Apps You Shouldn’t Miss for Your Smartphones and Tablets [Android]

Over the years, we find the gadgets that could cater to our needs. And after that, we eventually find the apps that could help us get through with our day-to-day activities. We may change our handsets for whatever reason—at best, for an upgrade; at worse, getting broken or pilfered—but there's one thing that almost always remains: the apps that we can't live without.

Notice that whatever happens, the apps you installed on your previous trusty smartphones and tablets are still loaded to the new ones even if some of them drains your battery that rendered you having your reliable portable charger. That's because you find them essential that no matter what, you're going to free up some space just to have them installed once and for all. Did you now have your own list? Now, I'd be glad to share mine in order for you to try them. See the list of apps you shouldn't live without below:

#1: Kii Keyboard

We all know that typing on our gadgets' screen—especially on tablets—is not an easy thing. We have to get used to tapping the right keys, or else we'll abuse the backspace ceaselessly. Flat out; it's a bummer, especially if we are used to typing with our thumbs. Do you somehow envy the iPad Air's splitting keyboard? Good thing there's a key for Android tablets to make all typing on keyboard easy-peasy. The Kii Keyboard app can actually split your tablets virtual keyboard in two. It has the same features of a normal Android keyboard like Swype and prediction, and you can also dress your keyboard with themes to your liking as it supports Go Keyboard. [Free on Android]

#2: Google Drive

Yes, Android phones are being loved because their tendency to expand through their microSD slot, but let's face it. Sharing would be a lot easier if we could just access it from the cloud. We can use our phones and tablets as a flash drive as we connect a USB data cable for sharing, but sharing wirelessly is inarguably better. Not to mention I remember one time when I have to almost tear our house apart looking for a cable. And so, let's make use of Google's another brainchild: the Google Drive. Not only you can store your files on the cloud, but you can also access them anytime, anywhere. Do you want to access a file later but you won't be able to connect to the cloud? Well, you can actually make a file available offline so you can view it. And that's not all. You can also edit the file right off the bat with collaborators. Fill in the free 15 GB space if you can! [Free on Android]

#3: Tablified Market – Tablet Apps

Having a tablet is great. The wider the screen, the more convenience it brings. But if you can't get a good app worthy of the screen, then what good is it now? That is why you're going to need Tablified Market app installed on your tablet. This app narrows down and organizes the list of apps compatible to your device so you won't have to wonder if it fits your tablet or not. [Free on Android]

So, aren't these apps worthy to be included on your apps-shouldn't-live-without list? Download them now on your smartphones and tablets and start tapping away!

Speaking of Awesome Speakers

Are you a certified audiophile? Hey! Are you? Do you hear me? Hey, why don’t y—I don’t need to ask that, do I? Because the fact that you don’t hear me suffices to say that you are so engrossed with music. It’s even evident with your bobbing head and thumping fingers.

Even if you just have your smartphones with you, just pair it up with a pair of hi-fi mobile earphones, and you are ready to rock and forget the world. But if you don’t want to rock the party alone, and if you want to share it with your rocking close circle, then having a good speaker  would definitely cross your mind… Do you have one in mind already? No? Then run on the list so you can decide which one to buy! And let the music enthusiast within you live!

#1: Damson Jet

At first look, they just look like coke in cans. But with the Hi-Fi sound system the Damson Jet offers, and as it claims: “world’s first wireless real stereo speakers”, you’ll definitely sip from it to the last drop! With a size of 75 x 58mm, you can’t just belittle it with its capabilities of being a loudspeaker. Just move it around to change how the bass sounds. And did I say that it is wireless? It streams through Bluetooth and can even stream through the NFC tech. How cool is that? In this way, you can even associate your smartphones with it. Unfortunately, you have to take iPhone out of the list. [£149.99]

#2: Sonos Play:1

If you want to experience an awesome audio action, then you could also choose Sonos Play:1 as it has a reputation for multi room audio magic. How does audio magic happen, you ask? Well, it lets you stream tracks over your network through either the Sonos Android or iOS app. What marvel it is indeed! It works even with spotify so you can spin playlists from your Windows Media or iTunes libraries with no hassle at all. And I can’t stress this enough; all people who are certified audiophiles will definitely going to dig this! [£169]

#3: Pure Jongo S3

And if you are looking for a speaker that is neatly designed, Pure Jongo 3 will give you the purest definition of a well designed tech. For such a small and affordable speaker, it can offer a multi room audio experience and the benefit of being a completely portable gadget. Need I stress that this nifty piece is a Hi-Fi one? But, here’s the catch: Multi room is only available through Pure Connect app. And, if I may add, you may find tracks with a bit poor quality—would you find it forgiving? [£169]

Did these hot tech gadgets suffice your tastes? Huh? Did it? Hello? Oh, not again. Well I hope these suggestions helped you on your search for a speaker to rock the party!

Do You Need to Have Password Manager Apps? [Android]

A lot of people actually think that they don’t need to have password manager apps. Like, what’s it really for? As they justify, they keep their passwords to themselves, and their accounts’ credentials are fairly between them and their computers or gadgets alone. Some may even say that they don’t have to have one because they only use one password for all. Why would you waste a space to manage them anyway? Point taken, but actually, you do need to have password manager apps. How so? If you could just scout on your Chrome’s settings, then you might be surprised that anyone who uses your computer can actually get all your credentials in a jiffy. Just key in “chrome://settings/passwords” and say hello hackers.

A protective back case cover can protect your phone from all the back scuffs, sudden bumps, and blows. What protects all the information hidden within your phone? Have you decided to get a password manager app? Choose from the list below:

1. PasswdSafe App

This app, as what its name implies, sees to it that your passwords are safe by storing each of it on a single password database that is called “safe”. But if you are managing multiple accounts—separating personal life from work—creating multiple databases would be ideal. All of your accounts’ credentials would then be banked in the safe, and then you will be required to provide a master password to encrypt and lock all your accounts’ passwords all at once—excluding your master password from the database, of course. And since we've been talking about databases, you would then be required to fill-in every input field in order to keep your credentials stored and safe. [Free on Android]

2. Password Genie App 

Now, if you are looking for more than just a safe for your password, your wish is Password Genie app’s command. It can actually serve as an electronic wallet—saving almost everything on your smartphone conveniently as you can store logins, passwords, insurance info, credit card numbers, and the list goes on. And like that of PasswdSafe App, you can access all the stored values on Password Genie App in just a few taps. Since we aren't stuck in one device when we access our accounts, syncing all the data with all your gadgets was made pretty easy with this app. You can download this app for free, but apparently it’s only available for a 30-day free trial. You can purchase this app by paying $5.99 per year if you wish to continue after the trial has ended. I guess it’s not bad at all to keep your accounts secured and safe. [Free on Android (on 30-day free trial)]

3. LastPass App 

Let’s give it up for the last one (but not the least) on the list: LastPass App. As we all know, a lot of our social accounts now require a strong password—as much as possible, passwords shouldn't be words from dictionaries. Neither should you name them on people close to you like your son or daughter. More often than not, passwords are required to have a capital letter, a number, and a special character in order to create a password that would probably be free from hacks. So, can you keep all of them in mind especially if you have multiple accounts? Let the LastPass app organize them for you. This app is available for free yet it has a broad base of password-management features. To access the app fully, you can actually upgrade to the premium version. Its key features include a built-in browser that automatically fills your login information on your saved LastPass sites, secure password generator, and the ability to attach images and audio recordings to Secure Notes. Sadly, it only has 14-day free trial. But the good thing is that you just have to pay $1 per month. [Free on Android (on 14-day free trial)]

Are you now compelled to get one? Might as well try one of the apps from the list!

Still Remember These Tech Items?

Things come and go; the new replaces the old. This trend is so prevalent, and it’s just but normal. There will come a time when something else will turn another outdated. Simply, it’s how things are supposed to be. Especially now in the digital age, technology revamps itself in just a blink of an eye. Take the iPhone 5 for example; it just seems like some time when it was released, but now, it was already discontinued and replaced by its successors, the 5S and the 5C. If you are to take a look back, you’ll realize that this wasn’t the case in the past. Back then, things seem to last for quite a long time, and these are just some of the old-school technologies that became a mainstay in our lives.

Typewriter.

A typewriter is once an author’s best friend. The mere simplicity of the contraption makes it seem like an empty vessel for ideas and inspiration to come around. However, ever since computers came into the picture with their keyboards, the limelight was stolen from the renowned typewriters. But they are still quite fun to collect though.

Floppy Disks.

Now, there’s cloud, but before that, there were external hard drives, SD cards, CDs, and not to mention, floppy disks. Back in the days, I remember that we were required to secure our own floppy disk drive to save our works on computer class. Just place the sticker to the label, write your name on it, and you’re done. Whatever you’re working on will be stored in that thin plastic material. But as it turns out, people yearned for something smaller that can contain more data, and so the floppy disk slowly lost its luster.

Polaroid Camera.

I still recall that I always wanted to have a Polaroid camera, but it never have come true. I always wanted to have a device that can do everything from the actual snapping of the photo, developing, and ultimately, to the printing of an instant picture in just a matter of seconds. Although it had reigned as a mainstay gadget for almost 50 years, I never had a chance to get one of those.

Cassette players and tapes.

Before CDs encroached the music industry, cassette tapes were the preferred medium to store music. The quality of music then was good enough; you get to hear everything unadulterated. But now, it’s all about the digital enhancements and whatnot. Ah, it’s nice to recall the good times.

Beepers.

With the ubiquitous smartphones being the essential devices of the century, it’s such a wonder why other people still hang on to beepers. Before, pagers are thought to be seen as a status symbol. If you have one, you’re probably a super important person like surgeon or a CEO. As of now, there are still a number of people who carry a beeper with them to stay connected to the world wherever they are.

Technology is really something, eh? Now, what’s in your hands may be the best in the world, and tomorrow, it will just be an old, useless piece of plastic and metal. Well, we have to face it; life and all that has to do with it is already fast-paced. Though sometimes, it’s fun to look back and be reminded of the technologies that we all loved for old times’ sake.

Is Your Selfie Worth Posting?

To start with, I know we all have our own freedom. We do most of the things with art to have its meaning. And as we all know, art doesn’t just stop there. Art is being established if we evoke questions to people who see the art. The viewers are the critics. They may find it pretty or pretty odd, but I guess the trite “Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder” should be “Beauty lies in the hand of who created it.” After all, why would you even make something that does no good at all?

And as we have freedom, we also have limitations. In this digital age, it’s no longer news for one to be inclined in social networking sites. Some even have multiple social accounts that they maintain each and every day—talk about addictiveness. To keep it alive, they post almost anything interesting that happens or could happen to them. And these are life events that could be expressed via pictures, videos, or statuses. But now, let the photos be the topic.

Most of us—if not all—are relying more on their smartphones rather than real cameras for snagging out photos since they are outright handy. Plus, a lot of people today are now carrying phones that come with a whopping number of megapixels that can be associated with apps to perfect the snapshot. Who wouldn’t use them? It’s handy and now even better. They even call their selves a “Phoneographer”, and maybe you don’t even know that you belong in that circle as well. They might not be a professional one, but with the help of the right tools, they can have one of the priceless photos that are worth keeping on a frame and the memory lane—and yes, worth posting on their social sites. But the question is: is your selfie worth posting?

Check out these few tips for great selfies:

#1: Don’t Choose a Background with a Bad Lighting

Seriously, could you even see yourself in the picture? Where is the subject, is it the dark background or… is that you in… somewhere there? We take picture so we have something to look after; not to spend time thinking of who was in the picture or is it just a silhouette of, at worse, a ghost. Remember, lighting can make or break a picture. It’s better to avoid using the LED flash of your camera phone and just use soft lighting. Or sometimes, people snag a selfie with a light source behind them. Find a better lighting if you don’t want to appear washed out by your background.

  

#2: Hasn’t Anyone Shot the Duckface?

In blogosphere, this is one of the things netizens despise. Stop pulling out a Duckface or they’ll definitely shoot you with bashing. Haters gonna hate? Yeah, they’ll hate you forever. For some reasons, this pouty mouth craze seems to never get old. A lot of people are looking forward to its forgetfulness, though. Why not just snag a selfie with a decent smile and show your pearls to brighten up one’s day?

#3: The Bathroom-slash-Photobooth

And thank you for that non-duckface smile. We really appreciate it. Nice lighting as well, by the way. We could clearly see the one peeing behind you. Once and for all, cut out the bathroom photobooths. Don’t make the world your whole photobooth either. Not to say that you shouldn’t take a picture at all, but it definitely won’t hurt to find a nice place where you could take a shot of your selfie—before anyone shoots you. Or you could at least edit and crop the background. Just do with it what you will, provided that you have considered every detail of the background.

There exists a word photo-holic—and that I can’t deny. But before you connect your USB data cable to your phone and start uploading, check each photo first so you won’t be embarrassed in the long run. And I’m sure you can garner more likes than hates with that. Have a happy selfie!

Kit Yourself Out on a Budget with these Smartphone Apps

Have you experienced a situation where in you almost popped your eyes out because of the list of expenses blaring because of your phone bill? And I just hope you were not shaking as you pull yourself together just to have each penny paid.

But in this digital life, it is but important for one person to utilize their personal smartphones in order to accomplish day-to-day tasks. As we all know—and perhaps we all claim—smartphones have become one of our necessities. Who wouldn’t consider these nifty gadgets as needs? Talk about what they can do; they do not just serve as means of being socially connected, we can even use them to replace household items if we associate them with the right tools.

Now, going back to cell phone bills, if you are finding ways to cut down your smartphone expenses, then you came to the right place. Here are some messaging apps that could help you kit yourself out on a budget to prevent the eye-widening, heart-shattering cell phone bills:

#1: Google Hangouts

If you think that Google Hangouts would only be available to Android phones, then think again. Google Hangouts is also available to that of iOS devices, too. If you have your Gmail account already with you, then you can now “abuse” all the features it offers such as chatting, audio and video calling at no cost at all with its application, Google Hangouts. If you don’t have one yet; make one. Here in this app, you can have a one-on-one chat or have a group chat with your close circle with a maximum of ten people at a time.

#2: WhatsApp

 

If you are somewhat a person who has a FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), and are always itching to know what’s up with your friends, then you can get in touch with them by asking “what’s up?” with the use of WhatsApp! Unlike Twitter, you don’t have to mention your friend just to initiate a conversation. Just kick off a chat with them directly through the app and get those fingers busy. You can even use it as your default text messaging app in case you are miffed with the idea of switching from a messaging app to another.

#3: Skype

Who else haven’t heard of Skype? It has been crazed about since it first rolled in the online world. Webcam application for video chatting was well used that time. That’s why people couldn’t get enough of it now that it already rolls as a mobile app to their handheld devices. As what a Skype can do on desktops, it allows us to chat, make an audio and video call, and send files all for free so long as we are connected to Wi-Fi.

#4: Hike

Another app that could slash your phone costs is Hike. Don’t worry; I assure you that there won’t be a price hike. Hah! Now, like what the previous apps offer, you can chat and call your circle of friends with this neat app all for free. And if your friend couldn’t connect to the internet or is offline, you can message your friend as a free SMS so they could still get in touched with you.

Well, I guess you won’t need much your iPhone wallet or any phone wallet with these apps after all. Hah! Now, you could just chat with all your heart’s content without having mini-heart attacks with your bills. Happy chatting!