The ability to control devices and machines remotely is invaluable to many of us in our everyday and working lives, and although remote desktop apps tend to offer a broad range of functionality, sometimes, only the very basics are necessary. XDA-Developers Member RavinduSha has come up with a nifty app offering a remote switch-off feature for Android, and although we'd perhaps struggle to think of many occasions where such an app would be immediately necessary, it's certainly a useful one to have in the inventory.
Google offers an impressive array of useful apps, and one of the benefits of owning an Android device is that each Google App, or GApp, is offered right from the company's famed Play Store. Akin to the Web and desktop versions of apps such as Drive, Keep, Maps and Translate, the mobile versions offer clean, minimalistic and uniform interfaces; but if you're looking for something a little alternative to that quintessentially-Google appearance, one developer has spent a great deal of time inverting the color schemes of said apps to give a radically different appearance. One look is described as "transparent", whilst the other, darker look is "blacked-out", and if you feel as though your Google apps are looking a little washed-out, you may want to check out these modded APKs.
Learning to play a new instrument, particularly if you've never familiarized yourself with anything like it before, can be a little daunting. But the Web is a vast library of learning resources, and now, it only takes an Internet connection and access to a decent app, video or tutorial in order to get started. The very first thing one must master - particularly when using a stringed instrument - is tuning; and although it can be a tricky process, it's also essential for getting a good feel of the instrument. Tunable, an app for iOS and Android, not only wants to make tuning just that little bit easier, but with a very beautiful interface, users can also marvel at the stunning visuals produced during the process. More details and download links right after the jump!
One of Android’s biggest complaints, or rather, complaints related to the smartphone and tablet OS, is the relatively poor battery life, where most users find it hard to even make it through one full day on a single charge. For this very reason, there exists a slew of battery saving and optimization apps not just in the Google Play Store, but also all over the XDA-Developers forum. Most of these apps deliver what they promise, and are generally very functional. However, there is always room for some new contender in such a market, especially if the approach that it takes is different (and new) compared to existing ones. One similar app in this category is Optimus Battery Saver.
The power of The Cloud has brought a whole new dimension to how we go about running our everyday digital errands. As far as note-taking is concerned, Evernote is seen as the go-to option, as it provides a wealth of features while also offering seamless, automatic syncing to any and all of your devices. If you're looking to break away from convention, and instead try another app for the jotting and syncing of notes, you may want to give Notz for Android a try. It's incredibly small (less than 600kB), works nicely with Dropbox, and has a pretty interface. Oh, and it's absolutely free of charge.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 may not have been released yet, but already, the thriving modding community has begun extracting it of all its exclusives and treasures, including its beautiful array of HD wallpapers. The Korean company has, naturally, updated and improved its native personal assistant S Voice for the upcoming flagship, and already, a system dump leaked into the wild has given the opportunity for those on preexisting devices to try it out. The app has already been tested by SamMobile on the Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S III and the Nexus 4, and is said to work "flawlessly" on each. Further details - as well as the download link - are coming up after the break.
Since it’s very beginning, Android has had a rather different way of managing storage space. In the initial devices, the internal memory was really low (imagine a device today with mere 512 MB of storage), and even in those that had larger capacities, it wasn’t possible to even move apps (and data) to SD card for efficient utilization of available space. This, however, brings to me to my second point, that Android has almost always supported external, expandable memory in the form of SD cards. It was quite a way to compete with the main contender in the smartphone arena, too; Apple’s iPhone has always had much larger internal memory (8GB was the very basic), but Android managed to keep the cost lower by embedding a lower capacity flash memory and providing the freedom to expand on it at your will through SD cards.
Fancy controlling your computer from an Android device, but don't want to go installing third-party apps on that computer just for the privilege? Mac Remote for your Android phone or tablet may just be what you need.
Most smartphone users really turn to their device’s home screens as a way to get to their everyday tasks done. Many have attempted to change the way we get to these tasks over the years, and now there is another alternative home screen in town: Chameleon Launcher for Android phones, which has just hit the Play Store, after being massively popular on Android tablets.
All users of Android, and definitely most readers of this website, are likely familiar with Google Play Store, Android’s online directory that connects users with a vast library of Google-approved third-party content, ranging from music and video to third-party apps and e-books. If a newly leaked video today is any indication, Google is getting ready for a major refresh for Google Play, with enhanced features and a much-improved design.
