Playing games on a PlayStation 3 or PC is great fun using a game controller like the Dual Shock 3 from Sony, but inputting data like usernames, passwords or messages to friends using the controller and an on-screen keyboard is no fun at all. Yes there are chatpads and keyboards available with an aim of making getting words onto the screen less of a chore, but that's further expense that in this day and age we can all do without. But, as is always the case, there's another way to achieve the same goal without spending a penny.
Google's purchase of Quickoffice back in June last year raised more than a few eyebrows, but while the search giant has been somewhat busy with other projects over the past twelve or so months, today's announcement that Quickoffice will be free for both iOS and Android users will be music to ears of those looking to be productive on-the-fly. In a year that has seen Microsoft expand its own Office suite to iOS and Android, the Big G has now offering the Quickoffice service completely free, meaning consumers can actually edit Microsoft Office documents without having to pony up any money.
BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) is coming to Android and iOS really soon. The faltering company announced back in May of this year that they were in the process of porting their once popular messaging platform to multiple platforms, but it looks like the Android version has managed to make an appearance a little prematurely. That's right folks, BlackBerry Messenger for Android has somehow managed to leak out to the public, but executives don’t need to worry just yet, as it's entirely unusable without prior permission being granted.
Although many Android users stand partisan against iOS, there are still plenty who can appreciate certain aspects of Apple's mobile OS. With this in mind, developers often come through with apps offering tidbits of the iPhone or iPad experience on Android smartphones and tablets, and Espier Studio has made its name through allowing Droidsters to dress their devices up in the iOS interface. The new Espier Launcher iOS 7, as you might imagine, allows you to make your device look as though it's running Apple's latest and greatest, and with iOS 7 not actually releasing to the public until 18th September, you can actually beat your iPhone-loving buddies to the punch.
The month of August is often the time when families come together to go on a relaxing summer holiday. The kids are off school. The students are usually on an extended break from college or university making it the perfect time for relaxation and vacation. However, it seems that not everyone favors this relaxing mentality, with Internet security company Symantec stating that in August alone more than 1,000 fraudulent and potentially malicious apps were uploaded into the Android ecosystem via the Google Play Store.
If you’ve ever used a Samsung Galaxy device, more specifically a Galaxy S4 in this case, then you’re probably aware of S View. If your device supports a flip-style magnetic cover, then you can get that very same feature on your Android device right now.
Driving comes with enough possible distractions without throwing a smartphone into the equation, but unless you turn the thing off then there's a pretty good possibility that you'll get a few alerts through when you're driving. With Twitter, Facebook and other apps constantly pushing alerts to us alongside good old fashioned text messages and phone calls, there's never any shortage of things trying to grab our attention. When you're behind the wheel though, it's not the kind of thing you want!
Despite being relatively old when compared to many devices currently on the market, the LG-made Google Nexus 4 continues to sell in strong numbers. Moreover, the recent price-drop, which saw significant amounts slashed from the cost of the Big G's already cheap-and-cheerful device, will have done its popularity no harm at all. But due to its age, the technology is not quite as fledgling as this time last year, and if you've checked the displays of devices like the Galaxy S4 or the HTC One, you'll know that the Nexus 4's screen looks a little washy by comparison. Thanks to the work of the guys over at XDA-Developers, notably member franciscofranco, you can inject a little much-needed life into your Nexus 4's display.
The Nexus 7 has proven itself to be one of the most popular tablets in the 7-inch department. A gorgeous little form-factor mixed with powerful internal specifications has managed to push the device ahead of the competition, and the 2013 Nexus 7 also follows the same footsteps of its predecessor from last year. However, as popular as the Nexus 7 has proven to be, it's immediately evident that it differs in some aspects to other Jelly Bean powered tablets.
File explorers for Android are a dime a dozen, so much so that it seems odd to be reviewing one at all, considering the wide variety of very capable choices that are available for free over at the Google Play Store. This is in part thanks to the open source nature of Android, which allows for much deeper level of access to the file system in comparison to what would otherwise require a jailbreak on Android’s major competitor, iOS. The fact that the developer community for Android is also large and active doesn’t hurt the scenario, either.
