Best Android Apps: My Top 10 Choices

Android based phones have a diverse array of applications available. For the new Android user, it can almost be overwhelming choosing which apps to install. With the recent release of new Androids handsets from major brands like Motorola, HTC, and Google, the Android developer community has been given a boost to crank out good quality Android software. Today, Android Marketplace features more than 10,000 apps from personal finances to games and utilities. While some applications are more useful to some than others, here are my top 10 Android apps.

Connect Bot
Connect Bot is an absolute must-have application for anyone that works with Unix or Linux servers. This app is a very decent and capable secure shell client for the Android phone. Connect Bot is an SSH Client for the Android Phone which allows you to connect to remote servers directly from your hand-held device.

Ping
This is another top Android app for anyone that works with networked computers. Need to know if your web server is up and running? Ping will let you check from your Android phone. This application does just what it says, it allows you to send ICMP pings to a server from your Android phone.

App Manager
App Manager is an Android application that makes managing your applications simpler. It allows you to backup unprotected applications to your SD card. It will also allow you to easily uninstall an application and to reinstall an application from your SD card.

Bar Code Scanner
This Android application uses the camera in your phone to read bar codes. This application reads both UPC style bar codes and QR codes. This application works with other Android applications such as the Amazon application to look up information and prices on products.

Got to Do
If you use David Allen's Getting Things Done organizational system, you will love Got to Do. This Android application implements the core concepts of GTD to manage tasks and projects.

Handcent SMS
The default messaging application on Android is pretty capable but it lacks a few features like saving MMS attachments. Handcent is a great replacement that shows messages in comic style bubbles, supports saving MMS attachments and has virtual greetings you can send to your friends.

Snap Photo Pro
Snap Photo Pro is a win at only $0.99 for the application. This Android application replaces the camera application that ships with Android. It features a software zoom and a stabilization. It also shows a grid representing the horizon and supports adjusting the white balance. I've found that this Android application takes much better photos than the default one.

WiFi Analyzer
If you need to see what wireless networks are around you and how strong their signals are, this is the application for you. It is also useful for troubleshooting Wi-Fi as it shows what channel the network is using and where various networks overlap. It can also indicate secure versus open networks.

Pic Say Pro
Photoshop for Android is still very much in its infancy but Pic Say Pro is an Android application that has a number of photo editing features. Even the free lite version outperforms the current incarnation of Photoshop for Android. This is a must have for editing your photos on the Android.

Shazam
I love music. And I love finding new music. Shazam is an Android application that can listen to a piece of music at a club or on the radio and identify the title, the album and the artist performing it. Amazingly, it is extremely accurate and works even on non-English songs.

There are lots of Android applications available today. Some are clearly better than others. My top 10 Android applications include networking tools, replacements for some of the default Android applications, a photo editor, organizer and music application. These top 10 Android applications will give you a great start with your Android mobile device.

LearnComputer! (learncomputer.com) provides instructor-led local, online and onsite Android training for individuals, small businesses, and corporations. Our flagship Android Application Development course has a wide recognition in the industry. Please see our Android training schedule for complete details. We look forward to having you as our student!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Dorf

What Is the Best Android Tablet

All of a sudden we have a new technology that has threatened to take the PC out of the market. I am sure old-school people and the die hard fans of the PC wouldn't agree to it, but the tablet PCs have become the newest best selling technology of 2011. At the end of the 2011 we can only hope that this new piece of technology brings in new surprises, as more and more research and development is done in this area.

When selecting an Android tablet the first thing one needs to do is to decide what is going to be the main feature of the tablet. I know most people would say I want everything, but if budget is a constrained and if you do not want to spend a cool $600 for an Android powered tablet then you need to make some choices.

The Samsung 10.1 is probably the closest thing that you will experience to an iPad on a Android platform. Smart, sleek and a highly captive screen, the Samsung is a great buy for people who are not price conscious and want a great tablet experience. The screen is sharp and the over all sleep design is extremely good to feel when using. It is also a great treat to watch movies on the 10.1 inch screen and plays most formats easily. However the absence of a USB port may be conspicuous for all windows users moving into Android. It has a front 2 MP camera and a rear 3 MP camera.

The next in the list is the Motorola Xoom which has been around for a while being the first tablet that had the Android 3.0 or Honeycomb operating system. It also has a 5 MP front camera and a 2 MP rear camera for taking really sharp images for a tablet standard. It also had 4G support and a 10 hour battery life making it a truly powerful tool to have.

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101 is also a great product because of the detachable dock that allows it to be connected with a keyboard and used like a PC on the go. It has a Nvidia's Tegra 2 dual core CPU, which may not be its USP as a number of the other tablets are also using the same CPU to power their machines. The distinct advantage is the price which is £429 including the keyboard dock.

The next in the line is the A1CS X220 Tablet which comes with 2 USB ports and a MicroSD slot which means it does what the Samsung 10.1 doesn't, which is having a USB port. It has a 1GHz ARM11 processor and comes with 32 expandable storage and 512 MB of internal memory. The A1CS X220 Tablet comes with a 3G support using WI-FI which is less than what the Motorola Xoom does. But at £ 154.49 you do get a lot of features and that is what makes this one a great starting Android tablet.

Thank you for reading my Article I hope you found it informative.

Adam Bovan owns and maintains Bovie Reviews which I looks after in his spare time. I provide Unbiased reviews on anything and everything, to the UK market.

If you would like to read my review of the A1CS X220 Tablet visit my website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adam_Bovan

5 Best Android Tablet Weather Apps

t is vital for every person to keep in touch with the latest weather news. It is quite helpful when you are able to check the recent weather forecast with your Android tablet, what with the success of the Android platform in making the lives of people a lot easier. Receiving weather updates will give you a good idea on what to expect in the coming days, so you are able to prepare how to get to work and what to wear. There are actually many weather apps available in the Android market that you can download, but if you want to have the best weather apps, you might as well check these out:

1. Beautiful Widgets

Simply amazing, simply beautiful! This is what best describes Beautiful Widgets. The user interface of this Android app is quite attractive, that is why it is considered as the top weather app for Android. It has two beautiful widgets, two skinned clocks and a general weather widget that includes an accurate forecast. All details are coupled with cool weather animations such as a sunny, rainy or stormy background. With its amazing features and functionality, you can toggle widgets for Waif and Bluetooth. It also has over 140 weather skins that you can download. The cost of Beautiful Widgets for Android is$2.87 only-not a bad price at all.

2. SPB Shell 3D

If you want to check the weather forecast in 3D style, the SPB Shell 3D app will show you fantastic 3D graphics on your screen. Considered as the next generation user interface, SPB Shell has eight home screens which are comprised of pre-configured panels such as clock, calendar, time and weather. What's great about SPB is that it shows a customizable screen that allows you to spin the panels like a carousel. At the bottom, there is a dock for your applications. The cost of SPB is $14.95-a bit expensive compared with other Android apps, but you will have an awesome 3D experience with this useful program.

3. Go Weather

One of the Android apps that can provide you accurate information on the weather from any place at anytime is Go Weather. It is able to access to a great number of weather stations across the US and around the world. It also features a 7-day weather forecast with cool weather animations for the day, weather tracking in several locations, notifications for weather temperature and alerts, weather and clock skin widgets, and exceptional performance to check battery life which can disable weather updates at the moment battery level is low. Go Weather is a free app for Android.

4. Animated Weather Widget & Clock

Animated Weather Widget & Clock provides you with wonderfully animated backgrounds and weather effects. You can customize the background scenes according to your preferences. When swiping the screen, it will show you daytime, nighttime and temperature levels of the day. To check relevant weather information, just tap the screen and it will show you detailed information of the weather forecast on each particular day of the week. It will also show you cool effects of rain, lightning, clouds and snow. It also features weather forecast on more than 50,000 locations worldwide and GPS location. The Animated Weather Widget & clock costs $4.95.

5. Fancy Widget Pro

One of the best Android apps for weather forecasting is the Fancy Widget Pro app. It has 4 widgets: fancy clock, fancy weather, fancy home and fancy home small. It is a user-friendly Android app that allows you to personalize your clock, date, time and weather forecast with many options to choose for your home screen. To launch Fancy Weather Pro, simply tap on weather settings, and then tap weather provider. You can also change the temperature format in Celsius or Fahrenheit readings. There are also a number of weather skins available. Fancy Widget Pro only costs $1.99 in the Android Market.

This article was written by Danny Ashton, who when not writing about the android tablet is found hiking in the Scottish highlands.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Danny_Mitchell_Ashton

Guide to Android Video Streaming

Mobile phone technology has come a long way in recent years. In fact, at the rate things are going, mobile technology now lets a user do most operations normally done on a personal computer. Android technology is a particularly good example of this. Similar to a computer, the software used in mobile devices includes an operating system, middleware and key applications. Features of Android phones include application frameworks, Dalvik virtual machine, integrated browser, and optimized graphics, SQLite for structure storage, media support, GSM telephony, bluetooth, WIFI, camera, and GPS.

With all these amazing features, every Android phone provides excellent streaming capabilities. Video streaming of sports events, movies, music and other media footage is an extremely popular activity. The advanced technology used by Android allows excellent Android video streaming capabilities.

The best way to get Android video streaming is to use Tversity and NSWPlayer. If you want to try this on your Android phone, there are some items that you will need to ensure the technology is properly utilized. Tversity must be installed on a personal computer, NSWPlayer must be installed on your Android phone, and a handbrake encoder for converting movies to lower resolution to optimize progressive playback. Once you have installed the items needed, there are some things to look at before you begin encoding your video. It is important to keep the video in high quality while making it the smallest size possible. It is also important to ensure the bit rate matches the resolution size. Once this is done, your video is ready to encode. Setup your handbrake encoder to minimize resolution and optimize playback quality. Remember that the speed of the whole process depends upon your personal computer's hardware specification. Next step is to set up Tversity for streaming. Go to the Transcoder section and under "when to transcode" select "never". Then go to the general settings section, and under home network enter in your computer's IP address, that way your phone has access to your video files.

Once the computer and phone are connected, install an Android media player that will pick up on progressive MP4. This is where the NSWPlayer is used. At this point in time, it is the only media player that works with Android. Streaming is now possible once all the above components are installed. For home Wi-Fi streaming, open your android phone web browser and input your computer's IP. From here navigate to Tversity's mobile WAP GUI and select it as your default player. Now, search for your favorite video and start streaming! The streaming quality may depend on your internet connection.

The pleasure of android video steaming is now yours to enjoy. If the above process seems complicated, seek advice from industry experts like Streaming Video Systems (SVS). They can help you install video streaming on your Android phone for personal or professional use.

About the Author

Tom Swanton is the Director of Streaming Video Systems (SVS), a company that uses the most advanced streaming technology for its digital platform and tailors this platform to your organisation's needs. SVS mission is to tailor and deliver for end users the World's most effective multi-featured internet streaming technology through the application of simple to use and cost effective digital content delivery systems.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_Swanton

Keeping Your Android Phone Secure

Today, having a phone as a means of communication is as normal as breathing but having a phone that surpasses just the normal calling, texting and perhaps the normal use of internet is something to be considered as great or 'cool' because what we now call a smartphone is a device to behold. How else can you explain an android phone that sends text messages, can receive and make a call, has a camera, can be a workstation when connected to the internet, one can listen to music and record or download it, watch videos, chat with friends or clients while using other applications on the same phone.

Imagine loosing your android phone that has all that because loosing it is like loosing your identity with contacts, text messages, photos, videos, reminders and so much more information saved up in the phone. But the good news is that there are some steps you can take to secure your smartphone, whether from ill intended people like thieves or cyber criminals.

Use the simplest of all, PIN (personal identification number)

Now, this has got to be the simplest and most common of all as every phone has a system where you can set up a pin and you're the only one who should know the PIN combinations to your phone. Always ensure your phone has a PIN that you have memorized. Even accessibility to your emails, company documents including internet access should be safely secured by a strong password or PIN.

Use tracking systems

Most phone manufacturers are producing smartphones with tracking systems in place. You can also download an application to that effect if your phone doesn't come with it. Some systems are quite sufficient and are able to wipe out your information remotely if the phone gets stolen so that your information won't be accessed or tampered with. The android phone for instance sends alert messages when sim cards are exchanged. You can also track it online using GPRS or cell towers and even view images caught by its spy camera.

Be alert!

Be ware of software, sites or programs that cannot be genuinely traced which can get to your credit card and private information that you probably don't want anybody to access. Cross check hyperlinks and their landing pages to ensure nothing is left to chance.

Update your phone

Just like computer or any other device updates, your smartphone should regularly get updated and not just for promotions or a catch somewhere but for security.

Choose the right software

Many offers on softwares are coming up but its best to choose softwares from a credited company and one that is mostly recommended everywhere, because software can be maliciously used to extract or damage your smartphone. Installing a strong antivirus on your android phone to guard against damaging soft wares and viruses is highly recommended.

Phone covers/bags

Many of you might think its silly or old fashioned but when your phone drops and hits a hard surface or goes into some place holding water you wont like it at all. So use a phone cover especially when moving around because it helps prevent the phone from breaking when it hits a hard surface or from immediate damage when it comes into contact with water. There are trendy smartphone covers and bags available everywhere so get one!

The old saying goes; you never know what you got till it's gone but don't let that be you when your phone is no more. Plus, safeguarding your phone and even other devices you have is better than having to repair them or worse having to replace them because they were stolen. Choose the right applications, softwares and programs for your android phone and keep in mind that your smartphone is as important to you as that car you drive or the house you live in because it holds much of your important information and even future decisions.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Philip_Edwards_Hausner

4 Things You Need to Know About Android Phone Security

When it comes to Android owners, it seems like most of them have no idea as to how to really take care of their device. When it comes to softwares, malwares and viruses, most people really do not know how to avoid them. If you own an Android phone, you should certainly be worried about security problems because hackers are certainly getting better at hacking and attacking phones. The good news is that there are things that you can do to help prevent this from happening. Here are 4 things you need to know about Android phone security.

Only Download Apps From A Trusted Source

This is of course very important with any phone and if you want to protect yourself from malware, this is what you really need to do. So many app makers are out to corrupt your phones and you should be aware of what kind of history the developers have. Be sure that the developing company has a lasting history in app making before ever downloading from them. They will often copy real apps and try to have them pass as the real thing. Make sure to look at their developer icon to make sure that they are using a legit picture. Be careful when you download and if it's not a company that you recognize, do your research before you actually commit to download.

Protect Your Phone With Password

It's one of the easiest yet always overlooked things to do to protect your phone. This is a great way to protect yourself from people who are looking to attack your phone. Though locking your phone isn't exactly a way to protect yourself completely, it then becomes even stronger when added with a password. If ever you leave your phone somewhere, at least you never have to worry about having people entering your phone.

Install All OS Updates Once They Are Available

This is a great way to really avoid malicious acts because most hackers will take advantage of the unfixed problems that the phone might have. Make sure that once an update is available so that you will be more protected. Google does a great job at closing up the holes that hackers can exploit and mess your computer up. Do not avoid the fact that these updates are there to help you and so you must trust them.

Don't View Personal Information On Public Wi-Fi

Wireless internet is of course a great benefit but you must really take into account that it is very risky to browse the internet on public wireless internet. You are then very vulnerable to certain malicious acts and you must avoid looking at or typing personal information. There is wireless internet all over the world and you must be very aware. Make sure that you are just using public internet for basic uses and nothing personal. You will be sharing the same connection plenty of other people and so everything you do on that connection will be seen. Avoid doing any bank processes while you are on public internet and you will be safer.

These are just 4 things that you can do to keep your Android safer. Be safe and browse your Android safely by considering these 4 things.

Michael Maxstead is a computer networking consultant who likes to write about VPN and Networking related technologies. If you visit his website VPNreviewz.com you can learn about hidemyass and ibvpn.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Maxstead

Android RPG Games

Mobile phones have gotten fancier over the years. First the developers added cameras, the internet and now most smart phones can now play video games. They're not budget games like Snake or Tetris either. Smart phones are able to play video games that have the same quality that portable gaming devices produce.

One of the most recent smart phones released is Sony's Xperia Play. Xperia Play has been dubbed as the world's first PlayStation certified phone. Not only is it a phone, but it can double as a portable gaming device. The controls are very similar Sony's other products such as the PSP and the PS3 controller just to name a few.

This means you can finally play PlayStation-style video games with the comfort of a real control scheme. There is nothing more uncomfortable than playing games on your phone using the horrible numbered keypad. The most pleasant thing about the Xperia Play is that some PlayStation Classic games will be heading their way onto the system very soon.

Although there have not been any RPG PlayStation games available yet, it's more than likely that Square Enix will release some of its Final Fantasy games onto the platform. Final Fantasy VII, VIII and IX have all been ported to Sony's PlayStation Network. The thought of putting Final Fantasy VII (the most popular RPG ever made) on the Xperia Play could help Sony take a hold of the market dominated mostly by Apple.

Zenonia 2 is an old-school 16-Japanese RPG much like the older Final Fantasy games from the early '90s. The 2D graphics are cute and the game itself is one of the better RPGs available on Android phones. Although the game is heavily inspired by Japanese RPGs, it's actually made in Korea. Nevertheless, I'm sure it's a game RPG fans will love playing.

Gurk is a game that will be liked from gamers who grew up in the '80s. It's an old-school style video game that is only a mere 100KB to download. Despite Gurk's very old style of graphics, it's still in color and a blast to play. There are 24 levels in all and a total of 23 monsters for you to find and kill. Gurk won't be a game liked by modern gamers, but if you grew up playing the original Nintendo game system, you will fall in love with its old-school style of gameplay.

Another RPG game available on Android phones is Dungeon Defenders: First Wave. The game is an online cooperative action-RPG much like Torchlight and Baldur's Gate. The game is free to download for most phones. The graphics are in full 3D and looks stunning for a game that costs nothing to download. Up to four players can play together online. It may be clichéd and borrows elements from most other RPG games, however its visuals and multiplayer is what makes it quite fun.

Whether you own an Xperia Play or not, there are tons of RPG games to explore on Android phones. Quite a few of them are free to download, so there's no excuse for you not to play any of the games here on offer. Let's hope Square Enix brings more Final Fantasy games to the Android market as that will certainly boost the popularity of the genre.

If you're want to play Android RPG games then you have found your perfect place. Spend fun hours while playing Free online RPG games.

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