It will take a bit of practice to get your desired result, but once you get a feel for how this works it’s quite simple to replicate on additional images. The tilt/resize function gives a really interesting effect, and it’s worth taking the time to get the application of this effect right. You’ll need to remember to export your images after you’re done tweaking them. The app will keep the last image you’ve worked on open until you select a new one, but your editing will be lost if you don’t remember that all-important export. The feel of the app is fun and cheeky, but don’t discount it for performing minor editing for serious projects, such as work-related images. While it does have a more than adequate variety of modes and options, a paintbrush tool would be a welcome expansion to its feature set. Recent updates to PicSay Pro include support for the Motorola Xoom and other Android Honeycomb tablets. Keep an eye out for increased support for higher resolutions.


■ It’s a bright and cheery app to use

■ Despite its looks, it’s a powerful app


Android

Photography

Price: Free Developer: ymst

FxCamera

Add quirky effects to your images The FxCamera allows you take images with a variety of effects from simple and easy-to-use menus. The FxCamera launches itself in a landscape orientation and presents the user with a toggle-through effects menu which offers six options from Fisheye and Polandroid through to the amusingly named Andy Warholizer. While even the regeneration of the Warhol effect is rather dated, this app does a good job at producing it. If you just can’t help turning yourself or your friends into a colourful artwork, use the FxCamera to do it. The Toy Camera also performs surprisingly well for a free app. Take your images from a height and be sure to capture as many elements as you can in a single image to get the best effect from this option. On top of the available effects you can shoot in a Normal mode and add a few basic tweaks to your image. For some reason the Normal mode graphic appears dull and pixelated in an otherwise beautifully laid-out menu. The effects you can choose from in this mode are standard fare and include a colour filter, sepia and solarise. Once you’ve chosen an effect through the configuration tool available in the Normal mode you’ll see a live view of what your

■ x x

■ Add interesting effects to your images to make them stand out ■ Setting the flash options may allow you to take clearer pictures


image may look like as you compose your work. Unfortunately the actual result is not often a true translation of what you see, especially in the polarise and solarise mode. Once you’ve captured your images expect a short wait time before you see the results. You can view progress on a percentage bar as the app works its magic, which makes even a long wait more than bearable. Once processed you can choose to share your image via any other app downloaded on your device. Quick and simple. The basic settings give you quite a high level of control and the simplicity of the layout means you can see your current settings at a glance. Basic settings give you the option to choose your flash mode, auto rotate your images and select the storage directory that your image will be sent to. As a free app FxCamera really stands out as a well thought-out and user-friendly option for camera snappers that want to add a few great effects to their images without getting too complicated and bogged down with excessive choice.


Photography

Android

Price: £2.99/$4.90 Developer: androidslide

Camera Zoom FX

A serious camera app with an abundance of options If quirky settings and flowery menus aren’t your thing, a serious app such as Camera Zoom FX may better suit your taste. The developers of Camera Zoom FX have definitely gone out of their way to separate this app from the mindless fun apps but they may have over compensated on the design side by creating an interface that lacks personality. The buttons and menus are standard, one dimensional and colourless. This may be a consideration for some but the developers may be counting on the fact that those interested in its serious features may not be bothered with what it looks like. It’s easy to see where the time and energy has ■ Information is displayed with minimal fuss been focused in this app,

and that’s in the functionality. The app oozes the thought process of a photographer who knows what phone camera users want and need. On opening it launches directly into a shootscreen with image options located down the side of the frame. From these you can select a host of options such as white balance, brightness and a variety of modes and size options; use the slide bar to test out the range of each options while the live view shows you if you’re moving in the right direction. The zoom works on the same principle, with the value you choose being displayed in the bottom right-hand corner to remind you how far in you are. The zoom is really useful on this app and overall it performs well, if there absolutely had to be a niggle, it would be that the zoom button and the shutter button are located fairly close. Users with particularly big digits may find themselves shooting an image by mistake when attempting to adjust the zoom. The only button which is a bit sticky is the switch between still image and video mode. Located over on the right-hand side of the shooting screen it takes up a fair amount of space and can be quite fiddly to flick up and down. It is duplicated as a selection in the menu options and possibly this is the only place it should be located. To remedy this you could choose to assign buttons of your phone to camera functions – a welcome option to customise the camera. All of the same high-quality functions are available in video mode which can be encoded as either MPEG4 or H.264 for easy transfer.


■ The layout of the app may not be that aesthetically pleasing, but it does get the job done. An example of substance over style

■ This is an app designed for the more serious photographers, not as a bit of fun


Android

Photography

Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: Kiwiple Inc.

Price: Free Developer: Moment

Magic Hour Camera

Little Photo Little only in name

A smart and sassy lil’ number The look and feel of Magic Hour Camera is friendly and relaxed while its functions are hardworking and rather special. No points for adding anything wildly original to menus but what the app does offer is well received and above all it feels good to spend time on. Over 40 filters are supplied with the app including Emo and Postcard. A particular favourite is the Vintage filter which gives every image a lovely semi-aged and beautiful feel. You can also connect to the Filter Market and download as many free filters as you like onto the app, saving and marking your favourites as well as any that have been sent to you. Another feature that stands out is the ‘Save Your Original Image’ option which allows you to preserve the shot you have taken before tinkering with an endless number of superb effects. Magic Hour Camera would do well to up its resolution options and add some functions such as simple rotations, but on the whole the energy that’s gone into the building of this app really outweighs any shortcomings.


The aesthetics of this app are simply beautiful and luckily they’re matched with a really solid set of functions. Little Photo allows you to edit images captured through the app or those already saved in your gallery. Once you have taken the image you wish to use you drop it straight into edit mode. If you’re using a saved image it gets selected and then added to the edit mode. While the menus are easy to navigate on the whole, the app relies on tapping and dragging, rendering a trackball or optical sensor useless. The effects on offer all come with odd names and any that go beyond basic functions need to be tried out in order to see what they will do. Effects can be stacked up on your image and you can clearly see which will be applied before processing. The processing time is quite fast, the filters give an almost instantaneous result. The resulting images are rather on the small side, perhaps this should be expected from the app’s name, but a resolution of 640x480 is enough to post and share images online.

Rating ★★★★★ ■ The images tend to be rather small when you’re finished with them

■ You can save your original shot before you start tinkering

■ This is one of the better ‘fun’ camera apps available on Android


■ There are plenty of cool effects to choose from

Photography

Android

Price: £1.83/$2.99 Developer: Snapwood Apps

FlickFolio Flickr on the fly

■ Korean menu options can confuse

■ It’s quite a stylish app all in all

Price: Free Developer: KTH

Pudding Camera

This app simplifies most actions available in Flickr and is a pleasure to navigate and operate. An offline mode allows you to download you image from your account and view them on your phone. Coupled together with a photo viewer it’s a great solution to show off your images to friends and family and professional enough to take it to clients too. The presentation mode takes into account the photo dimensions and optimises them for viewing giving a standard and appealing presentation across your gallery no matter the size of your device. You can also perform batch uploads which process in the background, though you can’t add metadata directly though the app, which is a pity. Exploring Flickr is also an option and you can keep up to date with the best shots of the day, view your favourites and even add comments to your own images and those of others. The app also links directly to other social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter as an added bonus. The developer is so confident about the app that support and refunds are available if it does not live up to expectations.


Tasty toy camera

Pudding Camera offers nothing new as far as toy cameras go but it’s a good free app and as it’s free it’s worth a download and a play around. It supports small, medium and large file formats at 472px, 700px and 1024px respectively and offers a mix of cameras and films to use. The menus can be a bit sticky at times and as it’s in a mix of English and Korean some functions are unclear and trial and error is the name of the game. Some Android models report varying levels of usability but once it works the results are surprising. The Vivid option gives particularly striking results. It doesn’t work very well in low light but this is to be expected on apps at this level. The resolution on images is fairly acceptable and it’s really useful to share fun images with friends on social networks or via MMS. It won’t do for any level of printing but as a digital format it performs well. This app has recently been updated to support Android OS 2.3 Gingerbread.


■ This app is mainly aimed at those who tend to use, or plan to use, Flickr to share photos

■ There are refunds available if you aren’t satisfied with FlickFolio’s performance


Android

Photography

Price: £1.83/$2.98 Developer: Almalence

HDR Camera+ Instant HDR on your mobile

Fast Burst Camera Giving you rapid fire results

HDR images layer a single composition in a variety of exposures to give a dramatic effect. The worry with HDR is a ghosting effect that happens if your images aren’t aligned correctly; this app gets around this problem by working on a series of algorithms that take into account hand shake and moving objects. No app can produce a consistently perfect result but HDR Camera+ performs well though processing times can be quite long. ■ This is a great app for HDR fans

Price: Free Developer: Spritefish


This is really useful for two situations. Firstly for actionfilled events such as a football games and dance recitals, secondly for really important moments where you can’t afford to miss the shot. In either case you have the capability to take between five and ten shots per second on two modes. Holding the shutter down gives you a burst of continuous shots and tapping it allows for single shots. You’ll need a lot of light to get good pics; also as it works with high volumes of images. It's worth noting the resolution of the images will not be the highest resolution available on your phone. ■ The images won't come out in high-res


Price: Free Developer: PinGuo Inc

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: Adva Soft

Abundant effects in a single app

A staple editing app

Camera360free

TouchRetouch

The wide range of modes and effects available with this app are neatly organised and easily accessible through the launch menu. It’s jam-packed with everything from Lomo and Retro effects to Tilt and Colour Shift and a few funny modes too. For a free, fun app there is a lot on offer and each mode does what it says. With such a vast variety it may seem that the developers have gone for a Jack of all trades, master of none approach but most of the functions perform quite well. Keep an eye on your battery through as Camera360free burns through its life quicker than you might expect it to. ■ Watch our for your battery life using this app



A well known and trusted editing tool, TouchRetouch removes unwanted objects from your images. It gives you a the choice of using a brush or lasso tool to highlight the offending person or object. This app works better on a tablet as it allows better control in your selections but the software does minimise distortion to the final image and the results are good considering the ease of use and the processing time. ■ Perfect for cleaning up your images


Photography

Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: EyeApps LLC

Price: £1.83/£2.99 Developer: mnApps

Good results, limited compatibility

A little box of camera tricks

Pro HDRCamera Many HDR applications rely on taking one image and processing it for highlights and shadows before merging the images. Pro HDR camera captures separate images in two different exposures and merging the two – the result can be saved as a high-res image of up to 8 megapixels. The app is tested for Motorola, HTC and most Samsung phones. Other devices, such as LG may experience limited capability. ■ The levels help you find the perfect picture


Camera Advance Camera Advance attempts to transfer at least part of the menu options on a standard DSLR onto your Android device. While some apps may receive negative press for making photographers lazy and moving them further away from the know-how behind the image, Camera Advance offers live camera histogram and exposure compensation to intelligently capture shots. Some features are only available on certain models so check before buying. The options are easy to navigate with a series of icons. ■ An app with lots up its sleeve


Price: £1.20/1.95 Developer: RubberBigPepper

Price: £0.61/0.99 Developer: Spice Loop

The full monty of camera control

Attention grabbing tomfoolery

Ig CameraPro

Camera Fun Pro

It’s a little bit boastful really, an app that gives total control of still image, video and audio settings. With all this functionality it’s to be expected that it only runs off Android 2.1 or higher and that some of the settings might only work on particular devices. A free version is available to test before purchase. For those lucky enough to access the full menu you’ll find a range of functions available over all three media options. Aside from the range of manual settings one of the most helpful functions is unglamorous, with the apps ability to handle and recognise a variety of file types. ■ Whatever the file type, this app supports it


Android

A light-hearted and ludicrous app, Camera Fun Pro offers 29 lenses, each with their own unique effect. Once you have chosen your lens view how the image will turn out first – a small blessing when retaking funny images becomes a buzz kill. The Bulge and Avatar lenses are guaranteed to have your friends in hysterics, on the serious side, options include Sepia and Sketch. A great little app worth the tiny price tag. ■ Perfect if you want to have fun with pictures


Android

Productivity

Productivity

■ You can choose which apps to ‘kill’ to save battery life

■ If you have a newer Android, don’t bother with this app

There just isn’t enough time in the day, but thankfully there are plenty of apps to help you out. Whether it’s sorting your own schedule out or simply getting your phone to become a slick, trouble-free device, these Productivity apps will save you plenty of trouble and time Top paid apps

Top free apps

Root Explorer ★★★★★

Google Goggles ★★★★★

JuiceDefender Ultimate ★★★★★

Quick Settings ★★★★★

AndroZip Pro File Manager ★★★★★

Go Launcher EX Notification ★★★★★

Staff pick of the section Business Calendar ★★★★★


Thinking Space Pro ★★★★★

Price: Free Developer: ReChild

Advanced Task Killer

Useful for older Android phones This program collects all of the apps that you are currently running and displays them on a single screen. Each of the live apps will be configured with a tick mark situated next to each. To stop that app running, you press the tick mark. Another useful but hidden option is to kill a service. To do this, you need to click on the Menu button to access further options. Pressing the Service button will provide a list of currently running services. Touch to stop and start them again. On the plus side, the program can provide a list of apps and services that you may not have been aware were actually in use, but that is offset by the fact that this app does drain the battery somewhat. With careful use, it may be of use to many, but more modern Android phones (version 2.2 onwards) may care to forget this app as the OS itself manages resources quite efficiently: manually killing apps may cause complications such as notification problems.


Productivity

Android

Price: £2.49/$3.90 Developer: Speed Software

Root Explorer Control your phone with this feature-packed file manager Root Explorer presents Android phone users with the ability to manipulate core data that is held on their phones. A file manager, Root Explorer gives you access to the entire Android file system, providing a graphical view of the heart of your phone which is useful if you need to move files from one place to another, for example. The app has the ability to perform quite complex operations but, to best explain Root Explorer’s functions, let’s look at performing a simple task for starters. Take the SD Card, an important piece of hardware in any phone user’s life. In order to access the contents, load up the Root Explorer app which will display all of the files and folders within the root directory. To access the SD card, you need to scroll down the folder and file list until the SD Card label appears. Click on it to open the folder and peer inside to view the contents. If you wanted to move a file from here to the main phone memory, for example, then you would press your finger on the file name until an Options menu appears as a pop-up. Then you select the Move option, exit the Options menu and then decide where you want to move the file. Your next task would be to select which part of the phone you want to

move the selected file to. Use Root Explorer to get there and then press the Paste button to deposit the file. Other features include the ability to create and extract compressed files under zip, tar, rar and gzip. It is also possible to perform quite technical tasks such as mounting or remounting files and changing the permissions related to an app. You can execute scripts, multi-select files, utilise the built-in text editor, bring up the APK file viewer or send files via Bluetooth, email and the other means. Root explorer also offers the function of viewing thumbnails of your images and any files can not only be moved but also deleted, copied and pasted – perfect if you like to keep your phone neat and tidy. To further manipulate the content of your Android phone and to open the contents you will need to do what those in the know call ‘rooting’ your handset. ‘Rooting’ an Android phone is similar to jailbreaking an iPhone. Doing so, will enable you to enter within and modify the device’s firmware to allow you to add custom themes, apps, OSs and ROMs.


■ With Root Explorer you can view the contents of the SD Card at a glance

■ The app allows you to easily manage all your files ■ Moving, copying and deleting files has never been easier


Android

Productivity

Price: £4.33/$7.13 Developer: Latedroid

JuiceDefender Ultimate Control and save your battery power output How many of you carry a spare battery around… just in case? How many of you don’t feel safe leaving the house unless you’ve also stuffed your battery charger in your pocket to plug in at every available opportunity? How many of you perform quite complex, manual, battery-saving operations? The aim of this app is to stop all of that nonsense. In many respects, you could describe this app as a power manager. Its function is to save you money but, above all, hassle and despair during any given battery power loss. Quite unlike those other battery-related apps that show you a few pretty pictures and the odd graph, however, JuiceDefender performs a number of active, automatic actions to save you power. In use, you can choose a number of ready-made setting plans including: balanced, aggressive, extreme, customize and advanced. This means that, for example, the harsher the profile, the more connectivity will be reduced as the more power on your phone is saved. There are also two variations of customisation that you can adopt with one offering more settings to tweak than the other. Hence, the app can close down your Wi-Fi feature plus 3G.

■ ■ Had enough of running out of battery at that crucial moment? Look no further than JuiceDefender Ultimate

■ All the options are explained to ensure power saving is tailored to your needs


For those who have a data-rich tariff and don’t really utilise phone calls, this app can even close down the phone radio to prevent incoming phone calls. Other useful features include a keyguard which stops your phone springing to life in your pocket or bag and wasting battery power that way. The app will even look at the light sensor setting plus the brightness setting. Other core-based features include examining the basic CPU speed of your phone. This means altering the maximum and minimum speed to save power when the phone is idle. There is a free version of this app available but the paid-for version arrives with extra features. For example, it is location-aware when it comes down to turning your Wi-Fi on or off, while it also caters for your lifestyle by triggering night, peak and weekend schedules for your different needs at different times. A thoroughly comprehensive app with some excellent attention to detail; that is, connectivity can be on when charging but off if charging from a PC or laptop when charging from this source is slower. A top-notch, practical app, if ever there was one.


Productivity

Price: £1.74/$2.81 Developer: AgileSoft Resource

AndroZip Pro File Manager Lean, mean archiving machine… with a few frills on top

On the face of it, this app serves as an archive compression utility and, as such, it can handle compression formats as diverse as ZIP, RAR, GZIP, TAR and BZIP2. It can even have a stab at 7-ZIP which is currently undergoing beta-testing and can create files under TAR, GZIP and ZIP. Able to be installed on a SD card, AndroZip provides file manager-like facilities but also a task manager and an app installer. AndroZip will let you search and send files too. The principle highlight is the fact that this app is lean, streamlined and doesn’t feature fattening dead-code to bloat its interface. Hence, it is easy to use and efficient. Whether you actually need a task killer is neither here nor there because it’s an adjunct to the main program and it’s hidden away under a secondary menu, in any case. As it stands, this app goes some way to bringing computer facilities to a mobile phone and it can handle large ZIP files pretty well.


Android

Price: £3.46/$5.70 Developer: Appgenix Software

Business Calendar

For those who want Outlook calendar quality on their Android phone Sometimes, if you are within a business environment, a basic calendar is just not good enough. This app looks to handle your schedule no matter how frantic your day might be. Offering a sensibly laid-out design, BC provides up to 14 days of calendar with several views focused on the likes of Agenda, Day or Month, or Events, along with a valuable search function for those complex busy periods. The drag-and-drop facility is especially useful at these times to speed up the interface. Further, you can also link a contact to an event to further speed up your business processes. Other aspects of the app are just as useful such as the configurable widgets, which are available in different sizes, while you will find switching between timeline bars and event titles in Month view very easy to accomplish. Also, users who may have found other calendar apps rather clunky during the sync process should be impressed by the same operation when using Business Calendar.


■ If the files on your device need a tidy, this will take the strain for you ■ AndroZip can already handle a wide range of compression formats and is looking to take on more

■ Business Calendar is like a PA you can carry around in your pocket


Android

Productivity

Price: £2.03/$3.31 Developer: AnderWeb

AdwLauncher Ex A flexible, stable and fast launcher app

On an Android phone, when you press the Home key, you will normally see the phone’s own interface handle the apps and services. With ADWLauncher Ex installed, however, you now have the option to take control of those apps and services with this program. Highly customisable with many themes to keep the desktop lively, this launcher app arrives with a launcher dock that can feature up to five shortcuts to provide a further enhancement in the app’s efficiency. That efficiency has also been enhanced by the ability to edit the screen in order to add, remove and swap your desktop screens. Other features include a dockbar which is hidden and can be customised while supporting unlimited icons via scrolling. The look of the launcher can be changed in a variety of ways with different animations while navigating through your desktop screens. These include a variety of new icons, while the size of the icon can be varied, the font colour can also be tweaked.


Price: £2.63/$4.29 Developer: SoftXPerience

Note Everything Pro Add-on Takes note-taking to a new level

An app for taking notes is not, on the face of it, especially sexy. Basic, yes, standard and workmanlike, certainly, but sexy? This example takes the sub-genre to a new level with the ability to think laterally. This means that you can write a note but you can also paint one. That’s right, there is more than one method of notetaking and painting is one of the more unexplored methods. You can also take a voice note. This variant might not be so unusual but to have it provided within the same app is a welcome bonus. More than that, you can organise your notes so that, as they build, you can place them into folders and attach shortcuts for each and send them to friends and colleagues very easily. You can even import your old Palm memos, if you wish, as well as handling Outlook notes. This Pro version also allows you to stick notes on to the status bar as well as include encryption for security purposes.


■ Take written or spoken notes

■ Change font colours and icons

■ Change the themes of your phone's homepage


■ The qwerty keyboard gives ease of use

Productivity

Android

Price: £1.99/£3.24 Developer: TeslaCoil Software

WidgetLocker Lockscreen

This is more than just a tool to lock your phone's screen

■ Create complex mind maps with different colours

■ Don't let that brilliant idea escape, it could be the next big thing

Price: £1.99/$3.24 Developer: Kinesthetic Ltd

Thinking Space Pro

An app to lock the screen of your Android mobile phone but one that provides you with a lot more control over how it performs. Hence, you can add a range of sliders, widgets and even shortcuts. When these triggers have been applied to the screen, you can tweak them to be applied to just about any action. For example, you can link a slider control to make a call to a specific person or to launch a favourite app. You can also attach a range of notification badges to these actions too. Other features include an Easy Wake Mode which provides the extra flexibility of allowing, not just the power button to wake up the entire phone, but any other button that you care to assign. You can resize your widgets and have access to a custom grid size. An excellent app that offers a range of options and is highly tweakable which, despite the rather harsh draw upon the internal battery, is only limited by your imagination.


Bring your ideas to life Ever had an idea and then tried to keep it all in your head while attempting to manipulate it before you forget essential bits of it or lose the thread of the whole thing. Even worse, have you then ever tried to communicate that idea to someone else? This is what Thinking Space Pro is all about. The concept is to put your thoughts and ideas down on paper in a sort of mind map. But, as this an Android phone we’re talking about and not the reverse of a receipt, you get the chance to link one idea with another, introduce different colours and boxes and attach icons. You can connect these thoughts and feed them into other apps such as Freemind, Xmind, MindManager and MindMeister API. The Pro version has extra features such as integrated links within your idea to external files plus the option to sort your ideas into folders to enable faster searching later.


■ Add shortcuts to your favourite apps, and easily call specific people

■ Customise your background and what your homescreen displays


Android

Arcade Productivity

Price: Free Developer: Metago

Price: Free Developer: Droidla

Astro File Manager

QR Droid

A good quality file manager with a useful selection of bonus tools

Start scanning barcodes now QR codes are advanced barcode variants that, when scanned, trigger content that can be displayed via your smartphone. This software reads QRs via your phone’s camera and codes shown in your phone browser, saved on your SD card or QR image via its Internet URL. You can create QR codes of your own that can include a range of content from SMS messages to contact information and images.

File managers are becoming increasingly necessary for day-to-day use of a smartphone. This example includes the basic file manager facilities but also adds other programs under the menu button via a Tools header. It includes back-up options for both files and apps. Other features include viewers of images and for text while you also get a task and app manager. Couple that lot with a compression manager covering file formats like Zip and this program emerges more as a suite of programs rather than an app with a specific use in mind. It's not particularly user-friendly but definitely good for those who want an all-encompassing file manager. ■ It's an intimidating app to use at first


■ QR Codes are becoming popular


Price: Free Developer: Google


Google Docs

Google Goggles

A text editor that’s at its best

Search engine using pictures, not text Google Docs for Mobile is a useful method of creating and editing text documents. Others who are sharing can also receive the same universal edits in real time so that everyone has the updated information. It’s also possible to share any document with those on your contacts list. You can edit spreadsheets and take a photographs and add textual content into a Google Doc file by prompting a text conversion.

■ Functional but can be very useful too



This app takes the traditional, text-only, search engine and utilises images as the interface. Take a picture of an object with your camera phone and Goggles uses image recognition technology to return search results. They may take the form of retail outlets who sell the item to information on the history of the object, or even additional images of the target object. The app also recognises a range of books, DVDs, landmarks, logos, contact information, artwork, barcodes and even text. ■ It's really a search engine using pics


Productivity

Price: Free Developer: Catch.Com

AK Notepad

Price: Free Developer: Sergej Shafarenka

Taking notes the modern way

Start saving battery life

Quick Settings

A notepad app that is reminiscent of the same breed of app you can find as standard on the iPhone but AK Notepad has the benefit of an archive function which can prevent accidental erasures triggering a calamity, an extremely helpful addition. It also has a reminder calendar function which can be selected for a variety of time delays, which is more useful than it may seem. Simple it might be but an undo option would have been nice to see as a standard feature. Nevertheless, a useful app that will be appreciated for its lack of bloatware and staying focused on its main one USP. ■ It's basic but AK Notepad gets the job done

Rating ★★★★★ Price: Free Developer: GO Launcher Dev Team

Go Launcher Ex Notification

Practical addition to an already top launcher app This is a plug-in for the parent Go Launcher app, a home page program that features themes, screen transitions, folder and task management. This add-on allows you to see your missed calls, unread SMS messages and Gmail emails. Hence, when you receive any missed calls or messages, an additional number is shown sitting on the top corner of the relevant icons on the home screen and dock bar. Remember to enter the settings to complete the finally set-up, however. ■ This app will help organise your life


Android

This app looks to save power by allowing you to control your phone’s internal settings, such as brightness. Press on that and you’re presented with a slider to alter the settings. The volume setting, however, brings up a host of individual sliders from the ringer to the alarm. If the setting you want is not present, then you can enter the Customize section to drag previously hidden settings into view.


■ It's a helpful organiser app

Price: Free Developer: Softexperience

Note Everything

Even this cut-down model offers plenty to work with The basic version of the note-taking app without photo notes, checklists and durable checklists options. There may not be the reminder, encryption, the chance to stick notes to the status bar or provide full automatic backup to an SD card but you still have a more than capable note-taking app that offers flexibility to provide text, paint and barcode-related notes. There is a voicenote facility and you can also grab some notes from Google Docs (as part of an extra add-on). ■ It's a surprisingly comprehensive app


Android

Shopping

Shopping

■ There’s nothing particularly glamorous about the interface

Price: Free Developer: ZXing Team

Whether it’s pinching pennies or buying luxuries, shopping is an essential part of life as well as a hobby for some. Regardless of how you see it, our selection of apps will ensure you get that perfect bottle of wine, get groceries to your door and save money where possible Top paid apps

Top free apps

Mighty Grocery Shopping List ★★★★★

Official eBay Android App ★★★★★

Wine + List, Ratings & Cellar ★★★★★

Shopping List ★★★★★

Out of Milk Pro Unlocker ★★★★★

Tesco Groceries ★★★★★

Staff pick of the section What’s It Worth? ★★★★★


Inventory Droid ★★★★★

Barcode Scanner

Effective but not exemplary Barcode Scanner utilises your camera to scan the barcodes found on the back of products. However, it can also scan additional items, such as 2D barcodes which are better known as QR Codes (which are increasingly popular) or Data Matrix. Apart from the opening help screen you won't find much of a front-screen interface and as such you are literally thrown into the app to get scanning straight away. Scanning, however, was quick (even from a GPRS connection), but a few barcodes had trouble scanning and the returned data was not the most graphically presented, but it did list the correct item, plus the price (with the place to buy). However, on a number of occasions the price listed did seem to be the official RRP, but you can perform manual searches or download Google Shopper if you want to perform additional searches for the cheapest prices. On a plus note, Google Shopper certainly revealed some bargain prices. When it came to QR Codes the app does have a really cool ‘share’ feature that allows you to generate your own QR Codes, – for example this could be a contact from your address book – and then displays the results on the screen for others to access (you can also email the QR Code too).


Shopping

Android

Price: Free Developer: eBay Mobile

Official eBay Android App

Selling on the top auction site has never been easier Most people will or should have heard of the auction site eBay as it's one of the best places to go if you want to pick up a bargain or you have something to sell. By default you utilise a web-based interface on your computer or a compact mobile version on your phone's web browser, but having used the dedicated Android app we can honestly say this is one of the best ways to experience the auction site! eBay has done a cracking job and produced an inviting and intuitive interface that packs in all the features you will need, right in front of you. Immediately you can access your profile to see your feedback score or get an overview of what items you are currently watching or have bought/sold. Selling items is even easier than the desktop version as you can tap into a barcode reader (which incidentally is powered by its own RedLaser app, one of the more accurate readers on the market). After scanning, the app fills in most of the fields/details you need for the item, leaving you with very little to add for the sale part – providing the item actually has a barcode. The barcode reader can also be used when searching for items, for example if

you are out shopping, you can compare the price of items to the ones listed on eBay, by simply scanning the barcode in the shop. Searching is also made easier by the handy sort feature, which in most cases is the same as you find on the desktop version. Items themselves are displayed in a list format, clearly stating the time left on the auction, the current bid, payment details and the condition of the items. On the top-left corner you can also view product images. Using the options below the listing you can quickly add items to your watch list or tell a friend via the share link (as it opens up Gmail). What's also useful is being able to see a description of the seller, which is a key factor when making any purchasing decision so you can see their feedback score. Of course you can also purchase items and place bids directly on your handset too. eBay Mobile is certainly a great app and as it is free you would be mad not to use it if you are a regular buyer/seller or simply want to get hold of the odd bargain around birthday/holidays.


■ x x

■ Regular eBay users and watchers will recognise the menu screen ■ Scan in the item's barcode and the details are automatically displayed


Android

Shopping

Price: £1.91/$2.95 Developer: Mighty Pocket

Mighty Grocery Shopping List Make your weekly shop much easier Mighty Grocery Shopping List is one of the most polished shopping list apps we have used. Its key is not only in the features it provides, but also in the presentation. For example, content and menu items are laid out in such a way that you can dart between options with ease. An extra drop-down list can also be deployed which uncovers more useful settings such as the barcode reader. When it comes to adding shopping the developers have already provided five empty lists named after the large supermarket chains, ie Tesco, Asda and so on, but it’s easy enough to create your own unique shopping list. For testing, though, we opted for the software’s default Groceries list and we found that you can start adding items quickly by searching through the pre-defined Pick list. Here you will find hundreds of shopping items, arranged in categories. Most of the common types like eggs, bread and milk are already listed and these will be added instantly to your list once selected. At this point you can select the item and key in specific details, ie price, quantity, unit type (pounds, ounces), the aisle you are likely to find the item in and any coupons you may have. What’s

■ x x

■ You can tick off items once you have put them into your trolley ■ The Android theme is very much prevalent throughout the app


interesting here is that using a simple toggle, the software can be set to remember the details you input and any changes made throughout the app will propagate through to any list. Additionally, as you go through your list you can cross off items and then dart to the checkout tab to see how much money you have spent. Of course, if you can’t find the items from the Pick list, you will need to manually add these yourself, but luckily the software has a few tools to make life easier. The first of these is the voice input control; by simply tapping the mic icon you can specify the name of the product or add in the price and quantity. However, this last bit is a little tricky, but practice makes perfect. Another option to use is the barcode reader. We found it could detect most of the items we tried to scan, but for the ones it couldn’t you can add these in manually and upload the results for the community to benefit from. The only disappointment was that it did not provide a picture for the item we scanned, nor can you add one manually. Apart from this, there’s a handy recipe feature and sync and backup option, allowing you to store your lists on the cloud.


Shopping

Out of Milk Pro Unlocker

Android

Price: £3.06/$4.99 Developer: Capigami

A colourful way to create shopping lists

Out of Milk Pro is best described as a fun way to input your shopping lists. This becomes apparent when you behold the large colourful icons that adorn the front screen. Even if the concept is similar to the majority of other shopping list programs on the Market, the developers have injected some new ideas which sets it apart. As well as being able to share lists and create custom shopping lists, you also have a handy To-Do List feature and Pantry List. The latter is great for noting what items you have left in your cupboards. We also loved the slider allowing us to set how much of each item is remaining. Best of all the Android software also syncs data with its web-based desktop counterpart so you can see your lists on any computer with an internet connection. Adding items (along with price and quantity info) can be performed via manual text entry or using voice control, barcode scanning or a handy search facility to bring up any pre-installed items. Barcode scanning was a touch hit-and-miss, but you can manually add the items in if it can’t detect them properly.

■ The big, colourful icons make the app a pleasure to use


■ Create a list of groceries you need, and also use it as a to-do list

Price: £3.06/$4.99 Developer: RomiSys

Inventory Droid Keep track of your possessions

Inventory Droid is an app that allows you to store and keep track of the items you have dotted around the house. To make your life a little easier the developers have deployed a barcode reader facility that allows you to scan the barcodes of your products and store the results into pre-defined or custom categories (TVs, DVDs, Hi-Fi, Games etc). This works well, but it is still reliant on the scanner to get things right, and it’s not always accurate. On the plus side we like the ability to take a snap of the product in question, as well as being able to capture the receipt. Once added all we had to do is key in some extra info, including the serial number (which you can get by scanning with the barcode reader again), the item’s location or who has borrowed it (useful for DVDs you may have lent out). As an added bonus the software also comes with a free desktop client, so you can keep track of your inventory away from your smartphone.


■ Enter all the relevant information for your item of choice

■ You can note down where you bought the item, and take a picture of it


Android

Shopping

Price: £1.31/$2.15 Developer: Twofingers Apps

What’s it worth? (aka eValuator) eBay price guides for Android

What’s it worth? is an app that allows you to search for items on eBay and from the results determine the average value of a selling item. The app’s interface is a little basic, yet this should not detract from how useful the software is. After typing in a search criteria you can then choose the condition of the item you want to look for (All, New or Used). The software then scans eBay and brings back a series of calculations. However, at this point you need to use some common sense, because if you search for something like Xbox 360 Kinect, by default it brings back any results containing those words – resulting in lower than expected figures. Refining your search further, by looking at sub-categories, brings back some great information. From the resulting change it shows the median price (inc shipping), the net price and the min/max values. Extra options allow you to browse items (with shortcuts taking you to the web version of eBay) or look at statistics. The latter is handy for seeing how much a product goes for on a particular day of the week.


■ It’s easy to search for items and you’re likely to be pleased with the results

■ The statistics page will let you know how much certain items sell for at a given time


Price: £3.06/$4.99 Developer: HeadCode

OurGroceries Key A basic app with a few ideas

OurGroceries Key is basically the same version as the free version, but without the ads, so if you don't mind this then you have a competent shopping list app at your disposal. The layout of the app is rather basic and at the time of writing there was no barcode reader function at your disposal. There is a voice command function to help, but its internal database of products was also limited, as was its ability to add price info to each item. With all that said the program does have its merits, the first of these is the recipes function. You can quickly add a recipe title and then add items from the ones you have previously entered. However, the best of its features is the ability to share your lists with others; this could be members of your family or your other half. Any changes made on one device will then reflect on all the others.


ShopSavvy Barcode Scanner

■ Grab yourself a bargain and never pay over the odds ■ Simply scan the barcode of the item you wish to purchase and a list of results will appear. There’s also a real-time list of scanned items

Shopping

Android

Price: Free Developer: Fivefly

Shopping list

Plenty to offer and all for free

■ Find the food you need to make a cake!

■ Share your lists and recipes with others

Price: Free Developer: ShopSavvy

Find the best deals online ShopSavvy is a polished app that has instant appeal. Great use of colours, large icons and an eye-catching scrolling product list at the base of the screen first catch your eye. These are items being scanned in realtime by other ShopSavvy users. Selecting an item from the above list or when scanning new items with the barcode reader provides you with a quick turnaround, showcasing the product’s image at the base of the screen, along with three options. The first and most useful option is the best online price, which it displays instantly or you can click on the option to fully discover any alternative stores selling the item online (the retuned results are normally good). Other options provide you with local store locations (including directions) and reviews of the particular product. Additionally you can add your own reviews if you so wish (other users will then be able to benefit from your knowledge). Even if you don’t buy the item then and there, you can click on save and add the item to one of the pre-defined or custom lists, which could include groceries as well as electronic consumer products or share the product with others via Facebook, Twitter or email.


Shopping list is another free shopping app – that it has to be said – puts a lot of the paid-for apps to shame. The interface is inviting and the small ad’s position isn’t that intrusive, so you can quite happily navigate through the software without clicking on it. It also provides a dashboard option where you can create lists, categories, units or synchronise your shopping lists with another person. Being able to customise units (ie measurements) was certainly useful as this is normally missing from most apps. Each category also had its own colour bar which is placed down the side of each list, therefore helping you to visualise the item better. Voice recognition was not onboard, which is not a major problem as the barcode reader helped with adding items into our custom lists. Additionally we could add images from our camera’s photo gallery which was a brilliant feature as we could visually see what the products looked like! The only thing we did not like is that when ticking off items and adding them to your cart, it does not display the total unless you go back to the front screen. Even so for a free shopping list app this has plenty going for it!


■ Get a glimpse of what the item you’re after looks like thanks to this app

■ The app is simple to use and the ad isn’t too intrusive


Android

Shopping

Price: Free Developer: Barcode Scanner

Barcoo

Price comparison with added style

Price: Free Developer: Tesco plc

Tesco Groceries

An app where every little helps…

Barcoo is another price comparison app that is adorned in a stylish back drop and red text. Using the barcode reader can take a little bit of time to return results and the number of online resources it finds could be larger. We loved the way the app breaks everything down into tabs, giving access to price, ratings and data. There is a ScanTicker option to showcase the most popular items or those being scanned in realtime by other users. Useful in some ways, but to us this section felt under-utilised. As did its series of mini guides, which despite being a nice added touch, are limited to a handful of drink related guides.


Tesco Groceries is an ideal app for those looking to make home deliveries from their phone. Presentation and general ease of use is top notch, and this quality flows straight into the items that are listed via the Shop icon, as everything is laden with images and descriptions, plus the latest offers. You can also use a voice control function or use the barcode reader to scan items from your cupboard, saving you from manually adding info. ■ A good app from the major retailer


Price: Free Developer: Amazon Mobile EU

Price: Free Developer: Scanbuy, Inc.

Amazon UK

ScanLife Barcode Reader

A poor turnout by the worldwide retailer Amazon’s app has a similar feel to its mobile web browser interface and in some ways the latter is still needed because the app doesn’t support Kindle books. Even so the main interface is clean and intuitive to use and for users of Amazon’s online site it has most things you will need out the box, from buying items and tracking your packages to viewing/ cancelling your orders. Sadly there are a few glitches which can lessen the experience overall. ■ Good, but not great by Amazon’s standards



Scanning made simple

With ScanLife you are sent straight to your camera screen to begin scanning. Scanning either barcodes or QR Codes seemed accurate and felt quicker at coming back with the information we required. The above information included both price and reviews, with the price field sometimes containing multiple search results which you can follow to the online store. Other than this the only other option is History, which displays the last items you scanned. You can also share results with others. ■xThere’s no messing around here


Shopping

Price: Free Developer: eBay Mobile

RedLaser Barcode Scanner

Price: Free Developer: Groupon, Inc.

Barcodes and QR Codes at the ready!

Save money with this top app

RedLaser’s interface is simple, but it does display the last items you scanned on the front page, so they are always to hand. More importantly the barcode reader itself is pretty accurate, and displays the scanning interface in a portrait fashion which felt more intuitive to use and easier to take scans using the one hand. Additionally the scan interface provides an easy-to-access multi-scan option, which is a nice touch. When multi-scanning though you did need to tap on the barcode ID number afterwards to display the results, but it picked up our products quite quickly. Best of all, though, the software has the feature to create QR Codes, ranging from web addresses through to contacts.


■ A great multi-scan option with RedLaser

Price: Free Developer: LivingSocial Deals

LivingSocial

Find local deals on the move LivingSocial is another deal-of-the-day-style app that supports a nice home screen widget, that in some ways was more appealing than the main interface. On our Samsung there was a large gap at the bottom of the screen which seemed a waste of space and even when running over Wi-Fi there seemed a fair amount of time for deals to load. Deals were also pretty limited in our area, but it displays them in a nice format. The ‘escapes’ section lists holiday destinations, but it’s heavily Americanised, so we are not confident that these would be valid in the UK. ■ The app’s use of space isn’t great


Android

Groupon

Groupon’s mobile app is an extension to the webbased counterpart, it quickly displays and alerts you (via the Notification bar) about the latest deals (like meals or days out) in your area. Presentation is first class and there is plenty of information to hand if you need to learn more about the current deal (including a location map or the ability to share the deal with friends). Only the deal of the day is shown on the full screen to start with, but there is the option to get more deals or look for ones outside your area. Groupon’s deals are not for everyone, but they do come up with some crackers, so it’s a useful app to own. ■ Get great deals in your local area


Price: £2.44/$4.00 Developer: Metosphere

Wine + List, Ratings & Cellar A wine app that gets better with age Wine + List is an app that allows you to store information pertaining to wines in your collection or wines that you have spotted out and about. Utilising the barcode reader or multi-scan option provides a quick way of cataloguing your wines, but at times it had trouble focusing on the label, which meant we had to input fields by hand. Thankfully you can add descriptions, ratings, images, notes and information pertaining to the wine’s location. Your wines are then visible on the front page and can be sorted into different orders to suit. Additionally, click on the Others tab to view wine reviews from other users. Extra tools such as the export to CSV (allowing you to view your wine list in Excel), makes this an ideal package for wine connoisseurs. ■ View and record your favourite wines


Android

Social networking

Social networking ■ The interfaces are very clean and easy to use

■ Time will tell if this is real competition for Facebook

Calling people is good but it’s not the only way to stay in touch on Android, with the rise of social networking seeing plenty of apps taking advantage of its growth. On these next pages are the best apps of that bunch Top paid apps Tapatalk Forum App ★★★★★ ProBoards ★★★★★ Loky ★★★★★

Top free apps TweetCaster ★★★★★ Foursquare ★★★★★ LinkedIn ★★★★★

Staff pick of the section Geeky Avatar ★★★★★


LED Scroller 3 ★★★★★


Google+

Comes with fewer pluses than we expected The new contender to the Facebook throne of social networking comes from the powerhouse that is Google. For a basic, overall view of the service let’s just call it “like Facebook, but a bit different”. It’s easier than getting into any murky waters about privacy concerns and the stress of deciding what ‘circle’ to put someone you know in. The free app accompanying Google+ isn’t anywhere near as fully featured as we expected. While photos can be uploaded to the service by ticking a box, we found no way of uploading multiple pictures to albums – they just appear as posts. It also simply doesn’t convey all of the information that the browserbased version does, like who has you in a circle and the like. As a service, Google+ is still in early days – it will improve and is, right now, an interesting prospect. As an app, Google+ isn’t amazing on Android. Again, it will improve (and is arguably already better than the Facebook app), but the version we have reviewed in the here and now is a bit of a let-down.


Social networking

Android

Price: Free Developer: Facebook

Facebook For Android

Bringing friends together, one poke at a time The biggest social network in the world has a free app available for Android users. If you have an account already you can jump straight in, link your information through your phone’s settings and be updated throughout the day with messages, notifications, friend requests and all that other guff. If you don’t yet have an account, it’s a simple process by which you sign up and get involved – unless you object for any moral or privacy reasons, naturally. Facebook For Android doesn’t do everything the full desktop version does, but it covers the most important bases. You can view comments, post your own, look at pictures and other general social network-type things that we all love so much. If you want added functionality and ease of use, you’ll still want to stick with the non-Android version, but for what it needs to do and for quick, easy checking of messages and updates it’s fine. To have it sitting in your pocket or bag all day, checking for new messages etc every half an hour or so and updating you if and when they are received, it’s absolutely fine. While you can get pretty much everything you would want to get from Facebook on the app, there are a fair few hoops to

jump through to get there. Screen after screen of jumping back and forwards just to get to the one pertinent place on the social network you wanted to be isn’t exactly an experience that lends itself to ease of use, even if the rest of the experience is relatively simple. Then there’s the oft-missing notifications you weren’t even aware you have until you log in using more traditional, home computer-based methods. It doesn’t make the whole thing broken so to speak, but it does mean there’s a chance of missing an important message or update – they do sometimes happen on Facebook, surprisingly. On one hand Facebook For Android is perfectly fine – good, even – as it does what it sets out to do. But the fact it isn’t as flawless as you would expect, what with it being made by Facebook itself, is a huge let down and drags the whole app down somewhat. It would be incredibly harsh to write the whole thing off because “it’s not perfect”, but there’s no ignoring the fact our expectations were not totally met. Recommended, but could – and should – be a lot better.


■ x x

■ The app’s interface will feel familiar to those who already use Facebook

■ The app works well but it could have been quite a bit better


Android

Social networking

Price: Free Developer: Twitter, Inc

Twitter

Say hello to the ‘new’ new media Twitter, in case you’re still somehow unaware, is the social media phenomenon of the last couple of years. It allows users to post quick snippets of up to 140 characters on anything they want to talk about, linking to sites, showing pictures or videos etc. You would be forgiven for thinking that sounds a bit pointless, or boring, but the simple fact of the matter is Twitter has been taken up by the internet-savvy generation to such a degree that the service has genuinely changed the world around it. Twitter users have had a hand in breaking news stories before mainstream media organisations were even aware of them, they’ve helped protests and campaigns keep their momentum up, they’ve even had a hand in bringing about revolutions. It’s a fair step up from Facebook’s poke. Anyway, the casual Twitter user isn’t likely to be bringing down the government any time soon, but they will still need a method with which to access their feed, post their thoughts/links and the like and generally converse with followers and those they are following. The official Twitter client provides a highly functional, if admittedly basic, app that’s great at doing exactly what you would

■ x x

■ Using the official Twitter client means that you know you’re in safe hands ■ You can perform the functions you’d expect from the app


hope it does. The design is streamlined enough to allow for quick navigation, and most features from the full version of the service are present – we didn’t find a way to view which users have retweeted your messages, however. It isn’t all hunky dory though, as sometimes it can take a while for messages to appear on your feed when manually updating, and we found a few times direct (private) messages simply didn’t show up, at least not in a timely fashion, even though they had definitely been sent. These are minor concerns though, and the sort of thing the active development team at Twitter HQ is sure to be beavering away at in order to fix – updates are fairly regular. If you’re the kind of person who isn’t willing to stray into the realms of unofficial clients, preferring the safety net of knowing the company that developed the site made the app you are using, Twitter is perfect for the job. Yes you can get extra bells, whistles, specialisations and tweaks on other clients, but for the basic, straightforward tasks of tweeting, reading tweets and the allimportant re-tweeting, the official Twitter client will serve you well.


Social networking

■ As Foursquare becomes more popular, you’ll find more people using it

Android

■ Find people local to you and see what they are up to

Price: Free Developer: Foursquare Labs, Inc

Foursquare

The new mayor of Android Foursquare is a location-based social network tool, allowing users to update friends and others that they have ‘checked in’ at countless locations the world over. They are awarded points for doing so, which can be turned into badges and even leading to becoming ‘mayor’ of a location, if they check in to a single place frequently enough over the course of 60 days. It’s a perfect fit for smartphones, so it’s no surprise to see it available for free on Android. Users can check quickly and easily for nearby locations available for check-in, and the app uses GPS functionality for added precision. Streets, houses, individual rooms – you can check-in to them all with a couple of taps, so long as your connection (and the Foursquare server) is up and running. But it’s not all fleeting silliness on a grand scale – there are benefits to using the service and cultivating your mayoral influence. A quick tap of the ‘Specials’ button brings up a list of local landmarks (usually businesses) that offer a reward for being mayor of that particular place. It can be a monthly prize, 20 per cent off your bill at a restaurant, free pizza and a host of other things – it’s useful to keep an eye on, and encourages you to actually keep using the service. Well played, Foursquare Labs… Some users report issues with the app either not picking up nearby locations, or acknowledging them then claiming to be too far away to check in when pressed. While it’s fair to bear these criticisms and issues in mind, we experienced no such problems using the service. It might be the app itself, it might be an issue

■ The ‘Specials’ service is a great way to reward users and encourage people to keep on using Foursquare

with the network provider, it might be the smartphone device – but while it’s good to bring up a reported issue, it’s equally fair to point out that we didn’t experience it. In our view Foursquare, as a service, is likely to either merge with something grander – Facebook, or Google+ - or simply fall by the wayside. But that really doesn’t matter right now, as it’s up and running with millions of users across the globe. The app works very well; it’s simple to use, covers everything and only rarely suffers problems – though it receives regular updates. And the actual ‘game’ of Foursquare itself? Well, it can be maddeningly addictive, and you will be annoyed when someone steals your mayorship from a local landmark. Or pub.


Android

Social networking

LinkedIn

Price: Free Developer: LinkedIn

A social network for professionals The LinkedIn service is useful for professionals of a wide variety, allowing people to keep in touch with contacts on a professional level, rather than the usual ‘mates and acquaintances’ approach. There have been unofficial versions available for a while, but the free, official LinkedIn app is now available to all Android users. The app itself is functional and very quick, with sleek menus offering you everything you would want out of the service. Contacts can easily be searched for or scrolled through, messages and pending links are easy to access – easier, in fact, than the browser version of LinkedIn – and there are even related news headlines to tide you over. It’s all very good, but there are security and privacy concerns in the most recent version of the app, with passwords stored on your device in plain text and contact details raided by the app without the user’s prior consent. These issues might not bother you in the slightest though – but bearing the caveats in mind, the LinkedIn app is very good indeed.

■ The app is easy to use, although beware of some security concerns


■ LinkedIn will recommend other people you may know

Price: Free Developer: Bump Technologies, Inc

Bump

Next up: grind

It sounds like the kind of futuristic babble you would hear on Tomorrow’s World: bump fists with another smartphone user to share contact details, photos and apps instantly. It’s a shame the real version of this concept is more gimmicky than it first seems. The registered ‘bump’ is merely the phone reacting to being jolted, and the transfer of details can be done just as quickly via Bluetooth. It’s the future, but not as we expected it. Bump makes sharing some things, like apps, that little bit easier than it normally would be. But for its main draw – sharing photos and contact details – it really is little more than a gimmick. The app itself works fine, though it would be nice to be able to share music on Android, and functionally speaking there are no real issues (except for a lack of ‘select all’ option when choosing contacts to share). But that has to be balanced against the need for such an app – and there really isn’t huge need for this.


■ Although the app works, you have to wonder if you need it

■ The ability to share photos is nice, but it’s really just a gimmick

Social networking

Tapatalk Forum App

Android

Price: £1.81/$2.95 Developer: Quoord Systems Limited

All your forum arguments together in a single app Forums have taken a back seat in the modern internet, but they are still frighteningly popular with those wanting to discuss, share, debate and, well – argue – online. Tapatalk is one of those simple ideas we all wish we’d come up with: it gives users the ability to access 10,000+ forums directly via the app. This means any messing about with browser or mobile functionality is negated and we can discuss (and argue) to our heart’s content. As well as being a great idea it helps that Tapatalk works very well indeed. It’s quick, simple to navigate, uncluttered and doesn’t need any real expertise to find many forums you’re looking for. Not every forum is supported, but that’s more an issue with the forums themselves than the app. Some have criticised Tapatalk for charging users to access free forums, and it does admittedly feel a little cheeky. But the positives far outweigh this negative, and the nominal fee charged to gain access to a lot of forums you frequent in a simple, easy-to-manage way is worth every penny.

■ It may seem unfair to have to pay for access to free forums, but we think it’s worth the price


■ Navigating your way around the app and the forums is simple

RomeoLive

Price: £2.61/$4.26 Developer: Oliver Blasnik

Gay dating on the go

Dating sites are getting to the point of being ubiquitous, so it’s no surprise to see apps popping up supporting individual companies. RomeoLive is such a thing, supporting the GayRomeo men’s dating site. Though it isn’t officially supported by the ‘proper’ site, users with accounts on GayRomeo can download RomeoLive and use their existing log-in details to get online. Once the app is up and running, the service can be used just like you would do through a browser, with full access to chat and messaging functionality along with the ability to check out other users’ profiles. Exiting the app keeps it running until you log out, meaning you can (and will, from our experience) receive messages that you will be notified of through the Android pull-down menu. Functionally it’s spot-on, but it does seem a bit cheeky to charge for a gateway to a site that is generally free to use. As such, RomeoLive comes recommended, but with the condition you have to be willing to pay – though a free, 24-hour trial is available via the developer’s website.


■ The app is really just a gateway to the GayRomeo men’s dating site

■ You can browse people’s personal details, which go into quite a bit of depth


Android

Social networking

Price: £4.92/$8.00 Developer: Noah Seidman

Shady SMS 2.0

A pricey way to keep your secrets

Price: £1.22/$2.99 Developer: iCorpsOnline

iCorps: Pocket Reference Is it an ooh-rah or a boo-rah?

If you need an app that can hide details from the prying eyes of others – we’re not here to judge, some people do want or need that service – then Shady SMS may be the answer to your prayers. It is basically a completely hidden SMS client – inaccessible but through dialling a personalised code, and all but invisible in the phone itself. It is reasonable to raise issue with the relatively high cost of the app, but if privacy and security matters to you a great deal it’s a fine app for purpose, but it is certainly not an impulse buy.

iCorps: Pocket Reference offers the ability to visit the iCorpsOnline forum on the go – but that’s not the main function. No, this is more of an in-depth and robust reference tool for all things Marines. Need to check what weaponry is used in combat? Need to know the Marines ranks? Badges? Keep up to date on Marines news? This app really does cover a lot of ground and is interesting both to service and non-service personnel.

■ IKeep things secret with this SMS app


■ Learn about the Marines on the go


Price: £1.84/$2.99 Developer: ProBoards, Inc

Price: Free Developer: DKIT Android Ltd

ProBoards

LED Scroller 3

Limited choice, but still a good app ProBoards offers users the ability to browse forums that use the ProBoards software in a single app. New forums can be added, suggestions taken and existing forums searched for – it’s all very user friendly, and handy as ProBoards forums can be tricky on mobile browsers. There’s no free option though, so no way to check if a forum is usable on the app before you buy it. Having said that, other apps don’t offer ProBoards’ vast and impressive functionality. ■ Access ProBoard forums while mobile



Probably not one to spend money on, though We can’t argue with the functionality of LED Scroller 3, as it’s perfectly fit for its intended purpose. Users can edit scroll speed, what the text says, its colour and how big it is (though this is limited to ‘big or not’) as well as a couple of other bits. There isn’t much else to say beyond it’s free and it works, so it is fine in that regard. While the app is free, it costs £1.70 to remove adverts – this is entirely a personal decision, though we wouldn’t exactly rush to put our money down on such a throwaway program. ■ Scroll your LED text for free


Social networking

Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: End Of Time Studios, LLC

Forum Runner

Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: Jon Fimek

Try before you buy

Auto-responding: do you need it?

Yet another forum browsing app for your Android, allowing users to partake in discussions of every topic under the Sun. For a small entry price (a free version is available with limited features) thousands of forums can be accessed from one enclosed app. It’s simple to navigate and easy to search for the forum you are looking for – though they might not necessarily be supported, as this is the concern of the forum admins, not the app developers. It is functional, but suffers some crashes and other minor flaws that hold it back – the alternatives are better, for the price. ■ A few bugs stop this app reaching its full potential


TXT MSG Away

TXT MSG Away automatically sends a response to any texts received when switched on, informing the recipient that you are not available to text them back. An interesting idea, though not one we see a great deal of necessity for. A free version is available, though this lacks some features like the ability to customise your response text. Either way, both free and paid versions work well and do what they set out to do. ■ Set up an automatic response

Price: Free Developer: OneLouder Apps

Price: Free Developer: Seesmic

Choosing a Twitter client is hard

A social media menagerie

Tweetcaster

Another excellent alternative to the Twitter client, Tweetcaster brings with it a wide array of features and one of the most simple, yet genius touches – tweets related to you are a different colour to other ones. Simple, and brilliant. But it’s not just one feature – you can ‘zip’ those you don’t want to read without unfollowing, use multiple accounts (along with Facebook) and use the Twitlonger function, among many other features. Frankly, it’s brilliant and has very little in the way of problems – regularly updated and for free, this app is highly recommended. ■ A great Twitter app with some top features


Android


Seesmic

Seesmic allows users to manage multiple social networking accounts at the same time – Twitter, Google Buzz and Facebook join a few others in making this a robust and full-featured app. It’s impossible to list everything Seesmic does in such a small space, but safe to say, it does most of what you could want it to do when it comes to Twitter. Facebook and other services have some issues, but this is basically a Twitter app, so that’s to be expected. ■ Seesmic really only works with Twitter


Android

Social networking

Price: Free Developer: AOL

Price: Free Developer: CyberAgent, Inc

Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: Bostone Consulting

Price: Free Developer: 10centAPPS

The idea to cover a number of messenger services – that include Google Talk and Facebook chat, for example – along with Foursquare and Twitter compatibility and the ability to send free text messages (with some stipulations) makes AIM a very interesting prospect. Unfortunately this app suffers some annoying bugs and issues that stop it from being truly great.

Blog editing and uploading software for users of the Ameba blogging service, this app lets you blog on the go. In theory, we think you'd agree, that this a great concept for an app. However, the original site and the app are completely written and presented in Japanese, so if you haven't got the first clue about the language or the characters that represent it, ignore this.

Droidin Pro is a functional Linkedin client that allows users to browse the world of professional contacts with ease on their smartphones. Perfect for revising before a job interview. While a great idea, it has however since been usurped by Linkedin’s own app – something just as smooth and functional, and also available for free. Droidin Pro is now, as a result, redundant.

Easy Birthday Reminder really is just that – you import your contacts' details (including date of birth) and Facebook friends and it will automatically set up birthday and anniversary reminders for you. It works near perfectly and takes a lot of hassle out of setting up your own reminders. An ad-free version is available for £1.22/$1.99.

AIM

Ameba


Droidin Pro



Easy Birthday Reminder


Price: Free Developer: AdaptiveBlue

Price: £2.99/$4.88 Developer: Loky

Price: £0.60/$.0.97 Developer: The App Factory

Price: £1.76/$2.87 Developer: datayeah!

A similar concept to Foursquare, GetGlue allows users to ‘check in’ and tell the world what they're currently up to, such as watching TV shows and movies in order to be awarded badges and other prizes, as well as discover new shows, music and so on. The app works well, but is sometimes can be a little slow and the selection of options available can be a bit limited.

This is a privacy app, which allows users to hide text messages and files – as well as some other functions – behind a pin-protected wall on their phones. It’s a good app – though not perfect (why is Loky itself not hidden?) – but still very much worth the entrance fee. The ‘shake to close’ feature is borderline genius, so that you can quickly hide what you were up to.

MySpace Pro is, quite obviously, a version of the social networking site MySpace for your Android smartphone. And that’s about it. We’re not sure why you’re expected to pay just under a pound/dollar for the privilege of uploading the Pro version when the site itself is free to use on the internet, and the waning popularity of MySpace will put some off. It’s a functional app, however.

MyTumblr takes away the hassle of trying to navigate the wealth of Tumblr blogs through regular mobile internet browsers, bringing everything together in this easy to use app. Highly functional and feature-rich, it’s very good indeed. A lack of animated image/gif support is one of the very few bad points to highlight. A free, ad-supported version is also available.

GetGlue


Loky

MySpace Pro



MyTumblr


Price: £0.92/$1.50 Developer: MJRAndroid

Price: £1.76/$2.87 Developer: Levelup Studio

Price: Free Developer: Doan Ly

Price: £0.91/$1.47 Developer: MOBiSTERS

Have you ever wanted your Facebook friends to be shown to you in a… pink… zebra… way? Put simply, this let's you view Facebook pages that have a pink zebra stripe to them. Well, if yes then you can pay less than a pound/dollar for the privilege. Pink is an odd concept for an app, perfectly acceptable as an idea, but questionable as to whether it should be charging for what is, basically, a reskin.

Plume is a fantastic Twitter client that brings a whole wealth of functionality to your vanilla Tweeting experience. This Premium version removes the adverts from the free one, so it’s entirely a personal choice. You can even keep track of more than one account at once. Either way, Plume is absolutely excellent, allowing users to customise their experience a great deal.

The name of this app sort of gives it away, but Speed Dial is an application that allows users to assign shortcuts to dial selected phone numbers. It’s very easy to use and works exactly how it’s supposed to, with no real surprises or bonus extras that stretch the app beyond its single unique-selling point. It would be nice if it informed you who you were speed dialling, though.

While it’s true you can just draw things out from the pro keyboard on your Android, Symbols makes the whole process a lot easier as it comes with pre-made textart. Ascii characters are arranged in specific ways to make them look like faces and other things, useful for posting to social networks. Not one for work communication then.




Pink (Zebra)

Plume Premium

Speed Dial

SymbolsKeyboard & TextArt Pro


Price: £0.61/$0.98 Developer: Ipthing LLC

Price: £3.06/$4.94 Developer: All Around Applications

Price: Free Developer: Tumblr

Price: £0.99/$1.60 Developer: James O’Brien

Text Styler adds the ability to use new fonts and include more images to your basic text editing, meaning you can post more interestinglooking things to social networks and texts. Unfortunately we found recipients pointing out they couldn’t see the new text style on their end, rendering it a bit pointless. Free alternatives are also available, so you should give this app a miss.

Over three pounds/four dollars for the privilege of being able to maliciously interfere with someone else’s phone, by sending them too many texts too quickly for their handset to handle? While the developer clearly states it is not intended for this use, the fact is you can do that with it as that exact use is ultimately what it was designed for. Not recommended at all.

Modify, post and browse Tumblr blogs with this official app. Unfortunately it’s riddled with problems, such as how it takes you back to the dashboard on reblogging. Hopefully the app will receive the updates it needs, because right now you’re better off using the mobile browser version on your Android, which is more convenient owing to the lack of bugs or problems.

While slightly better than the official app, Tumblroid still doesn’t quite offer the kind of smooth, functional experience we would hope for. You can browse, post and edit Tumblr blogs as expected, but there are numerous glitches – especially with image posting – that stop the experience from being a particularly pleasant one. Again, it's better to use your Android browser.

Text Styler


Textbomber 2.0


Tumblr

Tumblroid



Social networking

Android

Price: £0.66/$1.07 Developer: rwmthings

Price: £0.61/$0.98 Developer: TwistByte

Price: £1.22/$1.97 Developer: Crinus

Price: £1.00/$1.60 Developer: Devsmobile

If you’re the kind of lazy person who can’t be bothered to press a few buttons to check-in on Foursquare, then let Auto Check In press those virtual buttons and do it for you automatically. This paid version allows unlimited check-ins (a lite version is available), but there are issues with multiple check-ins when they are done one after the other, and other problems hold it back.

The inexorable rise of txt spk has left us with thousands of abbreviations and a lot of confusion. Fortunately, simple apps like Chat Lingo exist to help – search through around 4,000 abbreviations to find their meanings or how to abbreviate common phrases, add your own, bookmark, copy and paste – it’s very good indeed and will help you cut through the gobbledygook out there.

A simpler way of adding events to Google Calendar, along with adding contact details. It's pricey for something you can do anyway, but there’s no denying it makes creating events and adding everyone you need to remember to said event a lot simpler and quicker. The clear format is a strength and although it doesn't justify the price, it makes the app a joy to use.

Users of Formspring – the questions and answers website – should look into Droidspring as a functional alternative to the mobile browser version of the site. The mobile nature lends itself well to the quick burst format of Formspring and while some issues really need to be mended with updates, this is a solid way of answering all the questions thrown your way.

Auto Check In


Chat Lingo Pro

Contact Event



Droidspring


Price: £0.61/$0.98 Developer: Crinus

Price: £1.22/$1.97 Developer: Itay Ma Sarano

Price: Free Developer: Roger Reed

Price: £0.61/$0.98 Developer: Geeky Friends

This is a bit of an odd one – Easy Sync allows you to (easily) keep updated as to your Facebook friends and their ever-changing picture uploads. It performs its task well so should earn itself a high rating but then you have to consider Easy Sync costs money to do something that you can get other apps to do completely free of charge. Hard to recommend for that reason.

Even more expensive than the already-too expensive Easy Sync, FContactsSync also offers users the ability to keep their contacts' Facebook photos up to date. Paying £1.22/1.97 for this is completely pointless though, not just because it's a fairly trite app to begin with but because there are other apps available that do this for free. There is no need for this app.

Feep is a Facebook client that brings everything together in one simple widget. While it works exactly how it says it should, the fact it’s so thoroughly ugly makes it somewhat of a nightmare to navigate – or even look at – on your Android. Updates can fix this, but while the user interface remains as cluttered and awkward to get around as it is, it's good rather than great.

This app allows users to create their own custom avatars in place of actual pictures for their phone contacts, with faces, clothes, hair and accessories all customisable to different degrees. If you have an (admittedly limited) creative itch, we can’t argue with Geeky Avatar for a fun way to freshen up your contacts list. An ad-supported free version is also available.

Easy Sync


FContactsSync


Feep


Geeky Avatar


Price: £1.76/$2.84 Developer: Kazaloo

Price: £0.61/$0.98 Developer: Great Lakes Development Group, LLC

Price: £0.61/$0.98 Developer: Joansoft

Price: £0.53/$0.85 Developer: Vincent Dubois

The name says it all, really – Kazaloo is an app with which users can chat to others and share photos. The free version is ad-supported and doesn’t allow downloads of images. It works okay most of the time – some issues are sure to be sorted through updates – and for anyone looking for a social chat client, it’s definitely worth a try.

A privacy app allowing you to hide who is calling you, Little Black Book fails in some startling ways. It’s easy to get around the non-existent security and find all the records that are meant to be hidden, meaning you actually have no privacy at all. Worse still, the app does nothing to stop texts from being shown, which undermines what its sole use should be. Terrible.

Essentially a locator device, Mapus Pro allows users to tell others where they are, find out where friends are and even locate a lost phone. In theory, it would be a useful app for a big night out (especially in an unfamiliar area) but unfortunately the experience is marred by a fair few crashes and a very slow upload/ download rate. A good idea that just needs more work on it.

My Birthdays is another app that ties in with your contacts and Facebook account to provide a one-stop reference – with reminders – of friends’ birthdays. It works okay enough, but some issues with adding photos persist and sometimes (though not always) it can be a massive battery drain. Updates will hopefully fix this as this could be useful for those with a lot of contacts.



Kazaloo – Chat & Photo Swap


Little Black Book


Mapus Pro

My Birthdays

Price: £1.22/$1.97 Developer: Coderine

Price: £0.92/$1.48 Developer: Apps By That Dude

Price: Free Developer: Alex Beggs

Price: £1.84/$2.97 Developer: Smittyware.com

We had mixed experiences with Photobeam – it’s meant to be a one-touch upload solution for your images, allowing you to put them on Facebook, Flickr, ShutterFly and a few other photo sites quickly and easily. Sometimes it worked fine, other times it seemed to ignore our requests. Not recommended in its current state but hopefully updates will knock it into better shape.

Yes, as you might have guessed from the name, this is an automatic poking app for Facebook users. Poke King can be set up to poke and re-poke friends constantly throughout the day at whatever rate you desire, if that’s the annoying kind of person that you are. A free version is available – this novelty app isn’t the kind of thing you really want to be paying money for.

This app allows PlayStation3 owners to check up on their PSN accounts on the move, seeing trophy levels and statuses, as well as being able to edit their own status. It does exactly what it sets out to do and barely has any issues – a no-ads pay version is available but you're more likely to use this in short bursts rather than extended periods, the free version is perfectly adequate.

Socializer is an events organising app, allowing users to organise, view and indicate attendance to a plethora of different events around the world. It doesn’t do anything beyond what you could do via the internet-based browser, however, but it is functional. It's a good idea and has been well implemented. Our main complaint is that it's a fraction too expensive for what it is.




Photobeam Pro


Poke King

PS3 Friends

Socializer


Android

Sports

Sports

■ You can follow all your teams here ■ There’s a lot of ground that ESPN Score Center covers

It might be football, boxing, baseball or Formula 1. Whatever your sport of choice is, there’s definitely going to be apps that cover it and we’ve rounded up the best selection to keep you informed on the latest transfer talk or live scores from around the globe Top paid apps Soccer Scores Pro ★★★★★ Trackmaster ★★★★★ SportsTracker Pro ★★★★★

Top free apps ESPN Score Center ★★★★★ Live Scores ★★★★★ Formula1.com 2011 ★★★★★

Staff pick of the section ScoreMobile ★★★★★


MLB.com At Bat ★★★★★

Price: Free Developer: ESPN Inc

ESPN Score Center

ESPN’s app brings news, scores and standings to your mobile ESPN Score Center is a free app that allows the user to tune in to a variety of sporting events no matter where they are in order to access current scores and statistics. From basketball to cricket, baseball to hockey, ESPN Score Center delivers an easy-to-use user interface packed with features to make getting the latest information on a user’s favourite team simple and enjoyable. The backbone of the app is ESPN’s editorial content, which is streamlined for a mobile experience and made available to the user through personalised news feeds. The news can be tailored by the user according to which sports, leagues and teams they choose to add to their ‘myTeams’ list. The feed is updated on a minute-by-minute basis and delivers analysis, commentary and video direct from ESPN. Overall, ESPN Score Center delivers good functionality for zero cost and, as such, should be considered if you have broad sporting interests.


Sports

Android

Price: Free Developer: Yahoo! Sportacular

Live Scores

Media giant Yahoo! delivers a fast and free app to keep bang up to date with the latest sports scores from around the globe Live Scores from Yahoo! Sport is one of the Android Market’s best-reviewed applications, allowing the user to keep up to date with a wide-variety of sports from around the globe. Delivering statistical coverage of Major League Baseball, the National Football League, PGA Golf and NASCAR among many others, Live Scores grants live play-by-play updates, key statistics, news and scores, as well as allowing individuals to tailor the app to their liking with a comprehensive options menu. In short, it’s everything a sports fan could want and covers every conceivable angle. From tagging favourite teams for quick access, to viewing team pages and player profiles, Live Scores is designed to make checking up on your team’s progress significantly more efficient than opening a dedicated HTML webpage. A good example of this is the app’s ‘trending games’ feature – which can be accessed instantly and is based on a popularity ratings system – that helpfully promotes exciting and current games so they can be accessed by a simple tap of the screen. In addition to delivering live coverage of major sporting events, Live Scores also delivers a comprehensive suite of past statistics – be that player, team or season – as well as information on future

events in most sports categories. This not only allows users to analyse a player or team’s performance during the game but also across the season, allowing them to see who is in form and out of it, as well as who they are playing next. Relevant sporting news is dealt with by a sport-by-sport menu option, which once pressed, proceeds to open a news feed detailing all relevant stories to the sport or individual team. This is a handy way to filter news and is undeniably one of the app’s best features, allowing users to find out if their favourite player is being transferred during the close season for example, or if the deal fell through at the last minute. It helps that news is gathered from a variety of media outlets such as ESPN, Fox, CBS and Yahoo! itself. In terms of usability, the app loads quickly, offers a clean and minimalist user interface and provides a variety of alert options to notify the user of an event’s progress. There are a lot of options yet Live Scores delivers them without feeling cluttered or complicated to use. Considering the app is free on the Android Market, Live Scores should be on the wishlist of all sports fans.


■ Given it’s free, there’s a stunning amount of depth to this sports app

■ Whether it’s basketball or baseball, Live Scores brings you the latest on every sport you follow

■ Setting up alerts means Live Scores does the legwork letting you know what’s happening rather than the other way round

■ Now that the Premiership season is in full flow, this app will no doubt come in handy every Saturday afternoon


Android

Sports

Price: Free Developer: Formula1.com

Formula1.com 2011

Stay in pole position for all the motor racing news and statistics Streaming real-time data from the official Formula 1 Management’s Technical Centre, the Formula1.com 2011 application for Android is a one-stop shop for everything F1. Everything from driver numbers, names and positions, through lap times, sector times and straight line speeds, and onto circuit data such as air and track temperature, humidity, air pressure and wind speed, this app is statistical heaven and takes the user a step closer to the real event like never before. Indeed, the information available through Formula1.com 2011 is quite staggering – especially considering the app is free in the Android Market – and excitingly is the exact same information supplied to individual teams during the race. As well as the aforementioned statistics, which are neatly displayed by a selection of colourful charts and tables, other handy information is also provided, such as lap counts, session countdowns and track status indicators, and practice race and qualifying results can be viewed within seconds simply by launching the app. As well as covering all the live events and races comprehensively, Formula1.com 2011 also delivers a host of information about the Formula 1 season in general, coming with an in-built race timetable with countdown timer, full championship standings (for both driver and manufacture) and an in-depth season calendar. This allows users to easily and efficiently track the progress of their

favourite driver or team, as well as plan for future races and see which venue is hosting. One of the app’s best features, however, is an in-built live commentary system. Here, when viewing race statistics, users can simply tap a ‘commentary’ button to be instantly taken to a live feed covering the race’s action. This is updated continuously with tweet-style messages, telling the user of any positional changes, pit stops, retirements, collisions, team orders and manoeuvres. These short bullet-point updates are perfectly suited to such an intense, high velocity sport and deliver instant knowledge to the user. Using Formula1.com 2011 is simple, with a matte black user interface and colourful, high-resolution icons that make tapping and swiping intuitive. Information loads quickly too, with no delays as with full webpages as they open with their inevitable advertisements. For these facts alone, it is hard not to recommend Formula1.com 2011. There is, however, one pre-requisite for using the app – users must sign in to the official Formula1.com website. This process is quick and free, but if not undertaken, then the app will cease to work after one Grand Prix weekend. Even so, it’s recommended for Formula 1 fans due to its incredible coverage of the sport.


■ This is how in-depth the Formula 1 app gets, which is brilliant for fans

■ The colourful graphs help this app find a slick and sexy identity of its own, and it helps that it loads so quickly too


■ Though unlikely to appeal to casual fans, its ease of use helps Formula 1 followers find the info they want and quickly

■ By far the best feature is the in-built live commentary, which echoes BBC’s text coverage of sports events

Sports

Android

Price: £1.70/$2.78 Developer: NorApps

Soccer Scores Pro

One of the foremost football tracking apps No matter which major football (or soccer) team you support around the globe, Soccer Scores Pro allows you to instantly access key information and statistics on them in seconds. Covering almost every major league in the world from the British Premier League, through the German Bundesliga and Italian Serie A, and onto Major League Soccer and the Spanish La Liga, this app allows information to be accessed on various levels, be that league, team or player. It comes with an in-built alerts system that the user can customise to notify them whenever a goal is scored or a match begins and ends, as well as a handy ‘favourites’ tab that they can fill with their supported teams for quick access. Soccer Scores Pro is designed to keep the user at the cutting-edge of all footballrelated action and news. This fact is superbly demonstrated by the streamlined user interface, which offers quick access to live scores, match statistics – including team lineups, player stats, yellow and red cards and substitutions – league tables, fixtures and top scorers for every major team and league in the world. If you live in England but your second team is Porto, then checking on their progress couldn’t be easier.

As well as live scores, Soccer Scores Pro also comes with a decent news tab, which is filtered dependent of which team or league the user is currently viewing. While holding no affiliation with the BBC, Sky Sports or ESPN, the news is current (updated every hour) and sourced from major news outlets, providing short bursts of copy with low-resolution pictures of any breaking or trending story. From injuries to transfers and suspensions, the news feed covers them all and is neatly integrated into the user interface. In terms of usability the app is slick, and providing you have decent network coverage works just fine when out and about, taking little longer than a couple of seconds to load any content. Needless to say, if you are in Wi-Fi-enabled area, the content loads instantaneously. Some additional smart features also help it stay one step ahead of the competition, such as the ability to comment on matches with other Soccer Score Pro users, as well as its customisable push notifications. If you then throw in the app’s low price – currently £1.70 – and option to theme the interface to your liking, then Soccer Scores Pro becomes good value for money if football is your passion. Definitely worth seeking out.

Rating ★★★★★ ■ The news updates are sourced from a number of reliable places

■ Whether you’re a fan of Arsenal, Real Madrid, AC Milan or FC St. Pauli, this app has you covered… ■ The app’s interface is simple to follow and designed so users can get quick access to the information they want


Android

Sports

ScoreMobile for Android Is this really the ‘best sports app ever’?

Price: Free Developer: Score Media Ventures Inc

Featuring push notifications, live scores, statistics and current video content from the world of sport – including Major League Baseball, Tour de France cycling, Mixed Martial Arts among others – ScoreMobile is a neat app that helps users stay bang up to date with their favourite team or league no matter where they are. Offering streaming news, videos and opinion from a range of news outlets, the app makes getting instant sporting information hassle free. In addition, smart features like Share allow users to send any hot news story, interview or gossip directly to their friends inapp, be that via email, text message or on a social-networking site like Twitter, Facebook and Google+. This last feature is especially welcome in such an app and makes sharing exciting information with other sports fans a simple process of tapping on the screen a couple of times. For an app that has been downloaded over one million times, it is not surprising that the user interface is slick and the production values high, with ScoreMobile easily contending for the best sports app crown.

■ The video content lifts this above just another ‘sports stats’ app


■ It’s a slick app with a high-quality finish, especially for a free offering

Price: £5.99/$9.73 Developer: sportstracklive.com

SportsTracker Pro Stay on track with ease

Powered by your handset’s GPS, SportsTracker Pro is a physical exercise app that lets you record, analyse and upload any run, cycle ride, ski, sail or gliding you may undertake to work out. Designed to track your personal performance and cardio fitness over an extended period, it aims to improve your fitness and ‘beat your personal bests’ with a handful of good features and statistics. The suite of trackers is indeed impressive, with SportsTracker Pro capable of recording your speed, distance, time, altitude, heart rate, breathing rate, skin temperature and cadence among many others (although certain high-end features such as skin temperature require purchase of extra equipment). In addition, the app enables you to record custom tracks and replay them on Google Maps, delivers real-time zoom-able charts for route planning and even keeps you updated on the weather so you don’t get soaked at that next event. It more than earns its price.


■ Whether it’s gliding or skiing, SportsTracker Pro has you covered

■ It’s really a workout app but covers many speed disciplines too

Sports

Price: Free Developer: Lineten ltd

Arseblog

Price: £1.40/$2.29 Developer: mydroidsoft

The official app for Arsenal Football Club

The end of traditional golf scorecards?

The official Android app for the Arsenal Football Club blog, Arseblog mobile enables supporters to read up on all the latest news, transfer gossip and opinion from players, staff and fellow fans. The application’s homescreen is laid out in a tile arrangement, and provides one-click access to the blog itself, an Arsenal news feed, the official Arseblog podcast, a live user blog and dedicated columnists section, where fans and staff give their own two-pence on the life and times of being a ‘Gooner’. For any diehard Arsenal fan this is a must-have, if not for the opinion, then for the rapidly updated team news. ■ We’d love to see similar apps for other footie teams


Android

Easy Scorecard Pro An app aimed solely at golfers, Easy Scorecard Pro is designed to remove the need for a traditional cardboard scorecard, in favour of a purely digital one on your Android phone. Allowing for 9, 18, 27 and custom hole scoring for more than four players, as well as the ability to track USGA/EGA/CONGU handicaps and export the card to email or Facebook et al, the app works well and is easy to use from the very first tee-off to the final putt. ■ It’s essentially a digital golf scorecard


Price: £6.10/$9.99 Developer: MLB Advanced Media, LP

Price: £6.10/$9.99 Developer: Trackaroo

Probably the best baseball app on Android

Into motor sports? Then this will rev your engine…

MLB.com At Bat 11

A great way to follow your favourite Major League Baseball team, MLB.com At Bat 11 delivers a way to watch live games, access video highlights, check live scorecards as well as current news, listen in to home and away broadcasts and track the action pitch-by-pitch. At Bat 11 also enables users to access a video archive that is searchable by player, team or keyword, and comes with its very own scorecard widget for the user’s homescreen. The production values are great and the price tag is not much to ask of hardcore baseball fans of all ages. ■ The production values justify the higher price for this app

Overall Rating ★★★★★

Trackmaster

Trackdays are on the rise in Britain currently, with more and more people getting involved in the thrills of motor racing. Now users can record their laptimes on their Android handset with Trackmaster. This is because the app features the ability to record a vehicle’s position, speed, acceleration, altitude, bearing, absolute time, elapsed times and total lap time. Data can then be viewed in a series of graphs and/or shared with others via email, or the major social networks. ■ Motor racing fans will love the depth here


Android

Sports

Price: £14.99/$24.56 Developer: Soft Pauer

F1 2011 Timing App Unprecedented mobile access to F1 action and stats This is one of the best Formula 1 apps on Android right now. Featuring real-time track positioning on a fully interactive 3D map, selectable cameras, live timing data, live leaderboards, driver tracking, live text commentary and a comprehensive event counter and notifications system, the F1 2011 Timing App seems to justify its high price tag with a smorgasbord of high-end features and tools. If you’re serious about Formula 1, you can’t go wrong here. ■ The high price means only fans should invest


Price: £2.45/$3.99 Developer: Strike Labs

Xercise

For people who are serious about working out An app dedicated to CrossFit enthusiasts, Xercise delivers a selection of tools and logs to make the most out of each workout. Logs can be imported into the app via XML, the application’s main website or by RSS feed, as well as constructed in-app – examples include creating rounds for time and max effort lifts. Tools include a stopwatch, tabata timer, countdown timer and GPS run tracker, as well as a series of demonstration videos showing most CrossFit movements. A niche but effective app designed by a CrossFit enthusiast for those looking to stay in shape on the go. ■ There are lots of tools to help you exercise


Price: £3.06/$4.99 Developer: Trackaroo

Price: £3.06/$4.99 Developer: Golf Frontier LLC

A powerful tool to track and analyse drag races on your Android handset

A versatile range finder

Dynomaster

Golf Frontier

With the rise of GPS-enabled smartphones, various GPS golf apps have become available. Golf Frontier is one of the Android Market’s better examples, delivering accurate measurements for shots over a whopping 14,800 courses worldwide. With fully interactive hole maps, a one-touch interface for measuring shot distances, automatic hole transition and sensitivity adjustment, this is recommended for keen golfers.

Keen dragster? Well then Dynomaster for Android is worth your consideration. The app is a dedicated dyno and drag racing app that delivers quarter-mile and custom ETs, data replay, a power calculator, dyno graphs, satellite and Street View maps, a G-meter, custom speedos and social networking connectivity. The package, which retails at a modest £3.06, is pretty comprehensive, and the app works perfectly, providing you have GPS coverage on your mobile. Dynomaster also does not require any calibration, and statistics can be exported to Microsoft Excel or compatible software for analysis and reference. ■ Drag racing is niche but this app covers it well



■ Interactive holes will help golf players


Sports

Android

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: Justin Hopper

Price: £2.45/$3.99 Developer: Golf Swing Analysis

Track various tournaments and leagues on Android

Improve your golf swing with Adam Scott

iTrack MMA

Similar to the MMA Underground app, iTrack MMA allows users to follow mixed martial arts from their phone. Covered series include the UFC, WEC, MFC and BFC. News, events, betting lines, statistics, fighter profiles and fight cards are all available through the app, as is a calendar link, enabling users to log the dates of upcoming fights to ensure that they don’t miss them. iTrack MMA offers a great way to stay in the fight. ■ MMA fans will appreciate the calendar


ProVideos: Adam Scott This app allows users to analyse PGA Tour professional Adam Scott’s swing in an attempt to improve their own. The app comes with a range of videos showing Adam hitting various different shots, from 300-yard drives to green-side bunker pitches, all in high quality and super slow-motion. The high-speed camera really makes the difference here, as it allows users to carefully track his swing from start to finish, pausing at key points to evaluate his and their positioning. Compare your swing with Adam’s in one of the app’s best features. ■ This app can really help your golf swing


Price: £0.88/$1.44 Developer: Rob Knapen

Price: Free Developer: Eurosport

Track your dives with this handy app

Stay in the sporting loop with this new app

Dive Log Key

Eurosport.com

If you like deep sea diving, then Dive Log Key will help you record your exploits and adventures for future consultation. Essentially the app is a tracking device that helps its user record personal information, dive depths, dive sites and key statistics before exchanging them with other divers as a CSV file that can be used in a number of programs. There is no doubt that this is a niche application, but the good execution and clean styling at a reasonable price means that anyone with an interest in diving – deep sea or no – can get good functionality and great value from the software. ■ Though niche, it’s cheap and very slick


Eurosport’s pedigree in delivering sports news, reviews and commentary is well-founded, and it is something that is transferred well into this app. Offering up-to-date news, results, fixtures and tables from all current major sporting events, it delivers a zero-cost way to stay on top of sportrelated content. This is a well-designed app that should be considered seriously by anyone with a love of sport. ■ A great mix of news and commentary


Android

Sports

Price: Free Developer: the OTHER media

Price: Free Developer: BSkyB

ECB Cricket

Sky Sports News

The perfect app for cricket fans

Keep up to date with all the action

Cricket might be one of the sports that experiences more peaks and falls in popularity than any other, but ECB Cricket is at least consistent in quality. It has plenty of news and information from all corners of cricket, along with plenty of stats that can be called up on demand. The only letdown here is that it can be a little bit slow updating during matches, which means it’s not brilliant for live service but as a news database, this app is almost perfect. The ECB Cricket app could really prove to be an essential for fans of this game. ■ This app is a great news database


The free Sky Sports News app doesn’t have any real surprises or thrills in what it does. This is the sports equivalent of its bigger new brother. Which means you get a slick app that’s easy to navigate and crams in a ridiculous amount of sports info and news. It’s a shame there are no widgets available but as a one-stop sports app for all the news you need, this does the job with no fuss and it won’t cost you a single penny. ■ A great app that’s packed with sport


Price: Free Developer: Handmark

Price: Free Developer: Score Media Ventures

Goal.com

SportsTap

Stay connected to the world of football on the move Built off the back of one of the foremost websites for football news, reviews, highlights and commentary, Goal.com allows users to access the site's content in a streamlined, mobile format. Delivering live scores, player profiles, news and fixtures in a clean interface, Goal.com makes following your favourite side easy. Downloaded almost a million times, it's one of highest rated football tracking apps, delivering great functionality at zero cost. ■ It's easy to get the right football info with this app



A mobile portal to the world of sports news SportsTap acts as a portal to various news and statistical feeds from worldwide sports. Detailing news, stats, schedules and scores from the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, PGA, ATP, WTA and MLS among many others. Users can access current information on almost any sport as well as set up push notifications to alert them of key events. The design is simple and pages load quickly. SportsTap comes with its own Android widget that can be positioned on the handset’s homescreen for quicker updates. ■ SportsTap has the major sports covered


Sports

Price: £1.83/$2.96 Developer: V1 Sports

V1 Golf Premium

Price: £1.22/$1.97 Developer: Adept Mobile llc

Improve your golf swing

Get all the latest UFC and MMA news

Professional golfers make hitting the ball with great power and accuracy easy, when actually it requires great skill and technique. Luckily with this golf swing tool, amateurs of all levels can analyse the positioning and swing action from some of the world’s best players from the comfort of their smartphone. V1 Golf Premium delivers a host of highquality slow-motion videos detailing the swings from Lee Westward, Darren Clarke and Nick Price among others, as well as a series of drills to improve your swing. The app also allows you to record your own swing, edit the footage and upload it to social media sites like Facebook. ■ You can record and upload your swing


MMA Underground Check up on all the latest news from the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Mixed Martial Arts league. Delivering a news feed, fight cards and statistical search in a database of over 100,000 fighters, upcoming events log and access to a special ‘Underground’ forum, the app delivers the goods in an efficient way. Access the app’s various features via the menu bar and scroll through. A great app for UFC fans. ■ Comprehensive info on all fighters


Price: £1.22/$1.97 Developer: Paul Goldstein

Price: £.149/$2.40 Developer: Lee Jeary

Lower your scores with this GPS golf rangefinder

For those Sir Alex Ferguson wannabes

Skydroid Golf GPS

One of few standout golf GPS tracking tools, SkyDroid Golf GPS makes it easier than ever to select the right club and hit the green thanks to some refined tools. The app delivers GPScalculated distance for any green on any course worldwide, as well as any bunkers and hazards that may stand in your way. In addition, the app provides satellite views of every course, a shot-tracking feature and an easy-to-use interface, with courses downloaded by searching for their name. A cheaper way to judge shot distance. ■ The GPS helps you avoid hazards on the course


Android

Fantasy Premier Manager For those who have a fantasy football team using the official Premier League site, this app provides a way to manage your team on the move. It's great for those panic moments on Saturday when you've forgotten to update your team and kick-off is hours away. It's not so good that the app doesn't always let you log in and has some bugs which need stamping out. Great when it works but it's a shame this app can cause almost as much panic as it's supposed to solve. ■ Transfers can be tricky to action on the app


Android

Tools

Tools

■ The latest version of Flash Player is free and also runs noticeably smoother than its previous, older iterations

Price: Free Developer: Adobe Systems

Bulking up your Android by downloading the right tools is an essential part of looking after it. Playing videos, grabbing music and using voice search are just a few of the things made easier with the right apps. Here, we cover the best apps in the digital toolshed Top paid apps Smart Keyboard Pro ★★★★★ System Panel Pro ★★★★★ Titanium Backup Pro Key ★★★★★

Top free apps Flashplayer 10.3 ★★★★★ Voice Search ★★★★★ ROM Manager ★★★★★

Staff pick of the section Tasker ★★★★★


SetCPU For Root Users ★★★★★

Flash Player 10.3 The envy of iPhone users

Adobe Systems releases its latest version of Flash Player – 10.3 – which improves on many of the features that previous versions boasts. Most noticeably is how much smoother it runs, making 720p videos play fluidly, with barely a dip in the frame rate – however, the quality really fluctuates depending on your Android phone model across the 2.2 and 2.3 range. You’ll really notice the difference when running Flash-based games, making the action rocket along seamlessly and giving you perhaps the best reason to download it to date, if you haven’t done so already. There are other bug fixes and security enhancements in place – additions that mainly go unnoticed – but the slightly improved battery life is always welcome, as it now means you’ll get a lot more time watching your favourite videos before the whole thing shuts down. It is by no means perfect – some websites are still choppy, it takes up quite a bit of space and most annoyingly of all, it can’t be moved to your SD card – but overall it is a big, big improvement on the previous iteration. Smooth videos, longer-lasting battery and uncompromised browsing makes it a complete no-brainer when it comes to getting the best out of your Android phone experience – not to mention being the envy of every iPhone owner around the world. And the best bit? It’s free of charge.


Tools

Android

■ The speaker is clear and has no problem picking up what you’re saying

■ If Voice Search understands what you’re saying, it’ll make a huge difference to how easy it is to use your Android


Voice Search

■ Voice recognition technology isn’t quite there yet, so this app isn’t perfect

Something to shout about

■ Simple, stock phrases such as this is where Voice Search really stands out as a useful app

Voice Search is one of those oft-overlooked apps that can provide a huge amount of ease-of-access for your Android phone’s features – that is if it understands what you’re saying. Voice Search allows users to simply talk into the handset and navigate through their contacts, map applications, search engines and call people. However, much like other voice recognition software, the app is fallible. Asking Voice Search to hunt through Google for movie titles, such as Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, was met with positive results. However, looking for character actors, or offbeat phrases was met with bizarre interpretations of what was said. Voice Search’s technology runs through Google’s servers, which will now log up to two years of your voice commands in order to more precisely parse what you're saying, while also accessing a library of accents and contextual data to help it achieve accuracy. However, we found it less successful when using Voice Search with Google Maps. Searching for “Buntingford, Hertfordshire” resulted in the misinterpretation, “Banking Good Heart Picture”. More prominent locations weren’t so much an issue but anyone looking to easily find somewhere more rural may struggle to use the app. However, when it does work the time it saves typing is surprisingly high.

The default function on the app is voice search through Google search engine, however once installed you’ll find the voice prompt selectable next to a variety of features across your entire phone. You can customise voice commands to certain contacts, making it easier for Voice Search to accurately manoeuvre around your phone with your voice as a trusty guide. It is impressively put together, without any of the fuss other voice recognition software often gets bogged down with – so there’s no elaborate training exercise that has to be completed before the app is activated and you can get going. Voice Search can be a huge time saver and there’s no doubt it’s an incredibly intelligent piece of technology, which proves to be as impressive as it does useful. However, voice recognition and transcription software is yet to be perfected and so Voice Search faces the same problems discovered elsewhere with other software. It’s not faultless but Voice Search can prove to be a valuable app when used properly, potentially saving time and even helping out with complicated spellings. It all depends on the user’s voice but Voice Search is a worthy application and a valuable app for any Android phone.


Android

Tools

Price: £3.77/$6.14 Developer: Titanium Track

Titanium Backup Pro Key The secure root to backing up your data Titanium Backup Pro is an extremely advanced backup tool for root users, which comes with a friendly enough UI to ease in less-experienced Android owners who run root. It can backup and restore system data and user data to your SD card. As you open the app, details on how much space you have left on your phone is displayed at the bottom in a grid next to details on SD card storage. It’s designed to keep things simple when it comes to backing up the most important data on your Android mobile. It’s a dream to use for any advanced users with rooted Androids, allowing them to backup information within each app, making any mistakes made through flashing ROMs rectifiable instantly – especially with batch app restore. You can filter through your applications (with colouring and scheduling support), set weekly automatic back-ups, freeze apps and even restore system settings (such as Wi-Fi access point lists). A massively comprehensive back-up application, with the biggest pro being the ability to even backup market links on apps – which means, you can not only restore previously used apps, but also download their updates. There’s so much here that

■ x x

■ Back up the data on your phone and SD card to ensure you don't lose information ■ With this app you can restore your apps settings


many won’t even scratch the surface. A free version offers a huge amount of the features mentioned, but the Pro version contains vast amounts of advantages, including options such as multiple backups per app, batch verification, hypershell speed and the ability to send backups by email. For anyone who considers themselves an Android enthusiast, running root, then this demands to be downloaded immediately. You’ll be able to quickly and efficiently backup your most important data, supporting ROM downloads and flashing. Most impressive is how specific you can get with the data you wish to backup – a feature that makes it massively different to its Marketplace competitors. You can even backup user data within each app. Titanium Backup Pro is clearly designed for the most experienced users but has a lot of accessibility for those less knowledgeable with their root device. No matter what your skill level, this is a wonderful tool, with a huge amount of detailed features to offer its users. There isn’t a backup application like it on the Marketplace, so it is well worth a download today.


Tools

■ Quickly manage themes and back up your device

Android

■ By optimising your phone, you can save your battery life

■ Set the speed and performance levels of your device to get the best results ■ Downloading the latest upgrades to your phone is simple and quick to do, with this app

Price: Free Developer: ClockworkMod

ROM Manager A cleanup app for root users

ROM Manager is a simple, easy-to-use application for Android enthusiasts. ROM Manager is only for rooted devices but is indispensable for anyone looking to quickly manage their custom ROMs, themes and backing up the ROMs on your device. The main screen is easy to navigate, listing the different features available with the app, such as rebooting, checking for updates on your ROMs and downloading new ROMs. One of the better features with the app is the ability to backup any ROMs that you have, speedily transferring each of them onto your SD card. The UI is clean, easily understandable and makes it easy to navigate through your library, download new ROMs and backup existing ones. You can also find out about the latest upgrades and download them quickly. It’s an app that will appeal to a niche crowd but there’s for ROM enthusiasts, it’s one of the best ways of keeping track of your collection and making sure you stay on top of the latest ROM updates and releases. For the more advanced user, it makes the act of flashing your phone a complete doddle.


Price: £1.22/$1.98 Developer: MichaelHuang

SetCPU For Root Users The ultimate root app

If you have your Android device rooted (removing all software/firmware restrictions), then SetCPU is a performance-boosting app, that optimises your Android phone for the better. The app mainly saves battery life, boosting its performance significantly. The app changes your CPU settings (if the device is rooted) and places a widget on the homescreen that allows you to tweak the controls. Easy to use, you can adjust your minimum and maximum, set profiles and set a certain temperature for the CPU to reach, before it decreases the speed, making sure your phone stays cool at all times. The app is aimed at a niche market of Android buffs, but once you can optimise your phone to maximise its performance, then you’ll soon find yourself singing its praises. The UI is a little basic and takes some time to get used to, but SetCPU For Root Users is a must-have for any root users who take their phone’s performance seriously.


Android

Tools

Price: £1.76/$2.84 Developer: Dexilog

Smart Keyboard Pro The best way to type Most would agree that the Qwerty keyboard’s physical input far outweighs the interaction that touch-screen keyboards provide. That’s where Smart Keyboard Pro hopes to rectify the issue of lowresponse touch-screen typing. Once loaded onto your Android device, go into your settings and select it as you default keyboard. Once, done the multi-touch support makes fast typing a breeze, with no real lag issues that you get with standard keyboards. In much the same way as Qwerty keyboards work, each key has an alternative icon, which can be typed by holding the key down for slightly longer. It’s a small addition but one that nicely replicates the easy, free-flowing nature of physical phone keyboards. Different skins and layouts make the keyboard fully customisable and after some general tweaking it feels intuitive. There are spell check options and voice recognition among other options, making for the definitive keyboard app.


Price: £1.83/$2.95 Developer: NextApp Inc

System Panel App Killing (apps) in the name of… A slightly pricey task manager app on the marketplace but one that remains up-to-date and comprehensive in light of Android updates. The beauty of System Panel App isn’t just task killing but the swathe of features that explain which tasks should be shutdown and why. With the aim of preventing just randomly closing down applications to save battery life, the basic UI gives a breakdown of exactly the power-consuming properties of each app while they’re running. You can monitor all of your apps, viewing how much battery each one is using, allowing for more reasoned closing down. It’s not just the damage each app is causing to the battery you can view either, System Panel monitors the CPU and memory use of different apps, allowing you to optimise performance and speed. You can even uninstall applications via the app if you notice something pointless bringing down your phone’s performance. A smart, useful application, which stands above other task-killing apps with the sheer amount of options available.

Rating ★★★★★ ■ Although pricey, this app helps save battery life

■ Each key has an alternative icon when you hold it down for long enough

■ Smart Keyboard Pro solves the problem of always pressing the wrong keys


Arcade Tools

Tasker

Android Android

Price: £3.99/$6.44 Developer: Crafty Apps

An ingenious app bundle that does everything An app that not only executes all the functions that plenty of other separate apps perform on the marketplace but puts them all together to give you maximum control over your Android phone. The app comes with over 160 in-built actions, with simple functions such as lowering screen brightness and turning on airplane mode, which can all be timed and set up in ways to make your phone fully customisable to you day-to-day life. So whether a gesture with your phone transports you back to the Home Screen, or you want out-of-office style text messages to be sent to certain contacts when they contact you, it's possible to tweak and build your phone experience extensively. The interface is a little bewildering to begin with, as you script various programs to act in certain ways – even creating Home Screen widgets that perform tasks. But you don’t need any programming or scripting experience to master the app and after investing some time, you’ll find yourself wielding one of the most powerful Android applications on the marketplace. Don’t let it go to your head.

■ This app is vital if you want complete control over what your Android phone does


■ There are over 160 actions in this app for you to take control of your Android

SlideIT Keyboard

Price: £3.97/$6.41 Developer: Dasur Ltd

A Thorough Glide To Texting

SlideIT Keyboard aims to be a revolutionary aid to texting, making navigating the keyboard an effortless glide. It’s simple enough: you just slide across the letters you want to input on your touch-screen keyboard and all the letters will spell themselves out magically on the screen. To begin, it takes some time to adjust to the new input experience but after getting to grips with it, you can feel the benefits of the fast-moving inputting of words. The app is quite clever, working out what you’re trying to spell, even if you don’t quite hit the right letters. It’s not exactly going to appeal to everyone but those willing to invest the time into learning a new way of texting will feel the difference and will find themselves saving a surprising amount of time. It also supports multiple languages (enabled by downloading packs from the Android Market). However it’s not perfect and you’ll find symbols being lost and grammar suffering as a result. Nevertheless, an inventive, alternative way of inputting text that holds a huge amount of promise for those willing to spend time mastering it.


■ Once you get used to the app, it actually becomes a much faster way of texting

■ Sliding the letters is the alternative to typing provided with this app


Android

Tools

Price: £0.92/$1.50 Developer: Sam Lu

Price: £0.61/$1.00 Developer: GTMedia

Apps 2 SD Pro

SeekDroid

Moving isn’t always a hassle

Find your phone, anywhere, any time A very handy app tool for anyone looking to free a bit of space on their phone. Apps 2 SD Pro filters through all of your phone’s applications and highlights which are eligible to be moved to your SD card for storage. It’s not exactly an app you’ll get regular use out of but it saves some of the fuss that comes with Android’s in-built app settings. With sorting features and the ability to install all apps to SD Card in bulk, it’s a handy little time saver.

■ If you need memory, then grab this app


SeekDroid is a great app to alleviate some of the stress that comes with losing your phone, or getting it pinched. SeekDroid installs itself as a security administrator, allowing you to remotely access your phone and its features in case you get parted from your handset. You can lock applications and format your SD card to prevent anyone looking in areas they shouldn’t be. You can also track where your phone is and check out what the last few calls were. Most of this is done through seekdroid.com and, as the app isn’t constantly running in the background, this means that it doesn’t drain the battery either. A vital app to ensure peace of mind for worried Android owners and well worth the money. ■ SeekDroid does a great job of security


Price: £1.22/$1.99 Developer: CApp Plus

Price: £1.74/$2.85 Developer: Mobitobi

Get better protected

A wake-up call for snoozers

App Protector Pro

Gentle Alarm

An app that heightens security across the whole of your Android device, App Protector Pro can set passwords on any app on your phone. It’s handy for keeping people aware from sensitive material, or even just from stopping kids mucking around in areas they shouldn’t. Most security apps are only usually compatible with certain other applications, so it is refreshing that App Protector Pro can be used with anything, with the extra flexibility making it far more useful than you might expect. The settings are simple and if you don’t want to be entering passwords all day yourself, you can set all the security measures to be off until you tap the “All App Unlocked” button. A great app. ■ This is the app you need to protect your phone



There’s strong research to suggest that the sound that wakes you directly results in how well rested you feel. Gentle Alarm is one app that uses a gradual alarm to make you feel your best each morning. You set your alarm time like normal but the alarm eases you out of your deep sleep phase into a light sleep phase, before waking you up. It works well, making for more energetic mornings. However, it is a bit of a battery hog. ■ Wake up to Foo Fighters, if you like


Tools

Android

Price: Free Developer: Darshan Computing

Price: £1.97/$3.22 Developer: Richard Gruet

A simple and straightforward battery app, that displays information on your battery life in the notification bar on your Android phone. As well as the standard battery life (displayed in percentage) that gives you an instant indicator of how much juice you have left before your phone dies, you’ll get a great round-up of additional information, such as temperature, health, voltage, and time since it was last plugged in. It’s great for anyone after either a more precise indicator of the life left in their phone or a more extensive look at their battery usage to zero in on where the battery life is being spent.

Want to keep an eye on your internet usage allowance each month? Well 3G Watchdog Pro is a great little app that monitors how much of your monthly allowance you’ve used up, taking into account your billing rules, and ultimately helping you prevent any unwanted charges made from your network provider. It’s not the best looking app you’ll ever install on your Android phone but with five widgets and a redesigned user interface, it’s very simple to use and perfect for anyone afraid of exceeding their limit. You’ll never incur any nasty charges again.



Battery Indicator

3G Watchdog Pro

Price: £0.87/$1.42 Developer: Fabio Collini


An app to help with any Home Screen clutter and, well, organise all your apps, as the name suggests. With a list of all of your apps in one place, you can then categorise them and place them all into folders, so that you can seamlessly navigate around your phone apps. The widget comes in a few different flavours and styles but all provide quick access to your most important phone applications. Worth the cost if you’re one of those Android owners who likes to download lots of apps, especially given how easy it is to get into the addictive habit of sampling free apps on the Android Market.

Like with all Google applications, this is a well designed and reliable add-on for your phone. It is completely straightforward: you place text in one box and it is translated into the desired language in the box next to it. It doesn’t get much simpler than that and the accuracy of the translation is good enough for you to trust and soon come to rely on. With a huge amount of languages and Voice Search integration, it’s another concise and outstanding application from team Google and an essential addition for any Android owner thinking of venturing abroad. You’ll never be lost for words again.



Folder Organizer

Google Translate

Price: Free Developer: Adobe Systems

Price: Free Developer: Alienmanfc6

Adobe AIR finally reaches Android and paves the way for a whole host of developer creativity to be accessed straight through your Android phone. It allows AIR apps and games to be ported or developed with smartphones in mind. This obviously means it’s targeted at a certain niche. While those curious might be tempted by the fact that it’s free, it’s worth noting that it takes up a fair bit of memory. Even so, it allows for a lot of exciting new content to be accessed straight through your phone and performs its job as flawlessly as you might expect.

Ever lost your phone and couldn’t find it because it’s on silent? Wheres My Droid rectifies this simple problem: with the app active, simply text your lost phone with a selected attention word and it’ll disable silent mode and start ringing. That should be enough to find out you’ve lost your phone down the back of the sofa but if you still can’t track it down, then this nifty little app can also locate your phone via GPS if you already have the function turned on. If you somehow still manage to lose your phone with this app… well, it just won’t happen. So you won’t. A great app indeed.

Adobe AIR


Wheres My Droid


Price: £0.61/$1.00 Developer: Droid Shogun

Price: Free Developer: Lookout Inc

A fairly simple app that offers a massive amount of customisation options for your power control widget. So while you can have all the standard toggles available such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and the like, you can further tweak it to include extra options such as flashlight, reload SD card and speaker mode. You can even extend the widget and customise advanced options to tailor it to however you want it to work. This all adds up to a neat little app that places further control into the user’s hands without being too complicated or cumbersome to use. A great addition to your Android phone.

Lookout Mobile Security is a hugely comprehensive three-in-one security app, built with accessibility in mind. The uncomplicated design and understandable user interface makes it an invaluable security aid for everyone. It allows the user to scan your Android phone for viruses, back up personal data and locate your device if it ever gets lost or stolen. With this app being unobtrusive, practical and free, if you’re concerned about security then it comes highly recommended.

SwitchPro Widget


Lookout Mobile Security & Antivirus


Android

Travel/Transport

Travel/ Transport ■ This app really is surprisingly comprehensive

■ This app helps you quickly track down your car

Just because you’re going away on holiday, that doesn't mean the end of the journey for your Android. The apps on these pages will help you make the most out of your travels, whether it’s a local trip or an international voyage Top paid apps

Top free apps

Maverick Pro ★★★★★

Google Maps ★★★★★

CarLocator ★★★★★

KAYAK ★★★★★

AA Parking ★★★★★

GeoLover ★★★★★

Staff pick of the section GPS Test Plus ★★★★★


TheTrainLine ★★★★★

Price: £2.44/$3.95 Developer: Edward Kim

Car Locator Dude, where’s my car?

A neat antidote to the problem that’s plagued users of shopping malls or airport carparks, this app should save a whole lot of anguished runs around identical banks of parked vehicles. Simply using your phone’s GPS (which is an absolute must to be activated for this one to work properly), the app asks you to register where you are when you’re standing next to the car, then provides a detailed update of how far you are from it. Expressed in metres, a directional arrow and even a tracker with a blinking red dot, the app’s really fun to use as well as highly functional. On top of all this, the app also tells you how long the car’s been parked for, and even offers to let you know when an allotted time has passed, so it could easily save you picking up parking tickets as well. It’s a fairly cheap price to pay for such useful features, and Car Locator’s clear visuals, striking design and accurate navigation make it one of Android’s better apps of this type.


Travel/Transport

■ Your location affects Waze’s usefulness

Android

■ Tasks will earn you ‘experience points’

Price: Free Developer: Waze

Waze: Community GPS Social networking for your car

There are plenty of pointless social networking ideas in the world. There’s Foursquare, with its habit of turning walking around and visiting shops into some kind of competition, or Farmville, which charges players to own better virtual real estate than their friends. Waze is different in that, while it might reward you with experience points just for driving, also provides a useful and focused experience; it encourages its users to build a dynamic, ever-improving satellite navigation system for each other. You can partake as lightly or heavily as you like. The mere act of slowing down in a traffic jam, for example, will alert other Waze users driving behind you what’s going on, because your car will be followed by a red line to indicate you’re suddenly slowing. You could then choose to report this occurrence directly to the database and even, if you’re at the front of the queue, take a quick snap of what’s obstructing you to give everyone else a little more piece of mind. What this all means is that Waze also offers a free satnav service, and very good it is, too. With an automated voice, lightning-fast update even on 3G, and a full set of local points of interest to flash up, it’s a comprehensive system. When led astray, it soon comes up with alternative suggestions to get you back on track. The only niggle is that it can get muddled occasionally if too many directions come thick and fast,

■ As Waze grows, it could become one of the essential travel apps

coming out with statements like “At the roundabout…” and never finishing a statement. Judged purely as a satnav, the likes of Garmin and TomTom don’t have an awful lot to worry about from Waze just yet, but time will tell. It’s definitely a lot of fun to use, and as more and more people join the network, it could easily gain plenty of support. How well Waze works for you depends largely on where you live, and who else around you is feeding into the information network. But unlockable awards and achievements are certainly a sweetener for an otherwise long, boring journey, and Waze is brilliant enough to be switched on in your car at all times, simply for the quirky joy of seeing what it comes up with next.


Android

Travel/Transport


Google Maps Google clearly does it best

It’s probably no surprise that the greatest map application on Google’s Android platform is the company’s own mapping system. With a massive amount of the known world mapped in minute detail and a robust geolocation function, Google Maps provides the crucial combination of knowing exactly where you want to go, and knowing where you currently are in relation to it. Even on a basic 3G connection, the wandering blue arrow stays approximately true to where you are, and when you start using Street View, being lost becomes such a thing of the past, it’s an almost hilarious concept in itself. The “find” function allows you to bring up local amenities such as petrol stations, shops and restaurants with ease, linking back to Google with starred reviews of each location, and custom search strings can be added to this as well. Route directions and local amenities aren’t the only thing on offer, either, with more pre-built, optional layers adding traffic reports, driving directions, Google Latitude indicators, and even Wikipedia links for other local points of interest you may never even have considered.

■ Wherever you are in the world, Google Maps will help you find your way ■ Google Maps is incredibly easy to use, regardless of where you are


Street View is, of course, the sizeable cherry on the top of this navigational super cake. The pasted-together, 360-degree rotatable still photographs of any Google Map roads marked in the telltale dark yellow have been scaled for Android. The maze of yellow lines marked up with tiny road signs that you’d find on a PC have been smoothly replaced with an uncluttered portrait view, the road names branded with a large translucent font instead. The touch screen makes the point and click element of Street View the easiest thing in the world to use, literally allowing you to take the walk with your finger, drop the yellow “Peg Man” where you want, and watch the minutiae of your projected route unfold. Working reliably pretty much anywhere, Google Maps effectively (as long as you have a roaming net connection) makes maps, guidebooks and, to a certain extent, sat nav equipment pretty much redundant. And as the Google team continues roaming the world in its little camera-topped cars, this is a free service that’s only getting stronger, clearer and easier to use year upon year.


Travel/Transport

Android

■ It doesn’t seem like much but GPS Essentials is really good fun

Price: Free Developer: Mictale.com

GPS Essentials

An app you never knew you needed A GPS app isn’t really the sort of thing that appeals to most people. Beyond frequent travellers, geography enthusiasts and other people who would presumably demand such services, it’s hard to picture an audience lusting after an app that claims to be the Swiss Army Knife of GPS apps. And yet, after just a few minutes of playing around with GPS Essentials, it’s just as hard to picture going without it ever again. What makes it such a great app is that it contains an exhaustive list of options that cover absolutely everything you can imagine even remotely related to a GPS service. The basics are covered, such as a GPS map, which is provided courtesy of Google Maps and is uncomfortably accurate, pinpointing your exact position and even which way you’re facing (an easily overlooked function on most tracking apps). Then there’s the compass, which is… well, a compass. No prizes for guessing what this does. Yet it’s the other functions that provide the real interest here, providing the overlap between the hardcore GPS enthusiasts outlined in the opening paragraph and those likely to just tap away in curiosity. For example, there’s an option for Tracks. This allows you to get your phone recording what it is you’re doing as you’re moving about – the time taken, the highest point (in height, not emotionally), the lowest point (again, not emotionally), your top speed, the overall gain and so on. It doesn’t sound like the sort of thing that should be of any interest but then, having not had devices that tracked this sort of information readily available for the price of nil, it’s not as though you would have realised such a thing existed.

■ It’s not just an app for the niche hardcore GPS enthusiasts crowd

This kind of attention to detail spreads throughout the other functions the app provides. Camera adds a spirit level to the reticle and allows you to snap pictures, Routes gives you the option to plan where you’re going, Charts gives you a nice infographic of similar information to that found in Tracks, while Satellites even lets you know about what GPS satellites are in the area. It’s certainly a comprehensive app. Finally, GPS Essentials presents a multitude of different widgets, so you can have information such as altitude, distance to location and various other parameters available on your Android’s dashboard. Only a few instances of crash and bugs hold this back from a perfect rating.


Android

Travel/Transport

Price: £3.67/$5.97 Developer: Code Sector

Maverick Pro The hardcore map app

An extremely powerful GPS device for its modest price tag, Maverick Pro is primarily designed for geolocation when you’re out so far beyond civilisation that GPS won’t even work. It’s therefore been designed from the ground up to keep on accurately locating you even when there’s no satellite coverage around. It’s got many of the same features of Google Maps, but is centred on far more rugged activities than merely giving you vague directions. There’s a track recorder, which makes the phone record each of your steps in a walked journey and share them, effectively allowing you to share routes and walks with anybody else in the interest group. Waypoints can also be easily added to any area, and then your course and vicinity to each plotted in great detail with the compass and route planner. With a wealth of choices of terrain map source, from places like Mapnik, Osma, Google, Bing and Wikimapia, there’s so many different ways to view the land around you that you start to build an appreciation for the area that would just never be possible with a simple paper map. There are just so many tools in Maverick Pro, and so many ways of using them, that experimenting actually becomes part of the process and part of the fun in using the app. The app can sometimes, in fact, veer on the wrong side of complex, as the developer keeps bolting more and more bits on

that all have to go somewhere; causing yet another menu option to appear. It’s not the easiest of apps to use but that’s due to the sheer wealth of options available as much as it’s due to a difficult user interface. There’s even a geocaching section in the menu, which links straight to geocaching.com and informs you of any ‘packages’ hidden in your local area via the page’s forum. This could be interesting, but could also be the last thing on your mind when you’re in the middle of hiking Exmoor. Still, Maverick Pro clearly sets out to be everything that Google Maps isn’t, and succeeds on this level admirably. Stuffed with genuinely useful tools, it’s got the feeling of one of the upper-end of the Swiss Army Knife range; all the essentials – and more – are present and at excellent quality, but the overall package is perhaps too far padded out with unnecessary extras. In actual fact, you’d do well to consider the standard Maverick app. It’s free of charge, and already contains so many features that the ability to lay more than five waypoints and more than one track in the Pro version may not be such a huge problem for you anyway.


■ It feels like the Swiss Army Knife of apps, with a tool for every job

■ Maverick Pro has got more options than Google Maps


■ It can be intimidating to use and isn’t particularly user-friendly either

■ Maverick Pro pulls map data from various different sources

Travel/Transport

Android

Price: Free Developer: Visual IT Limited

London Underground Free Find your way

One of several apps of its type on Android, London Underground Free wins out because it provides two clear ways of visualising your route. The app plots your Tube changes in text (though lacks the exact timings of other apps, for example Pubtran London, instead opting to estimate the typical regularity of the next Tube), complete with detailed descriptions of where to catch the next one in a given station. The other option, though, is a full Tube map with changes marked at stations as coloured blobs. You’re free to cross reference both against each other to make absolutely sure, and it’s a fast and clear duo of options. There’s also a huge info menu, which covers anything from live quality of service information to check for problems on certain lines, to the nearest location of hospitals, restaurants or galleries. Finally, the app will geolocate you to the nearest Tube station, which is pretty invaluable if you’ve taken a wrong turn, though that’s admittedly nothing Google Maps couldn’t fix. Overall, an excellent package of Tube-related features.

■ It shows your route through the underground with a clear coloured line


■ Having a Tube map always to hand is extremely useful for residents and visitors

Car HUD

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: Code Slinger

Pretty pointless projection Car HUD is clever in that it reflects its GPS-driven speedometer onto your windscreen, but that’s about as far as the appeal goes. The “Eco Guage” (sic) didn’t appear to do anything during our testing and the elevation gauge, meanwhile, will hold little use for most people. What does it matter how high above sea level you happen to be driving? All that’s left is a basic read out of your driving speed, in MPH or KM/H as you choose. This is nothing the average GPS app won’t provide already, and seeing as a lot of those are free, there seems little point in paying for one particular app that does just that, and little else. Still, there’s no doubt that having a green, LED representation of your speed reflected into your windscreen at night is a pretty cool effect, though it’s simply because it’s a mirror image of the text on the normal screen. That also makes it considerably less effective in daylight, of course. Overall this app may hold some novel appeal, but it actually has little practical use.


■ With such a limited USP, there isn’t much scope for flexibility or customisation options

■ Your overall speed is reflected in the windscreen, which is a clever gimmick


Android

Travel/Transport

Price: Free Developer: Tripit Inc

Tripit - Travel Organizer Taking the pressure off travelling

Tripit seeks to keep track of and organise journeys you take by simply asking you to forward any itinerary emails you receive from travel or hotel companies straight to Tripit Inc, who will then automatically add them to the trip roster on the app. An auto import function, which scans Google and Yahoo email accounts for any trip reminder emails from travel companies, is a particularly useful addition too, though a drawn-out process, particularly if you’ve already made a Tripit account with the same address you wish to scan, which still necessitates filling out a bunch of details and access allowance forms over again. The Tripit Pro upgrade, which costs $49 a year (approx £30), mainly features a flight delay text message service. Seeing as this is information that can often be gleaned by checking the internet or contacting the airport, it seems a fairly high amount to pay for a little extra convenience. The upgrade does also contain a travel rewards tracker, which puts all your air miles and suchlike in one handy screen for you to keep on eye on. Not just including planes, trains, and hotels, Tripit also keeps track of car rentals, restaurant bookings and even cinema tickets.

■ If you have no concern sending Tripit your email itineraries, it will organise on your behalf ■ The crystal clear layout makes it easy to know what to do next


It can even provide local weather reports before you get to a new place. It feels entirely feasible to chain together a series of transport methods and events, kick back and trust your phone to do all the thinking for you. It’s simple, no-nonsense, and goes together clearly and logically. Most importantly, it can automatically calculate time zones, instead of waiting for you to get them wrong, which saves further hassle down the line and shows that Tripit really has thought of everything. All in all, then, this is a sensible and complete travel planning package that takes a weight off your mind when it comes to figuring out what to do next. There’s perhaps a concern, though, about the way Tripit works. By asking for permission to access a variety of your private records, it’s effectively a data-mining application. In a time in which we’re becoming more and more aware of the true problems of large-scale hacking, some people may be concerned about sending copies of financial transaction emails spinning off to more places than they really need to be going to.


Travel/Transport

Android

Price: Free Developer: KAYAK.com

as

KAYAK

Jolly (cheap) holidays

■ You can find the nearest bike in London thanks to this app

■ It’s a handy app for holidays or days out in the UK capital

Price: Free Developer: Barclays Bank PLC.

Barclays Bikes

England’s capital on two wheels

Rather more than the advertising plug for cheap travel website KAYAK.com we’d initially feared it might be, the KAYAK app is in reality a fairly comprehensive selection of tools. The hotel and flight booking portions work extremely well, clearly and concisely taking you through the search, price comparison and usual extra option parts of the journey, before ferreting out the correct links or telephone numbers to help you complete the bookings. On top of that, the KAYAK app offers management of car hire, a trip itinerary, a flight tracker and even a price alert that will let you know the second any prices you’re watching change. It has airport information, a ‘beacon’ to help you locate friends using the service, and there’s even an in-built widget to stick an up-to-date price ticker on your phone’s home screen. KAYAK is a tidy package, and no mistake. Kayak’s website does a really great job at comparing hundreds of different travel sites, and the company has perfectly transcribed those abilities to a pocket-sized, comprehensive app. It’s definitely a useful thing to keep around and could really help out those who travel a lot.


With London now offering its own rent-a-bike scheme to get around the capital, there’s a new problem facing Londoners and especially those visiting – where you actually get the bikes from? This app, as you might have guessed from the name, solves that problem by telling you where the nearest ’bike station’ is. By using GPS and the maps provided, you won’t have any problems finding the nearest docking station. In addition to that, it also allows you to plot a route to another bike docking station in London, allowing you to get on with the fun stuff of actually taking in the sights of England’s capital on two wheels. The only issue it has, besides being somewhat niche, is that it’s hit and miss when it comes to reporting accurate data. The routing system isn’t the best, particularly given London’s unpredictable nature when it comes to roadworks affecting journeys and the like. Also, while it tells you how many spaces each docking station has, it would be nice to get regular updates on the more popular docking stations, which can ruin a particularly well planned journey.


■ As it compares results from so many travel sites, you’ll rarely be disappointed with what it finds

■ The app is split into different categories, which makes it easy for you to navigate


Android

Travel/Transport

FlightView – Flight Tracker

Price: £0.61/$0.99 Developer: FlightView

Easily stay in touch with all things air-based This is a slick, well-produced app for keeping track of various international flights, either for the benefit of your own itinerary or for keeping tabs on those you may be expecting to meet off a plane. Allowing you to bookmark flights to return to at one touch, the information is also compounded by instantaneous updates on delays or other problems at airports. You can even see a map of the plane’s current position in the air, and its nearby weather conditions. Searching for flights can be carried out by flight number, time it’s due to land, or even by something as vague as the city you expect it to land in. This can be handy if you’re on the way to meet somebody and you’ve forgotten to pick up any of the details. For your personal travel use, various flights can be added to a single trip, and hotel and car rental information can be brought up too. FlightView would have benefitted from being more of an all-round app that covered more aspects of your travel plans other than just flight, but it handles what it does exceptionally well.

■ Flight Tracker does everything you’d expect it to given the name of the app and it does it well too


Price: £1.99/$3.24 Developer: Satsports GPS

Satski

Get to know the piste

Satski is a bespoke real-time piste map that shows you exactly which route you’re on (and should be on). As with most of these specialist GPS apps, though, the innovation doesn’t end there. Apart from 3D, Google Earth-integrated flyover maps, the app is also capable of recording your routes and speeds to allow you to share with other skiers later, as well as analyse on your PC in more detail using Satsports’ free Stats Viewer software. With seemingly every major skiing resort in the world loaded into the app’s index, and downloadable within seconds from the database, the only slight concern about the app is whether, with GPS enabled throughout, you’ll get anything even approaching a full day’s skiing out of your phone before the battery runs out. Still, aside from spending hundreds of pounds on a dedicated outdoor pursuits handheld GPS, it’s worth that risk for this decidedly cheap alternative.


■ There’s an incredible wealth of skiing data within this app

■ The app quickly drains the battery, which is a shame

Travel/Transport

■ Its use is somewhat niche but there’s no denying this performs its USP rather well

■ It looks confused but the info is easy to understand and access too

■ Geolover is brilliant at finding places it thinks you might want to go to

Price: Free Developer: Peter Gyorffy

Geolover Everyone’s a critic

Geolover is a fairly powerful trip planning tool. While it’s happy to scout your local area for locations of interest, its real point seems to lie in investigating a place you’re going to be visiting, and making up a list of places you’d like to go. When you get there, Geolover will tell you where they are and how to get to them. Each of the earmarked places has its own information page, generally dragged from Wikipedia, but Geolover users can also add star ratings and ‘tips’ about the places after they’ve been. The overall rating will then help to give the marks a quick recommendation, from essential to ‘visit if you have time’. The way visit rosters are displayed is the real winner here; a shopping list of places to go in preference order can be an excellent way to organise a day trip. Also, the opportunity to change your plans as you go by throwing a quick search of the nearest square mile always holds a certain promise to make the day even better. This is an excellent app that could really help improve your visits to new places.


Android

■ The information is cleanly laid out and easy to follow

Price: Free Developer: Point Inside

Point Inside Airports & Malls

Interiors made easy

Point Inside is a company that wants to do for the inside of buildings what mapping software such as Google Earth does for the area around them. Its offering on Android is a free app which shows you detailed maps of the inside of malls and airports, showing you where all the shops and conveniences are, and even how to get to the nearest set of stairs, elevator or escalator. Toilets, banks and ATMs are also included. It feels pretty pointless to begin with, but for an eventuality when you’re shopping last minute or dashing to the airport toilet before having to suffer a cramped aeroplane facility, it could become fairly useful. Also, aspects such as opening hours and a quick link phone call to the building’s helpline are all fairly useful additions. It’s true to say there’s nothing quite like Point Inside, but that could be because there’s not a massive need for it. That’s only for you personally to decide.


Android

Travel/Transport

Price: Free Developer: Layar

Layar Reality Browser Discover the hidden places around you A genuinely fun and interesting way to find places by pointing your camera around you. Pubs, restaurants, gigs and more in close proximity are visually represented in the form of icons. The ability to plot a route by plugging into Google Maps and check out (or write) reviews on the Layar’s linked reviews and comments site just completes the package. Powerful and fun, Layar is a great way to explore the area around you. ■ Layar is constantly being updated


Price: £1.50/$2.43 Developer: Chartcross Limited

GPS Test Plus Leave no stone unturned

Absolutely the most in-depth GPS test app in existence, GPS Test Plus does the lot. Compass, latitude and longitude, distance above sea level, speed… Absolutely any option you can possibly think of, it’s all here. There’s even an optional ‘HUD’ mode to reflect the information onto your car windscreen should you wish to use GPS Test Plus on the move. Clear and concise while also being quite spectacularly techy and nerdy to an almost fun level, this is an app that’s just as much of a joy to simply mess around with as it is to achieve anything useful. The choice of colour schemes just makes everything even more portable, too. A hidden delight on Android. ■ It looks techy but this is surprisingly fun


Price: Free Developer: Wikitude GmbH

Price: Free Developer: Pocketools.com

Discover the world around you

Does what it says on the tin

Wikitude World Browser

Currency Converter

Basically a rival to Layar (above), Wikitude does exactly the same thing in terms of augmenting reality around you. However, this app includes finding local Tweeters (who are happy to display their location). It might just be us, but the GPS update seems a little faster with Wikitude too, and it’s building a community mighty fast. With both apps being available for free, there’s really no reason to choose between them; carry them both around, and see which one suits you in a given situation. ■ This is a perfectly viable alternative to Layar



Currency Converter is just another reminder why smartphones are great. No more programming a travel calculator with last week’s FT figures, this converter streams data direct from Yahoo finance. It also provides financial news, as well as a base currency comparison sheet. This, in addition to the useful graphs in the converter window makes the app handy for keeping an eye on the markets in general, too. ■ This does far more than mere maths


Travel/Transport

Price: Free Developer: Reach Unlimited

Android

Trapster

Price: £.126/$2.04 Developer: Pich

Self-policing speedtraps

A speed tracking app that offers nothing new

Speedometer HUD

With nearly 13 million users on the network, Trapster is way more than just a mere app; it’s a massive community of speed camera hunters. It’s incredibly basic in execution; switch the app on in your car and, once you’ve created an account, drive normally until the app warns you you’re approaching a camera. If you see one that’s not currently known about, report it. In this way, millions of people are constantly communicating the state of our roads, and reducing speeding fines all round. We would, however, like to take this opportunity to remind you that driving in accordance with the speed limit is, of course, preferable. ■ Speed camera locations are always being updated


Largely identical to Car HUD, except it actually costs money and doesn’t have a fuel readout, this is a waste of money. Nothing more than a GPS-fuelled readout of your miles per hour, there are free GPS apps or free car HUD apps that already do the same, or better. There’s a map included but it’s hardly got the quality or functionality of a sat nav. This just feels like a simple proofof-concept experiment turned cynical cash cow. ■ This isn't worth the money sadly

Price: £1.26/$2.04 Developer: binarytoys

Price: Free Developer: dlek

Need for speed

I see (no) ships

Ulysee Speedometer Pro As speedometers go, this is a pretty comprehensive one. MPH, KM/H and even knots is available, had you ever wondered how fast your car might be going if it was a boat. The app also continues working on your phone in the background if you switch something else on – useful for in-car phone calls (via a headset) or to be used at the same time as speed trap apps, etc. Brightly coloured, simple to use, but very reliable, this is an excellent speedometer app. Please also note that the free version is identical, apart from carrying ad banners. ■ If you can put up with ad banners, get the free version



MarineTraffic.com Ever wondered exactly what that speck on the horizon is? Whether you’re a sailor, an anorak or simply a curious bystander, this app lets you chart the progress of, find out information about, and even upload photos of most water-going craft. It reads boats’ mandatory AIS feed and is pretty fascinating; watching the multicoloured icons whizzing about the world map in almost real-time is simply a joy in itself. It could make you a dedicated boat spotter. ■ Not too practical but absolutely fascinating


Android

Travel/Transport

Price: Free Developer: gamijo

Price: Free Developer: BluMediaLab.com B.V.

As compass apps go, this is actually pretty cool. It’s in full 3D, which means you can angle your phone to raise or lower the compass and also flatten it out for better reading. You can also lock its orientation. It’s true that a lot of navigation apps will have compass as one of the options but as a way to quickly get a compass without having to wade through menus, this is probably worth the free download. All in all, 3D Compas is a fun freebie that looks and performs better than most others of its type.

As the name makes it clear, Hotels near me does its job of telling you, well, what hotels are near you. So far, so usual, no real reason not to download. However, when a myriad of other tools you’ll probably already have on your phone (like AroundMe) do the job of finding and rating a nearby hotel, but also tell you how to get there and offer a plethora of other options, there seems little reason to entertain this app. If you’re low on app space and wish to be specific, though, it’s absolutely fine and as stated, performs its job well enough without any real problems. It could just benefit from opening itself up to more options and features.

3D Compass

Hotels near me



Price: Free Developer: Where Inc.

Price: Free Developer: StarObject

It’s similar to Wikitude or using Points of Interests on Google Maps, so there are some strong competitors, but there’s a certain element of fun with Where that makes it interesting to pick up. Essentially you discover nearby places and see recommendations. Features like detailed ’friends’ profiles, and the ability to ‘bump’ your phones to share favourite places are entertaining and ensure this app doesn’t feel as dry as the competition. It’s just a pity then that this app’s overshadowed by more polished, featureladen services and so we can’t wholeheartedly recommend it owing to the amount of excellent free alternatives available.

This is certainly an excellent translator, perfectly capable of converting anything you type in, or any text messages you feed it, into over 40 languages. It’s also easy to use while remaining fairly comprehensive to cater for the different methods of text input and output, so you’d think this would be an essential download. However, there is a rather serious flaw that holds it back from being considered among the Android elite; it must be connected to a network in order to work. That’s obviously not a problem if you’re at home but it’s no good if you have no 3G roaming tariff abroad, now is it?

StarTranslate

Where



Price: £1.99/$3.27 Developer: The AA

Price: £3.07/$5.04 Developer: FlightStats

As the name suggests, this app will help you find parking spaces. It’s an absolute godsend mostly for the fact that it’s very, very good. All you need to do is tap in the location of where you’re going (or simply say it) and you’ll have a list of all parking spaces, the distance, the type of parking, whether it has disabled parking and the current rate. Tapping further will give you directions to get to the parking space along with the rates throughout the day, so there are no nasty surprises when you get there. AA Parking has a clean, efficient design married to near flawless execution – an essential app for drivers.

FlightStats for Android tells you where flights are going, and can help you sequence your trip if you’re changing flights quickly, so it eases some of the potential worry and stress inherent with long haul trips. But unfortunately, many apps available on Android Market do that, and do it for free, and there’s little here to make this stand out from the crowd. While it’s simple and effective, it’s just not worth that hefty price. The good news is that there is also a free version called FlightStats Lite for Android available which is ad supported, so you can try this app out.



AA Parking

FlightStats for Android

Price: Free Developer: Share your where

Price: Free Developer: Frantisek Hejl

With this app you can share your location in real time with anybody you like, for as long as you like (tinkering with the options means it can turn itself off after a while). Imagine Foursquare if it could be left permanently running and updating your location and you’re pretty much there. The Glympse software isn’t even needed to see where you are; a simple web link emailed to their address lets whoever is interested have the ability to track your progress. It may seem fairly pointless but it’s a perfect way to satisfactorily explain lateness, or simply pretend you’re in some kind of ridiculous spy thriller.

Pubtran London is a rail map, a Tube map, and a route planner based on actual projected departure times of each and every type of vehicle, which comprises Tube, buses, trains and even your feet. This is incredibly useful but more importantly, as frequent London travellers will tell you, it also has Tube line service status – a godsend on weekends when underground works tends to take place. Even better, it has a history of your previous journeys, to save you searching again. This is an extremely useful app for travelling through the UK’s capital and it’s an essential download for visitors and residents alike.



Glympse


Pubtran London

Travel/Transport

Price: £2.50/$4.11 Developer: pinkfroot limited

Ship Finder

This is just like MarineTraffic.com, except this ship-tracking app has a relatively hefty price-tag attached. You can pick up every ocean-going vessel from its AIS feed, check details about it, and pretty much follow everything in near-realtime with GPS. It’s not a particularly practical app as you won’t need it to help you travel anywhere but again, as with MaritimeTraffic, it’s a fascinating look into the nautical world that you likely won’t have seen before. It’s rather interesting, and while Ship Finder isn’t quite so hot on 3G, it is still a great way to waste half an hour at the seaside.

Android

Price: £2.49/$4.09 Developer: Whitecat Software

EZCam Speed Camera Detector

With Trapster and Waze doing this in massively supported communities already and for free, we could question the point of this app. A feature that sets it apart, though, is it works offline, detecting speed cameras simply from saving offline data from a database, which makes it slightly more useful than you might expect. However, when you get live streaming information free on other services, why do such a thing except in critical low battery emergencies?



Price: £0.79/$1.30 Developer: nomadrobot

Price: £1.93/$3.17 Developer: Hexter Labs Software

A bit cheaper than apps like Car Locator, this does largely the same thing of helping you find your car. The big difference here is that it doesn’t look quite as good doing it, not quite having the same style or user-friendly approach of its competition. The app itself is by and large the same though – tell the app where your car’s parked, wander off, and get guided back later. No problems there and nor should there be, given the simplicity of the task at hand. It also includes a notepad to write things like “next to second lamp post on the left”, in case the GPS isn’t quite enough to guide you exactly to your car.

How many car locator apps does the world need? Loads, appears to be the answer if Android Market is anything to go by. Car Finder AR is no different from the competition on the surface but what sets it apart from the rest is that it allows you to find three cars at the same time. Yet think about that. Do you even know somebody who owns three cars, let alone have the need to park every single one of them in places they can’t find, at the same time? You might want to consider getting an app like Car Locator instead, which still stands tall as one of the best in this crowded field.

My Car Locator

Car Finder AR



Price: £2.50/$4.11 Developer: pinkfroot limited

Price: £1.84/$3.02 Developer: Simon Morgenthaler

Plane Finder allows you to track planes, providing near real-time ’virtual radar’ air traffic maps. The app isn’t exactly practical but instead, it’s fascinating for the light it shines on the world of aviation. The most interesting thing about this app is it shows you just how crowded it gets up in the skies above us. Replete with the nerdiest information, illustrations and baffling technical data to wade through, this surely replaces binoculars and an old radio for serious planespotters thanks to the wealth of information at hand. Or anyone else who’s just interested to see Aunt Jemima whizzing overhead on her way to Australia.

Fuel Log Pro provides an utterly ridiculous amount of statistics and presentation styles to monitor your vehicle’s fuel usage, from average amount per day all the way up to a year. It’s so comprehensive that at times, it’s almost in danger of drowning the important information in the useless stuff. It tells you how often you’ve filled up, and how often you’ve had it serviced. Of course, you have to remember to enter all this data yourself, but the numbercrunching rewards are worth it.

Plane Finder


Fuel Log Pro License Key


Price: Free Developer: thetrainline

Price: £0.80/$1.31 Developer: Hodel

Those who travel by train are more than likely to be familiar with thetrainline.com by now, and its ability to help you find train times and book tickets, so this app won’t exactly need a full introduction. However, it’s extremely simple to use, lets you check, book and pay for your tickets in just a few touches, and will even supply you with electronic tickets via a barcode to your phone. It performs its task well, without any fuss, and is staggeringly simple to use thanks to how easy it is to navigate, correct mistakes and so on. It just couldn’t be better and it’s free too. An essential download.

There are just so many speedometer apps on Android nowadays, it’s tough to stand out from the crowd. This one does little to differentiate itself, however, doing exactly what you would expect of a speed app – no more, no less. You can pick between digital or analogue, but then your car’s generally got an analogue speedometer anyway, rendering that feature null and void. Overall, Speedometer Pro has little point in most circumstances, although maybe for cyclists perhaps. Use a more fullyfeatured GPS instead.

thetrainline


Speedometer Pro


Android

Weather

Weather

■ Clear, concise and straight to the point

■ There’s an exhaustive amount of data

Price: £2.20/$3.61 Developer: MeteoGroup

Sunny, cloudy, rainy or worse, our Weather apps will help you deal with those unpredictable twists and turns with the climate to plan ahead for that perfect holiday or even something as simple as enjoying a nice family day out Top paid apps

Top free apps

Rain Alarm Pro ★★★★★

GoWeather ★★★★★

Solaris Alpha ★★★★★

WeatherEye ★★★★★

PYKL3 Radar ★★★★★

3D Digital Weather Clock ★★★★★

Staff pick of the section Weather, Alerts, Quakes, Barometer ★★★★★ 162 Android App Directory

Rainy Days ★★★★★

WeatherPro

A weather report you can trust This is a comprehensive weather app that boasts a swathe of features, accurate enough to tell you what the weather will be like in a specific region or city on a particular day. Hosting an exceptional amount of information on seven-day forecasts and weather reports across over 2 million locations worldwide, there’s not a lot this app doesn’t know about what’s going on in the skies. The level of detail is impressively abundant, with information on wind speed and direction, humidity, pressure and precipitation levels – it’s the sort of handy information that proves indispensable when planning those days out. A slick interface is a welcome addition, with animated radar and weather patterns for the local area (the downside to this is that it only works in certain countries). Most importantly, it’s accurate; finding the nearest weather forecasting centre to you via GPS, it uploads a ton of information about what you can expect weather-wise over the next 14 days. So whether you’re planning a trip to the seaside, a spot of golf, or even a holiday abroad, WeatherPro is extensive enough when planning your time out.


Weather

Android

Price: £2.65/$4.29 Developer: Michael Diener

Rain Alarm Pro

A weather app that rings a bell… Given the volatility of summertime, Rain Alarm Pro proves a surprisingly handy warning app that notifies users of incoming rain (and snow if things get really chilly) by an alarm on your phone. Helpful for long days out, a BBQ, shopping trips or even if you’ve just got your washing on the line, the alarm will sound when it detects rain or snowfall within around 20 miles of your current location. Using the GPS locater on your phone, the app is extremely accurate; warnings can come within minutes of rain or snow hitting your area, leaving plenty of time to react before the weather takes a turn for the worst and leaves you drenched. The alarm displays information on how far away the weather is, the strength and its current location. If you use the widget on the Home screen then you’ll find it adds some extra detail, including precipitation levels without any alarm, allowing you to scope out the weather at your own convenience. The customisation features make it easy to tweak the settings depending on your activity, making sure that the app is optimised to your needs. Satellite maps also track the weather coming in. You can watch the direction the rain or snow is heading in with up-to-date radar animations, as the clouds loom forward over your location. The

■ Rain Alarm Pro is stuffed with infographics that give you a quick, visual guide on what to expect from the weather in the days ahead

app uses Google Maps, which comes loaded on Android phones, as a background map that works alongside the radar animations of the incoming weather. There is an alternative version of the app in case you don’t have Google Maps – Rain Alarm Pro OSM – which uses OpenStreetMap as a substitute. Both of which work seamlessly, providing fast and accurate reports on the encroaching weather patterns. A free version of Rain Alarm is also available, loaded with adverts. However, its bigger drawback is that it features a silent alarm, so the end result is that it’s nowhere near as effective as the Pro version with its audible alarms proving a saving grace. A polished, reliable and very accurate application, loaded with a slew of features, including animated maps to keep an eye on the weather and a widget that slims down all the information. Rain Alarm Pro proves itself a worthy application to keep installed on your Android handset. Frankly, when it comes to the British weather, you’ll soon find it indispensable and a worthy investment for keeping your days out dry. It’s cheaper than an umbrella too.


■ You can even set alarms that notify you of forthcoming rain, which is far handier than it might sound


Android

Weather

Price: Free Developer: Go Dev Team

GO Weather Ready, set, GO Weather

GO Weather is a visually delightful weather application that puts as much effort in its sharp visuals as it does providing the most up-to-date weather information in your local area. The most gorgeous feature of this app is the live wallpaper it provides – with more available to download for free – which has animated backgrounds based on the current weather in your location. Even without this feature selected, the app itself showcases some equally impressive animated images, with the current temperature displayed clearly in the top-left corner, with further information including a barometer, humidity, visibility, dew point and sunrise/sunset times available at a click. It’s fairly comprehensive, with the weather for the next seven days listed at the bottom of the screen – scroll to reveal further days – and it’s all easy to read and simply displayed. There’s a more detailed text analysis of the weather available just by scrolling the bottom menu upwards, revealing a thorough breakdown of everything that’s going on. While it lacks hourly updates, there’s no doubt that it provides a wealth of information for the average user to get a clear understanding of what to expect from the weather within the next few upcoming days. The widget is also well presented, with customisable size and style keeping the attractive visuals consistent across the app. With

■ The live wallpaper is really attractive, but there’s substance here too


information on your current location, the time, temperature, wind speed and current weather, it is a concise and well-developed widget, paired with an app that offers a little twist on the standard weather application. You can add multiple locations to your favourites, making it easy to stay on top of the weather while travelling around. You’ll also find that there is a huge amount of customisable options, allowing you to tweak text sizes, your widget skin and what information is displayed, so that you can completely tailor the app to your specific needs. Do bear in mind that while the HD animations and crisp visuals are stunning to look at, some may wish to conserve their battery and opt for more basic imagery to represent the current weather. GO Weather is one of the best-looking weather apps on the Android Market. However, beyond the attractive videos, HD backgrounds and stylish widgets, the weather information is accurate, fast and reliable. The amount of content available packed into this free app is outstanding. So if you’re not worried about draining your battery, then get downloading this beautifully elegant app today.

■ The app makes the weather easy to read and understand


■ With the animations enabled, GO Weather isn’t overly kind on your phone’s battery life

Weather

Android

Price: Free Developer: Hugo Visser

Rainy Days

Keep an eye on the storm A slight, simple, but well made app – if you’re looking for a quick, efficient radar app to track the weather, then Rainy Days is the perfect download for you. It does exactly what you would expect of it, providing you with satellite imagery of precipitation and rain across the United States, Europe and some other countries as well. As a free app, it is more than worth trying out to see the pinpoint accurate patterns in the air above. Simply just enter your location (or let your GPS do the locating) and the map will switch to your location and display any rain currently hovering above you. It also cycles through the last hour, giving a clear viewpoint of the direction that the rain is heading in. It loads quickly and the animation is smooth and can be paused at the bottom of the screen at any time you like. There’s also an onscreen legend that can be toggled on and off, which gives a clear understanding of exactly what the formations mean and whether you’re likely to get really drenched if you’re standing underneath any of the swirling colours on the screen. Using Google Maps, the app makes use of radar Doppler images from a variety of sources, including Buienradar, Meteox, Väderradar, Eumetsat and NWS.

■ There’s nothing complicated about this app, but it fills its role very well

The functionality with Google Maps is pretty impressive, enabling you to zoom in and out on locations at your leisure, so you can get an exact idea about where a storm will hit at that moment in time. Pinching and double-tapping zooms, and you can drag across the map to move. The slider bar at the bottom controls the opacity of the radar, which is quite useful, especially with the aforementioned pinpointing of exactly where the rain is currently perched over. It’s clean, simple and very easy to use. While it doesn’t provide any information on other weather conditions and there’s no interface outside of the main radar/map screen, it is one of the most accessible radar applications currently available on the Android Market and should find itself useful for weather-watchers and anyone frightened of being caught out in soggy conditions. We wouldn’t exactly call it a must-have app but if you are looking for a radar application for dummies, then this freebie is worth checking out.

■ Never get caught out in the rain again by looking at this in-depth radar for precipitation


■ The app is simple to use, so it very much suits those starting our with radar images


Android

Weather

Price: Free Developer: Factory Widgets

3D Digital Weather Clock Style over substance

Price: Free Developer: The Weather Network / MeteoMedia

WeatherEye

A content-packed weather app

This is a sharp-looking 3D clock widget, with up-todate information on the latest weather in your current location, while also providing the date and time. These are most of the features you’ll find loaded on any standard weather widget, with forecasts and current weather being the main functions. The battery icon on the clock is a nice addition but you’ll soon notice how draining the app can be. The main imagery is vibrant, with just the two weather layouts popping off the screen with some standard 3D graphics. It’s not particularly showy – don’t expect any flash animations – but it effectively displays the information clearly. It lacks the extensive features of other weather apps but if you’re looking for a sleek weather widget to display all the valuable information, then it’s suited for quick-glance updates. However, it doesn’t offer enough in the way of detail or variety, leaving anyone looking for a more comprehensive app left out in the cold.

A no frills weather app that offers hourly to longterm forecasts, so you can plan everything from a night out to your whole week. The widget’s simple setup makes for ease of use and there’s enough detail here to satisfy most, using radar maps and GPS locators to provide the latest news for your area. The general functionality is straightforward, as is the interface, displaying information in an accessible manner. It’s not stylish by any means but the content more than makes up for the lack of visual panache. A neat extra is the ability to upload your favourite weather snaps to the Weather Network website. However, the greatest strength is in its weather alerts, sending any severe weather warnings for your area straight to your phone. With plenty of statistics for wind speed, humidity, pressure and visibility, it’s an intelligent, comprehensive app for the bargain price of nothing, packed with detail. Who needs style when you’ve got this much substance.


Rating ★★★★★ ■ For a free app there’s a lot here to praise

■ The interface is simple, which is great for seeing the weather update at a glance

■ It’s a simple app, with nothing fancy to it, but it does what it does well enough


■ Its simple style is backed up by great content

Weather

Android

Wetter.com Surprisingly dry

Price: Free Developer: Wetter.com AG

A basic weather app that offers little of its boasted features to UK residences. What they do get is a seven day forecast delivering information on general weather, wind speed, temperature and risk of rain, all for your local area. Selecting any day of the week breaks down the weather into different parts of the day, which is a nice addition. There’s also the option to look at the weather around the world too, with the use of GPS maps. The layout is simple, with the information displayed clearly. A widget can be placed on your phone which only gives a basic view of the current weather and temperature. More disappointingly, the app features a great-looking rain radar and weather videos hosted by a presenter that are only region specific to Germany and a couple other European countries. It makes the overall package of the app disappointingly slight for UK residents, with a lackluster widget, which could offer a lot more if the premium content was available worldwide. So unless you’re planning a trip to Deutschland, there’s not a lot to recommend.

■ This is a great app for when you’re visiting Germany, but it won’t help out most


■ The layout is really clean and simple so the information is clear

Weather, Alerts, Quakes, Barometer

Price: £1.84/$3.00 Developer: Elecont software

Extensive, Accurate, Unique, Great

A hugely detailed weather app that’s sure to overwhelm many with its user interface. Featuring barometer displays, earthquake information from around the world and UV radiation levels, along with a 14 day weather forecast, there’s no shortage of weather statistics here. The widget is a little rough, featuring a clock that displays all the temperature levels across the face, but matched with the information around it this feels cluttered. A unique aspect to the app is the earthquake features, which holds information on earthquakes that have occurred all around the world. All the other usual information you would expect from your forecast, including wind speeds, air pressure, and sunrise and sunset times, make it compatible for day-to-day life. However, this app offers a huge amount more to weather enthusiasts looking for extensive knowledge about the climate around the globe.


■ The amount of detail given to you is really great

■ The widget is a little messy to look at, but this app is packed full of good stuff


Android

Weather

Price: Free Developer: Stridge Project Inc

Namazu Alert

Keep updated on quake activity A free earthquake alert app with push notifications proves a welcome idea in the wake of the recent quakes. The app is primarily for residents of Japan, as you select which region in the country you want warnings for (all terms and conditions are in Japanese). Unfortunately, reports suggest that the app is inaccurate, not picking up major earthquakes in certain regions. The information it does supply is in lists, giving an idea on time, location and quake severity. ■ A great app for those who read Japanese


Price: £1.22/$1.97 Developer: Tomasso

Solaris Alpha

Watch the sun in the palm of your hand A great-looking application that features real-time 3D views of Sun and Earth. If you’re interested in solar flares and space weather, then you won’t find a more dazzling app, with gorgeous visuals displaying all the relevant information. A ringtone will alert you when new solar flares are detected, a geomagnetic storm level increases, or when the aurora may be visible from your phone's location. You can move around the Sun and look at x-ray flares and sunspots, with the ability to zoom into specific regions on our planet's closest star with ease. It is an engaging, visually sumptuous application, using advanced technology to make outer space more accessible for everyone. ■ Be alert when there's a solar flare


Price: £1.07/$1.72 Developer: Down South Customs

Price: £4.90/$7.91 Developer: PYK Consulting a

Discover when the next storm will hit

The perfect app for weather watchers

Track-It Deluxe

PYKL3 Radar

If you're going on holiday or live in the world's renowned inclement weather hotspots, then you'll like a hurricane tracking app that’s simple to use. Featuring satellite loops and news on the latest hurricane activity in the Atlantic and Pacific regions. Its ease of use is welcome and the widget fits nicely onto the homescreen. Further news on hurricanes isn’t as easy to read – you'll find it listed as scrollable text – but the satellite imagery, broken into specific areas in both regions, is full of detail and loads quickly. While the Deluxe version is both fast and efficient, there’s also a basic iteration with just a small amount of the features and comes at the cost of absolutely nothing. ■ Track Atlantic and Pacific storm paths



PYKL3 Radar (pronounced Pickle Radar) is a great app for meteorologists and weather enthusiasts alike, looking to keep a detailed eye on what’s going on with major weather movements in their area. The extensive radar viewing offers multiple tilts of reflectivity and velocity across the map. If you’re a storm chaser looking to track down hurricanes, tropical storms and other weather patterns, then this app is a must-have. ■ Satellite imagery shows weather paths


Weather

Price: £1.40/$2.25 Developer: Windfinder

Price: £4.29/$6.92 Developer: Mobile Dev Group

Make sure you get the wind in your sails

Weather watching for pilots

Windfinder Pro

Aimed at worldwide kitesurfers, windsurfers, surfers, sailors and paragliders, this application breaks down the local wind forecast (and general weather information) in 15,000 locations worldwide. There’s a handy map view, getting an up-close look at what to expect. Also, Windfinder News lists events, such as kitesurfing competitions. There is a standard version of the application for free. ■ Find the windiest locations on earth


AirWX Aviation Weather A detailed weather guide aimed towards pilots or anyone interested in air travel conditions, with current reports and radar maps displaying a huge amount of information. The interface is more functional than eye-catching but it gives you METARs (International), TAFs (International), NOTAMs (US Only), Weather Charts (US Only), Radar Images (US Only), and Approach Plates (US Only) – the plates are automatically saved to your device. It’s fast and extremely accurate, with a swathe of other features that pilots can use. Not just an interesting and expertly crafted app, but one that can support flight safety across the globe. ■ Check this before you head into the air


Price: £0.70/$1.13 Developer: bergfex GmbH

Price: £1.22/$1.97 Developer: Earth Networks

Get ready for the slopes

A bug you’ll want to catch

bergfex

WeatherBug Elite

Bergfex is a ski-based weather application, perfect for planning your time cruising down the snowy slopes. It unfortunately misses the French ski resorts off its list but has snow reports and weather information for a lot of favourite locations across Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Northern Italy and Slovenia. With daily up-to-date snow heights, Google Maps integration and webcam footage, it’s practically indispensable if you’re planning on visiting any of the resorts it covers. There’s the handy option to organise ski resorts into your favourites, and detailed maps of each resort so you can both plan the optimum time to ski and which slopes and runs you’ll be rocketing down. ■ The perfect skiing companion


Android

This app holds a huge amount of data, through information gathered from over 8,000 weather stations and 1,000 cameras, providing an accurate outlook of temperature, humidity, wind strength and direction via hourly updates, maps and video forecasts. If you can overlook the bland UI, then you’ll find a weather app loaded with fascinating, precise and informative content, well worth spending time with. ■ Possibly the only app you could need


Android

TM

x e d In

Index

Android App Directory

Your at-a-glance guide to what’s inside… Books/ Education/Reference Wikidroid Plus ...................................................8 Thesaurus ..............................................................9 Kids Numbers and Math Life ...........10 Spelling Bee......................................................11 Spellchecker Pro .......................................... 12 Google Sky Map ......................................... 13 Dictionary.com ............................................. 14 Wolfram Alpha.............................................. 15 Moon Phase Pro ......................................... 15 ASL Dictionary...............................................16 Kids Shapes .......................................................17 Kids Piano Lite.................................................17 TerraTime ...........................................................18 Aldiko Book Reader .................................18


Test Your English..........................................18 Science Facts ..................................................18 LDS Scriptures App ..................................19 Kid Mode ..........................................................19 Human Japanese........................................19 Bible........................................................................19 Monkey Preschool Lunchbox .........20 Star Chart .........................................................20 My First Puzzles ..........................................20 Perfect Ear Pro ...............................................20 UK Driving Theory Test .........................21 Mobile Observatory Pro .......................21 MathPac: CollegeCalculator U.S. Presidents................................................21 Brilliant Quotes & Quotations...........22

MacGyver How To Handbook .......22 Pocketbook Appendix+ ......................22 Urban Dictionary ........................................22 Sundroid Pro Sunrise Sunset ..........23 Moon+ Reader Pro ..................................23 FBReader ............................................................23 Wikipedia Encyclopedia ....................23

Business/Finance Documents To Go .....................................24 Exchange by TouchDown Key .......25 Pageonce Pro.................................................26 Checkbook .....................................................27 aCurrency Pro ...............................................28 Chase Mobile .................................................28

ES Task Manager ..........................................28 Easy Money 1.0 ............................................29 Debt Payoff Planner ................................30 Mortgage Calculator ..............................30 Ledgerist ...........................................................30 Converter Pro .................................................30 LogMeIn Ignition ...................................... 31 Timeclock – Time Tracker ..................31 Budget Book...................................................31 Moola Checkbook ....................................31

Entertainment/Music Movies .................................................................34 PowerAMP Media Player .....................35 MixZing Upgrader .....................................36 PS3 Trophies Pro .........................................37 Spotify ..................................................................37 Jango Radio ....................................................38 Audio Recorder Machine.....................38 ChordBot Pro..................................................38 Spark 360 ..........................................................38 SlingPlayer Mobile ....................................38 Xbox Live Stasticis .....................................38 IMDb Movies & TV .....................................38 TuneWiki – Lyrics & Music....................39

Index

Android

Battle.net Authenticator ......................39 Androidify ........................................................39 Phit Droid...........................................................39 Raziko Extension..........................................39 iTag Pro ................................................................39 DJ Studio ............................................................39 Robotic Guitarist .........................................39

Games Cut The Rope ................................................42 Angry Birds .......................................................43 Doodle Jump.................................................44 Fruit Ninja...........................................................45 Robo Defence ..............................................45 Apparatus .........................................................46 Trial Extreme....................................................46 Gem Miner ......................................................47 Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus .....................................................................................47 Caligo Chaser 2.............................................48 Bubble Blast 2 ................................................48 Bejeweled 2 ....................................................49 Need For Speed: Shift ...........................49 Bebbled .............................................................50 Bouncy Mouse..............................................50 Game Dev Story ........................................51 Go! Go! Rescue Squad! .........................51 UniWar ................................................................51 Jewels ..................................................................51 Pinball HD for Tegra .................................52 Everlands HD .................................................52 Homerun Battle 3D ..................................52 Pro Evolution Soccer 2011...................52 Samurai II: Vengeance.............................53 Blast Monkeys ................................................53 Death Worm ..................................................53 Fruit Slice ............................................................53 N.O.V.A. 2 HD...................................................54 Red Stone .........................................................54 Open Sudoku.................................................54 Trap! .......................................................................54 Raging Thunder...........................................54 Hot Springs Story .......................................54 Paper Toss..........................................................54 Drag Racing.....................................................54 Order & Chaos Online ............................55 Abduction.........................................................55

Grand Prix Story ...........................................55 Hot Springs Story .......................................55 Angry Birds Rio..............................................55 Backbreaker 2: Vengeance..................55 Alchemy Premium.....................................55 Drop 7...................................................................54 Worms .................................................................54

Medscape .........................................................65 90Droid for P90X.........................................65 Weight Watchers Diary..........................65 Instant Hearty Rate Pro .........................65 iTriage....................................................................65 Racing for CardioTrainer .......................65 Daily Ab Workout ......................................65

Health/Medical

Lifestyle

Endomondo Sports Tracker .............58 Runkeeper .......................................................59 ICE: In Case of Emergency ..................60 Epocrates ...........................................................61 CardioTrainer Pro .........................................61 White Noise .....................................................62 Baby ESP .............................................................62 Ultimate Weight Watchers Diary...63 C25K Pro ............................................................63 Push Ups.............................................................63 Sit Ups ...................................................................63 VirtuaGym Fitness ......................................64 Daily Butt Workout ....................................64 AnyTimer Pill Reminder........................64 Prognosis: Your Diagnosis ...................64 Calorie Counter Pro...................................64 Pull Ups................................................................64 Mens Health Workouts..........................65

Sleep as an Droid ........................................66 Horoscopes......................................................67 My Movies Pro...............................................68 Jamie’s 20 Minutes Meal.......................69 Mnuze...................................................................69 Mixology Drinks Recipe ........................70 Bartender ...........................................................70 Days Left Widget.........................................70 AroundMe ........................................................71 Deluxe Moon .................................................72 Galaxy Tarot Lite/Pro ................................72 Relax And Sleep ...........................................72 Alarm Clock Tokiko....................................73

Tiny Flashlight ................................................73 SimplyNoise.....................................................73 Allrecipes.com Dinner Spinner........74 Gossip Buzz Widget ..................................74 Daily Horoscope ..........................................74 In The Kitchen.................................................74 Identity In Christ Daily Bible...............75 Private Diary (Free) ....................................75 Bedside ................................................................75 X3 Watch Accountability......................75

Media/Communications YouTube ..............................................................76 iSyncr for PC.....................................................77 Gmail......................................................................78 WhatsApp Messenger ...........................78 XDA Premium ................................................79 KakaoTalk ...........................................................79 AudioManager Pro ...................................80 Sketchbook Mobile...................................80 Yahoo Mail ........................................................80 Opera Mobile.................................................80 Titanium Media Sync...............................80 Hide Pictures In Stocks...........................80 mVideoPlayer Pro .......................................80 Act 1 Video Player ......................................80 TivoRemote ....................................................80


Android

Index

Video Safe License.....................................81 Wunder Radio................................................81 Video Caller ID ..............................................81 DicePlayer .........................................................81 Spy Camera ....................................................81 File Cover ..........................................................81 Plex For Android ..........................................81

News/Magazines/Comics World Newspapers ...................................84 Msnbc.com .....................................................85 Read It Later .....................................................86 Mango – Manga Reader ......................87 Android Comic Viewer .........................88 Comic Strips.....................................................88 gReader Pro .....................................................88


Manga Watcher............................................89 Pure News Widget.....................................90 The Wall Street Reader Lite ................90 The Adventures Of Simon Pegg ...91 Scott Pilgrim ....................................................91 Comics .................................................................92 Rage Reader ....................................................92 Basic Instructions ........................................92 Fast Dilbert Reader ....................................92 FeedR News Reader .................................93 Google News (Regional) ......................93 Newsroom........................................................93 News Republic..............................................93 DailyComix ......................................................94 Zits ...........................................................................94 Marvel Superheroes.................................94 Jesus Hates Zombies ...............................94 Comic Reader Mobi .................................94 ComicBricks – Beta....................................94 NateComics .....................................................94 Robot 13 .............................................................94 NewsRob ...........................................................95 CNN App............................................................95 Fox News ...........................................................95 Any RSS Reader ............................................95 Mainichi News...............................................95

Sun Alert .............................................................95 iScanner ..............................................................95 Newsweek Mobile.....................................95

Quick Settings ............................................111 Go Launcher EX Notification.........111 Note Everything........................................111

Photography

Shopping

QuickPic ..............................................................96 Picsay Pro ...........................................................97 CameraZoom FX .......................................99 MagicHour Camera .............................. 100 LittlePhoto .................................................... 100 Pudding Camera......................................101 FlickFolio ..........................................................101 HDR Camera+ ............................................102 Fast Burst Camera....................................102 Camera360Free.........................................102 TouchRetouch............................................102 Pro HDRCamera........................................103 Camera Advance .....................................103 Ig CameraPro...............................................103 Camera Fun Pro .......................................103

Scanner.............................................................112 Official eBay Android App ...............113 Mighty Grocery Shopping List.....114 Out of Milk Pro Unlocker ..................115 Inventory Droid .........................................115 What’s It Worth?........................................116 OurGroceries Key.....................................116 ShopSavvy Barcode Scanner ........116 Shopping List ..............................................117 Barcoo................................................................118 Tesco Groceries..........................................118 Amazon UK...................................................118 ScanLife Barcode Reader ..................118 RedLaser Barcode Scanner .............119 Groupon..........................................................119 LivingSocial ...................................................119 Wine + List, Ratings & Cellar ...........119

Productivity Advanced Task Killer..............................104 Root Explorer...............................................105 JuiceDefender Ultimate .....................106 AndroZip Pro File Manager.............107 Business Calender ...................................107 AdwLauncher Ex......................................108 Note Everything Pro Add-on ........108 Thinking Space Pro ................................109 WidgetLocker Lockscreen...............109 Astro File Manager ................................110 Google Docs ..............................................110 QR Droid ..........................................................110 Google Goggles .......................................110 AK Notepad .................................................111

Social Networking Google+ .........................................................120 Facebook for Android..........................121 Twitter................................................................122 Foursquare ...................................................123 LinkedIn............................................................124 Bump..................................................................124 Tapatalk Forum App..............................125

Index

RomeoLive ....................................................125 Shady SMS 2.0.............................................126 iCorps: Pocket Reference...................126 ProBoards ......................................................126 LED Scroller 3...............................................126 Forum Runner ............................................127 TXT MSG Away .........................................127 Tweetcaster...................................................127 Seesmic ............................................................127

Sports ESPN Score Center ..................................130 Live Scores .....................................................131 Formula1.com 201...................................132 Soccer Scores Pro.....................................133 ScoreMobile for Android...................134 SportsTracker Pro......................................134 Arseblog ..........................................................135 Easy Scorecard Pro ................................135 MLB.com At Bat 11..................................135 Trackmaster...................................................135 F1 2011 Timing App...............................136 Xercise................................................................136 Dynomaster .................................................136 Golf Frontier .................................................136 iTrack MMA ...................................................137 ProVideos: Adam Scott .......................137 Dive Log Key ...............................................137 Eurosport.com............................................137 ECB Cricket.....................................................138 Sky Sports News.......................................138

Goal.com.........................................................138 SportsTap ........................................................138 V1 Golf Premium ......................................139 MMA Underground ..............................139 Skydroid Golf GPS ...................................139 Fantasy Premier Manager.................139

Tools Flashplayer 10.3 .........................................140 Voice Search .................................................141 Titanium Backup Pro Key..................142 ROM Manager ............................................143 SetCPU For Root Users........................143 Smart Keyboard Pro ..............................144 System Panel App...................................144 Tasker .................................................................145 SlideIT Keyboard.......................................145 Apps 2 SD Pro ............................................146 SeekDroid.......................................................146 App Protector Pro ..................................146 Gentle Alarm................................................146 Battery Indicator ......................................147 3G Watchdog Pro ....................................147 Folder Organizer.......................................147 Google Translate.......................................147 Adobe AIR ......................................................147 Wheres My Droid.....................................147 SwitchPro Widget ...................................147 Lookout Mobile Secure......................147

Car HUD ...........................................................153 Tripit – Travel Organizer ......................154 Barclays Bikes ...............................................155 KAYAK.................................................................155 FlightView – Flight Tracker ..............156 Satski ...................................................................156 Geolover..........................................................157 Points Inside Airports and Malls..157 Layar Reality Browser............................158 GPS Test Plus ................................................158 Wikitude World Browser ...................158 Currency Converter ..............................158 Trapster .............................................................159 Ulysee Speedometer Pro..................159 Speedometer HUD................................159 MarineTraffic.com....................................159

Android

Weather, Alerts, Quakes, Barometer ......................................................167 Namazu Alert ..............................................168 Solaris Alpha.................................................168 Track-It Deluxe............................................168 PYKL3 Radar ................................................168 Windfinder Pro .........................................169 Bergfex ..............................................................169 AirWX Aviation Weather ...................169 WeatherBug Elite ....................................169

Weather WeatherPro ...................................................162 Rain Alarm Pro ............................................163 GO Weather..................................................164 Rainy Days ......................................................165 3D Digital Weather Clock..................166 WeatherEye...................................................166 Wetter.com....................................................167

Travel & Tramsport Waze: Community GPS ......................149 Google Maps...............................................150 GPS Essentials..............................................151 Maverick Pro.................................................152 London Underground Free............153


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How It Works Book of Space

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SRP: £14.99

SRP: £9.99

SRP: £9.99

This latest addition to the Photoshop Collection includes excellent guides to improve your image editing skills whether you’re a beginner or expert.

Feed your mind and fuel your imagination with this amazing guide to space and the universe from How It Works magazine.

Taking a look into the workings of some of the hottest gadgets and everyday appliances, this is the perfect guide for all tech-lovers.

ative bookazines or give as a gift

3D Art & Design vol 2

Covering characters, environments, architecture and transport, there is something for everyone interested in 3D design in this book. Become a 3D master in no time at all… SRP: £14.99

The Outdoor Photography Book

Web Design 6

The Mac Book vol 6 Revised

SRP: £12.99

SRP: £14.99

SRP: £12.99

Enhance your photography techniques and learn a range of brand new skills with this essential guide to outdoor shooting.

depending on destination

The ultimate guide to creative cutting-edge web design. Discover how to produce next-generation web design projects using some of the hottest technologies…

256 pages of practical and creative tutorials and in-depth features that will take you through all areas of OS X, iLife, iWork, Mac App Store and third-party applications.

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The definitive review listings for iPad, iPhone and Android apps Also in this series

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Your ultimate guide to the must-have apps Suitavbelery for e roid And ice dev

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