So I just got a press release informing me that the Galaxy Young will be released this weekend.

I mean I don't know about you guys, but there are far too little Galaxy phones out there for my liking… 

Press release attached for your pleasure:

24 May 2013, London, UK – Following the launch announcement earlier this year, Samsung has today revealed that the Galaxy Young will be available in the UK from this weekend. Ideal for style seekers, the Galaxy Young is available in a range of different colours and boasts a compact and stylish design.
 
Running on Android™4.1 (Jelly Bean), the Galaxy Young allows mobile tasks to be completed much faster and more efficiently and with the Dropbox app users can access files in any location; for easy editing and sharing. With 4GB internal storage users can take advantage of the multimedia content capabilities and talk for longer due to a 1GHz processor and 1,300mAh battery capacity.
 
Simon Stanford, Vice President of IM division, Samsung Electronics UK & Ireland said: “As with all smartphones in our Galaxy range, the Galaxy Young is stylishly designed and packed full of really standout features that make it a great phone to experience and own.”
 
The Galaxy Young will be available in the UK from a number of networks and online retailers including Carphone Warehouse and O2.

#droidden  

Source

Samsung Galaxy Young
Featured. Phone finder · Price plans · Pay monthly · Upgrades · Pay as you go · SIM free phones · FREE gifts with phones · iPhone 5 · Samsung Galaxy S 4 · iPhone 4/4S · Latest phones · Coming soon · Offers. Shop by brand. Apple · Alcatel · BlackBerry · HTC · LG Electronics · Motorola · Nokia …

Viva Movil was born from the idea that you deserve a better shopping experience - Jennifer Lopez

It's directed at the Latino population in America, which may or may not work, I don't have that much knowledge around this area tbh, is it something people will go for?

J.Lo is the chief creative officer, and majority owner, which sets this situation apart from the others such as Blackberry/Alicia Keys etc.

It sounds like they are going to be pushing bling accessories too….

http://www.getviva.com/

#droidden  

The actual functionality right now is probably more limited than I would like, but the foundation is there, and is still really very impressive!

#droidden

What better way to advertise (because that's effectively all this is) your new smartphone and its features, than to create a musical short film (music video?) around it.

And I actually quite like the music too, always a bonus!

It's things like this that have helped project Samsung to the top of the phone charts. Obviously they spend a hell of a lot of money on marketing, but you also have to get it right too, and they seem to get it right more than they get it wrong (the sports team playing pop music together in the changing room for example!).

#droidden

It has some pretty good reviews on both the Play Store and the Amazon store. Worth checking out (and saving yourself £1.59 in the process! )

#droidden

Source

Amazon.com: 10000000: Appstore for Android
Download the 10000000 app now to your Kindle Fire or other Android devices from the Amazon Appstore for Android.

Look and Feel

As I mentioned above, Kidigi are usually pretty good in the look and feel department, and their good looking Nexus 7 dock meets that high expectation. The dock is made of a black matte plastic that feels very sturdy to the touch. The visible areas of the dock are all plain black, with the Kidigi text on the front being the only blemish, although I use blemish in a good way here, it helps to break up the bare design.

The bottom of the dock contains 4 rubber mats to ensure the dock won’t be slipping around in use. The Nexus 7 fits into the dock in portrait mode, and there is no way to switch this to landscape, something to keep in mind.

Use

The dock contains an insert where the tablet fits that allows for more space to be available if required. This allows you to dock the Nexus 7 whilst using a thin-ish case, without the need to remove the case. A nice touch, and gives this a small advantage over many competitor docks. The N7 slots into a microUSB port inside the dock, which allows the tablet to be charged using the provided microUSB cable that slides into the read of the dock. One of the issues I did find however, was that while docked the 3.5mm headphone jack was inaccessible. This could be a minor inconvenience for some of you, and again is something to consider (I lay the blame for this with Google btw, the headphone jack should not be on the bottom of the tablet near the microUSB port in my opinion).

Conclusion

I really like the Kidigi way of doing things, and this dock matches my expectations. The addition of a removable slot to allow for the N7 to be docked whilst a case is on is a great feature. However, the lack of accessibility to the headphone jack while docked is disappointing.

Look and Feel

The Mobile Bluetooth Keyboard for the nexus 7 looks like it belongs with the N7. The rear of the keyboard is made out of similar (if not quite the same) material as the back of the Nexus 7. It looks exactly the same as the tablet rear, but upon touching it you realise its fully plastic rather than the softer back of the N7. Nevertheless, its a nice design touch and makes the keyboard feel suited to this particular tablet. The N7 actually clips fully into the keyboard, screen against the keys, so that you essentially have the nice rear of the N7 on both sides. It’s a very handy way of carrying both around. The keyboard obviously does add some extra weight though.

There is a microUSB port to the right hand side of the keyboard for charging purposes, although the device doesn’t actually come with a microUSB charging cable. I guess the assumption is you probably had a good few of these already, and can reuse your tablet’s if required.

The front contains the keys, a connect button and an on/off switch. There is also two LEDs to let you know when bluetooth is on/connected and a charging LED. Above the keyboard is a slot for the Nexus 7 to sit in, in landscape, whilst you are using the keyboard.

Use

The keyboard connects fairly easily to the Nexus 7. I had a few issues with the initial paring, however from that point onwards the two connected quickly and without issue. The keyboard buttons are relatively small, which is to be expected as it is designed to fit within the dimensions of the tablets itself. This can make it slightly hard to type efficiently, but it’s a fair trade off for the size and portability.

The keyboard has a few android specific keys, as well as some handy shortcuts. Some of these are listed below:

• Home
• back
• search
• media player functions
• Ctrl+a (select all)
• Ctrl+c (copy)
• Ctrl+x (cut)
• Ctrl+v (paste)
• Ctrl+p brings up the system settings
• Ctrl+m brings up the app settings
• Ctrl+w brings up the wallpaper settings
• Ctrl+tab brings up a recent apps screen.

Conclusion

Overall I really enjoyed this Nexus 7 case/keyboard. As it was made specifically for the N7, there are a few nice touches that you wouldn’t get with a more generic bluetooth keyboard, such as the portability feature. The keys are fairly small, but usable. If you can get over that, then this might just be the keyboard you are looking for!

Source

New product——Next Browser Beta1.2 has been released! | GO Launcher New product——Next Browser Beta1.2 has been released! | Make Your Android Phone Different
Hi, I am grad to introduce our brand new product to you——Next Browser. Download here! ==Feature list== 1. Custom Speed Dail：clean, fast and beautiful! 2. Search and Voice : get anything you want! Voic…

But fear not! If you do want to try out Facebook Home for yourself, we have you covered. Simply download the apk here, and install as you would any other android app. Be sure to let us know what you think of it! You don’t actually need the Home launcher to run the most coveted feature, Chat Heads though, simply updating the Facebook Messenger app to the newest version will do the trick.

Source

http://officialandroid.blogspot.jp/2013/04/a-fresh-new-look-for-google-play.html

1. Benji Bananas  [FREE]

Benji Bananas is exactly what the title suggests..Bananas. This game is an exciting physics type game which is both fun and challenging at the same time. The game play is simple and intuitive and once you start you really cannot stop.

The game starts off with a quick tutorial. You basically are swinging from vine to vine collecting bananas through the air and also inside of trees. The timing of your swings depends on how long you press down on the touch screen. You must press down in order to grab onto a vine. Don’t press it in time and you will fall. The levels are superbly done and have great graphics. This game is free in the Play Store and is sure to help you pass time. Download it today!

Benji Bananas Fingersoft Gratis

2.Nutty Fluffies   [FREE]

This game was recommended to me by one of my students. They had this game on their Nexus 10 and I saw how great it was. Nutty Fluffies is a roller coaster game where you spend earned coins on different types of tracks. You collect hearts as you go through each track to unlock more tracks and characters that can ride inside your roller coaster. Each character can give you different power ups during the roller coaster ride. You control the coaster with a simple swipe from left to right. You can control the speed of the coaster by swiping as well. You can lose passengers depending on how your coaster travels throughout the track which results in lower heart gathering. The game has excellent game physics and also graphics. You also have missions to unlock even more coins and unlockables. This is a fun game and should be very entertaining. Download this today!

Nutty Fluffies Rollercoaster Ubisoft Entertainment Gratis

Hope you all enjoyed this weeks apps! Make sure to Circle me on Google+ and Follow me on Twitter

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Google Keep—Save what’s on your mind
Every day we all see, hear or think of things we need to remember. Usually we grab a pad of sticky-notes, scribble a reminder and put it on the desk, the fridge or the relevant page of a magazine. Unf…

I won't ever forgive you for this Samsung .

#MotD2013

1. Vector   [FREE]

This weeks downloads are pretty much Platform action games. I was browsing the Play Store and found a few that you may enjoy greatly. The first one is a Parkour inspired action game that has had me playing for days.

Vector is a story line driven game that has levels. In short your running away in each level from a person trying to capture you. If he gets close enough, he will shock  you with his shock stick. You dive, slide and jump long distances through buildings, on top, and over other obstacles. This where this game has its “parkour” elements which are the unlockable moves that you do throughout the level. You simply run past an unlocked move and swipe up to perform it. Some are pretty cool and really add more intense chase scenes to the game-play. Swiping is all you need to do to be a Parkour expert. Collect coins to unlock more moves that are required to complete each stage. It gets very challenging after some stages but very fun indeed. Download this game today!

Vector Nekki. Gratis

2. Wipeout   [$1.99]

The Wipeout show that is on ABC is full of fun and laughs as people try to run through obstacles high above water. Of course the big draw to the show, is the”Wipeout” that ensues when people fall miserably into the water. The game surprisingly mirrors that love of the show and makes a great gaming experience on the go. Going through each level you swipe down to duck and hold the left screen to run. You tap the right screen to jump and the rest is up to you to make it through the course. There are many different theme inspired courses that you can unlock by getting  top score time. What is amazing about Wipeout is the physics engine that are involved in the game.With each character the hit detection in spot on. If a bar hits your arm slightly, your body will move slightly. If you touch a bar slightly when you jump over it, you will trip and fall on your face. It’s a great game and very fun to see the “Wipeouts” you have done. You can even share screenshots of certain wipeouts. Download this today !
  

Wipeout Activision Publishing, Inc. £0.64

3. Grudger   [$3.00]

Another slight Parkour inspired game, Grudger brings cutesy  graphics with excellent plat former game-play powered by “Unity Engine”. You get through each Steam punk inspired world trying to find “goods’ to deliver to each “customer ” at the end of each level. You swipe to control your characters movement like roll, jump, double jump, and tapping. The game has many elements that require  patience and timing and its definitely what made me love it so much so far. There is 30 levels so far and I am sure many more in future updates. download this really exciting plat former today!

Grudger Noble Muffins £1.32

And that’s it my friends. Please follow me on Twitter and Circle me on Google + for all new app downloads each Week!

Look and Feel

Lets just get it out there from the start, the inspiration for this case is pretty easy to see, I mean it looks almost exactly like the Nexus 7 Noreve case! Ok, ok, I’m joking of course, the design is almost exactly the same as the Smart case Apple made famous with the iPad. It would be lenient to say that Case-Mate stole the idea, they essentially completely ripped it off. But that’s not entirely a bad thing.

As the name suggests, the case has an air of superiority to it, a nobleness if you will. If nothing else, Case Mate picked a name that truly represents the case they designed. The outside of the case is covered with a mesh “premium leather style” material. The premium leather style is taken from the official description of the case. I’m not entirely sure what Case Mate thinks leather is, but to me this case feels more like a premium fabric style case more than anything else. But don’t take that as me being unhappy, I actually really like the feel of the outer material, its nice against your fingers and the look of the textured material helps to add a bit of class too.

The front has a small indentation towards the bottom right, the Case Mate logo. Again, this is done perfectly and only adds to the premium feel of the case, it certainly looks better being there than if Case Mate had left the front completely bare. The inside of the case contains a microfiber material, once again a good choice as this helps to ensure no damage is done to your Nexus 7 by the case itself, in fact I even noticed a lack of fingerprints on the front of the N7 after opening the front flap. There is also a small slit on the rear where the speaker is found, so you can freely listen to music or watch a video with the tablet in the case.

The case is extremely thin and lightweight, perfect for sliding into your bag or carrying in the hand. You might even notice yourself looking down upon those with the tradition and (decidedly less) sophisticated smart case! (and of course, whatever ghastly tablet may be held inside that smart case!)

Use

The case contains a tab that folds around the rear and via the use of a magnet, sticks to the back. This ensures your tablet will be safe when closed, and also serves a secondary purpose to add a bit of stability when the case is used as a stand.

And that leads me nicely onto the stand capabilities of the case. The front cover is layered so that you may folder it up to three times. This gives you the option of two different ways to create a stand for your Nexus 7. The first allows for a slightly elevated stand, more suitable to typing on the tablet.

The second is more raised, and much more suited to when you may want to use the tablet as a media player, to watch a film to stream a TV programme perhaps.

Case Mate have been quite innovative, and used an adhesive patch to effectively “stick” the Nexus 7 to the case. As such, there are no ugly straps around the tablet, and this only adds to the premium feel the case has. The adhesive is quite strong, there are no worries that the tablet may fall out accidentally, and also should be easy to wipe clean should it become dirty.

Finally, the case makes use of the magnet in the strap to automatically turn on the Nexus 7 screen when you open the case. A small, but nice touch and definitely adds to the positives.

Conclusion

I really like this case, and out of all the Nexus 7 cases I’ve used, this is by far my favourite, for both functional and design reasons. The price tag isn’t the cheapest, but if you’re looking for a good quality, value for money and premium case to protect your own Nexus 7, you can do a lot worse than to pick up one of these.

I was recently given an iPhone for use as my work phone and you know, I actually quite looked forward to seeing how the other half lived and worked. I went into it trying to keep an open mind, and not let my thoughts of ios judge how I was about to use it. I think coming from android might have spoiled me slightly, I probably expect too much from a phone now. If I had come from a dumbphone, my view of the iPhone would probably be quite different, as it is, the following key things stood out at me..

Shortcuts

There is no quick way to disable/enable things like WiFi or Bluetooth. Each of these takes multiple clicks. It should be easy. It isn’t, it’s frustrating, especially if you do it lots like I do.

Android lets you add quick toggles to your notification bar, a much more user-friendly way.

Background Processes

Possibly the most disappointing aspect of ios. The scope of background processes is extremely poor. Two big examples are that Dropbox cannot upload your camera uploads unless you open the app. That is one of the main reasons Dropbox included this feature! So you don’t have to worry about doing it. The other? Spotify will stop syncing your playlists after a few minutes once you leave the app. Needless to say, it won’t even attempt to sync them unless you open the app to begin with.

Things like this happen on android automatically. Apps can have separate background threads designed to do things like sync playlists, and upload photos without eating up your battery.

Folders

Apple won’t let you move certain apps inside a folder, so if you don’t read magazines or newspapers on your 3.5″ screen, you’re stuck looking at an empty bookshelf forever. Literally, you can’t remove it unless you jailbreak. I know, I thought the same too, you actually have to jailbreak your device in order to move an app icon into a folder (or totally from view).

It feels a bit silly to even mention android folders in the same paragraph, the functionality is miles apart.

App Interaction

Apps do not speak to each other at all. You can only share to apps that the app you’re in says you can. This leads to some strange situations:

• You can’t share a photo to Instagram from the camera. You have to actually close the gallery and then go into Instagram, then locate the image inside the gallery. Way too many clicks than should be necessary.
• You are presented the option to share to apps you don’t even have installed! Talk about confusing!

If you’ve ever used android, you’ll understand just how sophisticated app interaction can be, and how pathetic Apple’s version is.

Settings

The settings to configure an app are not accessible from the app in question. Using an app and want to change how it works? You have to leave the app, go to the settings icon, scroll all the way down what could be a pretty huge list (you have to scroll past all the Apple-owned apps first, even if you never use these), then enter the settings option for that app. Then you have to go back and reopen the app again. It’s a long, drawn out process, that makes little sense to me.

Unlimited Data

You can’t download an app that is larger than 50mb unless you are on WiFi, or unless you connect your phone to iTunes. You know that unlimited data you pay a lot to your network for? Apple doesn’t care.

Notifications

The notification pulldown is quite poor. It shows every notification for each app, rather than grouping them. This means the list can get pretty large, and the only way to clear an item is to clear all items.

• You also have to do two things to clear a list of items. 1: Click the cross, then 2: click clear. One action should suffice here.
• You get told of a new notification, but after the initial message you have no idea if you have any. You have to manually swipe down to see if there are any there. Ruins the point of a notification panel.

Keyboard

iPhone owners say the keyboard is fantastic, the only conclusion I can reach is they have never used something like SwiftKey on android. Because the ios keyboard falls dead on its arse once you’ve used android. Little things like:

• The keys always show uppercase letters. sure you can tell if you’re actually about to type in upper-case as the shift key is highlighted, but come on, it feels so archaic when you’re using it.
• You have to click the more button to type anything other than a letter. Writing anything with a comma, question mark or number in takes twice as long as you have to switch back and forth over and over.
• When you tap on a letter, the pop-up showing you what you clicked is enormous! Its ridiculous  it’s so big it actually stops you from seeing the character you want to type next.

Screen

There is no point having a good camera when you can barely see anything you take as the screen is so small. This isn’t just holding back the camera either. You need great eye-sight to use an iPhone, everything is tiny.

Sure you can zoom in on the browser, but then you can’t see much of anything else.

• Most apps don’t let you zoom.
• This is a big issue during general navigation too. The amount of times I’ve had to keep jabbing at a small cross, or mini back button because it doesn’t register my touch. It’s just annoying.

Default Apps

So I use Chrome on every device, why? So all my stuff syncs wherever I am, whatever I’m using. Apple tries its hardest to make your life difficult. I installed Chrome on the iPhone, but I rarely ever got a chance to use it. Apple defaults to Safari for everything. This is the same for the majority of apps that Apple bundle with the phone. Keyboard, dialler, email client, you name it, you probably can’t change it!

UI

The UI is really beginning to show its age. This is essentially a 6 year old design, and it shows. When others are actually pushing design forward (see Windows Phone, Android), Apple are really stuck in a rut here. If you disagree and own an iPhone, then simply take a look at any google app on your device. You’ll understand what I mean.

A couple of years ago I’d get laughed at for saying this, but right now Apple is trailing far behind android on looks.

Scrolling

The scrolling! Have you ever tried scrolling on an iPhone? It’s like you purposely stuck your phone in a big tin of Golden Syrup, then put glue on your thumb, then attempted to scroll down a web page.

Downloads

Fancy downloading an attachment from your email? Tough luck. You can open it, you can share it to about 4 places (the places Apple allow you to), but download it? No chance.

Conclusion

That is just a list of things that annoy me about the iPhone, there are plenty more things that android does a lot better, but quite frankly I ran out of time.

The single biggest annoyance though? Apple makes it clear when you use the iPhone that it knows best. They know better than you what apps you want to use, how you want to interact, how you set your phone up. But throughout my use of the iPhone I’ve come to one major conclusion. Apple knows nothing about me.

But wait, it’s not all bad. Apple does have some good stuff going for it (if you forget about the cost), I mean it’s all about the apps right..? Right? (NB: This argument doesn’t work when your biggest competitor also has hundreds of thousands of great apps).

But truthfully, there are some things that Google can learn from Apple. I’ll discuss these in an upcoming post!

I’ve been using what was a pretty terrible car dock, one I picked up for an outrageous £10 from PC World for a while now. It wasn’t very good, it was poorly made and my phone came flying out with the tiniest bump in the road, and if you’ve seen the state of the roads up North, you’ll understand when I say my phone spent most of it’s time on the floor, than actually in the dock.

The guys over at MobileFun understood my troubles, and sent me a couple of car docks for me to check out, the *Genuine* Samsung Universal Vehicle Dock and the SuperGrip Universal Case Compatible Car Mount. I’ve been putting both through their paces to see just how good they are. Rather than a typical couple of reviews, I’ll compare both and see how they match up. Take the jump for my thoughts!

Look

The genuine Samsung dock looks very premium. The matt black plastic looks extremely sophisticated when attached to your windscreen. The sticky pad is attached to a thick, short arm, again made of the same black plastic. The arm is well made and both looks and feels like it was made to last. The part of the mount that holds the phone contains soft padding to ensure that your phone won’t get scratched or damaged when using the dock. Again, as with the rest of the mount this padding feels more towards the premium side too.

The Supergrip mount looks a bit cheaper than the Samsung dock. The quality of the plastic used doesn’t meet the standards Samsung have set. The arm that holds the mount to the windscreen pad, once again, feels cheap. The arm becomes very thin towards the ball, and although this allows for a lot of movement, it also makes the mount feel like it may snap easily if you’re not careful. The grip itself contains a red material that does help add a bit of style to the dock. It looks fine when a phone is connected, however when the “claw” is closed with no phone inside, it looks slightly ugly.

Use

The Samsung dock contains a sticky pad that has kept the dock secure to my windscreen despite the many bumps I’ve been over. You’ll be unlikely to see the dock coming off the screen. The mount has adjustable grips that are wide enough to fit the Galaxy Note II in with ease. The grips also gradually come inwards to ensure that it has complete hold of your phone. Unlike cheaper car mounts, your phone should never come flying out mid-journey.

The Supergrip has what is possibly the stickiest suction pad I’ve ever seen. The pad is actually patented, and I can see why. Because it is so strong, it’s also suitable for use on your dashboard too, however in my testing the dashboard location has to be as flat as possible or it simply won’t stick. The grip itself holds the phone fine, and again is wide enough to hold the Note II with ease, even with a fairly thick phone case on.

It’s slightly awkward to open the Supergrip to add a phone, or to release the grip to remove a phone. The clip is at the rear and you will find yourself awkwardly reaching around the back to unclip. the Samsung mount is substantially easier on both counts. To add the phone you simply place it within the grip and push them together until they wrap the phone. To release the phone, there is a conveniently places button on the rear, towards the bottom. A press of this button opens the spring loaded grip and the phone is released.

The Supergrip has a slightly larger range of movement than the Samsung mount, however the Samsung one covers most scenarios you’d potentially place the phone. It works well both vertically and horizontally, the phone fells same in both orientations. The Supergrip feels less secure in portrait due to their being nothing under the phone. Having said that, I don’t believe it was actually any less secure, at least in my testing it held the phone perfectly in both directions.

Conclusion

Both mounts are suitable for any type of smartphone, even up to and slightly larger than the Samsung Galaxy Note II. This is one of the more important features of a car mount as you can re-use it when you get your next phone. Neither have a charger included, a desirable but by no means must-have feature. I personally found the Samsung holder to be of higher quality and easer to use on a day-to-day basis. However, the Supergrip did contain one feature that puts it head and shoulders above most other mounts out there…

1. Little Things Forever   [FREE]

If you love the old classic “find these objects” games and “Where’s Waldo” you will very much enjoy Little Things Forever. This game is a really well made up game with cute graphics and fun game-play. The game board is a giant star comprised up of numerous items and animals. You start out on one animal that transforms into a series of items. In the items you are given a list of things to find. It’s a very challenging game because certain objects are color coded based on the image. Each completion of a stage merits you a puzzle piece. Put together a puzzle piece and you then can get another object/animal to unlock. It’s very cleverly well done and hours of fun. Download this today!

Little Things® Forever KlickTock Gratis

2. What’s The Word 4 Pics [FREE]

Another good puzzle game that is finally available for Android in Google Play is “What’s the Word 4 Pics”. Very simple game-play make this a pick up for any time of the day. You are given a grid with 4 pictures. You then must solve the word by using the chosen letters underneath it. All 4 pictures relate to the word to help you solve it. This is a great game with many funny different words. Download this today!

App Name Developer ND

It all started with the general outcry (and a lot of disgust), at Madfinger and their release of Dead Trigger last summer. Normally we associate IAP with free games, but not here. Madfinger charged around 69p/$1 for their game, but it was impossibly hard without then spending further money within the game, so hard in fact, it was virtually unplayable. They essentially charged you up front for a game, then forced you to spend money in-game if you wanted to keep playing. That upset a lot of people (me included), and Madfinger eventually removed the initial cost, blaming piracy for it being there in the first place. A very convenient story, and also one I didn’t believe at the time (and still don’t).

1. Offer a game for free (or low initial price).
2. Users play and enjoy.
3. Offer additions to add more fun to the game for a price.
4. Users purchase in-game to add fun, or make it easier.

IAP can actually be a good business model, for both developers and customers. Developers need to get paid, game development isn’t easy. It’s hard to create a coherent idea that people will enjoy, its hard to write that game (arguably harder than creating apps), and when you counter in the fact that a lot of game developers are individuals or small teams, the above is compounded.It’s sort of like you going out and completing your day job, then at the end of the month your pay packet coming in at 10% of what you thought it should.

But, for IAP to be good for everyone, it needs to be done right. At this very moment in time, I’m struggling to actually think of an android game that has gotten even close to the right balance. So let’s have a look at the common problems I see with IAP:

1. Initial Cost

Making people pay to get the game, then pay to gain extra’s can be done well. But I haven’t seen a single example of this. What I have seen is an initial cost that matches the price of other games that don’t have any IAP! Then the IAP items tend to be integral to the game, rather than superfluous items designed to enhance the fun. Why on earth would I want to buy your game knowing I’m going to have to keep on spending if I want to keep playing?

2. Difficulty

IAP is about enhancing the game, it shouldn’t be used as another form of difficulty (or at least, not so much). A lot of games get this totally wrong. A free game that contains IAP should still be playable without having to purchase anything! I have lost count of the number of games I’ve played where I get a 1/3 through and the game suddenly becomes absolutely unplayable. It’s as if the difficulty increased ten-fold for absolutely no reason. Well, I say no reason, the reason is to make me spend money. This isn’t the IAP model, this is the freemium model…. Or in other words, the wrong model.

3. In Your Face Attitude

Ok, so I know your game contains IAP because I read the description before I downloaded it, I also saw the “Shop” icon subtly displayed in the centre of the screen when I opened it up, oh yeah, I also noticed the big pop-up before the 1st level displayed asking me to buy some power-ups, and I nearly forgot, the full-screen store window suggesting I increase my number of gold coins by 10,000 for only £3.99. In other words, I get it. I know, now leave me alone to actually play your game, see if it’s any good then decide if I want to give you my money.

4. Designing For IAP

Games should be created with the the goal of providing a fun experience for the player. But when IAP is involved, it feels like that almost becomes a secondary item. Games that are designed for IAP are generally just not as fun to play.. A pretty good and recent example of this is Angry Birds. This game is massive right now, but it started out with humble beginnings. It was free (on android at least) and the ads were non-intrusive. Yet if you go and pick up Angry Bids Space right now, you can barely breathe due to all the IAP elements literally thrown in your face. For people who just want to play the game, this is becoming a serious issue in the fun aspect.

I see elements of the above all the time. It’s so bad that I’ve pretty much given up on the IAP model all together. If I see a free (or paid for the matter) game, I’m very suspicious of it until I actually see proof it wont try to get money from me. If I do see it has IAP, then I’m always looking out to see i the game will still allow me to play it well enough without me having to buy power ups or game money. All of this actually detracts from what I should be doing, enjoying the actual game…!

The other problem with the IAP model is how well it transfers to other devices. When you purchase something from the android Play Store, you own it. That game is available on every device you own. But how about if you make an in-app purchase on one device. Is that then available on the next device you own? Possibly, possibly not.. The games don’t offer any advice on this matter either, which makes me think they are trying to skirt the issue, which makes me think I’ll probably have to make that same purchase again next time. Maybe I’m being too un-trusting? But when I hit level 5 and basically couldn’t proceed as it was too hard, you lost any trust I might have had.

One of the arguments for IAP is that it helps developers get paid in our world that is overrun with piracy. App piracy is something I hate, I’ve already explained earlier why you should spend the 59p or $1 a game asks of you before you play it (and to prove it, I recently calculated that I’ve spent over £250 on apps in the past 2 years). I’d like to offer a new argument, IAP actually promotes piracy. Hear me out. There are lots of negatives about IAP, these are compounded by developers who get the model completely wrong. This could make users actually look for the pirated version of the game instead. A pirated game that may have the link to the store replaced with freebies, or removed altogether. People who might have actually paid the $1 to buy the game can play freely now are pushed to the pirated version of your free game because you so royally screwed up (just a thought, but who knows).

A Final Thought

IAP to me right now is the equivalent of a big sign telling me to be wary at the least, and to stay completely clear at the most. This is from a guy who loves trying new apps and games, who spends a lot of money buying apps and games, but who is essentially tired of being disappointed so much.

The model can work, it just needs t be treated with respect by developers and implemented for the benefit of everyone. That way we can all win. Us consumers get to play great games without feeling cheated, and developers get the compensation they deserve for providing us with a great experience. Get this right and IAP could stop being the dirty word it is right now, and be something we can look forward to seeing in new games.

1. Ibotta   [FREE]

If you love shopping and you love saving money, then Ibotta is for you. The idea behind this app is that you earn money for purchasing sponsored items available in their app catalog. You can earn different amounts based on what you buy. One Tropicana Orange purchase can merit you 25 cents. You can even earn money for looking for recipes, watching tutorial videos, and even taking a quick poll. Receiving your money requires you to scan your items with your camera and taking a picture with your receipt.  This verifies your purchases. You than can  have your earned money transferred to your Paypal account or even donate it to a local charity or United Way. Great app to give back to yourself or for a great cause. Download this today!

Ibotta Ibotta Gratis

2. Data Sync [FREE] [$2.69]

In the pipelines this week has been a data sync manager in its beta stages that I gave a download. I didn’t like how it was implemented so I went in Google Play and thought that there had to be some app that did the same or similar. I wanted a Titanium BackUp type app that could sync between devices. I want to unlock all levels of Angry Birds Space on my HTC Droid DNA, then be able to pick up my Nexus 7 and start where I left off. Data Sync was the answer to my prayers and brought a lot more.

(YOU MUST BE ON A ROOTED DEVICE FOR THIS APP TO WORK)

Data Sync enables you to back up your data for every single one of your apps. Once you Que what you want to backup, it can be transferred to your SD card, Box account, Dropbox account, or even another device with DataSync on the same local Wireless network. It worked seamlessly for me and I loved how fast and efficient it was. The DataSync + can do a bevy of others things like set up auto sync schedules and even sync once you close a game. One feature although in its  beta stage is that it can sync also through NFC…very cool. This is a great Back up and I will be definitely using this in the future. download this today!

DataSync Quint Stoffers Gratis

DataSync+ Quint Stoffers £1.69

3. Lep’s World 2 [FREE]

Super Mario Bros clones are aplenty in the Play Store. Lep’s World definitely takes the crown as the best one out. Lep’s World 1 and Lep’s World 2 are both fun and very entertaining. Platform done right and there is plenty to love about this. The sprite happy graphics are bright and are vibrant and not too overdone. The mechanics are very simple with left right arrows keys to move Lep and a dedicated jump button. There is also an acorn button to throw acorns at enemies as well. Though Lep’s world 2 may look similar to its original but the music is different and it also adds the element of swimming stages. Download this game today and hopefully it brings you back to the Super Mario days as it did I.

Lep's World 2 nerByte GmbH Gratis

Now there is a reason for it, a justification you could say for this torrent purchasing of mobile phones. To explain or maybe justify my actions I will define what I use my android device for. I am a freelance IT Solutions Architect (I design computer systems basically) I blog and write. Being self-employed I have adopted a two phone policy. One for work stuff and the other as my personal phone. This works great as I can turn my business device off at night but still be contactable for friends and family on my other phone.

My personal device I will say only gets upgraded once a year and is and has always been an iPhone. I’ve tried using the iPhone for work and the Apple ecosystem just doesn’t work for me that well. For social networking, music, calls and text its fine anything above that and no it fails but as my personal phone it does the job. My business phone has always been Android based, there has been the odd Win7/8 in there along the way but for me Android fits with what I need it for. So if I like Android so much the question is ‘Why do I not settle with one device?’

Before writing this article I thought long and hard about this question and made a list of all the devices I’ve purchased in the last 12 months and my reasons for the short ownership. I wont list every device but give a few examples:

SGS 3 – Touchwiz for me is a terrible layer over Android, always has been since the original Galaxy and it really doesn’t get any better. The device itself is great (bit plastic looking) but I don’t buy a £500 device to then install a custom launcher or ROM over the top.

Motorola Razr I – Almost a vanilla Android OS on this device and the processor is snappy enough but even though the device is a 4.3″ it felt tiny compared to other devices I’ve been using. Battery life was truly amazing.

Galaxy Note 2 – Marmite phone really. Great phone if you ignore Touchwiz but the size was a little much for me. I like to have two devices not one that acts as a both. Shame as I wanted this to be the keeper as the screen estate was fantastic.

Sony Xperia – Terrible to hold and to use and shocking battery life. Bond may love this phone but for me it was a no.

What I noticed when making this list was that two things stuck out, the screen size and how the device felt in my hand when being used (I remember when I had my HTC Incredible S ok it was a small screen but to use the device felt great and in fact was in my possession the longest of all the phones looking back). Battery life is of course important but it is for all of us regardless of what type of user we are but carrying a charger around isn’t the end of the world and with the amount of time I spend using my phone there isn’t a device out there that will last a full day.

Every handset I own gets configured the same, with the same shortcuts, widgets, keyboards, notifications etc so putting launchers aside it really is down to form factor and feel ability.This may sound odd to some reading this article but when you spend as much time using a device as I do for email, lync, webex, texts and calls during a day it becomes very important.

I am sure some reading this will comment about custom ROMs to remove Touchwiz or Sense (which I don’t mind as much) but because I use the device for business I don’t want to be running custom ROMs as I need my phone to operated correctly all the time and let’s be honest while there are some great ROMs out there they aren’t always a good idea to run on your daily driver.

So over the Christmas break I took a look at a number of devices and nothing was really working for me. Sitting at my desk I opened my file draw where the Nexus 7 is always stored and notice a phone in there that I don’t actually remember putting there in the first place. I popped my SIM in configured the default ‘Me’ setup and have been using it ever since and it is working a treat for me and I don’t see me replacing any time soon. What is this device you ask?…..

Well its the Samsung Galaxy Nexus! Not a new device and lower spec than the devices I have been using recently but it just works for me and that’s what’s important I need a device I feel comfortable with and as I am only using this as my business phone it doesn’t need to be Quad Core as no game playing takes place. I do actually think I have found the device I will keep for a while now. Of course I just hope Googles next Nexus phone hits the spot as the Nexus 4 left me disappointed.

Make sure to follow me on Twitter and Google + as well

1. Pixr Express   [FREE]

From the makers of SketchBook Pro comes this very unique and intuitive picture editor. You can tweak and customize picture to your liking with ease. you can choose from  600 effects, overlays, and borders to personalize any image. The idea behind the title “Express” is fast customization and that’s what this app brings you. You have simple bottom navigation that open up other effects or overlays with ease. Its almost like opening folders in a desktop. It is very seamless and definitely is on par with the like of other giant photo applications like Snapseed.

Give this one a download and see how fast you can create great photos.

Pixlr Express Autodesk Inc. Gratis

2. Pudding Monsters  [FREE] [.99]

Cut the Rope has really taken me away from school work in the past. The makers of that same game really know how to keep that relevant in all their games because Pudding Monsters is just that type of game. What made Cut Rope so popular was its quick game-play of intuitive levels and very unique style of play. Pudding Monsters takes that concept and delivers what i believe is a little bit more.

The graphics in Pudding Monsters are very good also. Its almost is good as Jelly Defense another great game with great graphics. The object of the game is to combine all pudding monsters together on a table like platform with them sliding off. You must combine them as your last move. The puzzle element is also more difficult when you have to collect 3 stars as well. So each move must be strategic. Your monsters shape will adjust based on where you slide into them. Think Tetris meets Cut the Rope. Its a great game and sure to keep people busy for hours. there is a HD game for .99 cents and also a free version with ads.

Pudding Monsters HD ZeptoLab £0.62

Pudding Monsters ZeptoLab Gratis

3. Banderitas Negras [.99] [FREE]

I love Icons. I love changing them constantly. My buddy NeffStar has developed some pretty interesting and unique sets of icons. One notable one that he just released is called Banderitas. This obviously translates to “Flags”. These unique and very detailed “banderitas” are available in a variety of colors like orange, white, red, green, and black.

The black ones which are my favorite are .99 cents and i highly recommend getting this set as well as the free ones. They also come with there very own set of unique Wallpapers that were down by Neffstar as well. You must have a launcher that supports “icon sets” for you to apply these. Download them all and support developers who always give to the Android Community. Check out his other wallpaper apps and icons HERE in the Play Store.

Banderitas Verdes NeffStarr Gratis

Banderitas Rojas NeffStarr Gratis

Banderitas Blancas NeffStarr Gratis

Banderitas Naranjadas NeffStarr Gratis

Banderitas Negras NeffStarr £0.61

One of the best things about the Note II is the ability to use the S-Pen to write, instead of tapping keys with your fingers as you normally would. The stock Samsung keyboard includes this feature, but for those of us who prefer 3rd-party keyboards (such as Swiftkey), it’s a hassle to manually change over the keyboard when using, and not using the S-Pen. It doesn’t appear that you need root either, so all of you can enjoy this one!

This is where this app comes in. It allows you to set a keyboard for when you are not using the S-Pen, and a keyboard for when you are using it! It knows when you release the S-Pen from its slot and changes the keyboard automatically, and again once you dock the S-Pen.

I’ve had a go, and version 1 works great already. If you have a Note II, I’d strongly suggest getting this app! A description of the app is given below:

Have you ever wanted to use a certain keyboard for normal use, and a different one for the S-Pen! This will ease your life.
- When the service is running, the pen’s position is detected and the keyboard is switched to the learned or pre-defined one (depending on the mode).
- The service runs quietly and efficiently. No popups, no interventions.
- Support for starting on boot
- Service supports two modes:
Learning mode: Tries to detect the keyboard you use in each pen position, stores the detected keyboard, and uses it the next time you take your pen off, or return it to its place.
Fixed Mode: The service only uses the keyboards you chose inside the application, even if you use another keyboard for a short time, when the pen’s position, the keyboard is reverted back to the ones you chose.

You can find out more and download the app over at XDA. Let me know what you think!

Look & Feel

The Tech 21 Impact Snap case is a Galaxy Note 2 cover that has “impregnated d30 technology”. Yes, you read that right, they use the term impregnated.. A quick look in the dictionary (I joke, I searched Google), provides the definition of impregnation as fertilize, or the less common meaning, to soak or saturate. d3o is “..an innovative substance which hardens on impact”. Essentially, this substance is soft to the touch, but should harden on impact, so if you drop your phone hopefully providing additional protection, and therefore less damage if you do ever drop your phone. If you take a look at the pictures, the d30 substance is that orange material inside the case.

The bulk of the case is  white polycarbonate plastic material, its tough and rigid, but does have a slight air of cheapness about it. The back is smooth so doesn’t add a huge lot of grip to the phone, but more than the stock back casing of the phone. There are cut outs for all the major points of interest in the phone including the 3.5mm jack, rear camera and flash, volume rocker, power button, speaker and of course s-pen.

The back of the case has a “tech21 Impactology” branding on it. Impactology seems to be a trademarked word by Tech21 that makes me feel slightly queasy upon hearing…!

Use

The case clips nicely onto the Note II without much hassle. It’s secure and seems like it wouldn’t fall apart or fly off if you do drop it. Please note that I haven’t tested the d30 impact technology! Nor will I so you’ll just have to take Tech21’s word on its usefulness

Once on the phone, the case curves over the sides of the phone. This helps make the case tight on the phone, however it also makes it a lot harder to remove the case. I really did struggle and worried about doing damage to the Note II during this process. This probably won’t be an issue as you’re likely to keep the case on the majority of the time, but it’s something you should be aware of.

Conclusion

For me, the Tech21 case is just too bulky for day to day use. The case itself isn’t exactly bulky, but when attached to the phone it does feel like it makes the phone quite a lot larger. But you should know that I prefer ultra minimal cases, so don’t take this as a huge criticism! The d30 technology is an interesting concept too, and if nothing more, Tech21 seems like a company committed to innovation in the phone case world.

I grabbed the official Galaxy Note 2 dock from the awesome guys at MobileFun to give it a test run. The dock comes with a spare battery too, the battery is exactly the same as the one that came with your Note II, so having a pair of these fully charged will give you a more than 2 days charge at a minimum, and if you’re kind to your phone you could even see a good 4 days usage without having to even sniff a charger. For one of, if not, the best and mot powerful smartphones available right now, that’s some feat.

The dock itself looks exactly like the SII battery dock, only slightly larger to accommodate both the larger phone and physically larger battery. I was sent the white dock, which goes well with the marble white Note II I have. Again, similar to the SII dock this one is made out of glossy plastic, but manages to keep a premium look. One of the things that really annoys me about phone review (and Samsung ones in particular), is the general dismissive nature of phones made out of plastic… Plastic != poor quality.

The dock has a hidden compartment that allows you to place the spare battery inside, meaning you can charge the battery as well as charge your phone at the same time. However, the dock has no way to actually charge the phone as well, you’ll have to do this using your normal microUSB charger. The addition of this would have been nice to this dock.

Personally, I love the idea of having a spare, fully charged battery for my Note II, so this accessory is a great for me, but the Note II is a different animal. Your battery might just last long enough to deem this one unnecessary!

I feel pain right down to my core whenever I see an expensive smartphone wrapped up in some bulky, ugly case. It’s just plain disrespectful, to both the phone and the engineers that spent (probably) months designing this thing so it fits in your hand perfectly, and making sure that it’s pleasing to the eye! (Well ok, sometimes those engineers probably deserve being kicked out of the door but we’re talking in an ideal world here!).

If you’ve ever read any of my past phone case reviews, you’ll probably know I much prefer thin, light touch cases for my devices. In fact, if it comes down to a choice between a bulky case and no case, no case will always win. I use my phone so much every day that I can’t imagine having to make a compromise between safety and seeing the intended beauty of the phone…

Some of you may say “but Rachid, what if you drop your lovely new Galaxy Note II!?”, well c’est la vie! Shit happens, right? But I do take steps to protect myself as much as possible. Like I mentioned, I do actually use cases on my phones, but it has to be a light touch, so light that in an ideal world I’ll never even realise it’s there. This keeps my phone safe from everyday scratches, which is all I can ask. If I do drop my phone (this happens, so far no permanent damage though!) and it smashes, I have my insurance policy to make sure anything that needs fixing, or heavens forbid, if a replacement is required I’ll get that done for a relatively small excess fee, and be back to new before you can take of your bulky case.

Currently I have the Samsung Galaxy Note II, and I’m struggling. I really do want a case to protect my £500 phone from little niggly scratches, but as of yet there simply no Galaxy Note 2 cases that meet my requirements…

Come on Samsung, please hurry up and cater for those of us who do respect your designers! We love the design of this phone and want to show it off whilst also being secured from the annoying grit we can’t seem to remove from our pockets (yes people, I do actually place my Note II in my pocket, and guess what, it fits!).

Yours,
Rachid

Why not check out my Top 7 Android apps I use daily too?

Battery Widget Reborn

Android phones are beginning to ship with the option to turn on a number representing the percentage of battery remaining. This is great, but that’s only basic functionality. Battery Widget Reborn sits in the background analysing your battery use. As such it provides you with great information such as average charging time, average time per 1% drop in battery as well as a projected time left based on current and historic use. On Jelly Bean it also has a great expandable notification showing a graph on your past and projected usage.

Battery Widget Reborn (BETA) Tomas Hubalek Gratis

Directory Bind

A lot of phones have a small amount of internal memory, relatively speaking. My Galaxy Note II has 16GB of internal space, but that’s not enough for me so I supplement this with a 64GB microSD card (Sandisk class 10 for only £34 by the way!). With some android games hitting almost 4GB of space required, wouldn’t it be great if you could move app data from your internal memory to your external memory easily, whilst also tricking the app or game to read from the external location rather than the internal location? Well, you can do this! By using Directory Bind you can create a symbolic link to an external file location to free up your internal space. Very bloody cool.

Get the app from XDA here.

Hullomail

Visual voicemail, for free. Hullomail just works. You can also set it up to email you a media file containing the voicemail you just missed. This is a great feature I use all the time at work (where I more often than not have my headphones in listening to Spotify). It means I can listen to my voicemail messages instantly without touching my phone! If you fancy paying a bit extra, you can also get your voicemail messages in text too! With a bit of creativity (and the help of the FolderSync app and Dropbox – see below), you can also automatically upload your voicemail media files to Dropbox, which get synced to your PC automatically, hence another way to listen to and backup your voicemail messages without lifting a finger!!

HulloMail Free SmartVoicemail™ HulloMail Ltd Gratis

SwiftKey

There are many great android keyboards, SwiftKey is right up there with the best (you might also like to try Swype, or Thumb Keyboard if you have a tablet). The choice of which is down to your personal preference and the size of device your using. SwiftKey is one of the best available however. It is extremely customisable, including a number of very cool themes. The best thing about this keyboard is that it learns how you type, and uses that knowledge to predict the next word you’re going to type. It’s so good it sometimes scares me!The autocorrect function is arguably the best on any keyboard out there too. My only complaint? This isn’t available on my Windows PC

SwiftKey Keyboard Free SwiftKey Gratis

Lux Autobrightness

I find the auto brightness feature of most smartphones to be either too harsh, or just plain annoying. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could manage the auto brightness settings yourself? If you could actually teach the auto brightness to work how you want it to under certain conditions? This is where Lux comes into its own. You essentially teach it to display certain brightness levels dependent upon the amount of ambient lighting around you. Spend a few days adjusting the brightness in your daily life, then leave it alone and let it do its job. One of my favourite android apps.

App Name Developer ND

FolderSync

FolderSync is essentially a folder and file sync app. It supports a huge number of services and cloud drives including Amazon, Dropbox, SugarSync, Drive and Box amongst others too. You use the app by setting up pairs of folders as well as a sync type between these two folders (for example, two-way, or upload only, etc). The app monitors the folders and makes sure they are completely in sync either as soon as one changes or via a pre-defined schedule you can set up. I use this A LOT. A couple of tips are using this to make sure all your photos or screenshots are backed up to a cloud service, or perhaps you might like to set up a special Dropbox folder on your PC where every file you place in there gets automatically downloaded to your phone, once again, all without you lifting a finger!

FolderSync Lite Tacit Dynamics Gratis

DataSync

Do you have more than one android device? I do. One of my most wanted features was to be able to play a game on my android phone, then pick up my tablet and carry on from the exact same place, because come on, who actually wants to re-play stuff they’ve already completed? Not me for sure. This is where DataSync is essential! This app hooks into a cloud storage service (like Dropbox) and automatically updates your game progress (it works with apps too by the way) on any other devices you’ve installed the app to and linked to the cloud. In practice this literally means I can complete floor 28 of the game 100 Floors on my Galaxy SIII, then go pick up my Nexus 7 tablet and start playing from level 29. If I manage to complete that I can instantly pick up my Galaxy Note and carry on from level 30. Magic? No, we aren’t Apple, we deal with the truth. Not magic, just an excellent android application.

DataSync Beta Quint Stoffers Gratis

Titanium Backup

Titanium Backup is on of the earliest apps I ever installed on android, and to this day it continues to be the number one first app I install when I get a new phone. It essentially backs up all your apps and data to your sdcard (and if you use FolderSync, also to your favourite cloud service!). I have this setup to automatically backup my phone every night at 3am, when I’m usually asleep. That means if (and touch wood this doesn’t happen) I happen to lose or break my phone, I lose no data whatsoever, and that is priceless. It’s also fantastic for when you have to move to a new phone or upgrade, within minutes your old setup and apps are back up and running!

Titanium Backup ★ root Titanium Track Gratis

The list below is my current set relating to the first category, these are apps I use EVERY single day, without fail.

Why not check out my Top 8 Android Apps That Just Work too?

Plume

Possibly the best and most fully featured twitter app available for android. There are two things to Plume that put it head and shoulders above any other twitter app out there now. The first is how it handles lists, you don’t even have to have your main timeline showing at all. That’s priceless to me. The second is the addition of tweetmarker support. This essentially stores your current read position in the cloud, it works for every list and means you can easily jump from device to device and pick up where you left off.

Plume for Twitter LevelUp Studio Gratis

Feedly

Feedly takes Google Reader, and seriously pimps it out. Not only is this app gorgeous, it’s completely functional. Many apps get one of these factors right, but those that get both are rare. Feedly is one of, if not the best of this small category.

Feedly. Google Reader News RSS Feedly Team Gratis

Gmail

It has its issues, some of which will be fixed in the next major update (pinch zoom finally!) But it still remains the best email app on android, and perhaps any mobile platform. This should be an ever-present on anyone’s top app list.

Gmail Google Inc. Gratis

Google Talk

If you like in the 21st century like me, then you’re probably over SMS now. It’s an outdated function that’s not fit for purpose any more. Google Talk however, is. Cross platform chat implemented in a simple and to-the-point manner. It’s not perfect by any means, it could do with an ICS themed update, but the basic functionality puts it above almost any other instant messaging app out there, including SMS.

Spotify

Don’t tell me you actually keep music files on your phone? Lets bring you a bit closer to the present! Storing all your music files on your home PC, transferring to and from that PC to your phone… it’s all so… 2010.. If you don’t use Spotify, at least consider Google Music, or at the very least Amazon Cloud Player! Your life will be enriched, and that’s a Droid-Den guarantee!

Spotify Spotify Ltd. Gratis

Pocket

I consume so much news every single day, it’s pretty unbelievable. Pocket is a fantastic tool to help me manage all that information I need to consume. Again it’s cross platform, like all good apps are. It updates itself instantly when something new gets pushed to the cloud (another common feature of a great app by the way) and it looks pretty damn good too.

Pocket Read It Later Gratis

Lastpass

Security is no joke. You need to manage access to all those online services properly. Don’t make me remind you what could happen if you don’t…! You might not think this is a big deal, but trust me, it’s huge. GO ahead and give Lastpass a go, then the next time you make one of these lists, you’ll understand why it’s present on mine!

LastPass Password Mgr Premium* LastPass Gratis

At the beginning of this post, I also mentioned a set off apps that just work without my direct interaction. I’ll be making a post including these very soon, so stay tuned! It’s something you definitely don’t want to miss!

A great tool called DirectoryBind from XDA member slig allows you to bind directories located on your external memory to directories on your internal memory. It basically moves app or game data from you internal memory to your external memory, and then forces those apps or games to read the new external location rather than the now empty internal location.

I’m using this to great effect on my Samsung Galaxy Note II and my huge 64GB microSD card! You do need root to use this app (one more great reason to root your phone!).

Installation is as easy as installing the apk and providing root privileges to the app. You can then simply provide the internal and external locations, click to automatically move the data and wait till it completes! Give the app a go by grabbing the latest version from the XDA thread, and feel free to ask me any questions below or on twitter if you need any help or guidance!