Android Magazine - Issue 26 2013

3
Welcome
To issue 26
Welcome
By focusing on apps and the underlying services
Google was also able to roll out its new toys
without adding to the fragmentation problem
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A
ndroid 4.3 didnt arrive at
Google I/O as had been
expected. What we got
instead was in some ways even
better. Virtually every one of the main
Google apps got a signicant update,
so whether you use your device for
work, gaming, music or chat there is
guaranteed to be something for you.
It was a wily move: this was very much a Google update,
rather than specically an Android one. The new apps help
strengthen Googles services in the mobile space
generally, thanks to a focus on cross platform
compatibility, and also within Android itself. The new
features wont be available on non-Google Android devices
such as the Kindle range, and it also makes them a more
compelling proposition on Galaxy devices at a time when
theyre in danger of being squeezed out. Samsung may
have mini-me versions of most of the Google apps, but the
company wont be able to replicate a lot of this new
functionality. And by focusing on apps and the underlying
services Google was also able to roll out its new toys
without adding to the fragmentation problem. In the past
something like Hangouts or Google Play Games might
have come with the dreaded compatible with Android 4.3
and above tag attached. Instead, most users will be able
to benet from them regardless of the device they use. It
also means that the big OS update for the year is still to
come. Android 5, or Key Lime Pie, as it is expected to be
called, seems to now be slated for a Q4 launch.
Fitbit
Amazon
Local
Soundhalo
Nova Launcher
Prime
Hangouts
ayvr
MY HOME SCREEN
On (and off) Andys
phone this month
GET IN TOUCH
Let us know what youd
like to see in next issue
Andy Betts Editor
This month
Ive been testing:
Huawei Ascend
Mate
This phablet is
pretty good, but its
way too big for
my pocket
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Contents
Inside issue 26
Cutting-edge tablets and
smartphones on test
80 Reviews
80 Samsung Galaxy S4
84 Huawei Ascend Mate
88 Sony Xperia SP
90 ZTE Blade III
92 Prestigio MultiPhone
4500
93 Alcatel One Touch 916
94 Accessories
Power up your phone or tablet
with this collection of goodies
Essential guides to getting more
from your phone or tablet
36 Master the super suite
of S4 apps
Get the most from your Galaxy S4 with our
guide to the best apps and features
40 Tutorials
40 Encrypt your SD card
43 Disable in-app purchases
44 Unblock overseas TV and
web services
46 Add and work with a remote server
47 Power up your home screen
48 Manage Communities and Circles
in Google+
71 BBC iPlayer Radio
75 Buffer
74 Call Filter Alarm
75 Crunchd
79 Cut the Rope: Time Travel
79 Eyes - the horror game
78 Frontline Commando: D-Day
75 GuardianWitness
73 Kindle
79 Grumpy Bears
75 HootSuite
75 How to Draw Cartoon
Characters
71 IVONA Text-to-Speech HQ
75 JUST EAT
79 Magicka
79 MANUGANU
71 MapMyFitness
Workout Trainer
71 Outlook.com
79 Perfect Kick!
70 Player FM
72 PushBullet
74 Robird
75 RoundR
78 They Need To Be Fed 2
72 Sophos Mobile Security
74 Swype Keyboard
75 UK Bus Checker Lite
79 Worms 2: Armageddon
72 Yahoo!
Apps
Your complete
guide to
Google Play
66 Apps worth paying for
Our guide to the best paid
apps on the Play store
70 App reviews
The latest apps on test
76 Reddit apps
BaconReader vs Reddit Sync
78 Game reviews
The latest games reviewed
App review index
56 Hacking tips and tricks
58 Give your phone a full tune-up
60 Recover from almost any
problem using Fastboot
62 Share les wirelessly using
Samba
Explore the limits of
your Android phone
Hacker
Zne
Tutorials Reviews
30 Power tips
for tablets
The best apps, hacks
and tweaks to help
you do more with
your tablet
47 Power-up your
home screen
How to add more
apps and
widgets to your
home screen
www.littlegreenrobot.co.uk
Check our website daily
for even more news
5
50 Droid Support
Readers questions answered, plus
troubleshooting tips and tricks
54 Android challenge
Learn a language: Can you learn a whole
new language just by using Android apps?
Averiguamos!

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6
All the latest from the world of Android devices
Its the craze sweeping the tech industry, talked up as the next big thing, but is wearable
tech, and in particular Google Glass, really going to take off? We take a close look
A head-mounted display
powered by Android
640 x 360 display is equal to a
25-inch screen from 8ft away
Runs apps, controlled
by voice
Developer edition
costs $1,500
Consumer edition available
later this year
I
t might run Android Ice Cream Sandwich to be
precise but thats about as much as Google Glass
has in common with a smartphone or tablet. This
high-tech piece of kit has been called a wearable
computer or an augmented reality headset, but lets
forget the hype and see what it does.
First and foremost it presents the user with a display
thats visible whenever youre wearing Glass. Using
clever optics, the tiny 640 x 360 pixel screen is
magnied so that it appears like a 25-inch screen
viewed from a distance of eight feet. Needless to say, it
doesnt block out your view of the real world. That is
Google Glass and the
rise of wearable tech
because the display is semi-transparent you see it
superimposed on reality hence the given term,
augmented reality.
If youre into technical specications, Google Glass
has an OMAP 4430 dual-core processor, 12GB of
usable ash memory, it has 802.11g Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth connectivity, and a ve-megapixel camera
capable of 720p video. Obvious omissions are mobile
phone and GPS chipsets so Glass is reliant on using a
smartphone, via Bluetooth, to provide these features.
However, if you are within range of a Wi-Fi hotspot,
Glass is capable of providing a wealth of useful
THE
big
STORY
Glass seems like a
glimpse into the
future. Like most
Android devices its
quite hackable, which means its
use could stretch beyond even
what Google imagined.
Our view
Andy Betts, Editor
7
twitter
@lgrobot
Follow us on Twitter for
the latest updates
Stay up to date
Catch up with the latest
Android news and gossip
Engadgets Tim Stevens describes his experiences with Glass
My first impressions? Wow!
functionality on its own. User input is via a
combination of voice commands, prexed by the
well publicised OK, Glass command, and a tiny
touchpad on the headset.
Given that Glass does pretty much the same as
a smartphone or tablet, so long as you have it
paired to another device in your pocket, it begs the
question of why youd want to shell out on Glass
and make yourself pretty conspicuous in the
process. Speaking at the recent Google I/O
developers conference, Googles Senior
Development Advocate, Timothy Jordan, gave a
fairly compelling reason. When youre at a concert
and the band takes the stage, nowadays 50,000
phones and tablets go
into the air, he said.
Which isnt all that
weird, except that
people seem to be
looking at the tablets
more than they are the
folks on stage or the
experience that theyre
having. Its crazy
because we love what
technology gives us, but
its a bummer when it
gets in the way, when it
gets between us and our
lives, and thats what
Glass is addressing.
This is just one benet of
what the
supporters of
wearable
computers refer
to as ubiquitous
computing. While
smartphones and
tablets have
brought us always on connectivity, we still have
to remove them from our pockets or bags to
interact with them. Ubiquitous or pervasive
computing goes one further by giving us a display
thats always with us and functionality thats only a
voice command away, whether mounted to your
head or strapped onto your wrist. Elsewhere we
look at some of todays killer apps for Android and,
impressive as they might be, these are just the tip
of the iceberg. Imagine seeing a vaguely familiar
face and having Glass whisper their name in your
ear and tell you where and when you last met.
T
im Stevens is Editor-in-Chief of Engadget, the
web magazine that aims to cover everything
thats new in gadgets and consumer electronics.
Having been one of the rst people to get their hands
on Glass, we asked Tim for his impressions on
Googles new wearable computer.
How long have you used Glass for?
Ive used glass for just about a month now.
What were your initial impressions?
My rst impression was wow just like everyone else.
It is a very interesting product for the rst hour or so
that you use it. After that, I quickly ran out of things to
do with it. But, I have genuinely enjoyed using it for
navigation and getting instant notications.
We understand that you have some issues with
Glass. Can you explain the main problems you have
experienced so far?
The main problem right now is a lack of functionality.
Its a very cool device, but not one that does enough
to warrant wearing on your face all day long. That,
though, I believe will change in time as more
developers do more things with it. Another problem is
battery life. This early unit only lasts about ve hours
on a charge. Again, I expect that will change for the
retail hardware were expecting next year.
The other primary problem is privacy not for the
wearer but for everyone else. Im constantly asked
(usually jokingly) Youre not recording this, are you?
Many people are nervous about the potential.
What do you like about it?
Navigation, Hangouts and instant notications without
having to pull my phone out of my pocket.
On balance, have Google got it right with Glass?
They have it mostly right, but they need to improve.
The hardware needs to get smaller, the battery life
needs to get better and Google needs to make some
concessions in the name of privacy. I believe all will
happen in time.
Will you be buying one yourself?
Once the functionality is signicantly more broad, the
battery life addressed and the price is under $200 I
would seriously consider it, yes.
This is just one benet of what the
supporters of wearable computers
refer to as ubiquitous computing
Google Glass has
impressed many
Glass comes with or
without the sunglasses
C
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What about getting Glass to search for a
friend you arranged to meet in a crowded
room. And what about never again being
blamed for a motor accident that wasnt your
fault? With Google Glass recording everything
from your point of view, youd have the
evidence you need to ensure justice is done.
Despite all the hype about Google Glass,
the concept of wearable computers isnt a
new one far from it. As long ago as the
Eighties, enthusiasts at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology were developing their
own customised creations and could be seen
wearing them on the streets of Cambridge,
Massachusetts. They never caught on, which
begs the question of whether Glass will be
different because it has the might of Google
behind it.
However, in comparing Glass with the MIT
wearable computers of the Eighties and
Nineties were not comparing like with like.
Just lets say that using these early wearable
computers involved having a heavy box of
tricks hanging from your belt and wearing a
headset that made you look like the Borg of
Star Trek fame. Needless to say, they were
only used for specialist applications such as
maintaining complicated equipment where
engineers needed to access diagrams and
parts list but have both hands free to work on
equipment. By way of contrast, Glass weighs
less than a pair of ordinary sunglasses and is
entirely self-contained.
So the technology is there, or just about,
and wearable computers have come a long
way since the clumsy contraptions of the
Nineties. Even so, Glass has been making
some enemies in high places. Together with
other members of the Congressional
Bipartisan Privacy Caucus, US Representative
Joe Barton has written to Google, asking
them to address several points relating to
privacy concerns. To give a feel for those
concerns, the letter quotes from an article in
the Wall Street Journal that suggests that, it
will only be a matter of time before youll be
able to aim the lens of your device at his or
her face, and using face recognition
technology get the individuals address, work
history, marital status, measurements and
hobbies. In addition, Joe Barton and his
fellow signatories observed that a bar in
Seattle has already banned the technology in
advance, because of privacy concerns. We
can be sure this is one argument thats going
to run and run.
To date, Glass has only been made
available to software developers, in small
quantities, and with an initial price of $1,500.
So if weve whet your appetite and you fancy
experiencing ubiquitous computing, when
can you expect to buy one and how much will
it cost? Google has been keeping tight-lipped
on both these questions but industry experts
reckon itll be the end of this year or the
beginning of next before theyll appear in the
stores across the globe. And regarding the
price, pundits expect the price to fall but
perhaps not drastically. Sounds like youd
better start saving those pennies then.
Glass might be the most talked about wearable
computer but its not the only one out there. Here
we look at three alternatives that are vying for
your attention, and money
Perhaps youd call them apps but Google calls them Glassware. Either
way here is a selection of mind-bending software for Google Glass
Its smaller than Glass and
rumours are that itll be
cheaper too. Its Japans
Telepathy One but before
you get too excited, unlike
Google Glass it relies on
your smartphone to do all
its magic. Expect many
Glass clones in future.
Less conspicuous than Glass
is the Pebble smartwatch.
With a tiny black and white
display and an obscure
operating system its not
going to compete with your
smartphone but itll talk to it
via Bluetooth.
Running Android on its colour
screen, Sonys SmartWatch
beat Pebble to market by
some distance, but was met
with a mixed reception. Pair
it with an Android phone to
listen to music, take calls,
view messages, and check
on Facebook.
Other wearable
computers
Killer apps for Glass
Telepathy One
Pebble
Sony
SmartWatch
Take a picture Get directions Social media Thirst Droplet Winky
Glass weighs less than a pair of
sunglasses and is entirely self-contained
It might be a built-in
application, but being able to
say OK Glass, take a picture is
surely going to be a major
reason to buy Glass. You can
tell it to record a video too
and capture great memories.
Also built-in is a navigation
program, but with all the
convenience of hands-free
operation. With modes for
driving, walking or cycling,
Google Maps was never quite
like this.
Through ofcial and third-party
apps, sharing your photos on
social media sites, updating
your Facebook status and
uploading to YouTube are going
to be keeping you and your
Glass pretty busy.
As a personalised news app,
Thirst Droplet enables you to
follow topics youre interested
in and then lters the content
so you get only the news you
want. Itll also read news items
to you.
Although Google is keen to
regulate Glass apps, unofcial
apps are already with us.
Controversial because of
privacy concerns, the Winky
app enables you to take a
photo just by winking.
99
BBM coming to Android
The once venerable messaging service makes its
belated move to Android this summer
The S4 with
Vanilla Android
If you love the S4s awesome
screen, camera and battery
life but arent so keen on
Samsungs idea of what
smartphone software should
be then the S4 Nexus Edition
is just the smartphone for
you. Sold through the Play
store for $649 it runs fully
stock Android and gets
updates as soon as they
become available.
Developments to watch in
the Androshpere
WHATS
HPs Android laptop to rival the
Asus Transformer
HP has unveiled a new Android-powered laptop. Like
the Asus Transformer before it the Slatebook x2
doubles up as a tablet as well. It runs stock Android
4.2, has a 1080p
display and is one of
the rst devices to
be powered by the
latest Tegra 4
processor.
Available from
August, prices
start at
379/$479.
Your devices
in sync
One of the smaller but
most welcome
announcements by
Google is support for
cloud syncing of app data.
This means that apps
should restore your data
after you reset, and can
also keep notications in
sync across multiple
devices swipe away a
notication on your phone
and it will disappear on
your tablet too. More of
this please!
HOT
B
lackBerry has announced that its
agship messaging service, BlackBerry
Messenger, will be coming to Android
this summer. It will be available as a free
download from the Play store, and will
compete with the likes of Googles new
Hangouts app, Facebook Home and
WhatsApp in the battle to dominate the
mobile messaging space.
The move to make BBM a cross platform
solution it will also be available for iOS
was rst mooted two years ago when
BlackBerry was the market leader in
messaging and ranked among the worlds
biggest smartphone manufacturers. Today
the companys market share stands at less
than three per cent and falling, according to
the latest gures from analyst IDC. The same
gures put Androids share at an incredible 75
per cent.
Messaging is increasingly becoming one of
the key battlegrounds in mobile, and is seen
as one of the best ways to locks users into a
particular platform. Googles Hangouts app
was a necessary way of tidying up the various
disparate messaging elements in Android,
and also combines with Google+ and Gmail
across multiple platforms.
Facebook Home was a similar attempt to
put messaging at the heart of the mobile
experience, although the Android app has so
far received a very lukewarm reception (with a
rating of just 2.3 stars in the Play store a
month after its launch), and the HTC First, a
device based around the software, was
reportedly hit by very poor sales in the US.
Meanwhile over the top messaging apps
are plentiful. The most popular, the multi-
platform WhatsApp, recently announced that
it has more users worldwide than Twitter.
Its into this crowded market that BBM is
belatedly making its move. The brand may be
diminished and the decision may appear to
be a last resort for BlackBerry, but the app
and service are still more than competitive
and fondly remembered by many of its past
users. That should at least guarantee a
certain level of interest in the app when it
arrives this summer.
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins
announces grand plans for BBM
The move to make
BBM cross platform
was rst mooted
two years ago
Get in touch!
Send us your thoughts
on all things Android
email
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all the latest gossip
10
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the latest updates
Stay up to date
What makes the Firefox browser
different from the likes of Opera
Mobile and Chrome?
Firefox for Android is the only mobile
browser that offers user-centric,
innovative features, while still
ercely safeguarding user privacy
and data. Unlike other browsers, it
is open source, which means that
collaboration with developers and
users can be actively enabled and
promoted globally at every stage of
development. By doing this, Mozilla
is able to deliver products with new
features, performance
enhancements, security updates
and stability improvements faster.
You look to update the app every
six weeks or so. Does each update
contain new features, or just rene
older ones?
Each new version offers a range of
updates, both renements to old
features as well as new ones. For
example, the latest release includes
support for private browsing on a
per-tab basis, which allows users to
open a new private browsing tab
during a current browsing session.
In addition, Firefox for Android now
allows for shortcut customisation on
the home screen for a users
favourite or frequently visited sites.
What measures does Firefox take
to help keep users safe online?
Firefox for Android is packed with
advanced security features to help
users stay safe online and control
where and when their data is
shared. Two of Firefox for Androids
main features are Do Not Track and
Master Password, which let users
tell websites that they would like to
opt out of online behavioural
tracking used for advertising and
protect usernames and passwords
that users save in Firefox.
What are the best add-ons you can

offer mobile users looking to
download Firefox for Android?
Firefox for Android has a number of
Inside Androids most popular apps
Firefox
Q&A with Johnathan
Nightingale,
Vice President of
Firefox Engineering
A
fter years of being one of the most used desktop browsers, Firefox
has caused quite a stir since its release on the Android operating
system. Sailing past 10 million downloads in just a few months, its
clear Firefox has made the transition from desktop to mobile well. But what
makes it such a success? Well, for one the app is updated every six weeks,
with Mozilla constantly looking at new ways to make sure users stay
onboard with Firefox, and with strong competition from the likes of Chrome
and Dolphin, this is certainly an idea that seems to be paying off.
Using tabs
One of the best things
about the desktop version
of the Firefox browser is its
tabbed browsing system
and the same can be said
about the mobile version.
Open up as many
webpages as you like by
pressing on the number
located next to the search
bar at the top of the app.
Searching with
ease
At its core, Firefox Browser
for Android is a simple
enough browser for you to
nd the websites and
content you want to view.
Use the search bar at the
top of the app to type in a
URL and start browsing.
Thanks to the constant
updates from Mozilla, youll
be surprised just how quick
the webpage will load.
Customise your
experience
Delve a little deeper into the
Firefox Browser and youll
soon uncover a whole range
of new features for you to
explore. One of the best is
the Export to PDF feature
which creates a PDF of any
long passage of text for you
to send to whoever you like.
The benets
of add-ons
If you want to really
personalise the Firefox
browser then youll want to
check out the range of
add-ons that can be
installed. Each one of these
add-ons performs a different
function, ranging from an
advert blocker to a URL
shortener.
Million
sellers
Downloads: 10 mil - 50 mil Developer: Mozilla
Price: Free Play store rating:
add-ons that let users completely
customise the browser. Currently
Firefox for Androids three most
popular add-ons are Adblock Plus,
Flash Video Downloader and Stylish.
People like to be able to connect

their devices together, is there a
way to connect your mobile version
of Firefox to the desktop one?
Firefox Sync was created to let
users take all their data from their
desktop browser such as
bookmarks, history, passwords,
add-ons and open tabs, with them
wherever they go. All you need to do
is set up Firefox Sync on a home
computer and your phone. From
then on your data will be securely
stored on Mozillas servers and
synchronised automatically across
both platforms.
Youve sailed past the 10 million

download mark on the Google Play
store, what do you think is the key
to Firefoxs success?
We believe the success of Firefox
for Android is due to providing users
with a fully customisable, fast and
secure browser that allows them to
customise their web experience on
their phone. Offering users the
same great browsing experience
that they can have on their
computer on their mobile phone
unlocks the full potential the web
has to offer, whenever they want
and wherever they are.
Are you constantly looking to
develop Firefox to keep up with the
latest smartphone technology? For
example, the Galaxy S4 launched
with eye-tracking software
One of the great things about the
rapid release cycle is that it enables
Mozilla to be at the forefront of
smartphone technology. Mozilla is
constantly working on new versions
in order to develop a browser that
provides users with the latest
features and best browsing
experience on their mobile phone.
Screen
sizes
A brief history of
Almost since the beginning, Android
devices have blazed a trail throughout
the industry in making screens ever
larger. While the iPhone stuck doggedly
to its belief that one size ts all, the
likes of HTC, Sony and Samsung have
realised that larger displays with their
increased footprint offset by their
rapidly declining thickness were the
best way to make use of the media rich
content smartphones are best at.
The early Android
devices were not so
bold, aping the iPhones
compact size and low
resolution. Devices like
the G1 and HTC Hero
were stuck at 3.5.
2010
It was in 2010 that Android
sales really started to take
off, prompted by a new
thirst for bigger displays.
Motorola and HTC got in
early, with the latters
Desire HD at 4.3.
2008
3.5 inches 4.3 inches
11
GALAXY S
7 MONTHS
GALAXY S2
5 MONTHS
GALAXY S III
2 MONTHS
GALAXY S4
1 MONTH
2011
By 2011 the trend for
ever expanding screen
sizes was in full ow. HTC
led the way with the
Sensation XL packing a
then huge 4.7-inch
display.
2012
With the Galaxy Note II
Samsung really pushed
the limits of what could
reasonably be
considered a mobile
device. Or so we thought,
at least
Today devices with displays
breaching the six-inch mark
are now available. The
Huawei Ascend Mate
(reviewed on p84) is one
example of how the craze
seems to have no limits.
2013
4.7 inches 5.5 inches 6.1 inches
The return of 3D
The race to 10 million
A
couple of years after the 3D revolution in mobile
devices ended as quickly as it began, we could
be in line for a new generation of products. A
recent report in the Wall Street Journal suggested that
Amazon was developing a phone with a 3D user
interface, while a couple of new tablets are already
looking to improve on the feature.
At rst glance the Naked Eye 3D tablet in its ve-inch
form is like a product from another age. Its huge and
chunky, and encased in glossy black plastic. It does
not immediately stand out as a cutting-edge piece of
hardware. Yet it is in the display, and the devices
handling of 3D functionality that its strengths lie.
With the tap of an omnipresent onscreen button
the screen switches into 3D mode. Using the parallax
barrier 3D method no glasses are required, and you
can adjust the strength of the effect to suit your eyes.
Some clever software onboard also enables you to
play 2D video in 3D with mixed but often impressive
results. The overall effect was undoubtedly a step up
from the likes of the LG Optimus 3D that led the rst,
The Naked Eye 3D tablet brings 3D to the fore yet again
The Samsung Galaxy S4 has racked up ten million sales in its
first month. But how does that compare to its predecessors?
Follow us @lgrobot to join
in the conversation
CROWD
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@lgrobot
After spending some time
with the Huawei Ascend Mate,
were unsure if a 6 screen
is needed. Would you buy a
phone with a screen
that big?
@drc12369
yup. Waiting on Note3 tho as are
the wise :-)
@blinked90
bigger screen usually means
bigger price, so not for me
@acceler888
yeah sure will, but Im waiting for
the Note 3.
@Theboymatt
no way, my xperia zs screen is
just on the verge of unworkable.
Any bigger is silly.
@121pots121
love my galaxy n2 and wouldnt
mind getting the mega when it
arrives here.
@haskipsey
Only if I did not have tablet, and
only wanted one device. The only
real issue is carrying it.
@lgrobot
Apart from Instagram, what
photo editing apps do you
use? There are too many on
the Play Store to pick from!
@TonyP_UK
look at Pixlr-o-matic and Pixlr
Express, both quite powerful
editing tools
@rotweilerc67
Photoshop touch. Almost as good
as the desktop version. Sadly not
free though
@CNWR86
snapseed. Still the best in my
opinion.
@marcwillmore
Photo Wizard is a top for editing
on my Samsung Galaxy Camera,
doesnt seem to be available in
Play store for my Note though
short-lived, wave of 3D mobile devices, and adds
literally and metaphorically a new dimension to your
video and gaming experience. It was especially good
on the growing range of 3D-ised YouTube content.
The question remains, though, whether there is any
great demand for 3D on a mobile device. Were still not
convinced, but dont be surprised if the industry keeps
trying until it nally takes off. For more on the Naked Eye
tablet visit www.frontniche.com.
At rst glance the Naked Eye 3D tablet in its ve-inch
You can view 3D videos on YouTube in the side-by-side format
Visit us daily for news and more
12
3
Search your phone
Google has launched their very
own gesture-based app. Google
Gesture Search lets you quickly
access different areas of your phone by
performing a specically designed gesture
on top of the screen. Each gesture can be as
simple or as advanced as you like,
depending on how many youre looking to
implement on to your device. Best of all, its
highly customisable to how you want each
gesture to perform and work while having
the app enabled on your phone.
2
Make use of Swype
Theres a great choice of keyboards you can use
on your phone or tablet, but if youre interested in
implementing some gestures into it, then youll want
to check out
Swype. Glide
your nger over
letters to piece
words together
and see just how
much your
typing speed
increases.
4
New launcher
If you want to go all out
with gestures then why not
look into replacing your
current launcher with a full
gesture-based one. Gesture
Launcher is tricky to get
working, but once it is youll
be able to control your
smartphone without barely
any manual interaction.
8
Remote control your TV
It isnt just your phone that can take
advantage of gestures.
The Remote Gestures
app lets you control your
Samsung TV with a
range of gestures you
input on your phone.
Simply connect your TV
to your Wi-Fi and begin
switching channels even
if you dont have the
remote to hand.
5
Simple shortcuts
You can make gestures as
elaborate as you want, but in
essence they should be used
to perform simple functions.
OftSeen Gestures is a superb
app that lets you create your
own series of gestures. It also
has a shortcut
creator that you
can use to
toggle with
settings.
9
Multi-touch
Although in most cases
youll nd that using multi-
touch gestures requires a
rooted device, there are apps
available from the Google Play
store that can enable you to
perform different gestures that
require using multiple ngers.
7
Use a stylus
If youre lucky enough to have access to a Galaxy
Note, then by using the accompanying S Pen youre
opening yourself up to some unique gestures. Using
the S Pen you can take screenshots, highlight text
or even navigate your phone without needing to
touch the screen.
6
Browse the web
Dolphin Browser HD includes an
ingenious tool that enables
you to browse the web
using gestures. Simply tap
on the gesture button
located in the lower-left of
the screen and draw the
associated gesture with
the action you want to
perform. Open up the
settings to change the
gestures at any point.
1
New tech
The Samsung
Galaxy S4 includes
some amazing
technology that lets
you interact with
different areas of the
device without ever
touching it. AirView
requires you to hover
your palm or nger
over the screen for it
to turn it on.
things you need to
know about...
Gestures
10
Root only
Although the selection of
root-only gesture apps is
limited, there are a few youll
want to check out if you get the
chance. GMD GestureControl
enables you to
completely
redesign how you
interact with your
device and GMD
SPen Control
shows you new
ways of using S
Pen gestures.
1
6 5 4
2 3
14
GALLERY OF...
twitter
@lgrobot
the latest updates
Stay up to date
AMAZING ORGANISER APPS
Need to get
organised at
work? With Jiffy you can
record just how long you
are spending on every
task so you can tell
when its time to start
delegating. With some
great-looking reporting
tools itll help you make
better use of your time
in future.
Jiffy Jiffy
This simple
note-taking app
automatically syncs all
your notes whether
they be text, lists, voice
or photos to your
Google account. The
widget comes in handy
too and the app also
integrates with the
latest version of Google
Now as well.
Google Keep Google Keep
Proof that even
the most basic
apps can look good.
Timer is, well, a timer,
but is styled so perfectly
in line with your
favourite Android apps
that it becomes a joy to
use. Its not a feature-
packed tool but it is
lovely, and even worth
its small price.
Timer
Catch Notes
comes with its
own innovative control
system that makes it
easier to use one-
handed while you are on
the go. With full cloud
syncing and integration
with Samsungs S Pen
as well, its an ideal app
for users of the Galaxy
Note devices.
Catch Notes
Any.DO is a
stylish and very
visual task manager for
things you need to do
today, tomorrow or
sometime in the future.
It isnt the most
immediate of apps, but
is enjoyable to use and
becomes very powerful
once you learn your way
around it.
Any.DO Any.DO
If youre lacking
motivation, or
just need to track your
progress on a project,
Trackthisforme can
help. The app helps you
track how much time
you spend on projects,
helps you meet targets
and comes with a lovely
selection of data
reporting tools.
Trackthisforme
2 3 4 5 6 1
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16
Inside Android Magazines virtual mailbag
Messages
I was very interested to read Don Clarks letter
of the Month (issue 24) regarding his different
approaches to converting his DVDs for use on
his Nexus 7 tablet. Obviously from his priority
of doing his conversions in the minimum time I
appreciate he must still be working full-time
and does not have the luxury of enjoying the
time that I have available with being retired,
now being 76 years young! I would however
like to relate my experiences of conversions,
from 8mm cine lms to VHS, full home and
commercial lms to Archos 605 WiFi, then on
to the same on the Blackberry 64GB 7
Playbook, all units of which I still have. My
latest tablet being the Samsung Galaxy Note
10.1 which is so easy to put my Blu-ray and
DVDs on by using Pavtube Bluray Ripper the
same way as Don Clark.
Don will no doubt know that it has a vast
range of conversion menus from virtually all
smartphones and a very comprehensive
range of specied tablets. I am rather more
lucky than Don because my Sony laptop will
play my commercial blu-ray lms as well as the
DVD lms, or home made DVDs of holidays
and family occasions.
My procedure is therefore to insert the disc
to be copied and while waiting for the initial
run up, open up Pavtube Bluray Ripper which I
already have the menu set for my Samsung
Galaxy 10.1 tablet, which is 1,280 x 800
resolution. The software automatically selects
the full program, but always check that it has
correctly identied the title of the disc it
doesnt happen very often but you can enter it
manually before hitting the conversion button.
Blu-rays take much longer than normal DVDs
but whichever type of disc, the quality of the
conversion is superb.
I use a separate partition on my laptop with
a titled folder to store all my lm conversions
which now holds a choice of 42 lms. To load
any choices on to my Samsung tablet it is only
a simple task of connecting the tablet to the
laptop with the USB cable which then shows
up on My Computer as the tablet. Click to
open and it shows both the primary memory
and my 32GB class 10 micro SD card. It is then
just a case of dragging and dropping the
required lm or lms from the opened folder
to the card. The time to transfer is usually 30
to 40 seconds because the lms are already
converted to the right format and size.
The initial conversion time using the
PavTube Bluray Ripper can take some hours if
doing the full quality conversion of a blu-ray
disc, but I usually start any conversion before
breakfast and just leave it to continue and
come back later.
It always shows the percentage of the
conversion at any time so you are aware of
how longer is necessary to complete.
I hope this information will be of assistance
to any readers wishing to try conversions
either for their mobile phones or tablets. I
omitted to say that I also have a selection of
lms on my old mobile!
Brian Robinson
We say: Some thorough work there, Brian.
We dont envy you ripping those 42 blu-ray
disks, though. Wed rather pay a couple of
quid for a more straightforward (and lazier)
download from the Play store instead!
In praise of plastic
Ive been reading a lot of the
comments around the web about
the Galaxy S4, so many of which
seem to focus on the fact that the
phone is made of plastic. Am I the
only one who doesnt care about
this? I understand that the look and
feel of a phone is quite important in
making rst impressions, but as
soon as I have bought a new device I
will stick it in a case, and completely
cover up all the supposedly
important design qualities in the
process. And in any case plastic has
real benets over metal, both in
terms of the way in enables better
reception, and that its exibility
means that devices can have
removable backs, and therefore
replaceable batteries.
Paul Owen
We say: Were with you Tim. Some of
the criticism of Samsungs use of
plastic is way over the top, and wed
suggest that design is not among
the most important factors when
buying a device, especially when
that design comes at the cost of
certain features. What does
everyone else think form or
function? Contact us via the usual
methods to let us know.
No to 2G
In your Android secrets feature
(issue 24), you suggest choosing a
2G service only as 3G is a huge
battery drain. In my experience, the
only internet service 2G is good for is
Twitter. If you update your feed on
almost any social media service with
2G, it will take longer, which is surely
likely to drain the battery more,
especially if you have the screen on.
More DVD ripping thoughts
Letter of the month
Get in touch!
Send us your thoughts
on all things Android
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
send your comments
email
Got questions or comments? Drop
us an email and let us know
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ISSN 2047-1580
TRENDING
Let us know your thoughts
on these hot topics
What is your perfect
screen size?
How many paid apps
have you bought?
What is your favourite
Android manufacturer?
How often do you
upgrade?
Get in touch!
Blink Feed on the HTC One can be ignored
easily enough if you dont like it
The screen is the biggest drain on
the battery by far often over 50%
on mine (a Galaxy Nexus). Different
devices and ROMs have different
battery drains on my old Galaxy S,
on which I ran CyanogenMod, the
internet would drain the battery in a
short few hours; turning it off meant
it would easily last the day.
Matthew J Smith
We say: The theory about using 2G
instead of 3G is based on the fact
that 3G requires more power, even
when its not being used, and if
youre in an area of patchy coverage
the phone will expend even more
energy trying to maintain a
connection. Switching to 2G,
when the phone is idle, should
give noticeable benets in
battery life. However we
wouldnt recommend trying to
do any browsing or other
internet-based activity over 2G.
Switch to 3G for that, or better
still, use Wi-Fi.
Decisions, decisions
Well, thanks again for the best
mag ever! You have placed me
on the horns of a dilemma I
have been a Samsung fan since
the start, but the screen in
daylight is very hard to see (can
they not make non-reective
glass)! The brighter screen on
the One sounds promising as
does the solid case, but that
Blink Feed rubbish doesnt oat
my boat! Can I use a custom
launcher to lose the stupid thing
like Nova or similar? Ah,
decisions, decisions.
Tim Smith
We say: Blink Feed is a lot less
intrusive than most
manufacturers add-ons. You
can set a more normal home
screen panel to be your default
setting, and then pretty much
forget its there or you might in
time come to nd it useful. But
yes, you can install Nova and
get the One back to a more
stock-like appearance. We tend
to do that as standard on pretty
much every device we get. Blink
Feed is a lot less intrusive than
most manufacturers add-ons.
You can set a more normal
home screen panel to be your
default setting, and then pretty
much forget its there or you
might in time come to nd it
useful. But yes, you can install
Nova and get the One back to a
more stock Android.
Push email
Just reading your issue 24 while
playing with my new Galaxy S4
which by the way is great. Just
switched from BlackBerry after
ten years. In your article relating
to unied messages (page 36
item 5) you show a set up with
reference to push settings for
email. Ive tried every which way
but cant duplicate these
settings and Im desperate to
get push email on my Galaxy
(especially after being an avid BB
user). HELP! Garry Taylor
We say: Your email service will
need to support push, so that
may be why you cannot nd the
setting. On your BlackBerry
everything was routed through
the BlackBerry Internet Service,
which gave push functionality to
every email account.
17
19
Feature
The biggest Android update ever!
updating it and adding new APIs Google was able to roll
out new gaming, messaging and music services, plus a
whole host of other features that bring tangible
benets to the way you use your phone or tablet.
Whereas you might have expected some of these
things to be restricted only to users running a specic
version of the OS, by targeting the underlying
functionality instead of the OS itself Google was able to
deliver far wider support, and decrease the
fragmentation problem in the process.
Thus we have what feels like a whole new OS, just
not one that has been given a new version number.
Much of what is new taps into the power of Googles
Knowledge, which attempts to add context to your
searches, as well as Google+. That social network has
still not gained anything like the traction of its rivals, but
it is clearly going to be an increasingly important part of
Googles services in the future.
The cloud is at the heart of the new features. Google
has taken it beyond the mere dumping ground for your
les to a means of supplying vital functionality. The new
Cloud Messaging feature enables developers to easily
implement push notications in their apps, while the
ability to sync notications and app data will help to
ensure your phone and tablet are working together
rather than as separate entities. Cloud is also crucial in
the roll out of Google Play Games, a full-on gaming
service that supports real time multiplayer action along
with leaderboards and achievements that will give you
bragging rights over your friends.
This is all tied in to Google+,
which has itself seen a
considerable overhaul for
photographers. It offers unlimited
storage for shots no larger than
2,048 pixels along the longest edge (not coincidentally
the width of a Nexus 10 screen), and features a great
auto-enhance function that magically gives added pop
to even the most mundane of photos.
Snapseed functionality has also been added, giving
you the additional ability to enhance, crop and
otherwise tweak your shots in an almost unlimited
number of ways.
On top of all this there is the long-awaited unied
messaging service, Hangouts. This is Googles stab at
replacing WhatsApp and co, and as a cross-platform
solution also eat into iMessages dominance on iOS.
Disappointingly it doesnt support SMS on launch, so is
not much more than a gloried rebranding of Google
Talk, but will get more feature rich in subsequent
updates. And then theres music. A fully revamped Play
Music app instantly turns it into one of the very best on
Android, and is joined by All Access, a new streaming
service that has the likes of Spotify and Rdio in its
sights. The service was US only at launch, but will be
rolled out elsewhere in due course, although with a
little jiggery-pokery you can give it a test today too.
With the promise of a new Maps app coming this
summer to go with a stunning relaunch of Google Maps
on the desktop, Android or, more specically,
Googles version of Android is more powerful,
functional and smarter than ever.
And no matter whether youre packing a brand new
Galaxy S4 or an ageing Desire HD, most of the features
will be available to you.
Your photos will now be automatically enhanced in Google+
A fully revamped Play Music app instantly turns it
into one of the very best on Android
20 amazing
new features
What makes this
Androids biggest
ever update?
1. Notication syncing across devices
2. One-click cross-platform sign-in
3. Sideloading eBooks and PDFs to
Play Books
4. Fully cloud sync data
5. Activity recognition through GPS
6. New dedicated tablet section in the
Play store
7. Unlimited photo storage in Google+
Google Play Games
8. Leaderboards
9. Achievements
10. Real-time multiplayer
11. Cloud synced game saves
Google Play Music
12. Stunning new app
13. Automated intelligent playlists
14. Full streaming service
Hangouts
15. Unied cross-device messaging
16. Quick le sharing
Search
17. Natural language speech recognition
18. More powerful Google Now cards
Google+
19. Auto enhance your photos
20. Full image editing capabilities
20
Googles new Game Services
Challenge your friends and compare various
leaderboards with the new Google Play Game Services
Learn the basics of the new gaming service
Making the most of the new services
Get started with Google Play Games
Features
T
heres no denying that gaming on your Android device has improved
vastly over the past year or so, with a variety of dedicated consoles on
the horizon, amazing controllers and headsets and better games in
general. Googles next step into the world of Android gaming is launching the
Google Play Game Services, a unique hybrid of features that culminate in the
ultimate mobile gaming experience. The new Game Services make each game
a more social experience, with the added bonus of leaderboards, real-time
multiplayer and even achievements that unlock while youre playing. Theres
also a unique save system called Cloud Saves which enable the user to share
their saved game over multiple devices and continue where they left of. This
feature is available not only on Android devices, but also works between iOS
devices to boot. By venturing on to the Play store, youll nd many games are
currently being updated to support the new features, and the current crop that
are readily available for you try out are fantastic. Many of the games that are
available are some of the Play stores biggest titles, with many others soon to
follow. If youve been waiting for a good reason to get into some mobile gaming,
the Google Play Game Services is a great way of experiencing the massive
benets of online gaming.
1. Google+
Youll rst need to
make sure you have
a Google+ account
set up on your
Android device.
When you want to
check out
leaderboards, or
invite your friends to
a multiplayer game,
the entire process
will go through your
Google+ circles.
Stay social
If the game has been updated to contain the various
Game Services, youll be asked to log in to your
Google+ prole when you open it. Youll see a
notication representing your gaming prole once
youre logged in. By pressing on this icon youll be
taken directly to your Google+ prole where you can
send invites to friends.
Online multiplayer
By far the best feature added to the new range of
Game Services is the online multiplayer. Connect
with people on your G+ account to take part in some
real-time multiplayer action without needing to be in
the same room. At rst you may nd some issues
when you try and connect over Wi-Fi, but this is less
about the game and more about the service itself.
Achievements
Each updated game will now keep a range of
achievements that you can unlock as you progress
through the game. Some require a few medial tasks,
while others are more multiplayer focused and
require multiple plays. Each achievement has an
individual icon that represents it to know that you
have unlocked it.
3. Download
Now all thats left to
do is nd a
compatible game.
There are currently
around 30 games
readily available to
you, with more being
added as we speak.
As you play youll nd
your gaming stats are
added to your G+
prole, which is a
nice touch.
2. Settings
After signing in to
your Google+
account, you should
now nd the Play
Games option within
the Google Settings
application on your
device. Open it from
the list in front of you
and make sure its
enabled correctly
before continuing on
your way.
Share and compare your stats
over online leaderboards
Feature
21
Understanding Cloud Saves
Learn how to transfer your saved games
between devices with all-new Cloud Saves
The Android games showcasing the new features
Top 5 Google Play games
Beach Buggy Blitz
Price: Free
This arcade racer will denitely get your
heart racing and is one of the few 3D games youll
want to play. The Game Services integration is fairly
simple here, with the online multiplayer being
fantastic, especially when you consider it supports
up to six players racing against each other.
Eternity Warriors 2
Price: Free
If hack and slash mixed in with some
dungeon crawling is your sort of thing, then Eternity
Warriors 2 will denitely be for you. Not only is the
single player brilliant, the
multiplayer sees you
team up to nd a variety
of monsters. The new
Boss Rush mode is also
worth checking out.
Super Stickman Golf 2
Price: Free
Despite its animated look, Super Stickman
Golf 2 is arguably the best golf game available for
Android users. Theres a variety of courses available
to you and the new
online-only courses are
brilliant as well. On top of
all that, there are now 50
achievements for you to
try and unlock.
Osmos HD
Price: 1.99/$2.99
In this intriguing space game, you need to
gain control of other organisms in your area by
adding them to your colony. The multiplayer aspect is
the crowning glory here
a race against time to
build the biggest
organism in an allotted
time, and boy is it
addictive. Super stuff.
World of Goo
Price: 0.65/$0.99
Drag your goo balls around to create paths
and towers to reach your goals and explore the world
around you. It takes a lot of skill to build the perfect
tower without it falling
over. The new update
brought online multiplayer
to World of Goo, enabling
users to play against
each other.
Stored locally
Before Google Play
Game Services, all
your game saves
would be stored
locally on your phone
or tablet, depending
on what you were
using, with no option
to transfer them
across devices and
continue your game
elsewhere.
Continue playing
You can now continue playing on your saved game
without any problems whatsoever. Once youre
nished playing, save the game again and access
the cloud save on your original device.
Cross-platform action
The best thing about the Cloud Saves feature is
that it works cross-platform too. Make sure
youre logged in to your Google account on
whatever secondary device you have and you
should nd your cloud save available to you.
Compatibility
By using a Google Games
compatible app, every time you
save your data, youre now creating
a cloud save that instead of being
saved on your device, will be
automatically saved to the cloud.
Download the same game
Open up a different device and download the same
game on to it. Open it up and nd the Load Game option
that will be listed on the main screen and you should
nd your saved game loaded. Make sure youre logged
in to the same Google account as your other device.
Feature
Feature
22
The Chrome browser is at the centre
of many Android devices, and offers
unique ways of connecting to
devices around you. The Chrome
Racer experiment is a brilliant
example of this, and requires you to
simply put up to ve devices next to
one another and
partake in a spot of
racing. This is made
easy and
effortless thanks
to the Chrome
browser.
Whether its via the cloud, USB or a
third-party app, connecting your
Android phone and tablet
together is easy. A cool
feature that many people
overlook is that by
closely connecting the
devices together, its
possible to manage
your notications on
one device that will
then remove them
from the other. This
only works with
certain kinds of
notications.
Cloud Saves in the new Google Play
Game Services means you can distribute
your saved les with as many other
Android or iOS devices youre connected
to. The ability to pick up and continue your
progress from where you left off on any
other device is truly unique to many other
gaming devices out there. It doesnt just
stop with saves,
however, as you
can also transfer
your leaderboard
and achievements
between multiple
different devices
as well.
The epitome of staying
connected between the
iOS and Android
platform is with the new
Hangouts app. By
connecting your Google+
account to Hangouts on
both iOS and Android
you can send messages
cross-platform with
ease. On top of this, you
can also take advantage
of Hangouts video
function to start a
Skype-like video call and
invite up to ten friends.
File sharing has also come on leaps
and bounds recently and now no
matter what device you own, its
easier than ever to distribute
your les across multiple
platforms. Although Google
Drive is a great example of
being able to share media from
Android to iOS devices, theres
also the likes of Dropbox, Mozy
and SugarSync that all
perform
the same
function.
T
IP
!
W
hen youre looking to
utilise the Cloud Saves
feature, m
ake sure you
rem
em
ber that not all saves will
work on every device. In som
e
cases a gam
e m
ight only be
available for your
phone.
T
IP
!
Other areas of the Play
store have a big focus on
staying connected. For
exam
ple, any rentals you m
ake
through the Play Movies app
can then be watched on any
other Android phone
or tablet.
T
IP
!
At the core of all the
sharing and staying in sync
is your Google account. No
m
atter what device youre
using, it is param
ount that
youre logged in to the sam
e
Google account on every
device you own.
Staying connected via the
cloud is a standard feature
Pick up and
continue where
you left off
Keep your
devices
in sync
Its never been easier,
whatever devices you own
G
oogle is at the hub of everything that helps you keep your
Android devices working in sync. The options are endless
and we now live in an age where staying connected via the
cloud is a standard feature on all devices, no matter what their
size or price tag. On top of this, with the launch of many popular
Google apps on iOS, its now possible to stay in sync with your
Android and iOS devices with just a few presses.
Feature
23
Instead of video chatting with just a single
contact, use the Add Person option to add
up to ten people to your video call. Then
press on a thumbnail to switch between
your different contacts.
Hangouts comes with a wide variety of
Emoji icons to personalise all the
messages you send. After sending a few
different ones, the app will automatically
create a list of your most used icons for
quicker access in later messages.
If theres a particular person you dont want
to contact you, go to the People Options
page within the Settings menu and nd the
contacts details. You can then choose the
Block Contact option from the list provided.
If youve got dozens of people in your
contacts list, and hundreds of people in
your G+ Circles, make sure to use the
search bar at the top of the app to nd a
specic contact within the Hangouts app.
The problem when connecting your G+
account to Hangouts is that youll
frequently nd duplicate contacts are
created. Go to the contacts page in
Hangouts and merge their details into one
single listing.
Top tips for
using
Hangouts
01
Video with
multiple contacts
02
Use Emoji
icons
03
Block
contacts
04
Search for
someone
05
Deal with
duplicates
Google Hangouts
Googles new messaging app replaces Google
Talk, but adds a whole host of extra features
for you to explore
Free messaging
Through the Hangouts app you
can invite your contacts and
anyone from your Google+ circles
to a private messaging session. It
works in the same way as
WhatsApp and Viber, enabling
you to send real-time messages
completely for free. At any point
you can expand your
conversation by adding new
contacts to it.
Google+ integration
Wherever you look within
Hangouts, youll constantly
nd options to link your G+
account with it. You can
manage your Circles within
Hangouts and be in
complete control of who
you can connect with within
the app itself. Hangouts
offers a decent
replacement to the
messaging system used
within Google+.
Sending les
Another benet of using the
Hangouts app is the ability to
send certain le types to your
contact. Although you cant
send videos through the
application, you can send
photos and les with just a
click of a button. Loading
times for sending les and
photos are surprisingly quick.
Remember the favourites
As you start to use Hangouts
more, the app will
automatically create a list of
the people you regularly
contact at the top of the home
screen. Once the list has been
created, you can then start a
conversation with them by
selecting a specic thumbnail,
or edit who is listed at the top
of the app.
Video chat
As well as exchanging standard
messages, youll also nd full
video call options available to
you. This feature works very
much in the same way as a
Skype call, meaning you can
video chat with any contact
while still also sending text-
based messages to others.
Feature
24
Master Play Music
Stream your music collection with
the redesigned Play Music app
T
he Play Music app has undergone a complete redesign, boasting a more sophisticated
design alongside plenty of new features to get your teeth stuck in to. Organising your
library of music has been made easier and its now possible to merge together the
music youve purchased alongside the music youve personally uploaded to the Play Music
app. Google has also announced a new music subscription service called All Access. As
a direct competitor to Spotify, All Access provides users with access to over 15 million
tracks ready to be streamed at the press of a button.
Within the shop youll nd a variety of search
options to help get the music that interests you.
The best search option is the Genres search
feature that enables you to perform a quick search
of the entire Play store library to nd artist and
albums that fall within that specic genre.
Press on the Play Music icon located on the
top-left side of the app to open up the side menu.
This menu acts as a hub from which you can
access the various sections that make up the app.
Although most of the options are the same, youll
rst want to check out the Instant Mixes section.
When you rst open up the new redesigned Play
Music app, youll be greeted by the Listen Now
menu which will show you your most recently
played tracks, as well as provide
recommendations on songs and artists you might
consider listening to based on your tastes.
2. Side menu
6. Shop
1. Listen Now
5. Queue management
By opening up the side menu you can also access
the Shop feature. Here youll nd the entire Google
Play library of albums and singles at your disposal
to buy. Anything you purchase will then be openly
available for you to listen to at your leisure. Prices
are pretty competitive when compared to iTunes.
This section creates virtual mixes of artists stored
on your phone, making an endless loop of all the
stored songs by a particular artist for you to enjoy.
By pressing on the three dot icon next to an artist,
you can alter the track selection of the mix and
share them with contacts.
3. Instant Mixes
7. Genre search
If youve got a stream of music youre wanting to
listen to, youll need to check out the Queue
management screen that can help you determine
the order of tracks. Theres a shufe function
enabling you to create a mix of your tracks and
also the ability to remove and add songs.
All Access provides users with
access to over 15 million tracks
Master Play Music
Feature
25
All Access vs Spotify
Youll nd the playback function on the redesigned
Play Music app virtually the same as before, with
all the same controls listed below the album
artwork. This time around youll also notice the
thumbs up and thumbs down icons where you can
judge how good the track is.
4. Playback
SONG SELECTION
PRESENTATION
RADIO
SOUND QUALITY
WINNER
All Access currently has 15 million songs ready to be streamed
directly through your phone or web browser. Youll nd all the
mainstream stuff covered, as well as a decent range of artists.
Album artwork looks brilliant within All Access and the app has
been designed to be easy to navigate. Getting your head around
the various sound options is made easy thanks to the design.
Opening up the Radio tab brings thousands of radio stations to you
instantly and loading times are quick. Access also includes a radio
recommendation feature based on your musical tastes.
Arguably the most important aspect of a music service is All
Access strongest point. Sound quality is superb and you can
tinker with the quality by opening up the built-in equaliser.
Play Music All Access has hit the ground running. A comprehensive range of content and a fantastic app puts
it ahead of its biggest competitor. All thats needed now is for it to launch in a greater number of markets.
Theres currently 20 million songs in Spotifys library, so based on
selection alone, Spotify is the winner. Expect some labels to jump
ship over to Googles streaming platform, however.
The desktop version looks great and prides itself on being really
easy to use. Unfortunately the app tends to be really ddly and
there are some issues when creating playlists through it.
The selection of radio stations within Spotify is no doubt
impressive, but streaming quality can be mixed, especially if the
station is quite a distance away from your current location.
With so many songs in Spotifys library, theyve done a good job at
making sure the sound quality is of a good standard. Bass heavy
tracks can tend to sound a bit distorted at times, however.
All Access Spotify
8. Artist options
One feature to keep an eye on is the various artist
options that open themselves up when you play an
album. By pressing on the three dot symbol next to
an album listing, you can see a variety of options
to choose from, including starting an instant mix or
shopping for more songs by the artist.
How to get Play Music All Access
in the UK
UK users can get the new service too
G
oogle has also launched a new subscription service alongside its Play Music app called All
Access. For $9.99 per month users can get unlimited streaming of their favourite music and
merge their current library of songs stored on their device with everything they stream using
the All Access service. Unfortunately it isnt available outside of the US, so people will need to nd an
alternate way to get their hands on it. Luckily, with a simple VPN, anybody can start to use All Access.
VPN
Youll rst need to
download a VPN app
on to your
smartphone. Every
time you
subsequently want to
listen to All Access,
youll need to go
through the VPN to
mask your current
location.
Access
Go to the All Access
section. Use your own
debit card for
payment, but youll
need to supply a fake
US-based address
and telephone
number to get signed
up to the service
before its
worldwide launch.
Feature
26
Sideload your
eBook collection
Use Googles
new one-click login
Use the Play store to sideload eBooks
and PDFs directly to your phone or tablet
By signing in to a specic website on your browser, you can instantly
download the corresponding app with a single press of a button
W
eve already covered all the biggest additions that were
announced by Google, but there are other features that
have also been announced, but overlooked by many. Play
Books is an integral part of the Google Play ecosystem and users
can now directly sideload eBooks and PDFs on to their device by
using the desktop version of the Play Books client. A one-click login
has long been overdue by Google and nally it has included it.
Although its only available on a handful of websites for the time
being, once youve used it, the corresponding app will automatically
be downloaded on to your phone.
You can now drag any eBooks or PDF les directly
into this section. Depending on the size of the
le, this process can take a few minutes to
complete. After youve uploaded all the les, youll
receive a notication on your phone letting you
know theyve been added.
Sign in to your Google account on the Play store
and navigate to the Play Books section. Here youll
be able to see all the books currently stored on
your device, as well as an Upload button on the
right-hand side. Go ahead and click on the button
to continue.
Theres currently only a few sites that
include Googles new one-click login
system, but more are promised to be
on their way. For this tutorial navigate
to the Fancy website.
2. Upload eBook or PDF 1. Load up Play Books
1. Find a site
Go to your phone and the download
will automatically start. After it has
nished installing, you can then open
up the app and once again log in using
your G+ account.
4. Open the app
After logging in to your Google+
account, a second menu will appear
asking you to conrm downloading the
Fancy app on to the device registered
to that Google+ account.
3. Conrm download
From the main menu press on the Log
in with Google+ symbol located in the
middle of the various login options. A
menu will load requiring you to enter
your account details.
2. Sign in to Google+
Go to the Play Books section on your phone and
you should nd all the uploaded les. At rst it can
take a little while for the le to open, but you
should have no problems with reading the les. By
deleting the les on your phone, they will also be
removed from your browser.
3. Go to phone
Play Books is an
integral part of the
Google ecosystem
Feature
27
Google Now in focus
With new cards available, Google Now is
fast becoming the ultimate search tool
32 minutes to Home
Normal trafc on A35
Navigate
Nearby events
Bandstand Performances...
Bandstand
tomorrow 7:00pm
Music
Jack Jones...
BIC Centre
tomorrow 7:00pm
Music
Bournemouth 7s Festival...
Target Center
tomorrow 7:00pm
Sports
Horrible Histories...
BIC Centre
tomorrow 7:00pm
Show
Eddie Izzard, Force Majeure...
BIC Centre
tomorrow 7:00pm
Comedy
Pinewalk Art Exhibition...
Target Center
tomorrow 7:00pm
Art
45 minutes to Home
Normal trafc on A35
GOOG
781.81 +1.10 12
Bournemouth
Package: SHIPPED
10:10am, Tuesday, July 04
View email
Track package
Samsung Galaxy S4, micro SIM and ...
From: Amazon.co.uk
UPS Standard Shipping
Ben Folds
Birthday today
Wish happy birthday
Photo spot nearby
15mins walk
Recipes & ingredients for...
Continue researching
Explore more
Asian Cucumber Salad Recipe...
For a new twist of a simple side dish,
service our refreshingly tangy Asian...
www.myrecipes.com
Bourbon Chicken...
I searched and nally found this recipe on the
internet. It is a copy...
www.myrecipes.com
The Best Easy Beef and Broccoli...
I clipped this recipe from Taste of Home magazine
several years ago and have found it to be...
www.myrecipes.com
Szechuan Noodles With Spicy...
Tired of using ground beef the same old way? Try
this spicy dish! Feel free to double the sauce if...
www.myrecipes.com
Chargers
Box score
Recap & Highlights
Raiders
Final
June 07 22 14
Manchester United
March 05
Manchester City
Based on your sports teams
Manchester United Yes | No
Follow these teams?
Add sports teams
2. The birthday card links with
your G+ prole and noties you
of your contacts birthdays
5. Find the perfect photo spot
and see what other users have
been able to snap
1. Track your Amazon
and eBay purchases
using the new shipping
card
6. Stuck for dinner ideas?
No worries the recipe
card will help you decide
4. Journey times now use
the latest travel
information to make sure
there are no delays on
your route
7. As well as having a convoluted
journey card, theres also a simplied
version you can use
8. There are more sports
teams for you to track
now, and Google Now is
faster with providing their
latest results
9. When the sport scores do
come in, there are more
interactive options for you to
explore
3. Use the
events card to
nd whats going
on in your local
area
1
4
2
5
6
7
8
9
3
Feature
28
Voice control supertest
We pit the three
biggest AI
engines against
each other to
nd out who wins
We asked...
What is the weather
forecast for London?
We asked...
Find me the details of
an Italian restaurant
in Bournemouth
We asked...
Set an alarm for 9am
tomorrow
We asked...
What is the quickest
route from
Bournemouth to
Manchester?
We asked...
Who invented the
roundabout?
Did it understand?
Did it understand?
Did it understand?
Did it understand?
Did it understand?
Voice Search
Did it understand?
Did it understand?
Did it understand?
Did it understand?
Did it understand?
Siri
Did it understand?
Did it understand?
Did it understand?
Did it understand?
Did it understand?
S Voice
What did it show us...
We were shown a card showing the
current weather in London, as well as a
ve-day forecast.
What we liked here is that Voice Search
showed us the most highly rated Italian
restaurant on Trip Advisor.
Although it took a while to conrm the
alarm had been set, Voice Search
eventually set it up.
Thanks to the integrated Google Maps
feature, we were quickly shown a map of
the quickest journey.
This was a tricky one, but after a few
seconds Voice Search pulled up a
Wikipedia card showing the inventor.
As well as showing us a full ve-day
forecast, Siri also gave us links to the Met
Ofce where we could nd out more.
Siri showed us several restaurants, but
not all of them served Italian food.
Siri was quick in setting an alarm for us
and even opened up the default Clock
app to show it had been set.
Siri had a hard time understanding this
one and didnt recognise the places we
asked it.
This one completely stumped Siri and
instead it performed a Google search on
what we said.
Despite the slight error in understanding
with what we said, we were still shown a
full ve-day forecast for London.
S Voice was quick to recommend a
handful of restaurants in the local area.
S Voice asked us to conrm the time we
want to set the alarm for and then
showed us our alarm on a digital clock.
Despite knowing exactly what was said, S
Voice couldnt provide us with a journey
plan, and instead opened Google Maps.
Similarly to Siri, S Voice was stumped
here and relied on a Google search to give
us the answer.
WINNER
VOICE SEARCH
All three possess qualities that make them brilliant to use at times, but the Voice Search app
links well with Google Now to provide a better quality of answers, and tackles even the tougher
questions very well.
We dont keep
secrets
Learn the truth about iPhone, iPad, Android, Photoshop and
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30
Feature
Power tips for tablets
Want to get more out of your Android tablet?
We round up a host of tips to enable you
to do just that
POWER TIPS
FOR TABLETS
POWER TIPS
31
Feature
Extend
battery life
Find tablet
specific apps
Voice control
Extend the life of your battery by dimming the screen,
turning off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, switching off GPS,
erasing widgets and using a management app such as
Tasker to automate your tablet. You can use Tasker to
disable Wi-Fi at a specied time each night and
re-enable it in the morning. Use the inexpensive Power
Manager Full app by X-Phone Software to set up prole
options which tell the tablet what to do when the
battery percentage reaches a dened point.
To nd apps that
are tailored for
your tablet,
download Tablied
Market (Google
Play). It highlights
only those apps
that are designed
for your tablet,
meaning no more
searching and trial
and error.
To take voice control to another level, try the free app
utter! Voice Commands BETA!. You do not need a data
connection when using Jelly Bean, letting you speak
commands that affect Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, spelling,
weather, social media, email, alarm, settings and more.
When Android 4.1 Jelly Bean was unveiled, Adobe Flash support was removed. Some manufacturers still
include it but for those that dont, there is a way to get it back
Gesture controls
Top five tablet
widgets
Restore Flash to your tablet
Protect your data
Boost volume
Using an app such as Trigger enables you to expand on
the scope of gestures. You can set up your own
gestures that perform specic tasks from launching an
app and composing a new SMS or email to being able
to access your settings and toggle Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Back up your data by going to Settings>Backup &
Reset and checking the box for Back up my data. Go
back and tap on Accounts & Sync settings and select
Google before deciding what you want to back up.
Make sure your phone is also locked properly. Why not
use an unlock pattern (Settings>Location &
Security>Set unlock pattern). Follow the instructions
and turn off
visible
passwords
(under Location
& Security)
dont let anyone
look over your
shoulder and
see you type!
The sound on your tablet may not be loud enough. In
such a case, use an app like Sound Volume Booster. It
works with Jelly Bean with the app showing you various
items that you may want to change the volume of from
music to ringtones.
SHAZAM
When you hear a piece of music you cant
quite place, dont mess around launching
the app, go direct to the widget instead.
CAR WIDGET
When you are driving, the large images
of this app ensure you can get straight to
the services you need without distraction.
TWITTER
Everyones favourite 140-character social
media service can push the latest tweets
straight to you via this excellent widget.
AUDIOMANAGER
Change the volume settings of your
Android device from the comfort of your
homescreen and alter the sound of
alarms, alerts and even ringers.
PULSE NEWS
By gathering your news and blogs
together, Pulse News keeps you on the
ball from your homescreen.
SEARCH FOR FLASH
Open up Google Chrome and
search for archived ash player
version. When you search, you
will nd it is the rst in the list on
Google. Tap the link.
LOCATE VERSION
Scroll to the bottom of Adobes
page until you see versions for
4.1, which is Jelly Bean. Select the
latest Flash player from the list by
clicking the link.
INSTALL FLASH
Now the .apk le will be
downloaded. You will be able
to install this on your device by
tapping Install. Once complete,
Flash will be on your Android tablet.
How to
SIDELOAD APKS
If you source an app from somewhere other
than Google Play (such as direct from a
developer), you can install these as .apk
les. First go to Settings>Security and allow
Unknown sources. Then use a le manager
such as ES File Explorer to install by tapping it
to open the package installer.
SET UP MULTIPLE
USER ACCOUNTS
With the primary account set up, go to the
Settings menu and select Users category. You
will see the primary account here. To add a new
user just tap the Add User button at the top.
Tap Set up now to go to the lockscreen. The
new user can sign in and congure the tablet.
REBOOT TO
SAFE MODE
If something goes wrong, you can reboot your
Android device into Safe Mode to enable you to
rectify the situation. This is usually good when
you want to nd out which third-party app is
causing an issue. Long press the power button
and then long press Power Off and select OK.
SYNC BOOKMARKS
Google Chrome bookmarks can be synced. Go
to Chrome on your computer, select the options
and, under Personal Stuff, click Set up Sync.
Choose Bookmarks when asked. When you use
Chrome on both the computer and the tablet,
the bookmarks will be automatically synced.
Older OS users should install Chromemarks.
ACCESS APP INFO
Use Notications to access information about
your apps. Call up the Notication box and
when you see an application that you would like
to know more about, long press on it. You will
then be able to go direct to the App Info screen
where it can be either uninstalled or disabled if
you wanted.
FORGET WI-FI
NETWORKS
Go to the Settings app on your device and turn
on Wi-Fi if you have not already done this. In
the Wi-Fi Settings screen, you need to touch
the name of the Wi-Fi network you do not want
to use. Now touch Forget in the dialog box that
appears and it will be forgotten.
TURN OFF NOTIFICATIONS
You can stop notications from being displayed
for individual apps by going to the App info
screen for the application that you want to
halt and unticking the box labelled Show
Notications. Any notications will cease until
you tick the box again. All other notications will
continue regardless.
Feature
32
CONNECT TO A HOTSPOT
Grab your Android phone and go to the Menu option. Go to the
Settings and select Wireless & Networks and then Portable
WiFi hotspot. Now open the Portable WiFi hotspot settings to
set up a memorable password. Name the hotspot. Go to your
Wi-Fi settings on your tablet and nd the name.
LOCK & UNLOCK
SCREEN
ORIENTATION
Bring down the Notication box
on Jelly Bean by dragging your
nger down from the top of the
screen. Tap on the word Auto
Rotate. It will change to Rotation
Locked. Tap it again and it will
go back to Auto Rotate. Auto
Rotate enables the orientation
to change.
Set up a VPN
CONNECT TO VPN
When complete, tap Save. Now tap the
VPN to connect. You need your username
and password for the VPN. Notications
will inform you of activation.
ADD A VPN
Tap the + button. Now type in the VPNs
details including a name. Enter the VPN
servers address into the box.
WIRELESS & NETWORKS
Go to the Settings app and tap More
under the category Wireless & networks.
Then select the option for VPN.
Turn off sounds
Edit 23 different
file types
Loading files
on Android Add an email
signature
Use folders
When you are at work, you may not want to be
bothered by a constant pinging of email notications.
To turn off Gmail sound notications, go to Settings
from within the Gmail app and select the account you
wish to use. Now tap on the option for Sound and
select Silent to turn it off. New message alerts will
continue to be seen in the notication panel, however.
Using the brilliant productivity suite, Kingsoft Ofce,
you can edit documents and work with spreadsheets
and presentations with more than 23 le types
supported from .doc and .docx to PDF. It supports
cloud storage too.
Plug your tablet into a PC. When you pull down the
notication panel, you can tap the USB connected box.
Now tap Mount. The tablet appears on your PC as if it is
an external hard drive, enabling you to use it to copy
les on to. If you use a Mac, you need to download the
Android File Transfer software on your Apple computer
by going to http://www.android.com/letransfer.
Go to the Email app and tap the Menu button before
going to Settings. When you tap on the email account
you want to use, you can then see a list of options, one
of which is Signature. Tap this and it will append text to
messages that you send.
You can better organise your homescreens by placing
items into folders. There are many goodies that can be
placed within a folder from apps to
contacts. All you need to do is grab
one app and long press on it. Then
drag it over the top of another app.
A circle appears. When it does, let
go and a folder will be created with
both apps in it.
Manage your
data usage
If you need to see
how much data
you are using on
your tablet, go to
the Settings app
and select Data
Usage. It shows
you how much you
have used over a
cycle and which
apps are eating
away the most.
Work
Use a keyboard and mouse
A keyboard and mouse can be added to your tablet in one of two ways: USB
or Bluetooth. You can then use the arrow keys or the mouse for navigation.
Feature
33
Bluetooth
Open the Settings app on your
tablet and touch Wireless &
networks. Check Bluetooth to
ensure it is turned on. The
tablet will then scan for the
relevant ID of your Bluetooth
keyboard or mouse.
Choose
When you nd your Bluetooth
keyboard or mouse in the list,
you can select it. Ensure that
the keyboard or mouse is
turned on if it does not show.
Tap Find nearby devices and
then Scan for devices to
relook for it.
USB
You can plug a keyboard or a
mouse directly into your
Android tablet via the USB
port. You may need to grab
hold of an adapter which you
can buy from most electronic
shops or online.
Multiple
If you want to connect more
than one USB device, then you
will need to get hold of a
powered USB hub. A powered
hub is desirable otherwise it
will drain your battery life.
Media
Transfer photos from your
camera to your tablet
Edit and share
your photos
SHARE THE IMAGE
Once saved, open the Gallery app. Select
the photo. Select Share. Choose whether
you want to email or send by social media.
MAKE CHANGES
You can now crop or use contrast,
brightness and so on to enhance the
photo that you wish to edit.
OPEN A PHOTO
Grab a photo from your photo roll and tap
the menu button in the bottom right-hand
corner. Select Edit Photo.
Share Instagram
pics to Google+
Reset the
YouTube app
Use gestures to
open apps
Unlock the
BeanFlinger
Get an
app refund
Its not easily apparent that you can send Instagram
pics to Google+ but you can. Find an image in the
Instagram stream and tap the three dots in the bottom
right-hand corner. Choose Share and select where you
want to send it to in this case Google+.
Sometimes YouTube encounters a problem and begins
to freeze during playback. You can stop this and reset
YouTube (as with all apps)
by going to Settings>Apps
and tapping on YouTube.
Press Force Stop, then
Clear Cache and then Clear
Data to x any issues.
By downloading GO Launcher EX, you can not only add
a whole new launcher but
also use gestures such as
swiping down the Home
Screen to launch an app.
Go to Action
Settings>Gesture Settings
and then create shortcuts
for various actions.
You can use screensavers or, as Android calls them,
Daydreams. One is locked, however. Called the
BeanFlinger, you need to unlock it by going to
Settings>About tablet. Tap the Android version entry
repeatedly. A jelly
bean appears. Tap
and hold it then enjoy.
The BeanFlinger will
be unlocked in your
Daydream menu.
So your 15 minutes are up but you feel shortchanged
by an app youve bought. Go to https://play.google.
com/store/account and log in. Under option, click
Report a problem for the app you want a refund on.
Select Id like to request a refund from the Select an
option menu, write why and then click Send Report.
Prevent pop-ups
in browser
Speed up your browsing experience in Chrome by
ensuring that you block pop-ups. You can do this by
hitting Menu>Settings when you are in Chrome. Go to
Content settings. You may
nd that this is ticked by
default but if it isnt, select
it. You will see a green tick if
the block has been
activated, preventing
annoying windows opening.
You may have a dedicated camera with images that you want to transfer to
your tablet. If the camera supports the media transfer protocol, you can
transfer without rooting using an OTG cable and choosing MTP from the
options and it will work absolutely ne. You can also transfer via the SD card
that lives inside the camera.
Get a card
reader
Using a card reader, you
are able to take the SD
card from your camera
and use it on your tablet
via the USB port.
Android will instantly
scan and look for a
DCIM folder.
Transferring
media
When this is found, it will
take note of all of the
JPEG les that are
located within the DCIM
folder and enable them
to be viewed via the
Gallery app within your
Android device.
Using a le
manager
In order to transfer them
across, however, you
will need to use a le
manager. Our top
choice would the ES File
Explorer app. Place the
folders under the
Picture folder.
1 2 3
Feature
34
Navigating
without data
Do you need to nd your way around for
free? Do you want turn-by-turn navigation
and not have to worry about a data
connection when on the go? Google
Maps has very limited ofine support in
its current version, and really needs to
be used tethered to get the most from it.
Instead try Navfree: Free GPS Navigation
from Google Play. Maps are downloaded
to your device and it uses GPS to help you
get around.
Upgrade your keyboard
Android for
blind users
Work faster with
no full stops
Encrypt
your device
Change the
default zoom
Access Developer
options
If you or someone else has limited vision, you can
access Androids Talkback service. It gives you a
commentary on what is happening on the screen so
that the system can be better navigated. The app even
enables for a Bluetooth or a USB braille input and
output device. You can nd this under
Settings>Accessibility. It will collect all of the text that
you type except
passwords but
it will include
personal data
such as credit
card numbers.
If you nd tapping the full stop key is slowing you down,
then you only need to tap the Spacebar twice and it will
put the full stop in there for you, saving you a few
seconds of time.
If you want to be secure and scramble your content so
it cannot be read by anyone else, then you can go to
Encryption under the Settings. You will then need to
decrypt by tapping in the PIN or password that you will
have been asked to create. Only by performing a
factory data reset or erasing all your data can the tablet
be otherwise decrypted.
In Chrome, tap Accessibility and then change the text
scaling to make things more comfortable to view. You
can force enable zoom to override a websites request
to prevent zooming in.
From Jelly Bean 4.2 onwards, the Developer options
were hidden. They can be found once again by going to
Settings>About tablet. Tap on the Build number entry
seven times. Follow
the instructions until
it tells you that you
are a developer.
Developer options
appear in the
Settings menu.
Add emoticons
Some love them, some detest them. But if you want
some emoticons or emojis which are the Japanese
version then select Language & input from Settings.
Go to the settings for
the built-in Android
keyboard and choose
Add-on dictionaries.
Select Emoji for English
words. You will now see
symbols appearing in
the predictions bar
when you type.
Our chubby ngers need a rest from endless typing and we nd the built-in Android
keyboard could be improved. So we checked out Swype and SwiftKey X to see if they cut it.
Features
Stock keyboard Swype SwiftKey
Ease of use
Typing test
(words per minute)
And the winner is...
Swype
Its that gliding feeling that makes the keyboard comfortable to use, drawing words and
speeding up our typing. Writing was fast and we like the addition of speech for those times
when you want a more hands-free approach.
Its the keyboard built in to the Android OS
and it works well. There is predictive text and
you can dictate. Some will have no reason
to move to a new keyboard.
Our large fingers do sometimes make
mistakes and it feels too traditional. We find
the predictions are not always spot on for us.
It does work though.
32 43 48
SwiftKey has a good memory, predicting
your typing. It knows the types of words you
use and can learn from your blogs, Twitter,
Facebook and email.
The prediction begins to work incredibly well
over time and it almost writes your work for
you. The swiping option is also okay, but not
as accurate as Swype.
Swype enables you to type without lifting
your finger to hammer individual keys. It has
next word prediction and lets you use voice
recognition software by Dragon Dictation.
We could have cheated by using speech but
the keyboard predicts our next words and it
speeds things up. Our fingers felt fresh from
not hammering.
Feature
35
Tutorials Tutorials
36
Master the
super suite
of S4 apps
N
obody can deny that the S4 has
some brilliant new features,
many of which stem from the
range of pre-installed apps that
happen to be on the device. Although
you can still nd the old crop of apps,
such as S Planner and S Voice, their
newer versions have been given a
range of new features for users to
explore. Look around the S4 and youll
soon nd many new apps worth
checking out. The S Health app is a
personal exercise tracker that will
stop you having to splash out on the
likes of Endomondo. Theres a range of
new camera features, including the
brilliant Eraser feature. But best of all
there are some truly unique gestures
that offer new ways for users to take
control of their phone.
S4 tips and tricks
1. If youre planning on using the S
Health app you might want to invest
in an armband that you can place the
S4 into to stop it from moving about
when you exercise.
2. Its important to note that apps
like S Voice will only work when
Unlock advanced features within the range of S apps
youre connected to a Wi-Fi
network to let you know infor
about the weather, landmarks
and restaurants.
3. When you rst start using
the range of new gestures
included on the S4, it can take
a while for them to work
properly. Make sure you
closely follow the detailed
tutorials on using them.
4. As well as apps youll also
nd a good selection of widgets
on the S4. S Travel is a
highlight as it provides
recommendations to different
destinations around the world.
5. One feature that will bring
a smile to your face is the Story
Album app. Within this app
you can put together your own
story based on the pictures
stored on your device. You can
be as mushy as you like!
masterclass
Other brilliant S4 apps Explore these other apps that come pre-installed on your phone
Create your
own story
Story Book
After taking a bunch of
pictures you can turn
them into your very own
story with the Story
Album app. Give it a title,
add some text and then
share your nished story
with your contacts or
upload it directly to your
Facebook prole.
Look around the S4 and youll soon nd
many new apps worth checking out
Can I import
my created
appointments
from the S3
over to the S4?
Yes, you can share
each appointment
youve created via
Bluetooth over to the
S4 and then open and
save them within the
newer version of the S
Planner app.
Ask your own
question online at
littlegreenrobot.co.uk
Access all
your les
My Files
Most phones dont come
with a le explorer app,
but the S4 has the highly
useful My Files app
pre-installed. Use the
app to delve deep into
your phone and access
some of the les you
wouldnt usually be able
to play around with.
Digital copies
of novels
Optical Reader
If you want to read your
favourite novel on your
new S4 handset then
use the Optical Reader
app to scan a page and
see your text brought
straight to life. The app
then processes the text
to make it more legible
for you to read.
37
Track your
fitness levels
Search
your phone
with
S Voice
Gain full control of
your phone without
ever needing to use
your hands
You can also use the app to create new
appointments and reminders. Just say
the name, date and time of the appointment
and itll be created within S Planner.
3
2
guide
min
S Voice links with different apps,
depending on what you ask it to do. For
example, asking about the weather brings up
the AccuWeather app.
2
By speaking aloud a simple task, the
phone and app will automatically do
them for you. Press on the speech symbol to
perfect your voice levels, if necessary.
1
Go back to the side menu and select the
Comfort level tab. This clever feature tracks
temperature, humidity and the chance of rain to
let you know the most suitable time for exercise.
You can share this information via the icon at the
top of the screen.
Find your comfort levels
4
When you rst open up the S Health app
youll be required to input some basic details
regarding weight, height and exercise. This gives
the app a starting point to monitor your progress.
Press Start once youve entered everything.
Input your information
1
Both the Waking mate and Exercise mate
sections act as trackers from which you can see
how long youve been exercising for and the
amount of calories youve currently burned. Press
the symbol in the bottom-right of the screen to
see a chart of your progress.
Monitor exercise levels
3
The side menu that now appears offers
quick shortcuts to the various sections of the app.
Depending on the type of exercise you want to
take part in, select the Walking mate or Exercise
mate option from the list provided.
Choose your path
2
O
ne of the biggest additions to the S4 suite of apps is S Health. As its name suggests, S
Health is a handy tool that looks to provide you with various information and tracking
software to help track your weight and exercise levels. The app outlines what your daily
targets for weight loss should be and stores all the necessary data for later referencing. For those
who are really serious about monitoring their weight, S Health also includes a range of charts,
graphs and interactive data to help provide you with one of the most comprehensive health
apps available to users.
Manage your weight and exercise levels using Samsungs
dedicated S Health app
Works with Samsung Galaxy S4

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38
Tutorials
Use the new gestures
to control your S4
No need for
hands, use
gestures to
control your S4
G
estures have come on leaps and bounds in
the past year or so and more devices are
appearing with a full suite of motions you
can now use to control your phone. The Samsung
Galaxy S4 is a pioneering phone in this department,
offering users a substantial choice of gestures they
can use. One of the unique selling points of the phone
is its still eye tracking software, which doesnt just
pause a video while you watch it, but also helps you
scroll through a particular piece of text. Taking it a
step further is the new AirView feature, which
enables users to hover their finger above the screen to
control it. It can be tricky to get it working at first, but
when youve got it up and running its a fantastic
addition to your armoury. With so many more
gestures to explore, including using your palm to see
your phones vital stats, theres no doubting that the
S4 is one exciting phone.
Alternatively you can nd a large portion of
text and hover your nger above a particular word
to select it. You can also use your nger to quickly
move up and down a page without ever needing to
touch the screen itself.
or just your nger
5
When you rst use the S4, none of the
gestures will be enabled for you to use. Go
into the Settings app on the device and scroll
down until you nd the Motions and gestures
sub-menu and then open it.
Find the gestures
1
After completing the previous steps you
can now begin experimenting with the gestures.
Put your device into sleep mode and wipe your
palm just above the screen. Your device should
power up and show you some of its vital stats.
Use your palm
4
All the various motions and gestures you
can implement on the device will be listed here.
Have a read about each and select the ones you
want to include. Each gesture comes with its own
separate tutorial that you can follow.
What to use?
2
Some of the gestures will require you to
calibrate your device. The Gyroscope Calibration
screen will appear automatically if this step is
necessary. Put your phone on a hard surface and
press the calibrate button to nish.
Calibrate your device
3
39
Explore S Planners improvements
Take a close look at the new features making these apps better than ever
Youll now need to line up your shot and
press the camera button. The Eraser tool will now
take ve pictures and then show you the best one.
Things highlighted in red can be removed from the
image, so simply press what you want to remove.
Take your photos
2
After processing the image, youll have a
movement-free image to use. Now explore some
of the other camera features that enable you to
edit the photo in different ways. The best one is
being able to move parts of images around.
Erase or move
3
Open up the Galaxy S4 camera and select
the Mode button located in the bottom-left of the
screen. A variety of windows will now pop up and
youll need to scroll through them until you get to
the Eraser tool. Select it once youve found it.
Find the Eraser tool
1
T
he Galaxy S4 comes with a great
selection of effects and features you
can use while exploring the phones
camera. One of the best to try out first is the
Eraser tool. By using this tool you can fully
remove moving objects with just a press of a
button, without needing to readjust your
photo, or leaving a highly pixelated photo
after youve tried to edit it. You cant run
Eraser on normal shots, unfortunately, so
need to try and anticipate scenarios where
you might have problems with people
stepping into your shots. Crowded tourist
destinations are a good example of where you
might want to shoot in Eraser mode just in
case. Note that it will hinder your ability to
shoot quickly.
Remove moving
objects from
your photos
Use the new Eraser feature to transform your busy photos

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Message us!
Get in touch via Facebook
and Twitter
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
Get help from our
Facebook community
twitter
@lgrobot
Follow us to send your
questions and thoughts
2
guide
min
Whenever you create a new
event, make sure to check out
the improved range of stickers you
can add to them. These can be very
useful if you want to add a visual
reminder to a specic event. Please
note, the stickers could disappear if
you send the event details to a
different device.
1
There are now even closer
links between the S Planner
and S Memo applications, and you
can create full events and
appointments from within the S
Memo app. You can also still import
a memo youve created directly into
the S Planner app and attach it to an
event youve just created.
2
If you seem to be creating the
same event frequently on a
daily or weekly basis, you might want
to consider enabling the No due
date option found in the Add event
details. This option creates a
recurring event and means you dont
need to manually enter the details
for it each time.
3
As with previous versions of
the S Planner app, the sharing
options available to you have been
improved upon even further. You can
still distribute via email and
Bluetooth, but the Facebook share
option has been altered to make the
process a whole lot quicker, which
can only be a good thing.
4
40
Tutorials
Encrypt your
SD card
Prevent anyone getting their hands on your
valuable data by securing your SD card
T
heres a wide selection of security
techniques you can implement on your
phone to keep your les and data safe.
As well as being able to set passwords and
patterns to stop people accessing your phone
in general, an area thats commonly
overlooked is the process of keeping the les
stored on your external SD card secure.
By encrypting your SD card youre adding a
layer of protection over everything thats
stored there and the SD card itself. Once the
encryption process has been completed,
youll need to enter a password every time
you want to open or transfer one of the stored
les. Despite it being a bit long-winded to
enter a password every time, it stops other
people from gaining access to them. Well
cover every step you need to take to correctly
encrypt your SD card and although it can
take a while to complete, the benets will be
clear to see when youve nished.
Works with All versions of Android
If you dont secure your phone with a
password, youll nd that the Encrypt SD card
menu doesnt enable you to select any les to
encrypt. To be able to start the process all youll
need to do is add a memorable six character
password to your device.
Optimise settings
3
Press on the Encrypt external SD card tab
located at the top of this menu to begin the
encryption process. At the same time you might
want to check out the Encrypt device option which
outlines the process of encrypting your phone and
what it actually does.
Encrypt external SD card
2
Open up the Settings app on your Android
smartphone and scroll down the menu until you
reach the Security option. This menu includes a
wide range of settings and toggles you can alter to
change current and add new security elements on
your device.
Find Security tab
1
Encrypting large les
Although you may want to encrypt
the many media les on your device
so other people cant access them,
they add a considerable amount of
time to the encryption process.
Movies in particular can take up to
ve minutes each to encrypt
Pick carefully
After youve made your selection
you need to press the Continue
button at the bottom of the menu.
Once youve started the process
theres no way of cancelling it, so
make sure youve made the correct
choices before continuing with it
Just new les
The quickest encryption process you
can add to your SD card is by choosing
the top option from this menu. This
will perform a quick encryption of the
newest and most accessed les on
your SD card, but it wont do anything
for les more than six months old
Full encryption
Choosing to undertake a full encryption
will mean your entire SD card will be
password protected and youll need to
enter a password for each le when
you try and open it. Although this can
be annoying, its the best choice for
those wanting thorough protection
41
Navigate back to the Settings menu and
scroll down until you nd the Lock screen option
listed half way down the page. Open up this menu
and choose the Screen lock option at the top of
the menu. From here you need to select the
Password tab.
Lock screen security
4
After your new password has been set, go
back to the Encrypt external SD card menu. Youll
now be able to select the types of les you want to
encrypt on your SD card. If you choose to encrypt
media les, the encryption process will take a lot
longer to complete.
What to encrypt?
6
Depending on the size of your SD card, the
encryption could take anywhere from a few
seconds to several minutes. You can check on the
progress of it by dragging down the notications
bar which will show you how long you have left.
Check the process
8
Make sure you read through the next few
pages in some detail as it guides you through the
encryption process and outlines the les you want
to encrypt on your SD card. After conrming youve
read the details, the encryption process will begin
after just a few seconds.
Conrm the encryption
7
To start the encryption process, you need
to implement a password that is a minimum of six
characters long and includes a number
somewhere within it. Youll need to enter the
password twice before its permanently added on
to your phone.
Set a password
5
Now your phone will automatically take you
back to your phones home screen. Every time you
try and enter the contents of your SD card, youll
now nd you need to enter the password that you
set up previously.
Accessing your SD card
9
Need help?
Got a problem with your
Android phone or tablet?
Get in touch with us...
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
Get help from our
Facebook community
twitter
@lgrobot
Follow us to send your
questions and thoughts
email
Send your questions for our team of
experts to tackle
What other security options are available to users?
1 Unique PIN number
Use a four digit PIN to enter your
phone and your les and secure
your device even further.
2 Use your face
Use the Face Recognition tool to
have your face as the ultimate
unlock tool.
3 Add a pattern
Drag your nger over different areas
of your screen to create a
memorable unlock pattern.
4 Looking for a lost phone
The Wheres My Droid app can be
used to track down your missing
phone via its GPS.
5 Protecting against malware
Install an antivirus suite to protect
your phone from viruses and
malware attacks.
quick
tips
Is there a limit to
how many les I
can encrypt?
Although theres no limit to the
les you can encrypt on your SD
card, youll nd that the
encryption times will take a lot
longer if you choose to encrypt
more than a few les.
Can I use an
encrypted card in a
different device?
No, once your card is encrypted
you will only be able to use it in
the original device. If you
perform a factory reset or ash
a new ROM to the device you
wont be able to access the
data on the card either.
Ask your own
question online at
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43
Disable in-app
purchases
Let your kids use
your devices?
Avoid any
unwelcome costs
on your bill by
restricting in-app
purchases
I
n-app purchases tend to be a real nuisance for
Android users and can lead to problems and
issues. Unfortunately its a system that more
developers are relying on and one that can be
lucrative if the app is decent enough. Some people
have been caught out by not realising theyve made a
series of in-app purchases. Most are well disguised
within apps and some unwitting parents may not
realise that their children have racked up a massive
bill in an innocent looking game. Although theres no
way to permanently get
rid of in-app purchases
from appearing in the
apps you enjoy, theres a
way to add a layer of security
which can help stop unwanted
purchases being made by you, or
your family. In this tutorial well take
you through this process which will
hopefully help save you and your wallet.
Google Play will once again open and youll
need to conrm the payment. After youve pressed
the Conrm button, a screen asking you to enter
your PIN should appear. You can simply press the
Cancel button to back out of the payment.
Commence payment
6
Scroll down through the various settings
until you reach User Controls. From here youll
want to nd the Use PIN for purchases option.
Currently this will be greyed out and youll need to
select the Set or Change PIN option instead.
Find User Controls
2
After setting everything in place youll want
to make sure its working properly. Open up an app
that you know includes a range of in-app
purchases. We used Temple Run 2 here. Find an
in-app purchase and click on the Buy option.
Open an app
5
This screen will require you to create a
unique PIN for your device. Theres no restriction
on the length of it, but make sure its easy enough
for you to remember. After adding your new PIN,
youll need to conrm it on the next screen.
Add and conrm PIN
3
Youll nd that the Use PIN for purchases
option is now available for you to select. By ticking
this option any subsequent purchases you make,
including in-app purchases, will require you to rst
enter the PIN before conrming it.
Use PIN for purchases
4
Works with All versions of Android
Open up the Google Play app from the app
drawer on your device. Press on the menu icon
located on the top-right of the home page and
select the Settings tab from the drop-down menu
that now appears in front of you.
Open Google Play
1
44
Tutorials
Unblock overseas TV
and web services
Employ the Hola
app to gain
access to
unavailable
overseas
websites
C
opyright issues and country-specic laws
bear an inuence on what content users can
access across the web. A simple example is that
UK users cannot access US content via the Hulu site.
Conversely, BBC iPlayer is only available to users
based in the UK.
One solution to resolving this issue lies in the
implementation of a proxy server. Setting up a proxy
server can allow for the IP address of a user to be
hidden. This in turn means that a previously blocked
site can become accessible as a site does not know
where the incoming computer is located. Hola is an
Android app that adds a user-friendly interface to the
process and will give users access to previously
blocked sites. Hola Unblocker comes with a small
selection of popular sites that users can activate and
ultimately gain access to. However, the real power
behind the app lies in its scripting language, hscript.
This enables users to create scripts to access sites of
choice and share with other Hola users.
The Hola demo offers a selection of Hola
scripts that are already installed. These include
Pandora, Netix, CBS, Facebook and Vimeo. These
are inactive by default. To activate a displayed
script simply tap the service of choice. A green tick
will appear to indicate the option is active.
Activate script
5
Head to the Google Play store and search
for Hola. Download the Hola Accelerator and
Unblocker app and install. Open Hola to view a
splash screen and swipe left to get a quick
overview of its features before getting to the Lets
get started! screen.
Get Hola
1
Switch back to the main screen and tap
the Unblocker slider to switch the feature on. A
new tagline will appear under the Unblocker text
stating that you should tap to select sites. Tap to
head to the Unblocker window which houses the
Hola Unblocker demo.
Unblocker demo
4
Now tap the Start Hola button. This will
display an Attention window informing the user
that Hola attempts to create a VPN connection. To
continue using Hola the user needs to trust the
application. Tap the I trust this application check
box and then hit OK to continue.
Trust application
2
The Hola app will connect to the internet
and display a message conrming this. The Hola
app consists of two elements: Unblocker and
Accelerator. By default Accelerator is switched on
and Unblocker switched off. Tap Accelerator to
view the stats since Hola has been installed.
Accelerator
3
Works with Android 4.0 and above
45
Working with
Hola scripts
Hola boasts its own scripting language called hscript. Here
we take a closer look at whats on offer
The Hola Unblocker demo provides a Share
link just above the Netix image. This enables the
current script to be shared with the user and other
users via a selection of services. Tap the link to
open the Share Hola script window. Select an
option and share.
Share a script
6
To add to the current selection of sites in
the unblocked list the app provides a search
facility. Tap the search option at the top of the
page and add a keyword, eg football. Tap again to
start a search which will redirect to Google with
appropriate results.
Search for scripts
7
The Unblocker window includes an On/Off
toggle switch which lets users switch/deactivate
any unblocker scripts. Tap the switch to switch off
the unblocker scripts and vice versa to turn on. To
switch Hola off, go back to the original screen and
tap the Hola Better Internet On/Off tab.
Switch off
8
Download and share with the Hola app
1 Get Hola for Windows
The Hola service is available for
Windows via the website at http://
hola.org/download.html.
2 Browser extensions
Get the Hola Unblocker browser
extension for Chrome and Firefox to
access the service via a desktop.
3 Upgrade Android
Make sure you have the latest
version of Android to be sure that
the Hola app works correctly.
4 Hola demos
Check out the Redirect and
Facebook demos at https://github.
com/hola/hscript.
5 Contributing
Hola users can share their ideas of
how to create and edit Hola scripts
via api@hola.org.
quick
tips
2
guide
min
Tap the About link at the top of the
Unblocker window. This will reveal a description
of exactly what Hola is all about. At the end of
the description is a Learn more link. Tap this to
get redirected to the Hola website and the
frequently asked questions section.
FAQ
1
Scroll down the FAQ section and locate
HOLA UNBLOCKER and the Im an advanced user
question and tap to open. Click the Get started
with hscripts now link to redirect. Alternatively,
go directly to the GitHub repository via https://
github.com/hola/hscript.
Hola scripts
2
Hola uses a scripting language called
hscript to create scripts that congure the Hola
Unblocker VPN. The Hola GitHub page includes
examples of Hola scripts. Tap Redirect Demo to
add the example script to your version of Hola.
This will appear under the Unblocker window.
Hola script examples
3
Hola users can create their own scripts
which can be used in a personal version of Hola.
The scripts can also be shared with their users.
Scroll down the GitHub page and locate Creating
hscripts. This offers instructions on how to
create and share a custom Hola script.
Create a script
4
46
Tutorials
Add and
work with a
remote server
Connect to a cloud service or computer using ES File Explorer
N
owadays, most people own multiple
devices and at least one desktop
computer. Different devices typically
means les and data are rarely stored in a single
location. This also means that one device rarely
has access to all the other devices. ES File
Explorer is an app that helps alleviate this issue.
The Network option in the app enables users to
get connected to a host of devices and services.
Connecting a device to a favoured cloud service
such as Google Drive or Dropbox lets a user view
and work with any associated les. Alternatively,
Bluetooth can be used to connect to a computer,
or device, and access its les.
1. Cloud service
Download and open the ES File Explorer
app, which will display the default screen.
The Fast Access section boasts a
selection of options including Cloud. To
connect to one of your cloud services,
youll need to tap Cloud and switch to the
Cloud screen. Now tap the New icon at the
bottom of the screen. This offers a
selection of cloud services including the
popular choices, Google Drive, Dropbox
and SkyDrive. Tap to select the service of
choice. This will open an authentication
screen. Add the necessary account
details and sign in.
2. View folders and les
To access a cloud service, ES File Explorer
will need to get access to the service. Tap
Allow access to continue. The service will
now be added to the Cloud screen. To
access the service simply tap the newly
added icon. To view any les in the service
simply tap the folder or le. Files will open
in the default application. For example, a
word .doc opens with Document Viewer. To
change how the icons are displayed, tap
View and select a new option.
3. Navigation
ES File Explorer uses a breadcrumb type
menu which displays the various drives,
folders and les at the top of the screen.
Tap to go up and down the hierarchy. To
close the Fast Access menu, and free up
more screen space, tap the globe/phone
icon. To close the Cloud screen tap the
Exit icon in the top-right corner.
4. Add FTP
To add an FTP service rst select FTP from
the Fast Access menu. Now tap New.
Select the desired option, typically ftp or
sftp, and add in the necessary FTP details.
This often comes with a web hosting
account. Now click OK to add the service
to the FTP window. This will act like the
cloud service and display folders and les.
5. Bluetooth connection
First Bluetooth must be switched on. A
message will appear asking to make the
device visible. Tap Allow to continue. The
window will display previously paired
devices. Tap to share. To add a new device,
pair via the devices settings.
[FIG 4] Getting access
to les stored on an
FTP server requires the
FTP server address,
which typically starts
with ftp://, and the
username and
password.
[FIG 5] The Bluetooth
window will display
previously paired
devices and
computers. If these
are within striking
distance they can be
selected to view les
and folders.
Is there a way
to add some
form of
protection so
users cant
access les via
a connected
cloud service?
Thankfully, there is in
the form of password
protection. Click
Settings in the Fast
Access menu, select
Password setting and
tap to turn on network
protection. Now add a
suitable password.
Ask your own
question online at
47 47
Power up
your home
screen
Works with Android 4.0 and up
A
ndroid comes equipped with its very
own launcher that does a perfectly
good job. However, those looking for a
little more power and panache can employ
the assistance of a third-party app.
Nova Launcher is a customisable launcher
that will take the Android home screen to a
new level. The app has an impressive array
of options that will ensure that users can
customise to get what they what. Settings is
where the action is, it is here where most of
the modications take place. Users can
change the accent colour scheme to any
colour wanted via a simple-to-use palette.
The home screen has a plethora of options
including grid size, margin width, search
bar style, scroll effects and lock desktop to
stop changes. The app drawer can have its
transition effects, size, style and scroll all
modied while the Dock has swipe, scroll
and icon modications. Finally, a backup
facility ensures that your favourite
desktop congurations are stored ready
to be recalled on a whim.
Use Nova Launcher to pack more
apps and icons onto your screen
Folders
The Folder options are relatively
straightforward, allowing for a different
view for folder previews. Choose from
Stack, Grid or Fan. Further customisation
is on offer with a folder background style
available. Users can choose from None,
Circle, Square, Platform, Disc or Custom
Backing up Nova
Creating different desktops can be time consuming. Make sure that you keep your favourites
by using the backup option, so you can restore when you fancy a different desktop
Grid sizes
In the Desktop settings you can set a new grid
size. This enables you to t more app icons
and widgets onto a single home screen panel.
Every widget can also be resized so they
become easier to t into any available gaps.
Through Nova you can also get live icons that
indicate the number of unread items in apps
Dock
The Dock can be disabled, and enabled,
with a single tap. The swipe action can be
modied to determine how many pages can
be swiped left or right, the maximum is ve.
The number of icons can be changed with a
maximum of 12 allowed. To compensate for
more icons the icons can be scaled down.
The Nova Launcher home
screen includes the Restore previous
Nova backup option. Tap the blue
button to reveal a list of currently
available backups. Simply select the
desired backup from the list and
answer the Are you sure? question.
Alternative backup
3
The Restore option is found in
the same location as Backup in Nova
Settings. Tap Restore to reveal any
previously created backups. Select
the desired backup. Press OK to
replace the current conguration.
Alternatively, tap Cancel if unsure.
Restore a backup
2
Customise
Drawer allows users to dene the grid size for
apps in the drawer. There is the option to choose
how many rows and columns for both portrait and
landscape orientation. The background
transparency can be adjusted, as can the drawer
style. Innite scroll can be switched on to offer a
continuous scroll through all screens
From the home screen tap the
Nova Settings icon to reveal a list of
settings. Select Backup and Import
to reveal the various options. Tap
Backup to reveal the Backup dialogue
window. Add a relevant name for the
backup and press OK to complete.
Create a backup
1
Visual effects
The screen rotation can be locked
or forced, the scroll speed can be
slowed down or speeded up and
there is the option to hide the
notication bar
48
Tutorials
Manage Communities
and Circles in Google+
Take a closer look
at Google+s take
on keeping tabs
on your contacts
online
G
oogle has been keen to constantly look to
improve the way in which we stay in contact
with our friends and contacts while using its
own social network, Google+. Circles is the hub
where you can see all the posts created by anyone
youre connected to on Google+, while also being able
to interact with videos, images or music les that have
been added to your feed. At the same time you can
create your own posts, enabling everyone in
your circle to interact with them.
Taking it a step further is Communities, a feature
that works in the very same way as a public forum.
Users can subscribe to topics of interest to them and
connect with people with the same interests. If theres
a topic not covered, then you can create your own
community, but this cant be currently done on the
Google+ app. In this tutorial, well guide you through
the process of managing both your Circle and
Communities feeds and identify some features you
need to check out.
If youre new to the Google+s Communities
feature, then youll rst see a suggested list of
Communities that you can join and instantly
interact with. You can use the search feature
within Google+ to look for a particular topic or
scroll through the list provided.
Suggested Communities
5
When you rst open up the Google+ app,
youll be greeted by the Whats hot screen which
acts as a default home screen. This page shows
the most popular posts within your current Circles
and general details about when and who published
it. Have a look around.
Whats hot feed
1
Now press on the G+ symbol located in the
top-left corner of the page. This will open up a
sidebar menu which helps you switch between
different areas of the Google+ application. With
this menu open, select the Communities tab that
is located halfway down.
Find quick menu
4
Press on the drop-down menu at the top of
the home page and select the All circles tab from
it. Choosing this option will take you to a live feed
of your Circles and depending on how many people
are in your Circles, it can take a little while for it to
load, so be patient.
Switch to Circles
2
The most recent posts are listed at the top
of the All circles page and you can interact with
any of them. Certain posts will include a small
ame on one of the lower corners which will
indicate that the post has been highly
recommended by other users.
Read the latest posts
3
49
Share thoughts
in Google+
Create a post within Google+ and post it to your Circles and
Communities at the same time
After youve found a topic thats of interest
to you, simply open up the Communities page and
press the Join community button. After joining it
youll be taken to the feed of the most recent
posts that were created within it.
Join a community
6
After youve joined a series of Communities,
check out the Your Communities page that can be
found by opening the drop-down menu at the top
of the page. Here youll be able to see everything
youve subscribed to and opt out of further
updates from them.
Manage Community feed
7
Many of the larger Communities include
sub-sections that you can explore and interact
with. Open up the topic in question and open the
drop-down menu from the top of the screen. All
the sections will be displayed and you can choose
where you want to go.
Explore different sections
8
Five Communities you need to subscribe to right now
1 Android
The ofcial Android news feed will
keep you up to date with the best
OS in the world.
2 Google Play
Get the latest deals and offers
directly through the Google Play
Communities feed.
3 Samsung Mobile
Find various images of Samsungs
latest devices and download them
on to your phone or tablet.
4 Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie
Find out more about Googles new
OS update and discover when your
device will get it.
5 Android Phone Repair
If youre having issues with your
phone, this Communities page has
helpful advice.
quick
tips
2
guide
min
When you rst begin to create a post in
Google+, the rst menu youll encounter will ask
you to choose a recipient. Within here you can
choose to share it with your Circles,
Communities or both at the same time. Choose
which ever one you want.
Choose to share
1
Press on the pen symbol to bring up
your devices keyboard and add some text to
your post. For the most part youll nd that
posts created on Google+ dont tend to include
much text and are more picture orientated, so
keep that in mind.
Add some text
2
If you have a GPS on your Android
device, press on the check-in symbol to add
your current location to the created post. If the
app is unable to nd your location, make sure
the Location Access option is enabled from
within the Settings menu.
Use your GPS
3
After youve added all the essentials to
the post, scroll down to the bottom to see the
other bits you can include. Adding both a picture
and link will create embedded versions in the
post, but you can also add your mood to the
post to add something a bit different.
Include some extras
4
troubleshooting advice
hints and tips

DroidSupport
50
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
Like us on Facebook and join
in our Android community
twitter
@lgrobot
Follow us on Twitter to send
your thoughts and questions
email an expert
Got an Android-
related problem that
you need solving?
Let us know!
Share your tips & tricks
Join us on Facebook and Twitter
to share and receive some
great tips and advice
Is it possible to
rename your
Android device?
The question you ask
should be simple to
answer, but sadly it
isnt. You can technically
achieve what you want to, but
despite a lot of searching and
much head scratching, it would
seem that on many Android
phones and tablets it is not
possible to change the device
name and have that change
applied to every feature you
use. On the bright side, there are
many options available that
enable you to specify how your
device is viewed by other
computers, but some setup will
be required on your part. You
mentioned Bluetooth and for the
benet of other readers once
you have entered the Bluetooth
screen, you should be able to tap
the menu button and then select
a Rename option. The process
should be similar for most
devices, but knowing which
exact devices you are using
would be a help in answering
the general question. If you
How do I name my Android devices? I can rename
Windows and Apple devices, but I cannot rename
my Android devices. What I am looking for, as in
Bluetooth, press Settings, turn on Bluetooth, press
settings again and the pop-up menu allows you to
select Rename device, except for Wi-Fi.
Robert Bandurka
The Bluetooth renaming option is
available in the Bluetooth screen
A
If you cannot access your Google
account with the correct username and
password on your Android device, go to
https://accounts.google.com/
DisplayUnlockCaptcha, press Continue
and then try to log in again. This should
resolve the problem immediately
because it will authorise your device to
access the account.
Did you know? Did you know?
are setting up a personal hotspot
on your phone you can change
the name of the device there as
well. The congure option
should automatically let you
rename the Network SSID which
will then be presented to any
devices that are connecting to it.
The list goes on with many
options available for each feature
and for some apps, but as it
stands we have failed to nd a
simple way to change the device
name for the phones and tablets
we tested with just one simple
setting. We will, however,
continue to search until we nd
the perfect answer.
Upload music to
your Dropbox account
music, the process will be
broken up rather nicely.
Remember that your purchased
tracks from Amazon will be
available in the cloud so you may
not even need Dropbox.
from the resultant list. Dropbox
will now ask you which folder
you want the tracks to be
uploaded to. This process can
take some time, but if you do it
as soon as you purchase new
and let the downloads complete.
Now, go to Google Play and
search for File Manager by
Rhythm Software. Download it
and install as normal. When you
open it you should see a
directory called amazonmp3 in
the Home folder. Select it and
each of the tracks you have
downloaded will be listed in
folders which are named after
each artist. You will now have to
drill down to the individual
tracks, but holding your nger on
any one will instantly reveal a
list of options. Select the Share
option and then choose Dropbox
Hi. Amazing magazine. I have bought some music from Amazon
and would like to upload it to Dropbox, but I cant nd the les to
upload. I have looked under other les but its not in the music
folder. Am I missing something? Help!
Pete Graham
D
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Without knowing your
exact device the
solution we offer may
not be available to you, but we
are condent the apps we
describe will be compatible. We
will presume that you have the
Amazon MP3 app installed. If
you havent, install it anyway
because it will help you manage
your music in the long term. You
will see two tabs at the top
called Cloud and Device. Tap the
Cloud option and download and
select an album or song you
will be prompted to download
the tracks to your device. Do so
A
The Amazon MP3 app makes managing your
music simple
Every Android device needs an advanced le
manager on board
hints&tips Get more from your Android phone with our handy hints
1

Deal with calls
more efciently
In the Accessibility section on some Android
phones you should see an option to deal with
calls. This includes the ability to accept calls via
the home key, answer calls with your voice and
to use the power key to end calls. Its
potentially useful for everyone.
2

Use easy home
screen mode
Samsung in particular likes to offer an easy
home screen mode for those who are new to the
world of smartphones. Go to your settings and
search for the Home screen mode option to
activate it. You may nd that it is easier for you to
use than the standard mode.
3

Blocking mode
will aid sleep
The Blocking Mode function in Settings on
Samsung phones will let you set up a block so
that no calls, notications or alarms sound for
set periods each day. You can also choose if
you want some callers to still contact you
during these periods. A useful feature.
Ask your questions
Got a problem with your Android phone or tablet?
Send it to us and well nd the solution
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
Get help from our
Facebook community
email
Send your questions for our team of
experts to tackle
DroidSupport
52
If you are having problems with the accuracy of your keyboard,
go to Settings>Applications>All and search for the Keyboard for
your device. You should be able to select it and choose Clear
data. This has been known to x troublesome keyboard issues.
Did you know?
SD card
problems
and advice
I have a Galaxy S II. What is the
maximum size external SD card
I can use in this phone? Also, I
recently changed my save to the
external SD card, which only has a
maximum of 2GB. I cannot reverse
this back to the phone internal
storage. Any suggestions?
Noel Hartley
A
The ofcial size limit for
an SD card that can be
used with a Galaxy S II is
32GB and we would recommend
to stick with that advice. You can
theoretically use a 64GB card and
this has been proven to work,
but only after using software to
format the card in such a way
that the phone can read it
properly to make use of it. It is
also possible that even if you
went to the effort of formatting
the card and the fairly complex
setup process, you may still end
up with some instability in the
long run. So, stick with 32GB
which should be more than
enough for most uses. As for the
playlists to their Android device.
Obviously, all of your music is
held in the cloud and having the
ability to simply store only
playlist data makes a lot of sense
to free up available memory. In
our tests, setting up new
playlists on https://play.google.
com/music did not transfer the
entire collection, but the new
playlists only are shown on the
Android device. When you
synchronised your Windows
Music Player collection there is
an option to choose which type
of collection you are using. If
ticked, it should automatically
sync your playlists in the rst
place. Is it possible this was
missed? The Google Music app is
problem of not being able to save
to the internal storage, unmount
the card in Settings and Storage
and then remove it. It should
now default to internal storage
for saving. If this does not work,
try removing the card and
turning the device off and on.
This should do the trick.
Google
Music
playlists and
alternative
apps?
How can I download Google
Music playlists (not the entire
library) to the SD card on my
Note II phone please? Am I able
to listen to the music using
non-Google music players such as
Poweramp?
Nigel Hastings
A
The way that Google
Music currently works
can make managing lots
of tracks and playlists tricky, but
some users have reported
success in downloading just
this will give you full access to all of the
les you have. Now, the next time you use
Gmail to send a new email you can use
the Attach option which will bring up ES
File Explorer as an option. You can then
navigate to the folder in question, hold
your nger down on a le and then select
all of the les that you want to include. It
is a bit of a long way around, but it really
does work and will only take seconds to
set up. There always seems to be a
solution in Android no matter what the
problem is.
Believe it or not Colin, there is no
ofcial way to attach a Google
Drive le to a new email while
staying in the Gmail app. It does seem to
be an oversight, but it is hopefully one that
will be resolved soon. You can go to Google
Drive and select to share a le using
Gmail, but that only allows you to use one
at a time, so the fact we have a better
solution is fortunate. Go to Google Play
and search for ES File Explorer File
Manager. You can choose to set up network
drives within it including Google Drive and
Attach multiple
Drive files in Gmail
Is it possible to attach multiple les from Google Drive to an email when using the
Android Gmail app? I cant nd an option anywhere to do this and it seems strange
because they are both Google services. Colin Russell
You can email les directly from
Google Drive in Gmail
currently the only player on
Android that can see
downloaded tracks and present
the song information while you
play them, and for streaming
from the service it has to be
Google Music too.
My
headphones
dont work!
I bought a pair of Apple
headphones to use with my
Samsung Galaxy, but they do not
work properly. The microphone
seems to be incompatible.
George Clorrife
A
53
D
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A
This is not an unusual
problem, but it is one
that shouldnt really
happen. You would think that by
now we would have a standard
for headphones and that they
would all work with any device
that has the right sized jack, but
alas, that is not always the case.
It would seem that some Apple
headphones do not support all
smartphones and that either the
controls or the microphone do
not work as you would like them
to. To be fair, this is also true of
some other manufacturer-made
headphones and so you need to
double check before you
purchase a pair for your device.
If they are compatible they will
say so and companies like
Sennheiser, for example, do a
good job of keeping you informed
on the packaging.
They will state if the
headphones work with Android
phones and also if they can be
used for voice calling as well.
Many new sets of earphones will
even have their own dedicated
apps in the Play Store to deliver a
wider range of features. Without
checking these details rst, there
really is no way to 100%
guarantee that headphones will
work with your device. Also, as
time passes we may see much
better quality headphones
bundled with smartphones
which would save us all of
this trouble.
Not all headphones work with every device
Each Android manufacturer
offers their own support options which
will usually require emailing or calling
for help, and the help on offer will, of
course, vary. It is still true that most
manufacturers provide a good level of
service for their customers.
Android support
3
You can try to force an Android
system update by dialling
*#*#checkin#*#* in the phone app
or going to Settings>Applications and
then nding Google Services
Framework. Now select Clear Data
and see if a software update appears.
Force an update
2
It is difcult to bypass a
lockscreen PIN, but WidgetLocker
Lockscreen lets you set up various
shortcuts on the lockscreen for quick
access. Accessing features and apps
is almost impossible without inputting
a PIN rst for obvious reasons.
Bypass the PIN
1
Bypass lockscreen, update
issues and help services
I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 running on 4.1.1. Under
Settings>Lock Screen, I have set a PIN. Is it possible to quickly
access the camera without rst having to type in my PIN? How can I
upgrade to version 4.2 under Settings>About it says no updates
are available? Apple offers an excellent phone help service for all its
iPhone issues. Does a similar service exist for Samsung/Android
phone owners?
Len Sullivan
We will try to answer
each of your questions,
but to be fair the
answers you want may not be
available. If you set up a PIN on
your lockscreen you are
effectively saying that nothing
on the phone can be used until
the PIN is typed in. This makes
perfect sense from a security
point of view, but we understand
that it can be ddly when you
want to take a quick photo. We
have, however, recommended a
good lockscreen app that can be
used without a PIN. As for system
updates, if one is not showing up
it is very difcult to force the
issue. You can, however, try the
two methods we have detailed
in the associated tips and with a
bit of luck you will see an
A
available update appear.
Regarding support, Samsung
does offer a helpline and various
options for getting in touch, but
not to the level of Apple. As much
as we love our Android devices
and the clever features within
them, it is hard to argue against
Apple having a lead in terms of
customer support.
If a system update hasnt appeared in your
Settings, its hard to force the issue
Share your tips
Got a great tip, or found a cool
shortcut? Let us know!
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
Like us on Facebook and
join our online community
twitter
@lgrobot
Follow us on Twitter to
send us your tips & tricks
email
Discovered anything good about your
Android phone? Let us know!
update update
We bring you the news and
rumours on the latest Android
updates, and the phones that can
run them
I
f youve got a Galaxy S III
and have been eyeing the
new S4 with envy, dont
worry. The 4.2.2 update to the
S III, bringing most of the
same features that were
included in the S4, is on its
way. Not everything that was
in the S4 will make it over to
the older device, since some
of it relies upon the many
new sensors included in the
new phone. The 1GB RAM
limitation may also have an
effect on the smooth running
of the TouchWiz software,
which already stretched the
hardware in its original form.
The S4s version of TouchWiz
was much larger than its
predecessor, leading many
users to complain that very
nearly half of the available
16GB of space on the device
was already lled from the
moment they rst turned the
phone on. Responding to
those complaints, which even
found their way onto the
BBCs consumer show
Watchdog, Samsung has said
it will try and free up some
space with additional
optimisations in future
rmware updates. As weve
said in our review this month
(page 80), they could start by
making some of the
unnecessary third-party apps
an optional download rather
than have them eat into your
storage by default. We hope to
see these updates from
Samsung soon.
Update
60% Complete
Challenge
54
Can you learn a
foreign
language
using apps?
L
earning a new language is difcult
enough at the best of times. Not only
do you need to learn a new dictionary
from scratch, you also need to master the
pronunciation and the difference between
feminine and masculine words, and
sometimes even a whole new alphabet.
And you need to do it all to a level that
gives you the condence to speak it to an
actual live person. So if the phrase book
isnt working out for you, can you really
substitute it for a smartphone full of
apps instead?
Weve ventured on to the Google Play
store to nd a selection of apps that
will help us get to grips with learning the
Spanish language, while also looking
for apps that provide a variety of useful
functions and also cover a series of other
languages as well.
Master the basics
The rst step in learning a new language is
selecting what you want to learn. Google Play
includes apps that cover many languages, but
youll nd a big focus on European countries. We
eventually chose to give learning Spanish a go
and started downloading some initial apps to get
us started. A must-have app before you even
start is Google Translate, which offers on-the-spot
translation for any trouble you have while
learning. The most recent version of the app now
even works in ofine mode, so you can happily
use it abroad without it costing a fortune.
Can the hundreds of education apps in the Play
store help you master a new language?
Get common phrasing on your phone
Set us a challenge!
Test us out through
Facebook and Twitter
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
share your thoughts
twitter
@lgrobot
Follow us on Twitter and
send your comments
Success
rating
80%
Tourist language learn
& speak
Price: Free
Developer: srsdev
App checklist
Google Translate
Price: Free
Developer: Google Inc.
LangLearner Multi-
Language
Price: 3.99/$4.99
Developer: LangLearner LLC
Language learning -
ashcards
Price: Free
Developer: Edukoala
Language Coach
Price: 2.39/$3.99
Developer: Jourist Verlags GmbH
LingLing Learn Spanish
Price: Free
Developer: Hepilabs
Wordtiger - language
learning
Price: Free
Developer: Fragaria mobile
Learn Spanish with MA
Price: Free
Developer Mauwood Academy
Learn Spanish
Phrasebook
Price: 2.99/$4.99
Developer: Codegent
Travel Interpreter
Price: 3.99/$4.99
Developer: Jourist Verlags GmbH
Verdict:
Complete
Learning a language from
scratch is never easy, but the
plethora of apps lend
themselves well to the task.
Despite the odd hiccup with
some design issues, we were
pleasantly surprised with what
we were able to learn.
55
Similarly, the Travel Interpreter app offers
translation and pronunciation techniques for
longer phrases and whole sentences, but it isnt
as quick as Google Translate. To start us off with
a few basic words, we also checked out the
Tourist language learn & speak app, which
provides the most common words and sayings
you can expect to hear when in Spain.
Learning the lingo
Once youve mastered the more basic words,
youll nd a whole wealth of apps available to
help you take it a step further. We downloaded
the Language Coach and Language learning -
ashcards apps to help perfect our
pronunciation, but each have design issues
which can make them sometimes unusable. One
app that did impress us, however, was the Learn
Spanish Phrasebook which does exactly as its
title suggests and Learn Spanish with MA offers
a step-by-step program to help you learn the
Spanish language quickly.
What makes using these sort of apps a real
pleasure is that you can go entirely at your own
pace. Picking up a language is difcult, so being
able to cover a small section at a time is
particularly helpful.
Putting it all together
If you can begin to piece sentences together,
then youre ready to move on to some of the
advanced apps available. LangLearner Multi-
Language doesnt just focus on Spanish, but
provides helpful advice on using the correct
verbs in the correct situations, which the other
apps we checked out dont include. We also
used LingLing Learn Spanish to help differentiate
between female and male words, but found that
the app confused us more than anything. Once
we felt condent enough to put our new skills to
the test we played with the Wordtiger app. This
app is a surprisingly fun game that can help
make sure what youve learnt stays in your head
through a bunch of colourful scenarios.
56
Multiwindow
comes to
Paranoid
Android
If you thought the chat heads in
Facebook Home was a neat idea
then the new Paranoid Android ROM
is something you will absolutely want
on your device. The PA team has
introduced a new feature, called
Halo, that takes the chat heads to its
logical conclusion: any app that
produces notications can oat
above your foreground app in a
bubble. Tapping that bubble opens
the app still oating so you can
deal with it before minimising or
dismissing it altogether. So you can
have a Gmail discussion while playing
a game, or set apps to update
without needing to switch away from
your YouTube video. At the time of
writing, Halo was being previewed in
Paranoid Android 3.5 for Nexus
devices, and was expected to be
rolled out across the ROM for the
many dozens of devices it supports
in due course. Early signs are that
the team has absolutely nailed the
implementation and will help
Paranoid Android cement its position
as one of the most if not the most
innovative ROMs around. Head over
to paranoid-rom.com to get your
Nexus version, or for the latest on
when it will come to your Android
phone or tablet.
The eReader
tablet
Barnes & Nobles Nook eReaders,
such as the Simple Touch, recently
had their prices slashed, bringing the
Kindle-style devices into pocket
money territory. Turns out theyre
actually more interesting than the
Kindle, since they are based on
Android, and if you root it you can
unlock the full Android experience.
What youre left with is a fully
functioning tablet, albeit one with
slow processor and limited memory,
not to mention an E-Ink display
whose refresh rate is hardly suited to
uid swipes. However you can
access the Android Market (sic),
which means you can install the
Kindle app (or the excellent Kobo
app) if you wanted. To do it you can
use the NookManager method and
tool from this thread on the
xda-developers.com website: http://
bit.ly/10woe2w. The Amazon App
Store is included by default, but
requires a US account. You can get
the Google apps from the same link,
and that will give you full access to
the Play store.
Hacker Zne
Explore the limits of your Android device
status update
Which devices are best for
the hacking scene?
Tips and tricks
The Halo feature in PA enables you to use
two apps at once
You can root the Nook Simple Touch and
access Android on it
quickhacks
Rooting an HTC One is a pretty
straightforward process thanks to
a simple and accessible toolkit.
Hasoon2000s HTC One
All-In-One Toolkit gives you the
entire process from unlocking the
bootloader to rooting in an
easy-to-use package.
Root your
HTC One
Head to the HTC One forums at
xda-developers.com to download
the toolkit. It is intended for
Windows. The package, and a full
support thread for it users, can be
found at http://bit.ly/18HUeaC.
1
Before you connect the phone
to your PC you will need to install the
drivers. You can nd a download in
the thread in step 1, but if you have
previously connected and synced
they should already be installed.
2
Connect your phone and run
the toolkit. Follow the instructions,
then ash your choice of ROM
from the box in the top-right
corner. We would opt for
ClockWorkMod Touch.
3
Get the toolkit Install the drivers Follow the guide
Nexus 4
Rooted? Yes
Active Development:
Yes
At such a low price the
Nexus 4 is set to
become one of the
must-have devices for
developers. Great
news for the rest of us!
HTC One
Rooted? Yes
Active Development:
Medium
Most of the usual
suspects are present
and correct. Hopefully
there will be more
unique tweaks and
mods still to come.
Sony Xperia Z
Rooted? Yes
Active Development:
Low
Minimal ROMs or mods
for the Z so far, but
bloat-free ROMs are
available. Remember
you will need to unlock
the bootloader rst
as well.
Samsung
Galaxy S4
Rooted? Yes
Active Development:
Medium
The S4 now includes
CyanogenMod among
the ROM options that
will be available for it.
Expect more to come
in the future too.
for even more tips & tricks
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featuring a mod called HTCLogoMenu
turns the HTC logo into a fully
functional menu button. Its still an
unusual conguration, with the home
button off to the side, but its a great
hack especially as it reclaims space
from that errant virtual menu button
instead. You need your One to be
rooted and unlocked, and then ash
it via Recovery in the usual way. Make
sure you perform a Nandroid backup
rst. For more details on the
download hit up this thread on the
xda-developers.com forum:
http://bit.ly/17LJeYd.
Undelete
deleted les
Ever hit the delete button on a le by
mistake, only realising your error just
as the icon disappears from the
screen? Of course you have. Unlike
on your desktop computer theres no
recycle bin on a smartphone, and no
second chances. It is possible some
of your les will have found their way
onto Dropbox or the like where they
can be recovered, but in most cases
once theyre gone, theyre gone. The
Undelete for Root app from the Play
Store free for image recovery and
2.62/$3.99 for all le types has a
good crack at xing that. The app
can recover deleted les from your
SD card or internal storage, so long
as they have not already been
overwritten. In our tests it is far from
100 per cent successful for vital
les on a memory card wed actually
recommend using a desktop tool
instead. But where that is not
possible it may be worth a try as a
last resort.
S4 hacks
watch the
processor
ROMs and mods for the Galaxy S4
are starting to appear. If you plan to
make use of some of them it is
worth reiterating the importance of
knowing which version of the device
youve got. The S4 is available in two
congurations. The i9500 has the
octa-core Exynos processor and the
i9505 has the quad-core
Snapdragon. The i9505 currently has
more options available, including
nightlies for CyanogenMod and
AOKP. You should not try and ash
ROMs designed for the other model
on your own Samsung device, as this
is a surere way to brick it, which no
one wants.
Change the
HTC One
button
layout
The HTC One is a fantastic phone,
one of our favourites of the year to
date. It had a few quirks, not least in
the button layout. Instead of the
traditional three buttons below the
screen, for the home, back and
menu/task switching functions, the
One had just two. We didnt have a
problem with this, and never found
that we would inadvertently try and
tap the HTC logo in the middle. We
did, however, notice that some apps
hello, Facebook would have a
huge menu button appear at the
bottom of the screen because
theyre not designed properly. Thats
not HTCs fault, of course, but it
mostly only affects HTC devices
because all others either have full on
screen virtual buttons, or have a
dedicated menu button instead. It
can now be xed. A new kernel
Make the HTC icon work as an actual button
Share your tips
Discovered a great hack or
tweak? Let us know!
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
Like us on Facebook and
send us your comments
email
Is there anything youd like to see us
cover in the mag? Drop us a line!
Recover important les even after you have
deleted them
HTCLogoMenu turns the HTC logo
into a functional menu button
OS
Short for operating system. Often the
Android ROM will be referred to as the
OS this just means the system les
on the Android device that make up
your user experience, similar to
Windows, Mac OS X or Ubuntu on a
desktop computer.
ROM
Stands for read-only memory. In the
context of Android, the ROM refers to
the les that make up the operating
system installed on your device.
Gaining root privileges allows for
replacement of the standard ROM
with a custom one.
Root
Rooting your phone gives apps access
to parts of the OS that are normally
hidden from consumers. This enables
you to run more powerful software and
install custom ROMs on your phone.
ROM Manager
An app available from the Android
Market that enables you to install
a whole new version of your OS with
a single click. It requires a rooted
phone to use and is ideal for those
new on the scene.
Titanium Backup
This app from the Market enables you
to back up everything on your phone
apps, data, settings and all. It means
that you can restore your phone to how
it was, even after youve updated or
changed the ROM.
Unrevoked
Available from www.unrevoked.com,
this is a one-click tool that can be
used for rooting many popular
HTC smartphones.
ADB
Stands for Android Debug Bridge. ADB
is mainly used for software
development, but it also has some
uses for hacking your phone. It can be
used to push les onto the system
folder, for instance.
Nandroid
You might come across the phrase
perform a Nandroid backup. This
means using a custom recovery tool
to make a back-up image of everything
currently on your phone: OS, apps,
data, etc. Its very useful should you
wish to restore your phone to its
previous state later.
Radio
Radio refers to the software on your
Android device that deals with making
phone calls and data connections.
Updating your radio version can bring
better battery life and signal strength
to your device. Some ROMs require the
latest radio.
Flash
The storage in your device comprises
ash memory, a type of solid-state
storage. The terms ash or ashing
mean installing new software onto your
devices storage.
Get up to speed on all the
terms you need to know
when hacking your phone
Hacking the easy way Get great new features without getting your hands (too) dirty
LMT Launcher
Free
From: http://bit.
ly/17JvsW1
Need root? Yes
LMT Launcher is a full
launcher which uses a
one-handed pie
control system similar
to the one used in the
Paranoid Android ROM.
A great choice for big
screened devices.
GMD SPen
Control
3.53/$5.56
From: Play store
Need root? Yes
Designed to bring
gesture support to the
Galaxy Notes secret
weapon, the S Pen.
Create your own
gestures to launch
apps by touch or the
swipe of a pen.
Splay
Launcher
Free
From: Play store
Need root? No
Splay comes from Else,
a company that
designed a phone with
one-handed UI in 2009
that failed to set the
industry alight. You can
now try the innovative
system on your phone.
Jargon
Buster
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F
inding Android sluggish and unresponsive?
Could it be that your phone is not properly
tuned, or bloatware and other apps are getting
in the way of the pure Android experience?
If so, you could probably do with a tuning utility,
one that can kill running tasks, uninstall tough-to-
remove apps, log activity, adjust the SD cache and
display various notications concerning CPU load,
used memory and include them in home screen
widgets. That list features describes System
Tuner, a free app which can quite literally revive
your love of Android.
With a simple installation and setup, System
Tuners strength is in the sheer depth of options it
provides. The vast majority of Android
performance issues are covered, and if there
is no apparent solution for why your phone
or tablet hangs, lags or crashes, System
Tuner includes a log and statistical tools that
you can use to track down what is going wrong.
Extended features in System Tuner enable you to
back up and restore applications, run a terminal
emulator, freeze and unfreeze apps, clear all
caches and run an app booster when you boot to
improve performance.
In summary, System Tuner is an all-in-one
collection of vital utilities that will greatly improve
the performance of your Android phone or tablet,
but beware: you can run into problems running
too many xes simultaneously. Avoid this by
solving problems methodically with the tools
available. Heres how you get started
Tweak
Android for
optimum
performance
Use System Tuner to
supercharge your Android
with a series of tweaks
Works with Rooted Android devices
Get tips, tricks, help & advice
Send us your comments, tips and questions
through email and social networks
When you rst launch the app, you will
notice two buttons in the top-right
corner. These will help you to use
System Tuner efciently the
right-most icon is the Settings menu
(for conguring how various tweaks
are applied) while the icon to the left
will display the main menu.
Get inside
System Tuner
1
To get the most out of System
Tuner, you will nd that having
notications enabled is an advantage.
Open Settings>Notication Packages
to enable notication area alerts,
including Recording Notication.
Various icon packages to use as
home screen widgets are available for
download via the same screen.
Notications
6
Quite literally revive
your love of Android
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/littlegreenrobot
twitter
@lgrobot
Comments or questions?
Follow us on Twitter
email
If youve got questions or just want to
say hello, drop us an email
One of the most powerful options
available in System Tuner is the SD
cache tuner, available from the
System Tweaks menu. You can
check and change the Cache Size,
check the usage of your SD card,
and via Boot settings, clear the
cache for speed improvements.
General system
tweaks
2
Task killing apps are very popular as
more and more apps and utilities
become tougher to close. System
Tuner has this covered in the Task
Manager screen. Individual apps
can be closed by selecting them
and tapping Kill, while Kill-all culls all
your open apps.
Kill unwanted
apps and tasks
3
In Task Manager you can use the
sort button in the lower-left corner
to determine exactly how the list of
apps is displayed. Another useful
tool is the Analyzer, which scans
data stored in the log. Activate
logging by tapping the Start button
in System Tuner.
Using the
diagnostic tools
4
System Tuner is mostly used for
app management. Open User to
check the status of currently
installed apps and select to freeze
or boil (unfreeze), move to SD, back
up or even clear the app data.
Many options are available here, so
make your choice carefully.
Freeze and
unfreeze apps
5
To back up all of your apps, you will
rst need to congure a Backup
location in Settings>General. After
setting this up, open the Backups
screen and tap All. The backup will
proceed, saving data to the
specied location. Apps can be
restored from the same screen.
How to back up
all apps
7
Open User, select an app
and tap Properties to view individual
options such as Force stop,
Uninstall, Move to SD card, Clear
data and Clear cache. Stats for
storage and the amount of cache
memory being used are displayed.
Note that these are available
elsewhere in System Tuner.
App Info
8
There are some apps that
you might prefer stayed running
while youre busy culling others or
removing them from the Startup
list. In the Startups page open the
app you want to keep and tap the
Exclude button. This protects the
app from any actions you initiate in
System Tuner.
Exclude apps
9
If all of the above seems like
so much messing about, try the
One-click screen. Here, you can
quickly initiate a full app Backup,
Schedule backups, Clear caches
and Wipe dalvik. Easy access to
these tools from one screen
enables the use of System Tuner
while on the move.
One-click control
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Recover a bricked
device using
Fastboot
Dont worry when one of your hacks goes
wrong. The Fastboot tool can help you
back up and get started from scratch
Works with Most Android devices Difculty Expert
Download the Android SDK from http://
developer.android.com/sdk. There are versions for
Windows, Mac and Linux so your desktop platform
of choice is supported. Theres no need to install
the SDK since were not using it to develop apps,
we simply want to use one of its associated tools.
In some instances if data or other les are
causing problems with your Android device you
may need to wipe it completely in order to be able
to get it working again. Luckily, its a really
straightforward procedure. To do this type
fastboot w in the terminal window and your
devices storage will be cleared.
Connect your device already in Fastboot
to your desktop computer via USB. Check that
the device is recognised by typing fastboot
devices in the command line. On Mac and Linux all
Fastboot commands need to be preceded by ./
(so type ./fastboot devices). Your connected
devices serial number should now be listed.
Get the SDK
How to wipe Check fastboot mode
Now boot your device into Fastboot. This is
done using the key combination used to boot into
Recovery power and volume down on a Nexus 7,
for example. Dont boot to Recovery, though.
Fastboot is either the screen prior to Recovery or
available through a separate menu.
Boot device to Fastboot
2 1
7 6
Communicate with
your device when it is
connected to your
desktop computer
Command line interface?
Yikes!
Fastboot is not for the faint hearted, but
then its not really a consumer-orientated
product. Its a powerful tool but its hard to
do anything wrong with it since you cannot
execute any commands without knowing
what those commands are. Most
problems youll face when using it will be
syntax errors, where you have mistyped
one of the commands. Typing the word
help before any command will give you
instructions on what it does.
What other useful tools
can I nd in the SDK?
The other main tool that you can benet
from in the SDK is called ADB (Android
Debug Bridge). This works similarly to
Fastboot in that it communicates with the
device while connected via USB, only in
this instance the device needs to be
switched on. ADB can be used to push
new system les to the device without
needing to manually ash them.
Ask your own
question online at
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I
ts an inevitable part of the Android hacking process that you will soft brick your device
from time to time. Normally these are pretty trivial problems, the device gets stuck in a boot
loop for example. And normally you can x them by wiping your data and cache and then
reashing your ROM, or just by restoring your Nandroid backup.
But sometimes the problem can be harder to diagnose. Maybe your custom Recovery was
accidentally overwritten with the stock one, which has no advanced features. Or maybe you
cant boot into Recovery at all.
Well, theres still a solution for most devices. Its called Fastboot. This is a feature of the
Android software development kit (SDK) and enables you to communicate with your device
when it is connected to your desktop computer via USB. In Fastboot you can ash a new
custom Recovery, or ash a new ROM itself and wipe the device completely and
return it to stock if needed.
Fastboot is available on most Android devices, excluding Samsung where it
is not implemented. For a Galaxy device you need to use the Odin tool to
ash a new ROM or Recovery (the unofcial site samsung-updates.com
normally has the latest version available to download). On Nexus and
HTC devices Fastboot is an invaluable tool, and can be a phone saver.
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Double clicking the Fastboot icon in the
platform-tools folder will also give you a list of the
various commands you can now use. Once youre
more experienced using the tool you will be able
to use multiple commands at the same time,
adding the various options to congure more
powerful functions.
Return to the desktop and locate the Android
Software Development Kit folder. We will be using
the Fastboot tool which is stored in the platform-
tools sub-folder of the Android SDK. To use it rst,
simply open a command line on Windows or
Terminal on Mac.
Your device may reboot once the ashing
process is completed, but if not, you can also
reboot via our friend Fastboot. Simply type
fastboot reboot and the device will restart.
Remember that after ashing a new ROM the rst
boot may take longer give it a good ten minutes
to allow it to do its thing.
Once youve ashed a custom Recovery
you can use that to ash a ROM. Alternatively you
can ash through Fastboot. Download the ROM
and place it in the platform-tools folder. To start
ashing, type fastboot update [romle.zip]. This
will take a few minutes to complete, so do not
touch the device while it is working.
To ash a new custom Recovery, rst
download the recovery image (for example, from
www.clockworkmod.com) and then place it in the
platform-tools folder for easy access. Begin
ashing the Recovery with the command: fastboot
ash recovery [recoveryimage.img]. Do not
disconnect the device while it is in progress.
Now change the directory to that of the
platform-tools folder in the Android SDK. All you
need to do this is type the command cd
followed by the full path to the platform-tools
folder. For example, cd /Users/name/Desktop/
android-sdk-mac_x86/platform-tools. That will
change the directory.
Check your commands Locate Fastboot
on desktop
Reboot Flash a ROM Flash a Recovery
Change directory
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W
ith all of the things that you
can do wirelessly with Android
(connect to the internet or
remote control a media centre or PC)
connecting to your computer using a
USB cable seems a bit, well, old.
Wouldnt it be so much better if you
could forget about syncing via a USB
cable and instead use your local
wireless network?
Samba Filesharing for Android is the
answer, making it possible for you to
copy and paste data to Windows and
other SMB compatible computers on
your local network. Requiring root but
available free from Google Play, you will
also need Superuser 2.3.6.2 or later
installed on your Android device.
Setting up this application is
straightforward, and the results are
excellent. Being able to drag and drop
data to and from a phone or tablet
without bothering with USB cables can
save time and potentially free you to
send data to your Android from a
completely different location.
Providing security options (username
and password), the ability to add your
device to a Windows workgroup, Samba
Filesharing for Android also features a
Wi-Fi white list, meaning that the app
will only connect to wireless hotspots
that you have approved. All in all, this is
a security-conscious app that can
deliver what it promises, granting
wireless data transfer with simplistic
ease. Note that Samba Filesharing for
Android is currently unsuitable for
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean devices.
Share files
wirelessly
from Android
with Samba
Forget about syncing by USB
access Android wirelessly like a
shared Windows folder
Works with Android 2.0.1 Difculty Intermediate
Before launching Samba Network
Fileshare, ensure that you have
already installed Superuser or
Superuser Elite from Google Play.
Upon running Samba for the rst time
you will be asked to allow Superuser
access for the app. Once granted, the
app will be ready to use.
Assign Superuser
access to Samba
1
A few moments later you
should be able to browse the phones
contents from your computer after
logging in, of course. Open Windows
Explorer and identify your phone in
the Network section (Organise>
Layout>Navigation pane). Double click
to open and add the Samba network
credentials to view.
Network drive
6
63
H
a
c
k
e
r

Z
n
e
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
twitter
@lgrobot
email
There will be plenty of time to
congure Samba to use your phone
as a networked storage device later
rst, you need to focus on
conguring security. Open the app
menu and select Settings>
Password. This is important as it will
unlock other settings.
Congure your
password
2
Along with a password you
will also need to congure a
Username and Workgroup. The
latter will need to match the one
used on your computers network.
In Windows, right-click the C:\ drive
in Windows Explorer and select
Properties to display the Workgroup
name by default it is WORKGROUP.
Add workgroup
3
The nal step to conguring
Samba Filesharing for use on your
local network is to assign a
NETBIOS name. You might nd that
the default option (ANDROID) is
enough for your purposes, but if you
plan to use Samba on multiple
devices youll need something a
little more imaginative.
Set NETBIOS
4
After setting up the password,
Username, Workgroup and NETBIOS
names, tap back to the main screen
of the app, where you will see the
legend: Disabled Not Running. To
make the contents of your phone
available to your local network, tap
Enable and wait.
Enable Samba
Filesharing
5
With the connection
established, you will then be able to
browse the contents of your
phones SD card remotely, as well
as copy, paste and delete. Most
impressively, with a fast wireless
network connection you will be able
to enjoy music, photos and video
clips stored on your phone.
Browsing
7
Does your Android device
have multi-user data storage? If so
open Settings>Other Fileshare
Settings and congure a Second
Shared Folder. In the same menu
you can toggle whether Unix
extensions are recognised, as well
as whether Samba is used as a le
browser on your Android device.
Other settings
8
Few wireless networks are
completely secure so avoiding
connections to unsecured networks
will prevent hackers snifng any
data you move between PC and
phone. Using the edit and enable
options in Settings>Wi White List
you can determine safe wireless
access points to use.
White lists
9
If your phone goes to sleep,
Wi-Fi is likely to be disconnected.
This might cause problems with any
open connection, but using the
Wake Locks options in the Settings
menu can help here. Enabling Wi
Wake Lock proves particularly
useful in such situations, but
heavily impacts battery life.
Gone to sleep?
10
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A
ll the best stuff on Android is free, right? W
rong. W
hile it is true there are a lot
of great apps on the Google Play store that w
ont cost you anything at all, that
doesnt m
ean you should be shunning the paid apps. Here are a selection of
clever, useful and entertaining apps that are w
ell w
orth your tim
e and m
oney.
66
Feature
Apps worth paying for
67
SwiftKey TuneIn Radio Pro
SketchBook
Mobile
Unified
Remote Full
Tablet Talk
Poweramp
Music Player
Price: 2.99/$3.99 Price: 3.31/$4.99
Price: 1.32/$1.99
Price: 3.00/$3.99
Price: 1.49/$2.99
Price: 2.59/3.99
If youve ever used
SwiftKey then you
know that its one of
the best keyboards for Android
devices. Full of clever features,
different styles, plenty of
language packs and extra
themes to make your keyboard
stand out, your cash gets you
a brilliant typing experience.
SwiftKeys predictive abilities
are striking, but if youre a
more accurate typist it
compensates for that as well. With a new Flow mode
that combines the speed of Swype and that eerily
accurate prediction of SwiftKey, theres sure to be a
way of inputting text here thats going to suit.
TuneIn Radio lets you listen to live radio from
every corner of the world, be it comedy,
music, sport or chat, and if you get the paid
version from Google Play you get to record the stations
as well, meaning you
can listen back to your
favourite shows
whenever you want.
With 70,000 stations to
choose from and more
than 2 million podcasts
theres something for
everyones taste. Throw
in a neat UI that makes
browsing a doddle and
youre left with a brilliant
way to listen to radio
from around the world
on the go.
There are plenty of drawing apps on Google
Play but none of them have the pedigree or
the quality of SketchBook Mobile. Built by the
company behind SketchBook Pro, the app features the
same brush engine, meaning you
can create nely detailed sketches
and drawings with the tips of your
ngers. Packed full of innovative
and exclusive features, including a
pen mode for devices that use a
stylus and 65 preset brushes,
SketchBook Mobile lets you
increase the quality of your
touchscreen drawing and take your
artistry to new levels.
The sheer number of programs you can
control with Unied Remote Full means that
spending a bit of
money on it makes perfect
sense. Essentially this turns
your Android device into a
powerful remote control for
your PC. There are specially
designed remotes for specic
programs and websites that
mean youll never be
scratching your head trying to
work out what to press.
Unied Remote Full is the
perfect way to interact with
your desktop and opens up a plethora of possibilities.
If youve got an Android phone and tablet it
can be annoying swapping between them to
reply to texts. Tablet Talk bypasses that
problem by syncing your devices over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi
and letting you reply to
texts from your phone
using your tablet.
Essentially you can leave
your phone in your pocket
and still stay in contact
with all of your friends.
More than that, your
tablet will ring if you get a
phone call and, if you use
a headset, you can dial
numbers and talk from
your tablet too.
Theres a 15-day free trial with Poweramp, but we
guarantee that once youve experienced this brilliant
music player youll be happy to throw down a
bit of money to keep it working. Packed with
features including Last.FM scrobbling, a
massive list of supported formats,
a ten-band graphic equaliser, four
different styles of widgets and
customisable skins, this is a
stylish, highly versatile player that
makes most of the free players
you can get look old fashioned and
clumsy in comparison. Try it for
yourself and youll be hooked.
FIVE GREAT
PAID
WIDGETS
Here are ve good-looking and
highly useful widgets that are worth
splashing some cash on.
TO DO LIST
WIDGET PRO
Price: 1.96/$2.99
A clever widget that
lets you keep the
things you need to do
front and centre on
your home page.
ZOOPER
WIDGET PRO
Price: 0.99/$1.99
A customisable
widget that lets
you keep track of
plenty of important
information about
the workings of your
Android device.
PURE GRID
CALENDAR
Price: 1.49/$1.79
Turn one of your
home screens into
a calendar and task
page that you can
sync with your
Google calendar.
CALCULATOR
WIDGET
Price: 0.61/$0.99
A great widget that
lets you quickly
access a fully
featured calculator.
Perfect for doing
maths on the go.
POPUP
WIDGET
Price: 0.99/$1.39
Save space and
memory by using
Popup Widget to
create shortcuts to
your widgets. Just tap
to bring them up.
Feature
68
Missed It!
Nova
Launcher Prime
Vignette
Tasker
Falcon Pro
Picvie
Price: 1.20/$1.57
Price: 2.60/$4.00
Price: 1.60/$2.60
Price: 2.99/$2.99
Price: 1.29/$1.96
Price: 1.29/$1.99
A clever widget that noties you directly from
your lockscreen about events and notications
that you might have missed. You can choose
which apps it noties you about and
the way it noties you as well, so you
know if theres something that needs
your attention straight away or if its a
Facebook post that you can ignore
until a more suitable time. If your
device runs Android 4.2 you can use
the app with the standard Android
lockscreen as well.
A hugely customisable home screen
replacement, Nova Launcher Prime is packed
full of options that let you tinker with the way
your Android device looks and
works. You can add gesture
controls that mean your
favourite apps and features
are only a swipe away, as well
as changing the look and feel
of your home screen to suit
your style. The Prime version
adds even more choice,
including dock swipe actions,
an unread count and extra
tidying and hiding options,
letting you build an Android
experience thats unique and
incredibly versatile.
Before Instagram made it onto the Google Play
store there was Vignette. This photo app
doesnt just let you add 70 different lters and
50 various frames in any
combination to your images
though, it also gives you access
to a suite of handy features that
change your Android device into
a brilliant camera. Plus theres
no uploading to a central server
and you dont need an internet
connection to tweak your
images. You choose whether
you want to share your images
and how you want them to look.
Tasker is a perfect example of a brilliant idea,
expertly executed. It lets you automate a vast
number of tasks, setting a variety of different
conditions so your phone or tablet
knows when to perform them. Want an
app to start or turn off at a specic
time of day in a specic location?
Tasker can do that. And much, much
more. This is an app that lets you take
precise control over the what, where
and when of your Android device and
the apps that youve got installed.
If youve ever used the rst-party Twitter client,
you know how important it is to download a
third-party one. Falcon Pro is one of the nest,
featuring a bevvy of brilliant features and a gorgeous,
simple design that really makes it stand
out from the crowd. It lets
you preview photos,
videos, and
Google Play store
links in-app, has
ofine favouriting
and a quick
actions widget.
Two different
themes,
zoomable
images and an
embedded
YouTube player
round things off
nicely. This is
mobile Twitter
how its meant to
be done.
Apps that collate your photos into simple,
shareable albums arent that exciting, but Picvie
goes even further, letting you build collections
of images, sounds and videos into gorgeous-looking little
collections to post on Facebook. Essentially youre
building narratives from your media content, letting you
show off your holiday snaps or pictures from that amazing
night out in ways that add to the feel of the event rather
than just bunching some images together. Its easy to use
as well, but
offers enough
options that
you know your
Picvie album
isnt going to be
remotely like
anyone elses.
Improve on the default
Twitter app with Falcon Pro
BEST PAID
APPS FOR
MOTORISTS
Five apps that no Android device
owning driver should ever think about
leaving home without.
LOCALE DOCK
PLUG-IN
Price: 0.99/$0.99
A plug-in that lets
you automatically
turn on apps when
you plug your phone
into a car dock.
SPEEDVIEW
PRO
Price: 1.93/$2.99
An application that
uses the GPS on
your Android device
to show you an
accurate read out of
your speed.
PARKOMETER
AR
Price: 2.99/$3.99
Mark the position
you have parked
and use the GPS on
your Android device
to nd your way
back to it.
CAR MAINTENANCE
REMINDER PRO
Price: 2.00/$2.99
Keep a close eye
on when your car
needs servicing
as well as plenty
of other important
facts and gures
as well.
TORQUE
PRO
Price: 2.95/$4.95
An app that lets
your Android device
talk to the OBD
computer on your
cars engine via a
Bluetooth adapter.
Feature
69
Spotify
Pocket Casts
HD Widgets OfficeSuite Pro 7
Shot Control
iSyncr for iTunes
Price: Free (9.99/$9.99 monthly subscription)
Price: 2.70/$3.99
Price: 1.49/$1.99 Price: 9.65/$14.99
Price: 2.29/$2.99
Price: 2.99/$3.99
If you have any interest in
music at all then getting
a Spotify premium
account and installing the app on
your Android phone or tablet is a
must. You get a free 48-hour trial
when you rst download the app from
the Google Play store, which gives you
access to a massive library of
streaming music. After that youll
need to pay 9.99/$9.99 a month to
keep listening. The tracks are all high
quality, the app is streamlined and
simple to use, and you can use the
same account across multiple devices.
A beautiful-looking and simple-to-use podcasting app that lets you add your
favourites to a list and listen to them
as soon as new versions become
available. A streamlined UI makes navigating
podcasts a breeze, and a syncing system
means you can save your lists across multiple
devices with no hassle whatsoever. There are
auto download settings, widgets and plenty of
sharing options too.
Adding different widgets to your Android smartphone
and tablet is a great way to personalise your device
and keep the key information you want at your
ngertips. HD Widgets gives you a massive pack of more than
100 different widgets for you to pick and choose from. With
different colours and backgrounds to pick from, as well as the
ability to preview widgets before you add them to your home
screen, HD Widgets is the perfect package for anyone who
wants to give the home screens on their Android device that
extra personal touch.
If you want to get productive on your Android device,
OfceSuite Pro is your best bet. Its a fully functional
ofce app that lets you create, edit and share a wide
range of documents and le types. It also doubles up as a PDF
viewer, and there are plenty of clever options and features that help
you to make your documents look clean and professional. If you
need a way to edit your
Word, Excel, and
PowerPoint documents
on the go then
OfceSuite Pro is a
brilliant and powerful way
to get to work on your
Android device.
While there are plenty of Android
devices with powerful cameras, they
dont have the options that you get
with more sophisticated standalone devices.
Shot Control lets you play with exposure, white
balance and ash settings while youre taking
the photo. Everything is set out on the screen,
meaning you can play with your settings while
still keeping an eye on the framing of your image.
If youve just moved over from an
iPhone to an Android device it can
be annoying trying to repopulate
your media libraries. Fear not though,
because thats where iSyncr for iTunes
comes in. This handy little app lets you sync
your iTunes music with your Android device,
transferring your iTunes libraries with ease.
With a raft of options that make sure youre
getting the most out of your music, iSyncr is
a brilliant and effective little app.
BEST PAID APPS FOR
EXPANDING YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Five apps that are fun to use and will ll in gaps in your knowledge
SOUNDHOUND
Price: 3.99/$5.99
A brilliant app that lets you
identify pretty
much any song
you can think of
just by playing
it into your
Android phone
or tablet.
REDDIT SYNC PRO
Price: 1.59/$2.00
Keep up to date with your
favourite
subreddits
on the move
with this very
neat and well
put together
application.
ACCUWEATHER
PLATINUM
Price: 1.96/$2.99
A fully featured,
hugely useful
customisable
weather app
that gets even
more useful in
the pro version.
DICTIONARY M-W
PREMIUM
Price: 1.88/$2.99
The paid
version adds
extra content
and still lets
you use voice
search to nd
results too.
WOLFRAMALPHA
Price: 1.86/$2.99
Type a question into Wolfram
Alpha and
theres a good
bet its going
to give you the
right answer
fast. Have a go
yourself
Spotify is the king of music
streaming well worth the
monthly subscription
Feature
Player FM
Playmarkers
Scan these QR codes for direct
links to the Google Play Store
Apps
70
Follow your favourite podcasts by
subscribing to channels
Want your money back?
Youve got 15 mins to decide!
refund keep
15min wonder
0-5 minutes
The design is very simple,
yet sleek.
5
10 15
!
5-10 minutes
There are so many podcasts
to choose from!
5
10 15
!
10-15 minutes
Listening ofine is a great
feature to have.
5
10 15
!
Player FM offers hundreds of
wonderful podcasts to
discover and enjoy
Performance
Design
Value
specification
Designed for: Phone/tablet
Requires Android: 4.0.3 and up
Price Free
verdict
If youve never heard of
Player FM you must be
living under a rock.
Player FM made its
smashing debut on the web last year
as an ultra-hip podcast listening hub.
Fast forward a year and Player FM is
nally making its much anticipated
debut on the Android OS.
Lets face it, the market as already
ooded with podcast apps, so what
sets Player FM apart from the
competition? It features a treasure
trove of podcasts to discover; with
over 300 topics to explore youre
guaranteed fun and entertainment
for many hours to come. Player FM
has received much praise for its
intuitive and sleek design. Signing in
is a breeze; once the app is
launched, you can sign in with your
existing Google account. The rst
time you sign in youll have your
choice of three categories of your
liking. Dont stress too much over
your selection; you can always go
back later and update them. These
three categories give you a crash
course in what Player FM offers.
These are live channels, so youll
always see the newest content.
Player FM is easily accessible
wherever you are. Home screen
widgets and notications enable you
to easily play, pause and skip to the
next track. Player FM lets you drill
down on your favourite series and
enjoy the last ten episodes.
Player FM really shines in content
discovery. Not only you can
subscribe to podcasts that peak your
interest, you can subscribe to topics,
too. Whether youre a news junky or
you enjoy science ction, there are
topics for everyone. Once youre
subscribed youll receive fresh
content straight to your app, no
tireless searching required.
Player FM does have its
limitations. Youre only allowed to
have 20 subscriptions and 50
starred topics. That should be plenty
for the average podcast listener, but
if youre itching for more you can
always invite your mates to try out
this wonderful service and earn
more subscriptions. Player FM Pro,
which will allow unlimited content
listening, is said to be in
development, so for now youre going
to have to settle for the free version.
YouTube users will feel right at
home with Player FMs proles. Your
prole will display your subscriptions
for the world to see, but you can
always go private if youre afraid your
mates dont share the same exotic
tastes in podcasts.
Player FM has hopped on the
cloud computing bandwagon. This
fantastic app is fully integrated with
the cloud, so you can enjoy your
subscriptions online without your
Android device. The app is also great
if you commute by air where theres
no reception. You can enjoy your
favourite podcasts ofine, with the
last ten episodes automatically
downloaded to your device to listen
to at your leisure.
Player FM
Discover, listen and subscribe to podcasts the simple way
like this? try this!
Pocket Casts
One of the best looking apps on
Android, and a powerful podcast tool.
Outlook.
com
Map
MyFitness
Workout
Trainer
BBC iPlayer
Radio
IVONA
Text-to-
Speech HQ
71
Outlook.com
Managing email has never been so easy
When it comes to
innovation, Microsoft is
probably the last
company youd think of.
Fortunately, that all changed with
the release of the highly praised
Windows 8, which gave the
antiquated operating system a
much-needed facelift.
Following in its footsteps is the
ofcial Microsoft Outlook.com app.
Outlook.com recently reached 400
million active users with the
migration of Hotmail accounts. The
Outlook.com app offers the millions
of users an easy way to keep up with
their email while on the go.
Email is one of the bare
necessities of communicating
online, so what makes this app stand
out? Not only can you send and
receive emails while youre on the go
from your Android device, the app is
fully integrated with your Microsoft
account. Theres no need to create a
new one; you can sign in with your
existing Microsoft account. There are
a host of amazing features at your
disposal receive emails right away
with push notications, manage your
daily routine easily with Calendar and
Contacts syncing, and nd emails
easier than ever before with the new
search tool.
Microsoft recently gave its Android
app a much-needed revamp. The
Android version now features the
same sleek design as youll nd
online and on Windows Phone.
Microsoft has also nally brought its
email app into the year 2013;
conversation threading has been a
staple of Gmail for a long time, but
until recently, Outlook.com users
were left in the dark. The app makes
it easier for keeping unwanted email
out of your inbox, thanks to the app
automatically catching messages
that appear as spam. You can also
create lters and ags to better
manage your email. Outlook.com
makes managing email a breeze.
Who said Microsoft couldnt come
up with a fantastic app? If you want
a little less Google in your life, it
might nally be time to check out
Outlook.com.
Outlook.com offers just the basics, making
reading your email quick and easy
Gmail
Outlook.com is great and might just
give Gmail a run for its money.
Are you looking for the ultimate tness tracking app? Look no further
than MapMyFitness Workout Trainer. With over 600 types of activities
to choose from, youll be in shape in no time. This brilliant app keeps
track of all your important exercising
gures so you dont have to; easily track
calories, distance, time, route, pace and
more. Are you tired of exercising endlessly
with no results? This app keeps you
motivated by constantly displaying your
progress on the way to a new you.
The dening feature is its ability to use
your phones GPS to map out your
workout. You even get real-time stats
during your workout, and there are voice
prompts during your workout to make you
go that extra mile.
Price Free
Designed for Phone/tablet
Requires Android 2.1 and up
MapMyFitness
Workout Trainer
Track your route, distance and scintillating pace
RUNTASTIC RUNNING & FITNESS When it comes to running and
tness theres no better app than Runtastic.
best free
alternative
BBC iPlayer
Radio
Listen to BBC Radio
wherever you go
Are you looking to take the
BBC Radio with you while
youre on the move?
Theres no better way to listen to
your favourite radio stations than the
BBC iPlayer Radio. This app is a major
improvement on the iPlayer app. Not
only does it feature a sleek, easy-to-
use interface, you can start listening
and enjoying live
radio from all the
BBCs top radio
stations instantly.
The app works just
like a radio
switch stations
with the simple
turn of a dial.
Price Free
IVONA Text-
to-Speech
HQ
Cutting-edge speech
recognition app
Price Free
IVONA is light years ahead
of the competition when it
comes to speech
recognition. Theres no other app on
the market like it. Are you tired of
robotic voices? IVONA features Amy,
a realistic, natural-sounding voice.
Choose from up to 13 different
languages and several different
voices. This isnt just a speech
recognition app; have your eBooks
read aloud in a soothing voice. IVONA
works in tandem with your favourite
devices too, providing directions for
Google Maps so you can keep your
eyes on the road when it matters.
The revamped and smoother
Outlook.com app is
denitely worth trying out
specification
verdict
Requires Android: 2.2 and up
Price Free
PushBullet
Playmarkers
Sophos
Mobile
Security Yahoo!
Apps
72
Browse news quickly on your device with
summaries by Yahoo!
Yahoo! PushBullet
Sophos Mobile Security
Search the web like never before Sharing les has never been so easy!
Protect your Android device from viruses
Yahoo! has been a
household name for the
better part of two
decades, but its
popularity has been on the decline in
recent years. With a new CEO and a
newly revamped app, Yahoo! looks
to change its fortunes. The new
Yahoo! app lets you browse the web
like never before. The app is called a
virtually endless stream of
personalized stories for a good
reason. The more you search the
web, the more relevant content youll
receive. The crux of the app is its
ability to browse by categories, such
as business, celebrities and
entertainment. The app is fully
integrated with Facebook and
Twitter, so you can seamlessly share
your favourite news with the world.
The most exciting addition is
without a doubt the addition of
Summly. 17 year old Nick DAloisio
launched the news summary app
and recently sold it to Yahoo! for $30
million. Summly works its magic by
cutting lengthy articles down to 400
characters or less; perfect for quick
reading on your Android device.
Cloud computing may
be the bees knees
when it comes to
sharing les with your
Android device, but there are times
when youll need to transfer les
from your desktop computer to your
Android device. PushBullet is an
ingenious app that takes full
advantage of your Android devices
unique features, including le
system, notications and push
notications. Now I know what youre
saying why should I use PushBullet
when Dropbox already does a
marvellous job of sharing les?
PushBullet prides itself for its speed
and being easy to use.
Lets say you want to download a
le. With Dropbox youd have to go
through numerous steps, including
logging in, nding and downloading
your le. With the PushBullet service
its a lot easier. Your les are
instantly pushed from your PC to your
Android device and into your
notications panel. Theres never
been an easier way to share les.
Just like your desktop
computer at home, your
Android device can
catch a virus. As
smartphones rise in popularity, so do
the attempts of hackers to obtain
your personal information through
spam and other malicious ways.
Sophos Mobile Security helps ght
the war on spam by protecting your
Android device from harmful viruses
and malware without sacricing its
performance. Unlike the Apple App
Store, Google Play is an open
marketplace; just about anyone can
create an app. While this leads to
innovation, this can also lead to
unscrupulous hackers hiding
malicious spyware inside seemingly
harmless apps.
So what exactly can Sophos do for
you? It can grey-list potentially
harmful apps, schedule regular
scans, and scan installed apps on
your SD card and USB device. Theres
even a built-in security advisor that
will show you how to improve your
phones security settings. Sophos
recent update introduces a spam
lter for phone calls and text
messages. The lter can be used to
block unwanted calls and text
messages with harmful links.
Google Chrome
The number one web browser on
Android is better than ever.
Yahoo! delivers searches
that are relevant to you on
your Android device
specification
verdict
Price Free
Price Free
Price Free
Dropbox
Dropbox still comes in handy for
sharing large les from your Android device.
Norton Security
Your one-stop shop anti-virus app a
great alternative to Sophos.
EDITORS
CHOICE
Kindle
for even more app reviews
73
Kindle
Bring the Kindle Fire to your
Android device
KOBO Get a sneak peek before you buy, and read customer
reviews while youre at it.
best free
alternative
Are you looking to catch up
on your favourite eBooks
while youre on the go?
Kindle for Android lets you download
and enjoy your favourite eBooks
anytime, anyplace. Kindle gives
Android mobile users a taste of what
theyve been missing on the Kindle
Fire. If you already have a Kindle
account youre off to the races; if you
dont, no worries, it takes less than
ve minutes to sign up. Once you
sign on for the rst time youll have
three wonderful eBooks waiting for
you: Treasure Island, Pride and
Prejudice, and Aesops Fables.
This fantastic app gives you
access to the worlds largest online
marketplace of eBooks. Instantly
browse millions of Kindle books from
the Kindle Store and enjoy your
favourite magazines in full high-
denition glory. Best of all you can
seamlessly purchase eBooks from
Amazon within the app. Try before
you buy by downloading a trial
chapter and snag the Kindle books
youve already purchased from your
Kindle Fire. Reading eBooks is a
breeze simply tap the books cover
to get started. Kindle further
enhances your reading experience
with the ability to add annotations.
A major complaint about the
Kindle app for Android was it paled in
comparison to its Kindle Fire version.
Thankfully Amazon recently updated
its Kindle app to make it look and feel
more like its Kindle Fire tab. Carousel
view makes browsing the pages of
your favourite eBook easier than
ever. With the swipe of a nger you
can browse through recently viewed
content. The library has also received
a facelift and the new left pane
makes for easier navigation. The
newest update offers of a breath of
fresh air download it and bring the
Kindle Fire experience to your device.
The updated Kindle app looks
and feels like the Kindle Fire,
which is no bad thing
Performance
Design
Value
specification
Requires Android: Varies with device
Price Free
verdict
Want your money back?
Youve got 15 mins to decide!
refund keep
15min wonder
0-5 minutes
Kindle looks stunning on the
Samsung Galaxy S4!
5
10 15
!
5-10 minutes
There are millions of eBooks
to choose from.
5
10 15
!
10-15 minutes
Searching is a breeze; youll
nd your favourites easily.
5
10 15
!
Search through
millions of eBooks
Call Filter
Alarm
Playmarkers
links to the Google Play Store Robird
Swype
Keyboard
Apps
74
There are already plenty of Twitter apps on the market, so what
makes Robird better than the rest? Robird offers all the features of a
typical Twitter app and then some. Its the ideal Twitter app that
promises to make managing your tweets a breeze. Not only does this fantastic
app hold your position, it syncs perfectly with TweetMarker. Other core features
include saving tweets to draft if sending
failed, auto refresh with time period, and
previews for images.
Robird is best described as simple, yet
highly customisable. The app displays
exactly what you need to know:
communications, direct messages and
timelines. Best of all you can easily visit
your prole, tweet, search and more in
an instant. Despite its hefty price tag, it
offers more than youll nd with a free
Twitter app and its even advertisement
free. Its worth every penny.
Price 1.30/$1.99
JANETTER FOR TWITTER A great free alternative, Janetter for
Twitter makes everyday management of Twitter a breeze.
Robird
Havent you heard that the bird is the word
A smartphone is only as good as its keyboard. You can have the most
powerful smartphone in the world, but if you cant perform basic
functions like sending text messages and typing emails its pretty
much useless. Swype isnt your typical keyboard app. As the name alludes to,
instead of tapping your screen, you simply swipe your nger over the keys and
your letters magically appear on screen. Once you get the hang of it, youll be
Swyping at lightning-fast speed.
Swype has been around for several years, but its nally available on Google
Play for your typing pleasure. Swyping
isnt the only way you can enter data on
your Android device trace, dictation,
and even handwriting are available.
Swype is an app that keeps learning too.
Although not always perfect, it does a
decent job at predicting the next word
youre about to type.
Price 0.65/$0.99
Swype Keyboard
The faster way to type
Call Filter
Alarm
Never miss
an important
call again
For most people their
smartphone is a lot
more than just a phone.
Its a calendar, music player, day
planner, cookbook and even an
alarm. If you use your smartphone
as an alarm, theres nothing more
annoying than being awoken by
every alert and text message you
receive. You could turn off your
phone, but then youd risk missing
an important call. Call Filter Alarm
solves this dilemma by allowing
you to preset who can call or text
you ahead of time. With each
alarm you can specify who can call
you, avoiding untimely calls and
saving your data usage.
This brilliant app works in three
simple steps: start by dening the
alarm, select who can call or text
you, and before heading off to bed
set your phone to sleep mode.
Your phone will only ring when its
from the person you decided; all
other calls are avoided, giving you
some much-needed shut eye. The
app provides plenty of
customisation, including setting
tone, volume and vibration for
incoming important calls. Other
calls and messages will happen in
silent mode and you will be able to
see them when you wake up.
In addition to the particular call
and SMS lter features, using Call
Filter Alarm you can intelligently
manage Wi-Fi connections, data
usage, ofine mode and silent
mode with a single button.
In your personalised Sleep
mode you can set tone, volume
and vibration for allowed calls and
messages, as well as setting
volume, volume increment,
snooze, tone (music or ringtone)
Mute
Mute quiets everything in silent
mode so youre never disturbed again.
SwiftKey
The markets best-selling keyboard
app lets you type in up to three languages.
You can preset your alarms for specic
days and times
and vibration for every single
alarm. You can also use the
multi-language setting thats now
available (English and Italian are
your options for now).
Call Filter Alarm is simple,
immediate, extremely effective
and packed full of features.
The app is simple and it
works enough said.
Get your hands on it now
Performance
Design
Value
specification
Price Free
verdict
best free
alternative
EDITORS
CHOICE
EDITORS
CHOICE
EDITORS
CHOICE
75
Buffer
The simple way to share to
your social networks
Buffer is the ultimate hub
for sharing with your social
network. Its the easiest
and fastest way to share with Twitter,
Facebook, LinkedIn and more.
Sharing couldnt be any simpler
when you nd something youd like to
share, add it to your Buffer queue. To
do so, simply choose Add to Buffer
from your Share menu. As the name
suggest, Buffer will schedule to
tweet, Facebook
status update and
LinkedIn update at
different times
during the day. Its
a great way to
build followers by
offering quality
content easily.
Price Free
UK Bus
Checker
Lite
Up-to-the-minute bus times
to your Android device
Price Free
Theres no bigger drag than
waiting for a bus at a
crowded station in the rain.
UK Bus Checker Lite takes the pain
out of mass transit. Its the only app
to offer up-to-the-minute bus times
and route maps for almost every
stop in the UK. With over 300,000
bus stops to search from, youre
bound to nd a bus stop near you
whether youre in London or
Shefeld. This isnt just a bus
schedule app though. Search over
1.2 million roads, post codes, towns
and cities and receive real-time info
on over 35 towns and cities.
How to Draw
Cartoon
Characters
Drawing your favourite
super heroes has never
been this fun
Have you ever dreamed of
drawing your favourite
action hero? Well now you
can. This brilliant app provides
easy-to-follow step-by-step
instructions on how to draw your
favourite character. There are 25
drawing lessons of your favourite
cartoon characters including Mickey
Mouse, Batman, Spawn and
Wolverine. This is the perfect app to
enjoy with the entire family. Each
drawing lesson is broken down into
11 to 26 easy-to-follow steps and
each drawing has a difculty rating.
Youll be a fantastic artist in no time.
Price Free
HootSuite
Stay on top of your
social network
Price Free
Requires Android Varies with device
Are you feeling
overwhelmed with your
social life online? It can be
onerous to manage your social
proles. HootSuite brings some
much needed organisation to your
social networks. This powerful social
media management app is the
essential way to stay on top of
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and
Foursquare. Not only is HootSuite
easy to use, its
powerful. Go from
sending out a
tweet to updating
your status on
Facebook in an
instant. You can
even schedule
tweets for later.
Crunchd
A chefs ultimate guide to
seasonal produce
Do you have a green
thumb? Crunchd isnt just
an app, its a way of life.
Crunchd is a unique app fully
integrated with Facebook that lets
you nd out food in season. Forget
the farmers market, Crunchd lets
you not only nd out what your
neighbours are growing and cooking,
but it serves as a hub for bartering
with fellow gardeners for fresh
vegetables and
fruit. This fantastic
app is a great way
to build
communities and
make new mates.
Its also great for
trading recipes
and advice.
Price Free
RoundR
Change the way you view
apps forever
Price Free
Every so often theres a
simple, yet powerful, app
that comes out that we
couldnt live without. RoundR isnt a
revolutionary app by any means, but
once you use it theres no going
back. This unique app is very simple.
It takes your ordinary Android screen
and rounds the corners. Not only
does it look cool, it works with most
apps. The app is fully customisable;
choose the exact radius and which
corners should be rounded.
JUST EAT
Ordering takeaway just got
a whole lot easier
We all live busy lives. Its
nice to have hot takeaway
like sh and chips waiting
for us, rather than wasting 20
minutes waiting in the shop. One of
the most annoying parts of ordering
takeaway is calling in the order. JUST
EAT removes the middle man now
you can order your favourite meals
straight from your Android. This
brilliant free app lets you choose
from over 15,000
of the UKs nest
restaurants.
Ordering couldnt
be any easier:
enter your post
code, select your
meal and pay by
cash or card.
Price Free
Guardian
Witness
Submit your own stories to
the newspaper giant
Price Free
Requires Android 2.3.3 and up
Watching the news is
enjoyable, but how would
you like to contribute to it?
GuardianWitness is a unique app
that lets you contribute to live news
stories and help the Guardian out.
This is crowd-sourcing at its nest;
partake in competitions and
assignments and submit your very
own story ideas.
Be a part of
Guardians
award-winning
team from your
home. The app is
also fully
integrated with
social media too.
quickhits
Apps
76
BACONREADER
REDDIT SYNC
vs
head
The two best Reddit clients
for Android battle it out in this
months head-to-head
head to head tohead
We actually prefer the UI of reddit sync, and if youre new to the
Reddit scene you will likely nd this app an easier introduction. Yet
as you become more familiar with the service, it is hard to look
beyond BaconReader for its sheer power and functionality.
The home screen drops you
straight at the front page and
the hottest posts. From there
it is easy to view new stories,
but at times the app seems
like an information overload.
Right from the front page
you can vote stories up or
down, favourite or share
them. Tapping a post also
shows the related image or
website and comments.
Has an interface tutorial on
rst launch, and it needs it.
Theres a lot of power in this
app but its not always clear.
Switching to page view makes
posts easier to browse.
reddit sync is fully styled
after the Android Holo
guidelines so presents the
bulk of its info in sideways
scrolling panels. Extremely
easy to browse.
You can set the interval by
which your subreddits will
be synced, and their content
is available for ofine use.
However the options are
limited and a bit confusing.
Theres a powerful set of
controls for syncing and
notications, enabling you to
set exactly how you want
the app to work, depending
on how heavy a user you are.
You can expand and
collapse comments to
preview or skip comment
threads, but not order them
all in the free version.
Commenting is simple.
Individual comment threads
can be collapsed on a one-
by-one basis, which can be
slow for popular posts. To
reply, tap the comment and
choose the reply icon.
And the
winner is...
BACONREADER
BROWSING
SUBREDDITS
NOTIFICATIONS
NAVIGATION
INTERFACE
Reddit. The home of cat gifs and
controversy. Shamelessly describing itself
as the front page of the internet, a
snapshot of life can be found in its
strangely formatted
pages. But which
Reddit app should
you download?
Lots of popular subreddits
are available from the menu
bar and a search will reveal
additional ones. You can
subscribe by long pressing
on the name at the top.
Your subreddits are all listed
one panel to the left.
Subreddits need to be
added manually, and the
initial list only includes
eight of the most popular.
COMMENTS
specification
Designed for: Phone and tablet
Price Free
reddit sync BaconReader
specification
Designed for: Phone and tablet
Price Free
THE LATEST NEWS ESSENTIAL GUIDES EXPERT OPINION INDUSTRY INSIGHT
FOR THE GNU GENERATION
www.linuxuser.co.uk
Available
from all good
newsagents &
supermarkets
today
DEFINITIVE REVIEWS
facebook.com/LinuxUserUK twitter.com/LinuxUserMag
ON SALE NOW:
LibreOffice 4.0 Dual Boot with Windows 8
Frontline
Commando:
D-Day
Playmarkers
They Need
To Be Fed 2
Games
78
Price 1.28/$1.95
Designed for Phone and tablet
Requires Android 2.1
They Need
To Be Fed 2
Gravity is your best friend
and worst enemy
Following up on the
success of the original,
They Need To Be Fed 2
looks to bring more of the same
360-degree platformer action but
with a few added twists thrown in.
The gameplay is ultimately the same
as before, as you guide your
character through different worlds by
using gravity to help you traverse
various levels and avoid the many
monsters. The 360-degree aspects
really mix up the gameplay, enabling
you to tackle each platform from
above and below and really think
about how you want to advance
through the rest of the level.
Ultimately though TNTBF 2 feels
more of an update to the original
game, rather than an entirely new
game in its own right. That isnt to
what weve
been playing
Grand Theft Auto: Vice
City 2.99/$4.99
Weve nally nished off the
main story line in GTA Vice City,
but still have plenty of side quests to
discover. This is a game thats denitely
best suited to the bigger screen.
Minecraft - Pocket
Edition 4.99/$6.99
Who knew that placing blocks
and building things could be
this addictive? This makes a great
addition to anyone who wants a game
that they can get lost in for hours on end.
twitter
@lgrobot
Recommend a game
Bringing the battleeld
scenario to the smaller screen
Frontline Commando is
a 3D third-person
shooter that sees you
travel back to WW2 to
tackle the German army. It isnt an
unfamiliar scenario for most console
games, but theres a distinct lack of
this type of game readily available for
Android users.
To have a chance of survival, the
game starts you off with a rie and a
few grenades, with more weapons,
ammo and added extras available to
you as you progress through the
game. The selection of weapons is
surprisingly good, but in the middle
of an intense gunght it can be a bit
tricky trying to switch weapons
without getting plastered with enemy
gunre at the same time.
As you progress through the game
youll be given new targets to take
out and new objectives to complete.
Some objectives can be as simple as
taking shelter behind a wall, with
some then escalating to taking out
an entire enemy stronghold.
Between each objective youll
need to take out a certain number of
enemies before you can advance.
Controls also work well for the most
part, but for the more authentic
experience youll want to use a
Bluetooth controller as the
touchscreen controls can get a bit
ddly if you have a large collection of
equipment at your disposal.
Despite the game being a free
download, Frontline Commando
does include a number of in-app
purchases that you can buy.
Although the game is entirely
playable without needing to
purchase any of these, the game
does constantly remind you (and we
mean constantly) that there are
different in-app purchases you can
take a look at.
Frontline Commando is a worthy
addition to the Play store, offering a
great third-person shooter
experience. The fast and uid
gameplay is only marred by the
constant reminders of the availability
of in-app purchases. Ignore those
pesky requests and youve got
yourself a cracking shoot em up
to enjoy.
Price Free
Frontline Commando:
D-Day
Take cover to replenish your dwindling health
Gravity will attach you to
the closest platform
say it isnt a fun game to play, but
one that doesnt bring anything new
to the table.
Check our website for
even more game reviews
Eyes - the
horror game MANUGANU
Cut the
Rope: Time
Travel
79
Despite stiff competition from the likes of
Rayman and Sonic in the platformer genre,
Manuganu manages to be original enough to be
a standout hit. In essence, Manuganu relies on the same
functions as the competition, as you traverse different
levels dodging enemies and obstacles, while also
collecting coins along the way. Where Manuganu excels is
with the variety it offers. Levels are vastly different from
one another, obstacles range in difculty and you can also
use Manuganus special powers to help you along the way.
On top of that, players will also notice the cool 3D effects
that are used here. They arent as crisp as some other
games, but they work well nonetheless. For free,
Manuganu ticks all the boxes to make it a great game.
MANUGANU
Price Free
Designed for Phone
Classic platformer action with a
modern twist
Cut the Rope has
always been at the
pinnacle of
physics-based gaming on
the Android OS and this next
instalment doesnt change
that at all. You still play as
Om Nom, but in this edition
you must travel through six
different eras and still
collect all the candy you
come across. As usual you
also need to cut the ropes at the correct time and in the
correct sequence to make sure they arrive in Om Noms
mouth safe and sound. Each era sees you with a different
companion who you need to also feed. It adds a whole
new element to the gameplay and can make the latter
levels particularly difcult to complete without needing to
attempt them a few times.
Although Cut the Rope: Time Travel includes all the
familiar gameplay you know and love, the new companion
system keeps the series ticking over nicely.
Price Free
Requires Android Varies with device
Go back in time with
Om Nom and friends
The premise of Eyes is
simple you need to
venture into an
abandoned house to collect
various valuable objects before
Eyes - the horror game
Keep a spare pair of underwear ready for this one
making it back to the exit. Problem is
that theres a spirit that wanders the
same house and doesnt take kindly
to trespassers. Armed with just a
very basic map and a torch you need
Price 0.50/$0.99
Requires Android 2.3.3
quickhits
Worms 2: Armageddon
2.99/$4.99
With an assortment of new
weapons and more levels to
master, Worms 2:
Armageddon is a great sequel to the
original Android hit.
Perfect Kick! Free
Being one of the rst real-time
multiplayer football games,
Perfect Kick! pits you against
an opponent in a classic
penalty shootout. What makes the game
great are the customisable controls.
Grumpy Bears Free
As a honey hoarder you need
to defend your stash from
wave after wave of bears.
There are plenty of weapons
for you to defend with and different types
of bears that can be unlocked.
CSR Racing Free
Although CSR Racing is by far
one of the most gorgeous
looking games weve seen on
the Play store, its let down by
having only a handful of cars, bland track
design and slightly dodgy controls.
Magicka 1.32/$1.99
You dont see many 2D
brawlers hit the Play store,
but Magicka does the genre
justice. As you control a band
of wizards, youll need to ght evil with
different spells and other equipment.
Chip Chain Free
Chip Chain is a fairly simple
game that requires you to
match poker chips and create
as big a chain as possible.
The bigger the chain of numbers, the
better power ups you unlock.
Cut the Rope:
Time Travel
to nd all the valuables while
avoiding contact with the spirit.
By using the eyes button you can
go to a rst person view of the
spirit to see where theyre
currently located. If the spirit
comes in contact with you its
game over so using the eyes tool
is essential.
The game is ridiculously scary at
times and being guided only by a
torch means youve no idea whats
around you and there are a good
amount of jumpy moments that
make the game well worth a
download from Google Play.
Use the map to guide yourself around the haunted house
EDITORS
CHOICE
80
Reviews
Samsung
Galaxy S4
Which is more important, the plastic
casing or the great battery life? We
nd out in our review of the biggest
phone of the year
IR port
The top of the device houses a small IR port
to control your TV. We like this feature and
its accompanying software. It wont replace
your normal remote but for casual use it is
quite effective
Thin bezel
The S4 does not quite rank as having an edge-to-
edge display but the impressively thin bezel helps
keep the phone as compact as possible while also
emphasising the brilliance of the screen
Connectivity
The S4 has a pretty complete set of
connectivity options. These include 4G
and NFC. It also supports Miracast for
wireless streaming of movie content to a
compatible TV
Call quality
Call quality is good, thanks in part to the superior
sound cancellation technology on board. We had
no issues with reception either
EDITORS
CHOICE
T
he S4 sees Samsung looking to cement its
position as the worlds leading phone
manufacturer. The device has relatively few
real standout features, but put all changes
together a rened design, better screen, faster
processor and a whole lot more software and its
clear this is a radical improvement on last years
S III. That became the best selling Android phone
ever. Whats to stop the S4 repeating the trick?
Design
There has been no shortage of comment about the
S4s design and build. We feel that most of the
complaints are wildly overstated. Yes, it is plastic,
but it feels solidly built and is quite a dense
package with no creaking or exing, and it is a
noticeable improvement over the S III in pretty
much every respect. Its obviously not as premium
as the HTC One, yet beyond the initial rush of
excitement that forms your rst impressions, wed
question just how important that is. The S4 is not
ugly, its too bland for that, and Samsungs
approach seems to be one of anti-design as much
as anything. The huge screen size and minimal
bezel make the design less relevant than it is on
other handsets. If you want a piece of costume
jewellery then ne, but youll need to look
elsewhere. The S4 is all about the screen and what
it enables you to do.
The few buttons and ports that are on the S4 are
all in the right place. The power button is
appropriately located beneath your right thumb or
left forenger, and theres also a home button
below the screen. Incidentally this is another
important aspect of design that is so often
overlooked in the obsession with making things
beautiful the HTC Ones awkwardly positioned
power button and lack of front buttons makes it
surprisingly difcult to switch on.
The volume controls are on the left edge, micro
SD port on the bottom and headphone jack and
tiny IR port on the top. On the rear at the bottom is
a small mono speaker. It pumps out the sound loud
enough but is
generally
unimpressive.
Screen
The screen is stunning, and
tting a larger display into a
chassis with a marginally smaller
footprint than the S III is a fantastic
achievement. You dont notice the extra size in
the hand, but do gain the benets of it.
The display is Super AMOLED, which means
bright and vibrant colours (some nd them too
vibrant although we like them) and satisfyingly
deep blacks. The full 1080p resolution spread
across ve inches corner to corner equates to a
pixel density of 441ppi. It isnt quite class leading
although at this level the individual pixels are
completely indiscernible so factors like contrast
and brightness and usability outdoors are more
important. The S4 rates highly in all regards, and
we had no problems seeing the screen in full
summer sun.
Theres also a high touch sensitivity option for
the screen that enables you to use it with gloves
on. This is turned off by default, presumably
because it would impact on the battery somewhat.
We found while it did work with gloves, gloves and
smartphone UIs make for a particularly
cumbersome combination.
Performance and battery
The specs on the Galaxy S4 are top notch. We
were testing the version with the quad-core
processor clocked at 1.9GHz, while theres an
octa-core version also available in some markets.
Backed with 2GB RAM the performance was stellar.
Inevitably we noticed the odd brief moment of
jerkiness, something we put down as fact of life
with Android. And on occasion apps took longer to
load than wed expect launching the weather app
via the home screen widget was a particular culprit
here, and may again be down to the optimisation
81
of
the
software
rather than any
inherent performance
issues. There was also the
slightest shutter lag in the
camera, something weve seen
eradicated on other devices. These minor issues
apart, the S4 absolutely ew. Even scrolling large
webpages in the Chrome browser was smooth a
rarity indeed.
Storage on the phone starts at 16GB, which was
the version we were using. You only get around
9GB to play with, the rest being taken up by the OS.
You can add a memory card but cannot install
apps onto it, so a handful of big games could see
your storage being eaten up quickly.
Despite everything going on, the S4 battery life
is fantastic. The 2600mAh battery is only 10% or
so larger than normal but seems to deliver more
than 10% of improvement. Put simply it is the rst
phone weve used where the battery is just not
something we felt a need to keep an eye on. Most
agship devices will get you through a full day of
solid use, but the S4 will keep you going into the
next day should you forget to charge it overnight.
Software
And so to the software. This is what sets the
Galaxy S4 apart from every other smartphone, and
what gives the device its identity. There has never
Front and rear cameras
The rear camera shoots at 13 megapixels and is
excellent. Its one of the best cameras weve seen
on an Android phone (if not the absolute best). The
front-facing camera is 2-MP and can be used at the
same time as the rear one.
Under the thumb
The power button is perfectly positioned
beneath your right thumb or left forenger,
making the phone very accessible. It also
wakes via the home button.
Button arrangement
Not only has Samsung eschewed the trend
for buttonless devices, it has also maintained
the dedicated menu button that has been
largely phased out as a standard feature of
the Android OS
82
Reviews
been a smartphone that has crammed in so many
features and it takes some time to really get your
head around its curious mix of extreme complexity
and overbearing hand holding.
Anyone who thinks that Samsungs software is
lacking renement will have plenty of ammunition
to back up their argument simply from the default
setup of the software. Some bizarre choices have
been made (some, sadly, carried over from
previous devices), such as how a sound effect
accompanies virtually every screen tap. Usually it is
a plop from a water droplet, sometimes it is a
beep, occasionally something else. Its annoying
if not to the user then certainly to anyone within
earshot and completely unnecessary. Maybe ve
years ago when screens were not so responsive
we might have needed an audible conrmation of
every screen tap, but not now. Now it just seems to
support the image of a company that doesnt
understand the concept of subtlety.
Similar overkill is also evident from the endless
help screens that pop up whenever you try and do
almost anything. We understand the need to make
things simple, but nobody needs instructions on
how to swipe the lockscreen to unlock the phone,
especially when those instructions are written on
the lockscreen already. Worst of all, some of these
pop ups, such as when you set a new default app,
cannot be dismissed forever, no matter how many
times you perform the function.
Yet despite all the friendliness the phone never
feels especially intuitive or easy to use, there are
just so many features. The quick settings panel in
the notications shade, for example, contains no
fewer than 20 icons for things you can turn on or
off. Thats too much.
The S4 runs Android 4.2, and despite being well
hidden beneath the TouchWiz UI includes that
updates best features, like lockscreen widgets.
But this is rst and foremost a TouchWiz device, all
Drama Shot combines multiple action images Panorama mode can produce striking results in good light
The S4s camera software has been lifted from the
Galaxy Camera and is one of the star features of
the device. The 13-megapixel camera takes
excellent photos in good light, and okay ones in
poor light, and easily ranks among the best weve
tested. As with everything else the camera app is
absolutely rammed with features. Eraser removes
unwanted intruders from your images, Drama shot
composites multiple images together to create an
action shot, Animated photo makes GIFs on the y,
sound and shot adds audio to a still (its just a
regular still if viewed off the device) and dual shot
uses the front and rear cameras simultaneously.
Theres plenty more too.
Most of these features work exactly as
advertised, but we cant help but wonder how
much use they will get. The problem is they all have
to be turned on in advance theres no way to
retroactively erase someone from an image, or
create a drama shot. More annoying is that the app
remembers your last shot mode, so if you take an
animated photo now and forget to switch back,
youll be shooting an animated photo next time you
launch the camera. Overall wed say the camera is
the standout feature on the S4, and shows
perfectly how Samsung can overload the features
without ruining the user experience.
Camera on test
The S4 has a marginally
lower pixel density than the
HTC One, although the
difference is barely
discernible. It is clearly
better than the S III.
Screen
test
HTC One Galaxy S3 Galaxy S4
There has never been a smartphone that has
crammed in so many features and it takes
some time to really get your head around
Would benefit from having the
software stripped right back,
but beneath the bloat lies a
truly great phone
Verdict
Samsung
Galaxy S III
issue013
None
worse than better than
Samsung Galaxy S4
Value for money
Very expensive, shop around for some
good deals on contract
Features
Everything you are likely to need is here,
plus a few things you wont
Design
Functional design, materials dont feel
premium, but feels solid
Performance
Very fast, great camera and fantastic
battery life
Price 579.99
More information
www.samsung.com
Supplied by
www.clove.co.uk
information
Samsung
Galaxy S4
Battery life
Battery life is as
good as weve
experienced outside
of one of the battery-
centric devices from
Motorola
about its
applications,
enhancements (the multi-
window mode from the Note II is
especially good) and gesture controls.
Considering how innovative and exciting
Samsung appears to believe its gestures are it is
interesting to discover that most of them are
disabled by default. That is the right decision as
most are beta standard at best.
Of those that are set to On, Smart Stay, which
was introduced in the S III and keeps the screen on
when youre looking at it, works pretty well, as
does Air View, which shows you a thumbnail
preview of an image or email when you hover your
nger over it. Of those that are off, we couldnt get
Smart Pause (pause a video when you look away
from the screen) working at all, while Smart Scroll,
which automatically scrolls a page based on the
position of your head or the way you tilt the phone,
was so glitchy that we would frequently nd it
scrolling rapidly in the wrong direction in response
to even our slightest movements. A third, Air
Gesture, enables you to control the device
whether thats answer a call, view the clock when
the screen is off etc just by waving your hand.
This one could be useful in some circumstances
but was too sensitive and tended to misinterpret
innocent hand movements as gestures.
Not a revolution, then. And neither are
Samsungs apps. S Health and S Translator are
okay if you use them but theres no reason for
them to be pre-installed rather than placed in the
app store. Optical Reader, a business card and QR
code scanner likewise. Samsung Hub is an
attempt to lock you into Samsungs products via
83
Review
Operating system...............Android 4.2.2
Processor...................................Qualcomm 1.9GHz quad-core
Memory.......................................2GB RAM, from 16GB storage
Dimensions..............................136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9mm
Weight..........................................130g
Display size...............................Five-inch
Display resolution...............1,920 x 1080 pixels
Expansion slot.......................micro SD
technical specs
Price
content. Its a sound commercial move, but well
always prefer manufacturer agnostic services.
Theres also the full selection of S-branded apps
that replace the stock Android ones. The keyboard
is okay and includes a useful oating mode for
when the text input is obscured in an app. On the
whole we found little in the software that was
absolutely essential. New users may nd the
experience overwhelming, and experienced ones
will need to spend some time taming the software.
Verdict
Summarising the S4, it feels like two distinct
devices. Theres the hardware, its awesome power
and the potential that brings, and theres the
software, overblown with features that youll never
use. As enthusiasts well always embrace the
possibilities presented by the hardware. Twenty
minutes spent clearing up some of the junk and
setting up a third-party launcher left us with a
near-stock device with unrivalled hardware, a
fantastic camera and amazing battery life. Whether
you should have to do that is a different matter,
and those less inclined to do so will nd
themselves with a mass of silly sound effects,
gestures they dont use and apps they dont need.
Theres no doubt the S4 offers too much. But if
you can look beyond this youll nd a pretty
incredible smartphone.
The screen ranks among
the very best weve seen on
a smartphone
Performance
tests
Even running the heavy skin
of TouchWiz the S4 feels fast
and powerful. It trounces the
Galaxy Note II the fastest
other Galaxy device in
benchmark tests in every
category, and also betters
the HTC One in graphics and
processor performance,
although not in Vellamos
HTML5 rendering test.
Antutu
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84
Reviews
Huawei
Ascend Mate
Can Huaweis giant phablet beat
Samsung at its own game? We put
the Android-powered colossus
through its paces
A big
phone
Its not subtle:
holding this device
to your ear while
making calls is not
something you can
do discretely
Non-
standard
UI
Huaweis Emotion
UI does away with
the app drawer and
it takes some
getting used to.
Expect to open the
email app
repeatedly by
mistake, or just
install Nova
Launcher instead to
bring the drawer
back to its rightful
position
Side
buttons
We like having the
power button
under our right
thumb, especially
as it is the only
way to wake the
phone. But the
volume buttons
located just below
are too easy to hit
accidentally
Shortage
of storage
There is a micro SD
card slot on the
top of the phone.
This gives you a
much-needed
boost to the very
limited internal
storage but you
wont be able to
install your apps to
the card
Flash light
One of the few
supplementary
apps pre-installed
on the Ascend
Mate turns the LED
ash on the rear of
the device into a
torch. Its a pretty
useful feature too!
S
amsungs surprise success with the Galaxy
Note has prompted several other
manufacturers to start exploring the phablet
phenomenon. Huaweis Ascend Mate is the latest
example, with a massive 6.1-inch screen that
dwarfs even the Note II. But is size everything, or is
there more to the phablet than meets the eye?
Read on to nd out.
Design
The Ascend Mate is positively huge. With previous
phablets, toting displays in the region of ve and a
half inches, they have carefully straddled the line
between one and two-handed use. The Mate is
unquestionably a two-handed affair. Even though it
is built for use in portrait mode we still found
ourselves needing the second hand to balance the
weight as we swiped around the screens. Huaweis
performance such as the Galaxy S4 or HTC One.
We had little cause to be concerned about its
all-round performance. Huaweis own quad-core
1.5GHz processor and 2GB of on board RAM
produced a buttery, lag-free experience, aided by
what appears to be a fairly light skin (in spite of its
UI overhaul). The device devoured every task we
threw at it, including some 3D gaming, which is an
ideal use for this screen. The only real sign that it
was being taxed at all was a not inconsiderable
heating up of the top half of the handset, which
became rather uncomfortable after a prolonged
gaming session.
There is 8GB of storage on board, of which
around 4.5GB is available to the user and around
1GB is already lled with assorted junk that you
may want to remove. This doesnt leave a massive
amount of space for apps, as they cannot be
stored on the SD card.
The battery is a mammoth 4050mAh and is not
replaceable. We had mixed results in our battery
tests. For normal use it would run pretty much
forever, or at least well into a second day on a
single charge. For heavy use, especially where
gaming was involved, the battery drained
considerably quicker. Wed still rank it among the
85
best devices around for battery life, but it is still
possible to drain the whole thing in a day if youre
not too careful with it. Its also worth noting that
this large battery does take longer to charge than
most other phones.
To help squeeze more life from the battery there
is a power manager mode. This takes several
approaches, including enabling you to set which
apps launch on boot, as well as control those that
run in the background. It wasnt entirely clear how
much benet was gained from the various
settings, but it is set to intelligent mode by default
and we saw no need to change that.
Software
The Ascend Mate runs Android 4.1.2 with Huaweis
Emotion UI on top. As skins go this is the most
radical weve seen for one key reason: it does not
have an app drawer. This makes it a very
disorienting experience when you rst turn on the
device and we cant say we ever really got used to
it. It reminded us of the MIUI custom ROM, and like
that, comes complete with a huge number of
themes that will further change its look. For most
users, though, the effect is best described as iOS
with widgets.
Performance
tests
Huaweis processor cannot compete with the
best of the current smartphone generation,
but it was able to beat the leading phablet, the
Galaxy Note II, in all areas. No mean feat.
A
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t
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e
s
s
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&

g
r
a
p
h
i
c
s
H
T
L
M
5
Ascend Mate
15465
Note II
13619
Galaxy S4
25368
HTC One
23212
Ascend Mate
1632
Note II
1287
Galaxy S4
2126
HTC One
2385
software includes some clever touches for the
most important one-handed tasks. You can
minimise the phone dialer, keyboard and lock
screen to the bottom-right or bottom-left corners
of the screen so that they become more thumb
friendly, and theres also a chat heads-style
Suspend button that is located beneath your
thumb and expands to reveal icons for four apps, a
couple of which will even open in their own oating
window above your current app. The device will t
in a typical trouser pocket, but you will know its
Huaweis own quad-core 1.5GHz processor
and 2GB of on board RAM produced a buttery,
lag-free experience
there. Its slim enough at 9.9mm, but the 198g
weight is heavy.
For easy access, the power button is located
midway up the right edge. The volume controls are
just underneath and were a little too easy to press
by mistake for our liking. On the opposite edge is
the micro SIM slot, on top the micro SD and bottom
the micro USB port. There are no other buttons on
the device. On the back is the camera lens and LED
ash and small speaker at the bottom, which is
easily covered.
The device is well built with an understated yet
stylish design. But it is also totally uncompromising:
regardless of what else the Mate has to offer you
will know as soon as you pick it up whether this is
the device for you.
Screen
The display measures 6.1 inches corner to corner
at 720p resolution. Wed have expected 1080p at
this size, the Mates pixel density of 240ppi is back
at 2011 levels for agship devices. Sit it side by
side with an HTC One and you will notice the
difference. We werent troubled by this, though, as
the overall quality of the panel was high. The
viewing angles are very wide, the blacks are
reasonably deep, the brightness is good, and you
can also adjust the colour temperature to suit your
taste. Theres also a glove mode that helps you to
keep using your phone in the middle of winter. We
would have preferred the extra resolution to give
the display a bit more pop, but on the whole it
certainly counts as a strong point.
Where the larger screen really comes into its
own is for video playback. The display is noticeably
larger than, say, a Galaxy S III, so far more
conducive to longer viewing sessions, and the
device is signicantly smaller than a seven-inch
tablet like the Nexus 7.
Performance and battery
Benchmark tests pegged the Ascend Mate as
being faster than the Galaxy Note II but somewhat
slower than the current leaders in Android
Reviews
86
Theres plenty to like in the
Ascend Mate, but its not as
compelling a proposition as
the Note II
Verdict
N/A
issue018
Samsung
Galaxy
Note II
Huawei Ascend Mate
Value for money
Middling value on what is a very niche
Android device
Features
Lacks internal storage or any phablet-
centric innovations
Design
Fairly good looking but rather heavy
and very large
Performance
Buttery-smooth performance and
excellent battery life
Price 400 approx
More information
www.huaweidevice.com
information
Huawei
Ascend Mate
Battery life
Battery life is
excellent, giving the
best part of two
days use. Charges
slowly, though.
The default theme is not the classiest. All app
icons are placed in iPhone-esque glossy boxes
with rounded corners, and the stock icons are
overly colourful, cartoon style. A small number of
changes have been made to the software,
including a welcome return for
Operating system...............Android 4.1
Processor...................................Huawei 1.5GHz quad-core
Memory.......................................2GB RAM, from 8GB storage
Dimensions..............................163.5 x 85.7 x 9.9mm
Weight..........................................198g
Display size...............................6.1-inch
Display resolution...............720 x 1,280 pixels
technical specs
the normally overlooked phone proles. The
additional apps include a few streaming solutions,
the main social networking apps and an ofce
suite. The lack of bloatware is admirable.
Even though the skin includes such a major
change to the UI it still feels quite light and we
frequently had more than 1GB of free RAM in
general use. With a design that is largely consistent
with Vanilla Android the overall feel is of a stock
Android device running a fancy launcher. Indeed,
installing an alternative launcher such as Nova gets
you very close to that, with even the app drawer
being fully restored.
Camera
The Ascend Mate has two cameras, a one-
megapixel effort on the front for video chat and an
eight-megapixel camera on the back. Its about
average in quality. In good light the images it
produced were ne, although when zoomed in
there was evidence of heavy noise reduction. In
poorer light conditions the quality fell off as you
would imagine. The camera was fast, with minimal
shutter lag. Ironically it was the size of the device
that had the biggest negative impact on our shots,
its size making it difcult to get a steady shot,
especially when using the tap-to-focus function.
Extras in the camera app are limited a few shot
modes for HDR or panorama photos, and the
ubiquitous photo lters. Video quality, at
resolutions up to 1080p, was only average.
Verdict
The Ascend Mate is a device with plenty of good
points and bad points. Were not so keen on the
launcher, although its easily replaced, and the
severe shortage of storage is a concern for a
high-end device, as is its tendency to get hot under
heavy use. But the screen, performance and
battery life are all real positives.
Yet the pros and cons are almost irrelevant,
since size is the only factor that really matters. The
Mate comes with none of the phablet-specic
extras that you get from a Galaxy Note device, and
no equivalent to the S Pen either. This is very
signicant: you could argue that what makes the
Note range a phablet is not the screen size but
the fact Samsung has clearly thought very hard
about the unique ways you could put such a large
device to good use. Theres no sign that Huawei
has done the same, and as a result, it really is just
a very big smartphone.
issue018
The pixel density of the Ascend Mate is
disappointingly low, although in practice we didnt
really notice a whole lot of difference between it
and a 300+ display. Maybe the fact that its a
two-handed device that you tend to hold slightly
further away from your eyes contributed to this.
Pixel
density
HTC One Huawei Ascend Mate
One-hand UI
Some parts of the UI can
be switched to one-hand
mode wherein they
shrink into one of the
lower corners of the
screen. Its useful for use
on the go, but theres no
quick way to switch back
to the preferred full
screen mode instead
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88
Reviews
Sony
Xperia SP
The Sony Xperia SP is a well-made handset
with a great screen and some surprising
and pleasant touches
S
ony is having a good time at the moment as
far as its smartphones are concerned, and it
must be pleased. Not so long ago its
handsets were getting less praise and more
criticism, but it has lifted its game with the latest
entrants to the Xperia range, as the top-ight
Xperia Z recently showed us.
The Xperia SP sits at the upper-end of the
mid-range and it looks like another handset that
will earn plaudits. It does have some things about it
that we dont like though. You cant get to the
battery as it is sealed in place. Thats never
Gaming
Fast processor and a big screen make this
mid-range handset ideal for gaming
good
for...
Small apps
Little applets can be
popped up for quick, easy
access to a range of
useful features. Strangely
though, the feature is
rather hidden so many
users may never come
across it
Flashing lights
A band at the bottom of the
handset can pulse for alerts or
just in time to music. It could
have been useful, but is so large
it becomes merely gimmicky
and youll probably turn it off
No battery
access
It is disappointing that you
cant get to the battery even
though you can remove the
backplate. This is where the
SIM and memory card slots
are found
Solid build
The general design of the
Xperia SP is solid but not at
all chunky
High resolution screen
The well-sized, high resolution (720p)
screen is of good quality and is ideal for
multimedia use, as you would expect of
a Sony handset
89
Review
Fast maths
A small applet calculator can be popped up
at any time
Music
Sonys Walkman app boosts the Android one
with extra features
Video
The Sony Bravia Engine 2 technology helps
video look outstanding
something were happy about, but it is doubly
irritating here because the Xperia SPs chassis is
not a sealed unit. The backplate is removable and
your SIM and micro SD cards live underneath it.
We still arent blown away by the fact that the
shortcut buttons under the screen are actually
part of the display rather than part of its surround.
This is a theme for Sonys latest handsets, while
the likes of Samsung and HTC have stuck rmly
with dedicated keys. To be fair to Sony theyre
implemented intelligently they rotate when you
turn the phone sideways so they are the right way
up, and they disappear when youre watching video
so that the full screen is available to media. But
much of the time they sit there occupying screen
space that could be given over to whatever you are
working on or with.
Theres another factor that will either endear you
or turn you away from this handset and that is the
opaque plastic belt that sits around the bottom of
the phone. It can be set to light up to tell you about
missed calls or unread texts, to pulse as an alarm,
and even to pulse when you are playing music. We
disabled it pretty quickly.
However, all these things noted, there is a lot to
like about the Xperia SP. Its general build is very
good. It is solid and incorporates an aluminium
frame that helps keep it rigid and unexing under
the hands. Theres NFC built in and you can access
HDMI via the micro USB cable if you buy a lead, as
MHL is supported.
The main camera is an eight-megapixel unit with
a dedicated button on the side. Theres a neat
Superior Auto settings mode that does really well
at guessing scene modes and settings, though
oddly its maximum capability is seven megapixels.
Images are pretty good, and if anything the key
disappointment with photography is that the front
camera is just a VGA unit.
The 1.7GHz dual-core
processor
supported by 1GB
of RAM is pretty
good fare for a
handset at this
price, and the
Xperia SP zips along
nicely. It is a pity that
the headline 8GB of
memory translates
into just a shade over
5GB thats actually
free, but micro SD card
memory is not
expensive so you can
easily boost your
storage capacity.
The screen is a good size at 4.6 inches and it
sports 1,280 x 720 pixels. Sonys Bravia Engine 2
technology helps with clarity and brightness, and
overall it is a pleasure to use.
The Xperia SP runs on Android 4.1 and Sony has
done a skinning job and put lots of extra apps onto
the phone. Not everyone will like the
overabundance of Sony apps whose purpose is
nothing more ambitious than to sell you stuff, but if
you are into the Sony ecosystem then youll like
whats here.
More interesting to the general user is likely to
be SmartConnect you can use this to tell the
phone to launch a specic app when you attach an
accessory. And we also really like Small Apps.
Essentially these are little pop-up applets
you can get to sit on top of whatever
else you are doing. Theres a
calculator, timer, note-taker
and voice recorder and
the potential for more
from Google Play.
An attractive addition to the
ever expanding Xperia range.
If youre tied to the Sony eco-
system theres much to like
Verdict
Samsung
Galaxy S III
Mini
issue20
Samsung
Galaxy S4
issue026
Sony Xperia SP
Value for money
A well-specced device for the mid-range
price point
Features
Some nice goodies on board help make
it a solid all-rounder
Design
Thin and elegant, but with an excessive
flashing LED
Performance
A nippy performer that will be good
for most tasks
Processor...................................1.7GHz dual-core Qualcomm S4
Memory.......................................1GB RAM, 8GB storage
Dimensions..............................130.6 x 67.1 x 9.98mm
Weight..........................................155g
Display resolution...............1,280 x 720
technical specs
Price 349
More information
www.sonymobile.com/gb
information
Sony
Xperia SP
Battery life
The battery
does well and
will get you
through a day
with little
problem
Websites
A relatively large screen, measured at four
inches, certainly helps viewing
good
for...
90
Reviews
good
ZTE
Blade III
The ZTE Blade III is a low-cost
handset with some attractive
features that include good
hardware design and a
reasonably sized screen
Shooting
Theres no front camera, but a ve-
megapixel camera is on the back
Getting lippy
A rubbery lip on the front of the phone gives
it a distinctive look.
Decent display
At four inches, the screen is a good
size for websites and video viewing
Unlock screen
A clever unlock screen lets you get quickly to
six different apps
Memory
Theres just 2.5GB of usable memory, but you can
add a micro SD card to augment this
Quick app access
There is a clever lockscreen that gives quick
access to six key apps
Music
A large micro SD card is a good place to store
your growing music library
DLNA
Theres an app built in for DLNA so sharing
will be a piece of cake
Theres better to be had for a
little more money, but this is
a solid choice for the true low-
end market
Verdict
Sony
Xperia J
issue022 issue022
Huawei
Ascend
G330
ZTE Blade III
Value for money
Not a bad handset for those working
on a budget
Features
Nice lockscreen, but otherwise a fairly
basic handset
Design
Solid and attractive, with decent build
quality to boot
Performance
Acceptable for simple tasks, but big
webpages can slow it down
Price 69.99
More information
www.ztedevices.com
Supplied by
www.virginmobile.com
information
ZTE
Blade III
Battery life
Battery life is average
so be prepared for a
mid-afternoon top up
Z
TE started its life in the UK as a maker of
phones that others rebadged in their own
name. It has had a strong relationship with
Orange, for example, having produced the San
Francisco a few years ago arguably the rst
phone that proved you could make good-quality
Android-based phones at budget prices.
ZTE now does its own thing and makes phones
available in its own name the Blade III is another
low-cost offering and Virgin Mobile has it for
69.99 on pay as you go, plus another 10 for a
top up. Thats not a lot of money for a smartphone,
and there is a fair amount of competition hovering
around the price so ZTE has its work cut out to
make its place.
At rst glance the Blade III looks like a more
expensive handset than it actually is. The build is
neat and tidy, and a raised lip at the bottom edge
thats rubberised like the backplate, rather than
shiny plastic like the rest of the front, catches the
eye. The phone feels sturdy too.
We tried to bend and bow it
in our hands and it resisted
very well.
On board memory runs
to 4GB but checking on
whats actually available to
be used told us that youve
only got 2.5GB to play with.
You are most likely going to
need a micro SD card,
whose slot sits securely
under the backplate, but
remember you wont be
able to put your
applications onto this.
The single-core 1GHz
processor and its
supporting 512MB of RAM
are distinctly low, but not
a surprise for a phone
sitting in this price range.
While they are adequate,
there is a certain,
inevitable lag as you move
around and within apps.
Youll have a noticeable
wait for sizeable, complex
webpages to resolve
themselves. This isnt a
really big issue, though,
and it is nothing more or
less than youll nd with
91
Review
Processor...................................1.0GHz
Memory.......................................4GB storage
Dimensions..............................120.5 x 63.5 x 10.85mm
Weight..........................................133g
Display size...............................Four-inch
Display resolution...............800 x 480
technical specs
other handsets that hover around this price. The
camera is a ve megapixel ashless unit. Dont
expect it to cope well in situations where there is a
lot of contrast or low light, but for general snaps it
is ne. You will, though, need to practice the
steady hands technique as there is a bit of shutter
lag, and this will hinder your ability to shoot moving
subjects too. Theres no front-facing camera.
ZTE equips the Blade III with Android 4.0 a little
way behind the leading edge but perfectly
adequate and at least
ensures full consistency
in design with some of
the best apps around.
ZTE beefs things up a
little with a few software additions of its own. It
builds in the TouchPal keyboard for example,
which, with its Swype-like ability to type words
simply by sliding your thumb will please some
people. It is easily disabled if you dont want it and
prefer the standard Android keyboard.
Where ZTE has worked to raise the game of the
Blade III is in the screen and user interface. The
customised screen lock is a really neat little
feature. It looks very appealing, which is
always a plus point, and you can
open the handset into any of
six different applications or
the home screen.
The screen measures four
inches across the diagonal,
hitting the sweet spot thats
so often overlooked. With 800
x 480 pixels on offer the
resolution isnt fantastic, and
viewing angles arent great
either, but you can read
webpages without too much
hassle, video looks okay (so
long as you steer clear of HD
quality), and yet the phone is
not too large to carry around or
too difcult to use one-handed
if you are a smaller person.
So, thats the ZTE Blade III. It
is a fair handset for its price,
and the fact that ZTE has paid
attention to the screen size
and produced a reasonably
attractive hardware design are
both points in its favour. For not
too much more money you can
get a signicant step up in
specs and performance, and
wed generally recommend
taking that approach. If you are
on a tight budget though it is
well worth a look.
It looks very appealing, which is
always a plus point
better than worse than better than
92
Review
Prestigio MultiPhone
4500 Duo
Dual-core, dual-SIM, a large screen and a budget price.
Is the 4500 Duo the best value Android phone to date?
C
heap Android devices have had a terrible
reputation over the years, and for the most
part it has been a well deserved one. Yet if
youre willing to shop around you can nd budget
devices that do represent a real bargain. The
Prestigio MultiPhone 4500 is the perfect example:
available SIM-free for just 179 the device sports a
4.5-inch IPS display with respectable 244ppi
resolution, a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of
RAM, an eight-megapixel camera, dual-SIM slots,
and it runs a near stock version of Jelly Bean. What
more could you ask for?
Inevitably there are a few trade-offs that have
been made to meet the price point, but not as
many as you might expect. The phone is entirely
built from a lightweight plastic (with Gorilla Glass
protecting the screen). It doesnt feel premium, of
course, but its quite tidy and feels solid. The bezel
around the screen is larger than were seeing
further up the chain, and, combined with the air
gap between the glass and the display panel,
cause the screen to shrink into the device
somewhat. The screen could also be brighter, and
is poor in outdoor conditions.
The phone itself is very responsive, thanks in
part to the lack of bloatware. It wont be
challenging the S4 on speed, though we found
swiping and scrolling to be smooth and generally
lag-free. Large websites did feel like they were
really pushing the hardware, but most apps and
casual games were ne. Unlike many budget
handsets, you wont need to make compromises
on how you use this device.
The eight-megapixel camera shoots okay snaps
in good light, which reveal themselves to have very
heavy noise reduction when viewed large. This
smudges almost all of the detail in the shots.
The 4500 supports two SIMs. Theyre accessed
through the difcult to remove backplate. They are
both normal-sized SIMs, which may be problematic
for anyone who has since moved to a micro SIM,
and only one of the SIMs can support 3G,
essentially resigning the other to voice only. The
dual-SIM capability has been implemented in the
software logically, and there are a few other
welcome tweaks including support for audio
proles and the ability to have the phone turn on
and off at set times. You also get a full version of
MobiSystems OfceSuite among a small amount
of added apps and software.
Battery life isnt great. Theres a CPU throttling
mode to try and extend it, and its turned on by
default, which we found a little worrying. Theres
also a bonus in the box in the form of a smart
leather case. Unfortunately the t is so tight its
almost impossible to remove the phone in time to
answer a call.
Yet quibbles aside, the MultiPhone really
impresses. Its well specced, responsive and
unencumbered by bloat. Tremendous value.
The 4500 Duo is an
impressive phone that
punches well above its weight.
A great value device
Verdict
Prestigio MultiPhone 4500 Duo
Value for money
Better than most budget-minded devices, and
backed by a two-year warranty
Features
Nothing really unique or innovative, this
is a very stock Android device
Design
Build is plastic, bezel is large, but nicely
sized for the hand
Performance
Not a powerhouse, but scrolling is lag-
free. Battery life is only middling
Operating system...............Android 4.1.1
Processor...................................ARM Cortex A9 dual-
core 1.2GHz
Memory.......................................1GB RAM
Dimensions..............................135 x 69 x 9.6mm
Weight..........................................158g
Display resolution...............540 x 960 pixels
technical specs
Price 179
More information
www.prestigio.com
information
Prestigio MultiPhone
4500 Duo
Battery life
With a little care
the battery should
get you through a
day, but dont rule
out a late afternoon
top up
Vanilla
Android
The device runs Android
4.1.1 out of the box in a
mostly Vanilla form. A few
minor tweaks here and
there are well thought out
and add to the
experience rather than
detract from it
Dual-SIM
Dual-SIM slots are on
board. They are
normal-sized SIMs located
beneath the battery. The
micro SD slot is also found
in the same place
Large bezel
The bezel around the
edges of the screen is
quite large, but overall the
design of the MultiPhone
is more than passable
issue022
HTC
One SV
Huawei
Ascend
G330
issue022
93
Review
Alcatel One
Touch 916 Smart
An Android phone with BlackBerry-style keyboard
W
ith the OneTouch 916 Alcatel is targeting
the band of youngsters who lapped up
BlackBerry devices on budget PAYG deals
just a couple of years ago. Its a rare form factor for
Android, and comes in at just 60.
You will be aware, though, that at this price you
are looking at a low level of specs. And youll be
working with a small screen and a landscape
format that Android was not built to accommodate.
The general build of the One Touch 916 Smart is
quite good. Its a reasonably solid, if slightly thick
phone, that feels neat in the hand. It has a rubbery
back that helps with grip and thats important if
you intend to prod at its keys one-handed.
Those budget- level specs are apparent in the
appearance of Android 2.3 and a very lowly
650MHz processor. The phone feels slow in the
hands, more akin to a feature phone than a
smartphone. Theres just 150MB of user storage
and Alcatel provides a 2GB card, which may be
enough for the target audience.
The 3.2-megapixel back camera isnt much to
write home about, good for only low-res Facebook
shots at best. Most handily you can use its ash as
a torch via a dedicated button on the keyboard. The
screen measures 2.6 inches across the diagonal
and it is only 1.5 inches tall with a pixel count of
320 x 240. Android is ill-suited to either this format
or size and even common tasks like reading text
messages or webpages becomes frustrating. In a
throwback to yesteryear Alcatel has chosen to
integrate an optical touchpad beneath the screen
and build two giant call and end buttons to aid
user usability.
Saving the bacon of this handset is a pretty
fantastic keyboard. The keys are well made, each
one separated from the other by a rounded design
and are thus easy to nd by touch. The keys feel
great under the ngers and even click slightly.
Symbols are accessed via a Fn key, and theres a
whole barrage of smilies on hand. Bearing in mind
that this is a phone for the messaging fan, you can
hit a key on the bottom row of the keyboard to call
up the pre-installed WhatsApp.
The OneTouch 916 Smart is a barebones
handset that offers little improvement over a
three-year-old BlackBerry; the low specs reduce
the benet that the vastly superior OS offers. Wed
recommend an all-touch device with something
like SwiftKey over it every time, but if you are
wedded to the physical keyboard then the one on
offer here is surprisingly good.
Its nice to have a different
form factor, but the device
is only really suitable for the
texter on a very tight budget
Verdict
N/A N/A
Alcatel One Touch 916 Smart
Value for money
Very cheap, but you can get much better for
not a lot more
Features
The keyboard is surprisingly good but
other features are minimal
Design
Solid chassis, nice keyboard, but the
screen is really poor
Performance
The phone is slow, closer to what you
would expect from a feature phone
Processor...................................650Mhz
Memory.......................................150MB storage
Dimensions..............................117 x 64.8 x 11.6mm
Weight..........................................126g
Display resolution...............320 x 240
technical specs
Price 59.99
More information
www.alcatelonetouch.com/uk
information
Alcatel One Touch
916 Smart
Battery life
The battery
performs well,
lasting a day or
more on a
single charge
Old Android
Android 2.3 is a real blast
from the past, and you
shouldnt expect the phone
to get updated, ever
Quality
Qwerty
The well-made keyboard
is a real plus point given
that this is a device
designed to be used
almost exclusively for
messaging functions
Small, low
resolution
screen
The screen is small and its
resolution low, so that you
cant see very much at one
time. The Android user
interface is not built for
landscape use either
94
Accessories
I
f youre on the hunt for a speaker
you can pack away when needed,
then the Parrot Zikmu Solo is
denitely not going to be for you. This
behemoth piece of equipment blends
the look of a sculpture with a powerful
speaker in a slightly unusual package.
The bottom of the speaker
consists of a plastic chassis that
holds a 40W woofer that spirals up
towards the mesh covered drivers
and speakers located at the top half
of the unit. Due to its size it weighs a
lot and the lack of handles means its
a bit of a pain to move around. Once
youve placed it in a desired spot, you
cant criticise the way the speaker
looks and it really is an elegant piece
of kit for your living room.
Tilting the speaker on to its side will
reveal a selection of ports and audio
jacks for you to use. The ports are
slightly raised, meaning when placed
on its base, the wires wont be
trapped underneath. As well as
including the familiar 3.5mm audio
jack and a digital optical input port,
theres also an Ethernet port that
enables you to connect the Zikmu to
your home network. Theres also the
ability to wirelessly connect to the
Zikmu for people who want to stream
their tunes directly.
After setting up the speaker,
venture on to the Google Play store
and take a look at the range of
compatible apps available to use on
the speaker. Most of these apps help
perfect audio settings, but a couple
are great tools to make your music
94
Its hard to fault the Zikmu,
but the price will put off
some consumers
Performance
Design
Value
specification
More information
www.parrot.com/zikmu-solo/uk
Price 699.99/$999.99
verdict
Accessories
streaming a lot clearer. The
combination of speakers and drivers
involved here means the Zikmu Solo
is a pitch perfect unit whose size
lends itself well to those who like their
music loud. Thanks to the range of
apps, the sound can be customised
to your exact specications, but
thats something youd expect from
something of this price. During our
testing period, we struggled to nd a
fault with the Zikmu in this area and it
was a real pleasure to use.
Parrot
Zikmu Solo
Can this stylish speaker boast impressive sound
to match its wallet-busting price tag?
Sleek design
The Zikmu Solo has an impressive look going
for it. The single mesh speaker at the top of
the unit also stands out impressively, even if
the ports located at the bottom of the Solo
could have been better placed.
The price is right
Arguably the biggest turn off for perspective
buyers will be the price. At almost 700 the
unit itself isnt cheap. Theres no denying you
can get the same sized units for cheaper,
but the sound quality is hard to match.
Sound quality
The combination of drivers, tweeters and the
included woofer mean that the Zikmu Solo is
a powerful unit when it comes to sound. Its
large size means the sound its capable can
really ll out a room.
The sound can
be customised
to your exact
specications
95
A
c
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e
s
s
o
r
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s
95
Despite the purple colour not being to everyones taste, the Vesto is a hard case
with a textured leather lining in the style of a snake print specically built for the
Samsung Galaxy S3. Its a good t around the back of the device and all ports have
been carefully cut out and catered for. To stop any of the leather being ripped at the
edges, a thin black bezel has been implemented which helps taper the leather in
around all the edges. Scuffs and scratches dont really show on the leather lining,
but a drop from a small distance can leave white marks over the case itself.
The StreamPort Universal is a brilliant wireless solution for
people who want to stream their music via a hi- or TV
system. By pairing your smartphone with the StreamPort over
Bluetooth or NFC, you can send your les directly over to be
played, while also making sure the StreamPort is connected to
your hi- or TV via the 3.5mm audio jack or RCA input.
What makes the StreamPort a real standout performer
compared to similar units, is with the speed it transfers music
across. After selecting a playlist or individual song, it takes all
but a few seconds to hear it played through your hi-. For the
price you pay, this is a really helpful piece of kit.
A tough case with a stylish leather nish
Simple streaming solution for
your phone and tablet
Vesto Leather
Texture Case
StreamPort
Universal
Price 149.99/$199.99
More information www.jabra.com
You cant help but have a giggle at the shoe design of
the Jabra SOLEMATE, but we applaud them for the
solid structure of the speaker itself. Either side of the
shoe design are thick meshes which house a
powerful subwoofer and dual tweeters which
enhance the impressive sound quality well.
Although marketed as a portable speaker, its a
little too big to just slip into your bag when out and
about, but its fairly light which is a bonus. Connecting
to the unit is also easy thanks to the Bluetooth
support, 3.5mm audio cable or USB and all the
necessary cables are provided for you out of the box.
Jabras SOLEMATE promises
unusual design and big sound
Price 39.99/$TBC
More information www.bayanaudio.com
Jabra SOLEMATE
A
c
c
e
s
s
o
r
i
e
s
It takes all but a
few seconds to
hear it played
through your hi-
96
Accessories
96
Accessories
EDITORS
CHOICE
Essential
S4 accessories
Galaxy S4 Case
Compatible Charging Dock
Price 14.95/$22.99
More information www.mobilefun.co.uk
Not only is this charging dock small enough to carry around with you
whenever you need it, its also compatible with most thin cases which
is a great addition. Attaching the phone to the dock is easy and you
can then attach the dock to your PC or Mac for charging via the micro
USB port at the rear. Charging is fairly quick for something of its size
and you can expect a full charge to take just under two hours.
Samsung
Universal
Vehicle Dock
Price 24.95/$37.99
More information www.mobilefun.co.uk
The entire frame of this vehicle dock is made of
plastic, but it does feel sturdy. The suction cup
makes sure the dock is secure to your dashboard
and the arm is extendable to suit your needs. It can
be a bit stiff to move the dock and the phone holder
itself is a bit ddly, but if you can look past this, this
dock is denitely worth checking out.
Impact Shield
Price 19.99/$34.99
More information www.tech21.uk.com
Impact Shield is a thin screen shield that can help protect your phone from
scratches and cracks. The shield itself is easy to apply to the screen and the
size ts the S4 perfectly. After applying it you may nd a few air bubbles
appearing, but these are easy to get rid of with a bit of force. Protection is
surprisingly good for something thats so thin and theres no hindrance at all
when trying to use the screen while the shield is applied.
If youve been lucky enough to get your hands on a Samsung Galaxy S4 then youll
want to kit it out with some of the latest and greatest accessories. Heres a start
97
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97
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Otterbox
Commuter
Price TBC/$34.95
More information www.otterbox.com
Otterbox is renowned for making tough cases that can withstand all
manners of bumps and drops. The Commuter series follows this
trend well by offering a secure case for your device. The plastic
exterior has a soft lining on the inside of it, and the device slots in
well with no room for it to fall out by accident. All ports are well
catered for, but the case itself is a bit bulky to be carried around in
your pocket.
Kensington EVAP
Price 19.99/$19.99
More information www.kensington.com
If youve accidentally dropped your S4 in some water, then the EVAP might
be your best bet at trying to recover it. The EVAP contains a sealable
pouch in which you place your phone into to dry out, as well as a small
roller that is used to get moisture out from the corners of your screen.
Theres also a cloth to wipe off any excess uid, if necessary. This is a
handy piece of kit to have around in case of emergency.
Leather
Style case
Price 24.95/$33.95
More information www.proporta.co.uk
If youre looking for a no frills case that gets the
job done, then look no further than the Leather
Style Case from Proporta. The S4 ts in well
and the ap that covers the screen adds a
decent layer of protection. Theres no
protection for the sides of the device when
using the case, but both the front and back are
well covered. If youre looking for a slim case to
carry around, this wont be a suitable choice,
but for anyone who wants a decent case at a
decent price, this is a great choice.
Quiksilver
Hard Shell
Price 14.95/$19.95
More information www.proporta.co.uk
Despite Quiksilver cases usually sporting a more colourful design, this case takes
a different approach. The case itself feels good in the hand and although its made
of plastic, it has a nice rubberised feeling to it. It can be a squeeze getting the S4
in to the case at rst and the hard exterior means its difcult to get the phone
back out again.
NEXT
MONTH
11 July
25
INSTANT
UPGRADES
The easy way to power up
your Android phone
THE BEST
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Issue 27
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First look at new Galaxy and
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Your amazing Android snaps
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Taken a great shot with your Android
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From Tristan Sheppard
Used Nexus 4
From Suzanne Moore
Used Samsung Galaxy Note II
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Used Nexus 4
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Used Samsung Galaxy S II

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