Android Magazine Issue 34 - 2014 UK
Android Magazine Issue 34 - 2014 UK
Android Magazine Issue 34 - 2014 UK
40
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Welcome
To issue 34
Welcome
HOW TO
USE THE
QR CODES
TVPlayer
Solar:
Weather
APPS
OUT
APPS
IN
ShopSavvy Free
365 Scores
This month
Ive been using:
Nexus 5
Clash of Clans
Shifu
scanning
1 Get
Open ShopSavvy, hit the Scan a
Barcode button and then hold your
phone over a QR code so that it appears
in the window.
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Contents
Inside issue 34
www.littlegreenrobot.co.uk
CONTENTS
17 Special offer for USA readers 70 Exclusive subscription offer
Launcher
Previews,
news and
speculation
from the
Android world
06 Test drive apps
09 News
The latest announcements
from the world of Android
10 Million Sellers
We get the lowdown on the
popular Tagged app
56
HA
KING
MASTER LASS
20
14 Oculus Rift: the future
of Android gaming?
We take a look at the upcoming
VR gaming headset and how it
will work with Android devices
16 Calendar apps
Replace your built-in
calendar app with something
altogether prettier
18 Messages
Let the world know your
thoughts on everything Android
Hacker
Zne
Explore the limits of
your Android phone
Contents
Inside issue 34
56 Hacking Masterclass
12 great hacks every user must try
Your complete
guide to
Google Play
72 App reviews
86 Reviews
Neon vs Timely
84 Game reviews
94 Accessories
Power up your phone or tablet
with this collection of goodies
92 Acer
Liquid S
1
Is t
h 20
phablis
et up t0o
scratch
?
96 Wireless gadgets
A collection of wireless
products you can pair with
your phone
86 ng
msu
Sa alaxy
G e3
Ac t phone
38 Tutorials
38 Explore Google Play Newsstands
40 View only the apps that you have
paid for
42 Check app permissions
43 Manage your location settings
44 Automate common tasks with
Atooma
46 Set unique screen-savers
48 Print wirelessly from a KitKat
device
50 Droid Support
Budgoen test
34 Android in the
up to speed with
ofce Get
Quickofce
82 Alarm apps
500 Firepaper
Amazon Appstore
Automagic Automation
Camera Awesome
Dominos Pizza
doorbl
doubleTwist
FlightTrack 5
Flipagram
Gravity Screen Pro
HTC Footballfeed
iHeartRadio
iStoryTime Storybook
Library
LIFTTT
Lift Daily Motivation
Locale
MailDroid Pro
MapQuest
NFC Tools
noozy (classic)
PhotoBook in 2 minutes
Photo Sphere
Quip
Ruf
Swipe Panel
Tapmynote
Tasker
Timesheet NFC Add-On
Todoist
Trigger
Tweedle
Wolfram Alpha
WiFiTap WiFi NFC
www.littlegreenrobot.co.uk
Our view
If youve got a
favourite app that
youre waiting to be
updated then the
new beta testing
program is a fantastic way of
getting a sneak peak at whats in
store. There are loads of apps that
can be tested in this way, just
make sure you join in the
community too and report any
bugs or other issues that you
encounter. That way you will help
improve the apps too.
Stay up to date
Catch up with the latest
Android news and gossip
twitter
@lgrobot
Snapchat
Web www.snapchat.com/beta
Snapchat enables you to take a
photo, then add a caption and send
the completed image to a friend. You can add
the Snap to a Snapchat Story that acts as a
narrative and exists for just 24 hours. The idea
of the app is not to create an artistic print but
just to capture a moment that is then
immediately shared and binned.
Beta testers have helped to x a range of
bugs including a x for back-facing ashes on
some phones plus a new feature that allows you
to scroll to and from the Add Friends page.
Nova Launcher
Web www.novalauncher.com/beta
This is a customisable home screen
replacement for Android 4.0 that
features a range of colour themes as well as a wide
choice of icons and a scrollable dock. Speaking of
scrolling, you can enjoy a range of effects such as
Cube and Cardstock in addition to the Innite Scroll
that allows a continuous scroll. Other features
include backup and restore options plus gesture
controls. The Beta site shows an array of added
effects that are veried by the testers involved. In
addition, the designers have discussed a batch of
ideas that are served for possible implementation.
Nova unveiled its KitKat theme in beta form
Dolphin Browser
Sliding Message
Web play.google.com/apps/
Web play.google.com/apps/testing/
testing/mobi.mgeek
com.klinker.android.messaging_
donate/join
Fleksy
Web bit.ly/eksybeta
This app provides an alternative
keyboard option for your Android
phone. Offering an adjustable keyboard size for
tablet users plus multi-lingual support that has
just included French, Arabic, German and Dutch.
It also includes a spacebar vibration slider to aid
typing while you are not looking at the keyboard
itself. The beta community is very active,
currently discussing varying keyboard issues for
new versions plus possible battery concerns,
the possibility of adding Chinese to the language
pack as well as quickly switching between
languages and modifying the app colour
depending on what app it is associated with at
any one time.
Stay up to date
Catch up with the latest
Android news and gossip
twitter
@lgrobot
Developers recruit
from these
forums because they
know that you
must have a measure
of enthusiasm
picked up here of forthcoming beta programs.
Developers quite like recruiting from these forums
because they know that, if youre the sort of person
to frequent these forums, you must have a
measure of enthusiasm in the rst place.
Just search for Google+, create your prole and,
when youre done, click on the Communities option
on your home page. When youre in, enter the word
beta in the search bar and a whole host of beta
programmes will appear, allowing you to investigate
and possibly join.
Google+ is used as a central location for accessing and providing feedback to beta versions of apps
Get in touch!
qa@littlegreenrobot.co.uk
@lgrobot
/littlegreenrobot
Like us on Facebook to
send your comments
Stay up to date
Catch up with the latest
Android news and gossip
@lgrobot
Personalise the
content feed to
your
specication
Get detailed
results using
lters
Tagged
Downloads: 5mil-10mil Developer: Tagged Inc Launched: March 2011
Price: Free Play store rating:
Head of Mobile,
Tagged
What different criteria can Taggeds
users use to search for people in
their area?
Theres a wide variety of ways people
can search for people in their area.
First and foremost you can search by
a specic name, as well as location
and age. Weve also included some
additional lters for users to explore if
they want more specic results. On
top of people in your local area, we
allow our users to make contact with
people all over the world, again we
match them on interests and the
details entered on their prole to
make sure the right people connect
with each other.
How easy is it to build your prole?
Its very simple to build your prole on
the Tagged app just upload a photo
A brief history of
Android
sales
10
2009
8 million
Android ended its rst
full year on sale with
nearly eight million
devices in the hands of
users. It was dwarfed
by the nearly 80 million
Symbian phones sold
in the same year.
2010
Overtakes
Symbian
Just a year later
Android outsold the
now declining Symbian
for the rst time, with
two million devices
more being sold than
Nokias tired OS.
CyanogenMod
shares the same
look and feel as
stock Android, but
is augmented by a
few of its own
exclusive features"
But the main appeal is the OS. CyanogenMod
shares the same look and feel as stock Android, but
is augmented by a few of its own exclusive features
including encrypted text messaging and enhanced
audio playback. It also promises smooth
performance and excellent battery life.
It is perhaps ironic that the rst CM phone should
run 10.2 based on Android 4.3 when one of the
2012
Samsungs
strength
2012 saw Samsung
take a stranglehold on
Android. The Galaxy S III
became the best selling
Android device ever,
and the Note 2 was also
very popular.
Magazine team
Editor Andy Betts
andy.betts@imagine-publishing.co.uk
01202 586254
Contributors
Christian Cawley, David Crookes, Oliver Hill, Steve Jenkins,
Phil King, Shaun McGill, Paul OBrien, Paul Rigby,
Harry Slater, Gavin Thomas, Sandra Vogel
Advertising
Digital or printed media packs are available on request.
Advertising Director Matthew Balch
01202 586437
matthew.balch@imagine-publishing.co.uk
Head of Sales Hang Deretz
01202 586442
hang.deretz@imagine-publishing.co.uk
Senior Account Manager Nick Marrow
01202 586419
nick.marrow@imagine-publishing.co.uk
International
Android Magazine is available for licensing.
Contact the International department to discuss
partnership opportunities.
Head of International Licensing Cathy Blackman
+44 (0) 1202 586401
licensing@imagine-publishing.co.uk
Subscriptions
Head of Subscriptions Gill Lambert
For all subscriptions enquiries
0844 245 6963 (UK)
+44 (0) 1795 414 972 (Overseas)
Email: android@servicehelpline.co.uk
13 issue subscription (UK) 51.90 (CC)
13 issue subscription (Europe) 65
13 issue subscription (ROW) 75
Circulation
Head of Circulation Darren Pearce
01202 586200
Production
Production Director Jane Hawkins
01202 586200
2013
80% market share
2014
One billion
Founders
Group Managing Director Damian Butt
Group Finance & Commercial Director Steven Boyd
Disclaimer
The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited material
lost or damaged in the post. All text and layout is the copyright of
Imagine Publishing Ltd. Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced
in whole or part without the written permission of the publisher.
All copyrights are recognised and used specifically for the purpose
of criticism and review. Although the magazine has endeavoured
to ensure all information is correct at time of print, prices and
availability may change. This magazine is fully independent and
not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein.
If you submit material to Imagine Publishing via post, email, social
network or any other means, you automatically grant Imagine Publishing
an irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free license to use the images across
its entire portfolio, in print, online and digital, and to deliver the images
to existing and future clients, including but not limited to international
licensees for reproduction in international, licensed editions of Imagine
products. Any material you submit is sent at your risk and, although
every care is taken, neither Imagine Publishing nor its employees,
agents or subcontractors shall be liable for the loss or damage.
11
www.littlegreenrobot.co.uk
Visit us daily for news and more
1General commands
Whether its to
nd out the author
of your favourite
book, the stock
price of a company,
or even a new
recipe, Google Now
can now be used to
search for nearly
anything you need
on your device using
your voice alone.
2Web browsing
10Beam me up
4Send SMS to
9 Navigate to
5Listen to
Theres
a selection of
hidden Easter
eggs that are
fun to explore
in Google Now.
Certain
statements
such as Beam
me up Scotty!, Do a barrel
roll and Who are you? will
get you an often unexpected
response from the app for you
to have a laugh at!
How far
is, Navigate
to and
Directions to
will get you a
series of
replies within
Now using the
power of the
Google Maps app on your
phone. Tap the icon within the
result and Maps will launch
with your route displayed and
ready to go.
8Square root of
If maths isnt
your thing, no
worries, as Google
Now can provide
answers to a range
of mathematical
problems as well as
conversions for
measurements. Say
Convert [currency]
to [currency] to get
your reply.
12
By speaking directly
into Google
Now, its
possible to
send an
entire text
message
through it.
Say Send
SMS to
Katie followed by the
content of your message. Its
pretty accurate, but is worth
checking before you send!
Google Now
voice commands
7 Remind me to
If youre an avid user of
Google Keep, then make sure
to use the note-taking
feature. With this command
you can set reminders of
everyday tasks, input details
of upcoming appointments,
create shopping lists, or even
set an alarm. All these notes
can be synced with your
Google Keep account. The
calendar works likewise.
Theres
a whole
host of
compatible
entertainment apps
for you to
explore in
Google
Now. Saying Listen to
and specifying a song and
band will play that track.
A similar trick works for
YouTube videos.
Stay up to date
Catch up with the latest
Android news and gossip
twitter
@lgrobot
14
Interchangeable lenses
One of the greatest additions to the Oculus Rift are its
interchangeable lenses, which can be used to move the
display to suit different peoples eye. With the intense 3D
gaming experience that the Rift provides, the ability to alter
how the display works and functions will certainly help
prevent eye damage.
Following on from
the likes of Silent
Hill, Among The
Sleep is a rst
person survival
horror game that
puts you at the
forefront of a young
boys terrifying
nightmare. Use the Rift to explore the dark and dingy
world youre plunged in to.
Kairo TBA/$5
Virtuix Omni
Alongside the Rift is the Virtuix Omni, a omnidirectional
treadmill that enables users to jump, walk, crouch and run
in their game. While wearing the Rift you can add to the
immersive nature of the game by stepping into the Omni
and taking your experience to the next level.
Set in a minimalist
world, Kairo is a
puzzle game that
gets users
interacting with
everyday objects to
uncover the dark
secrets of the
world around them.
Puzzles get tricky quickly, so prepare to spend hours
solving everything the game has to offer.
Retrovirus TBA/$19.99
DARK 24.99/$29.99
DayZ TBA/$29.99
15
Stay up to date
Catch up with the latest
Android news and gossip
@lgrobot
GALLERY OF...
4
1 Sol
Sol is without
question the
best-looking calendar
app on Android. A
minimalist interface
built-in weather is one
of the few extra
features and full
touch-based navigation
make it a pleasure to
use. The widgets are
great too.
Price: Free
16
5
2 Calendar+ Note
Everything
Calendar+ Note
Everything is a
fully featured calendar
app. It looks great and
includes extras like
importing birthdays
from your social
networks, along with
full cloud support. A
powerful option for
busier schedules.
Price: Free
3 Cal
From the makers
of the Any.Do
to-do list app comes
Cal. It is typically
understated, placing
elegance and ease of
use over functionality.
As such it is great for
those with light
agendas but not really
suitable for use by
business people.
Price: Free
6
4 Month
Calendar
Light on frills,
Month Calendar
is a simple calendar
widget that displays the
dates for the month
ahead. Best used in
conjunction with
another calendar app,
this is ideal for a quick
glance at the upcoming
weeks and months.
Price: Free
5 DigiCal
Calendar
6 Agenda
Agenda is an iOS
favourite and
presents a nononsense approach to
organising your life. It is
typographically heavy,
and puts your upcoming
events front and centre.
Its also strongly
gesture based, which
means lots of swiping
to dig deeper.
Price: 1.23/$1.99
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Messages
Inside Android Magazines virtual mailbag
I shouldnt need
to root
We need
camera
innovation
18
Nexus 5
battery
rules
Get in touch!
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CROWD
SOURCE
Opinion from the
Twittersphere
Sold on
phablets
TRENDING
Let us know your thoughts on
these hot topics
@lgrobot
So, Sonys Z1 Compact is a
4.3 phone with agship
specs. At last! Whats your
preferred screen size? Bigger,
or even smaller?
@lgrobot
And following on from that - do
you feel like a phone should
be useable one handed?
Nexus 4
support
@lgrobot
Anyone planning to upgrade
this year? What feature must
your new phone have that
your current one doesnt?
@yenrod A exible screen! - at
least a 2100mah battery also the xperia z compact looks good..
@neilybhoy1888 am not sure an
upgrade until next year :-( I do
currently have a the @htc one tho
so am happy :-)
@Vass88 ability to pick up weak
3G signals in a non remote area
like Guildford would be good.
never mind 4G
@Peter_Vernelen Android 4.4.2,
LTE connectivity a good camera
and a high capacity battery :)
@Mug_UK Got my Note 3 and it
works for me. A big screen for a
big hand .. unless Im playing
Carmageddon ;-)
@nerdyessence85 A decent size
screen, camera and longer battery
life would be nice.
19
Feature
20
Feature
Hotspots
Open the menu in order
to nd the Restrict
background data
option. Use the Mobile
hotspots screen to
block apps from
connecting via hotpots
Alerts
Alerts can be activated,
informing you when your data
usage limit has been reached.
Setting your alert point below
the actual limit is wise
Chart
The chart displays your
recent internet usage.
With the Data usage
limit activated you can
block apps accessing
the internet based on
your preset limit
21
Feature
Android phones slow down over time. When you switch your phone on it is
typically fast and responsive. As apps are launched and closed and tasks
switched, however, things tend to become sluggish, with the user interface
hanging and apps slow to launch.
22
Widgets for email, social networks and other regularly updated services can
slow things down considerably, so drag these to your Android trash can.
Feature
ean
sers a
k butto ou within the
een the pps is simple
ompos
e, by u
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t
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und in
ile up w ton consisten
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, the dif ack button fo
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t
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cle you
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c
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p
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and t
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. Use th ave as expec
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back b
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apps, w e app. It is
h
s
h
e
t
d
e
b
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n
n
o
ld
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h
u
sho
n
the p
usly op
ithin th
k butto
Android
h previo ke you back w
pp bac
g
-a
in
throug
in
a
w
t
o
e
'. Kn
hat th
should
t as 'up
gnise t
button
ack', bu
to reco
t
'b
n
s
a
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t
r
to
impo
ferred
fact re
isnt in
23
Feature
1
2
3
24
Feature
battery is
ing Android
in
ra
all
d
ts
fa
he
s to affect
that seem
g
one
in
e
th
e
th
m
n
O
so
to time.
e
m
ti
m
o
at such
users fr
rprise us th
ouldnt su
sh
ch power;
u
it
m
d
n
a
so
h
s eat up
ce
vi
e
d
d
d
advance
re advance
hand, they
r
e
th
o
e
on th
y can
surely the
devices
last
be built to
a day?
n
a
th
more
might
While you
nnectivity
disable co
ttery
prevent ba
to
in
options
to a certa
s
rk
o
w
st
ly
n
o
is
th
,
ra
d in is be
drain
a battery
g
n
ti
a
n
,
ve
WakeLock
extent. Pre
rstanding
e
d
n
s
u
d
n
y
a
b
h
re that
achieved
ment featu
s
p
ge
p
a
a
n
a
to
m
y
r
powe
nd displa
er
th
your CPU a
f
ra
o
n
l
o
o
y
tr
n
co
e to sta
your phon
ep. You
that want
cally to sle
ti
a
m
to
u
a
ur
go
it
than
ht cause yo
w this mig
o
h
e
se
n
ca
bling
drain. Disa
battery to
can be
ck
WakeLo
apps using
ear
ere is no cl
tricky as th
ich apps
essing wh
way of ass
y is to
it. One wa
are using
ave it for
le
r phone,
u
yo
rt
ta
s
re
nd then
minutes a
around 30
s>
ings>App
open Sett
pen apps.
a look at o
ke
ta
d
n
a
m monitor
g
in
Runn
use a syste
to
e
ps
b
t
h
ig
d which ap
Another m
e identie
v
u
yo
l
a
ce
e
n
d
you
app. But o
s, how do
WakeLock
akeLocks?
W
le
are using
b
a
an you dis
C
?
m
e
th
with
Options
Tapping an app will
expand the entry to
display your
available options
Running apps
The native application
settings list displays
currently running apps
Numbers
The numbers reveal
how often
WakeLock has been
activated for each
application in use
Normal
Many of these apps
and processes will
be using WakeLock
Patience required
1 After
installing, make sure your
phone is charged above 90%.
Wakelock Detector will need a couple
of hours to assess which apps are
using the WakeLock function.
in focus
2 Apps
After a couple of hours, run
Wakelock Detector. A list of apps that
have used WakeLock will be displayed.
The clock icon switches between
screen and CPU Wakelock-using apps.
rid
3 Get
Want to close an app with
regular WakeLock activity? Tap the app
entry, then App Info and use the Info
screen to Force Stop, Disable or
Uninstall battery-draining apps.
25
Feature
cations menu
1 Noti
Open the app drawer, then
Widgets, selecting Settings from the
Shortcut menu and dragging it to the home
screen. You will be prompted to select a
shortcut type choose Notications.
App
3 View
info screen
In order for Android to open particular les with the right app, an association is
made that sets an app as the default for that le type. For example, you
wouldnt want an APK le to open with your image editor instead, it opens
with the Play store app.
When associations become
disconnected, problems
occur. If the wrong app is
set as the default for a
particular le type,
correcting this will ensure
the continued stability of
your phone. It's always
useful to pick a default app
for speed and simplicity,
but if you have multiple
apps that can handle the
same le you can also use
the app picker as an 'Open
To change the default app, open Settings>Apps>All. Tap
Clear defaults against the appropriate app, leaving it ready with' menu.
for association with the correct le type
26
widget
2 Find
Switch back to the home screen
where you dropped the widget, and tap to
open it. This is where you will nd a list of
all the notications you've received over the
past few hours.
In previous versions
of Android, if a
notication was
dismissed, it was gone
unless you were
prepared to go looking
App picker
1 After
disassociating your app, you
can use the native app picker to set a new
default. This will happen when you try to
open the disassociated le type.
sure
2 AMake
box labelled Complete action
using will appear, prompting you to select
from two or more suitable apps. Make sure
youre happy before proceeding.
selective
3 IfBe
you want to try all available apps,
select the Just once option, choosing each
in turn to assess which you prefer. The
menu will appear until Always is selected.
Feature
Dont let spam text messages and PPI calls wake you up
in the middle of the night
pdates come in thick and fast for Android apps hardly surprising with
regular system updates. But what happens when a key feature from
your favourite app has been removed? You can prevent this from
happening altogether by making regular backups with a utility such as App
Backup & Restore. If you do this you will then be able to restore your favourite
older version should you ever wish to. To roll back to older versions of system
apps simply nd it in the Play store and select Uninstall.
1
2
3
4
5
In App Backup & Restore, nd the apps you want to back up, checking the
boxes to select.
Tap Backup to proceed backing up apps; the more apps selected, the
longer it takes.
For devices without removable storage, backups will need to be synced to
your PC before performing an Android system restore.
When an app has been updated and a feature removed, use the Archived
list to Restore the older version.
Keep a backup of
your favourite apps
stored on your phones
removable storage
The Settings menu offers various tweaks such as changing backup paths
and activating Auto Backup.
27
Feature
28
Feature
Understanding upgrades
You'll know when your device is all ready to be
updated. The phone may ping you with a notication
and all you have to do is agree to it or you can take a
look in Settings under About Phone to see if the
upgrade is sitting there, waiting for action.
Different companies will make it available at
different times. If you have a Motorola handset, then
you may well be in luck because the company is
right behind KitKat. It swiftly announced a long list of
REPLACE WITH
DESCRIPTION
Phone
This app integrates with Skype and has the ability to see the most frequently used contacts
Hangouts
An incredibly popular messenger app that lets you send messages for free. It has cross-platform support
MailDroid
Comes with the ability to search for IMAP mail online, as well as password protection and customised inboxes
Camera
LINE camera
Boasting in-app photo editing, frames, stamps and 20 lters, this is a brilliant alternative
Music player
This sensitive app lets you tap your phone or wave your hand to skip to the next track
Video player
BSPlayer
Plays an assortment of video formats and enables software decoding for greater accessible
Contacts
GO Contacts Ex
Batch SMS messages or email with group contacts and have people on speed dial
Search
Quick Search
Browse your device and the web in one app even search through your music, contacts and messages
Calendar
Jorte Calendar
Show the day's agenda, the monthly view and even integrate with Google Maps. Free and easy to use
29
Feature
30
Action
Launcher
Lightning
Launcher
Feature
Programmers work
hard to make their
code more efcient
and bug free"
couldn't get KitKat on their handset. Updating your
applications is also important. Alterations are made
to apps all the time by developers and they are
often doing more than just adding extra features.
Programmers work hard to make their code more
efcient and bug free so ensuring you're at the
cutting edge when it comes to your existing apps
will make them perform better and faster, and that's
something every Android user should aspire to.
From that point on, it's a case of delving into your
phone and making sure it is not bloated. Over the
course of using a phone, you will download apps
and store much data, and a lot of it will barely be
used. By understanding the capability of your phone,
Go Launcher EX
Launcher 8
Smart
Launcher
It has support for live
wallpapers and drawers
organised by categories,
boasting that it is the only
launcher that sorts and
catalogues apps for you,
making it an intriguing
addition to explore.
31
Feature
FIVE MORE
FEATURES FOR
YOUR PHONE
Find a stolen phone
As well as being an
anti-virus package, this app
by Lookout also has a Find
My Phone feature that can
be used to trace a stolen
or mislaid handset.
Manage les
32
search bar for the home screens. This way you can
maintain the fresh look of the new OS while still
maintaining control over the smaller details.
Feature
in KitKat to keep
BATTERY CHECKLIST Settings
your battery fresh
Close down any running apps by going to
Settings>Apps and selecting Stop next to any
that you want to cease.
In conclusion
What all of this shows is that, with some thought
and maybe a small amount of money, you can give
fresh life to an old phone. There is, contrary to what
many believe, a lot of life left in older phones even if
you cannot access and run the latest OS. Android is
such a versatile and fun operating system that is
fully expandable. Because it is open source, so
many people dedicate their time to workarounds
and getting the most out of their handsets. With a
bit of luck, you'll be able to enjoy your handset for a
little while longer and, best of all, get a lot of
satisfaction in doing so.
Audio enhancements
Clip-on lenses
33
Tutorials
masterclass
Master the
Quickoffice
suite
Can you
restore corrupt
documents?
If some les didnt
copy over properly and
appear corrupted,
when you open up the
Quickofce app, you
can automatically
repair them.
Depending on the
issue thats occurred,
it may take quite a
while for the repairing
process to complete so
be patient.
Jump to cell
Explore
sharing
options
While making a
spreadsheet, instead
of scrolling through
every row of cells, you
can select the Jump to
Cell option from the
top menu to instantly
jump to a specic cell
on your created
spreadsheet.
Find a
specic cell
34
File sharing
Clear recent
documents
Clearing junk
Through the recent
documents page on
the main screen, you
can choose to delete
certain les. Not only
does this clear space
in your Google Drive
account, it also makes
it easier to nd other
les you want to keep.
ss
cla e te
ter th ui
as ter e s
m as offic
M
ick
Qu
Works with
Create high-quality
presentations
Use Quickofce to create fantastic presentations from
scratch to wow your audience
ou may nd that many ofce suites available to Android users lack the PowerPoint
functionality you need, but thankfully Quickofce does contain it. Through the app
youll nd many of the same PowerPoint-creating functions that are found in Microsoft
Ofce, as well as some exclusive features that make it a feature worth checking out on your
phone or tablet. As well as being a great way of creating PowerPoint presentations, thanks to
Quickofce you can also add your own media les into the presentation and save them all
directly to your Google Drive account to access on other devices. It is a powerful tool that works
especially well on tablets and phablets.
2min
guide
Add and
implement
equations into
your spreadsheets
Make a
finance
document
from scratch
1 Start
Press the + symbol at the top of the app
and select the presentation option from the list
provided. You can now begin adding a title and
additional details to the initial blank slide youre
provided with before formatting the design.
a new slide
2 Add
Press on the + symbol at the bottom of
the app to begin the process of adding a new
slide. Once pressed, a menu will appear showing
you a range of different slide types. Some slides
are image based, where some are purely text.
To create and add equations into the
spreadsheet, press the FX button on
the left side of the menu. Manually type in the
equation and the app generates the answer.
media les
3 Adding
After adding a new slide, press the + icon
at the top of the app again. Here you can select a
media le to add from within the Gallery app. Once
an image is placed within the slide you can move it
around the slide by selecting it.
shapes
4 Implementing
From the same menu, you can also choose
to add a shape to the slide. The selection of
shapes is pretty vast and each can be coloured
and placed at a different spot in your slide. Simply
double-tap the shape to conrm your selection.
35
Tutorials
Correctly format Word
documents
Works with
formatting options
1 Open
After opening up your document of choice,
Creating
eye-catching
documents is easy
36
paragraphs
4 Formatting
One of the best formatting options
available to users is the shift feature, which can
help align your text to a certain part of the screen.
This is also the section where you can number or
bullet point your paragraphs as well.
fonts
2 Changing
Highlight a portion of the text and select
the Fonts menu from the top of the app. Here
youll see a small selection of fonts that you can
implement onto the selected text. After selecting
a font, the text will change automatically.
Comment on documents
5 After
saving all the changes to your
document, nd the list of all the stored
Quickofce documents on your device. Here you
can select the information button and add
comments to each of them for you to look over.
/littlegreenrobot
@lgrobot
Works with
s
cla e ite
ter th u
as ter ce s
mMas offi
ick
Qu
Message us!
Drive les
1 Find
When you rst open up the Quickofce
a le
2 Selecting
One of the best things about Quickofce is
documents
3 Editing
Once youve nished editing any
documents, use the save function. Thanks to the
apps cloud functionality, youll nd the document
is automatically saved to the cloud with all the
changes you added.
37
Tutorials
Explore Google Play
Newsstands
Works with
Side menu
1 After
opening the app, read the guide to
managing your subscriptions that youll be
prompted to look through. Now open up the side
menu for the app by pressing on the Newsstands
icon in the corner of the app.
38
Search
Due to the sheer amount of
publications stored on Google Play
Newsstands, youll certainly want to
make use of the search feature at the
top of the page. This will let you nd a
specic title or news feed in a matter
of seconds
Further options
By pressing the menu icon at the top-right
of the app, a whole selection of options will
be opened to you. Through the Settings
menu you can switch Google accounts or
even integrate them together
Magazine feed
All your subscribed magazines are
stored together for you to access.
Whenever you open up the
Newsstands app, youll be notied of
any new issues that are available for
you to download onto your device
News feed
Both news outlets and RSS feeds will be
stored within your news feed section. Not
only can you read the latest headlines, you
can also see recommendations of new
blogs to follow
new material
2 Add
Press the Explore option at the bottom of
the menu. Here you can begin searching for
magazines and news feeds to subscribe to. You
must rst choose a category from the various
ones listed within the app.
feeds
3 News
There are hundreds of news feeds to
subscribe to within each category. Simply scroll
through the options listed until you nd something
of interest and press the menu icon underneath
the icon to subscribe to it.
Master the new features you can use when reading an article
1 Bookmark a story
2 Send to someone
3 Quick scroll
4 View in Browser
Is there a way to
look solely at the
news saved on
your device?
latest headlines
4 The
When you then open up the news feed
youve just subscribed to, youll be able to see the
latest headlines published by them, as well as
links to any various social media accounts that the
outlet has created.
RSS feeds
5 Add
As well as many news outlets, Newsstands
also enables users to subscribe to the RSS feeds
of some of the most popular webpages. After
subscribing to the feed, youll be notied of any
new content they add.
Im nding it hard
to read certain text.
How can I change
the way it looks?
You may come across text that
isnt correctly formatted, which
often makes it a lot smaller. Go
to the Settings page of the app
and youll nd an option to
resize the text shown to make
it easier to read.
Now
6 Read
Open the side menu once again and select
the Read Now option at the top. This option will
show you the latest headlines across your
subscriptions, as well as quick links to download
the articles onto your device.
a story
7 Reading
For Google Currents users, youll notice
immediately the formatting used in Newsstands
as its near enough the exact same. Text can be
customised and images can be enlarged by
pressing on them.
Need help?
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
Get help from our
Facebook community
Magazines
8 My
Through the My Magazines section not only
can you manage your current subscriptions, you
can also add new magazines to your list. Use the
search function or the category system to nd a
magazine of interest.
a magazine
9 Share
If youve found a magazine that might be of
interest to someone else, then use the Share
function to share the details of it. Press the menu
icon and then Share to send the details over to
someone to follow and download.
twitter
@lgrobot
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Send your questions for our team of
experts to tackle
39
Tutorials
View only the apps
that you have
paid for
Works with
Missing apps
After the Purchased Apps app has
nished scanning, make sure to
check through the list carefully. If
youve noticed any purchases are
missing, use the refresh button at
the top to scan again
Payment amount
As you scroll with the list of paid
apps, each listing will come with
the amount you paid for the app.
This offers a great way to quickly
check the most expensive, or
cheapest apps youve purchased
for your phone or tablet
Side-loaded apps
If youve previously side-loaded an
APK of a paid app onto your phone
or tablet, in some cases they may
be listed here with the price of the
app also listed, but most of the
time they wont be included
40
Sale prices
One of the best features
of Purchased Apps is
being able to see all the
apps you bought that
were on sale. Simply
scroll through the list and
pay close attention to the
listed prices to see where
you got the best deals.
Re-download
apps
Each listing in Purchased
Apps also contains a
quick link to the apps
listing on the Play store.
Simply press on the app
and you can then choose
to re-download the app, if
previously downloaded.
Switching accounts
When logging in to Purchased Apps,
it will use your primary Google
account to gather your list of paid
apps. Youll need to manually sign
out and then sign in to another
Google account to see the apps
linked with it
Chronological
Although one or two might be out
of place, for the most part youll
nd your most recent purchased
apps at the top of the list. Scroll to
the bottom to see the very rst few
paid apps you purchased
We dont keep
secrets
TM
facebook.com/ImagineBookazines
twitter.com/Books_Imagine
Tutorials
Check app
permissions
Works with
Use F-Secure
to keep an eye
on malicious
and costly app
permissions
Filter permissions
1 When
you rst open the app, it will perform
a scan on your phone to show you just how many
permissions each app on your device has. Press
on the F-Secure icon in the top corner of the app
to open up the side menu.
42
permissions
3 Check
Take a closer look at each app by selecting
information
4 IfLocation
you dont want your phone tracking your
an Advanced lter
5 Start
Theres also the option to perform a lter
the results
6 See
The app will now perform a full scan on
your phone searching for the permissions you
outlined. After gathering the results, you can press
on an app to take a closer look at the other
permissions it requires to function on your device.
Works with
Manage your
location settings
Find out how to take control of location data for your device
and heavily used Google apps and services
[FIG 3] Location
History data is
stored for as long as
Location Reporting is
switched on. Delete
at any time by going
to Location History
[FIG 5] Google
stores location
data, which can be
accessed to view
where the user has
been in your
Google Maps app
1. Locations settings
3. Google Settings
2. Location sources
By default, switching on location access
will turn on both the GPS Satellites and
Wi-Fi & mobile network location options.
Either of the options can be switched off if
you dont want location data sent to
Google. However, both cannot be turned
off at the same time.
4. Location Reporting
Googles location settings has two options
associated with it: Location Reporting and
Location History. Both of these options are
only related to Google apps and can be
switched off if desired. Switching off the
5. Location History
Location History works in conjunction with
Location Reporting and lets Google store
location data from any device logged in to
a specic Google account. Keeping the
Location History on means that certain
Google services can often provide more
accurate results. Users can view the
Location History of a Google account by
visiting maps.google.com/locationhistory.
This offers two display options: Map and
Dashboard. Map provides a visual display
of routes on a specic day. The
Dashboard, currently in beta, provides a
selection of graphs for you.
I cannot nd
the location
settings on my
device. Where
are they?
Googles location
settings can differ
depending on device
and version. On
devices running 4.3 or
lower the location
settings can be found
under Location. On a
Nexus running Android
4.4 there are
additional sub-menus.
43
Tutorials
Automate common
tasks with Atooma
Works with
Boost your
productivity by
automating tasks
with scenarios
and outcomes
Sign in
1 The
Atooma app can be accessed in a
Make your Android
device work even
better for you
If actions
3 The
Mobile category will display a selection
of related options in a circle. To view the options,
tap, hold and spin the dial. The selections come
under the If banner. This is the rst part of an
action (known as triggers) that can be put together
to do a specic task. We will start with Battery.
44
actions
4 Battery
Tap the Battery icon to view a further
selection of options; spin the dial to see all. On
offer is Level, Plugged and Unplugged. Select Level
to add the trigger. This will now display the related
options. In this case there is a Less/Greater option
with a percentage slider.
Atooma
2 New
The My Atooma screen is initially empty. To
add a new Atooma, rst tap the My Atooma icon in
the top-left corner of the home screen and select
the rst option in the drop-down, New Atooma.
This will present a visual collection of categories to
choose from. Tap Files to get started.
element
5 Set
To set the condition for the battery level,
select Less or Greater, tap the option and select.
Now set the battery level, for example 10%. Once
set, tap OK to continue. Note that the new addition
has a red close icon next to it. This allows for the
user to delete an item.
Get in touch
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
@lgrobot
qa@littlegreenrobot.co.uk
option
6 Do
After setting the If part of your new
Atooma rule the Do button makes a welcome
appearance. This takes the user back to the Do
menu, which offers the same menu options as
displayed previously. Tap Mobile and select
Notication this time.
message
7 Add
The notication option offers two further
options: Pop Up and Status. Both of these enable
the user to add a message. Tap Pop Up and insert
the text of the message to go with the previously
selected If option. For example, Battery is now at
15%. Press OK to continue.
rule
8 Complete
The Do element works in the same way as
your Atooma
9 Tap
To complete the New Atooma, rst tap on
different rule
10 A
The example shown in the previous steps
rule
12 Stop
By default, the newly created rule will be
and delete
13 Icon
By default, a new rule is assigned a default
rule
11 Edit
The My Atooma window displays all the
rules created within the app. To view and edit a
rule, simply tap the associated icon. This will
display the construction of the rule. Tap the pencil
icon up in the top-right corner to edit or add
conditions to the rule.
45
Tutorials
Works with
Activate the
Daydream
Set unique
screensavers
Stop daydreaming
Currents integration
Google Currents is one of the
additional compatible apps. When
set, Currents will provide the latest
headlines for you to read through,
and you can open up the story
through the Daydream as well
Other apps
As well as Google Currents, there
are a range of other apps that are
compatible with the Daydream
feature. Popular apps such as
Tasker and Locale can be added to
make your Daydream a bit more
functional for you
Notication
If you choose to also download the
additional Daydream Launcher app,
you can add a separate notication
that enables you to quickly access
and open your customised
Daydream whenever you want
1 Choices
Open the
Daydream Settings
app and select the
Pick a Daydream
option. Here you can
see the types of
Daydreams you can
add. Certain third-party
apps are compatible,
like Tasker.
46
2 Pictures
There are
several options
available to users
wanting to use a
picture as their
Daydream. You can set
a single picture or
select a few and
arrange them into a
collage-style effect.
a clock
3 Set
The most
traditional Daydream
you can set is a digital
clock. There are
different styles of the
clock interface you
can choose to
implement if the
standard display isnt
to your exact liking.
EXPERT
REVIEWS
WHEREVER YOU ARE
NOW
100
DIGITAL
Tutorials
Print wirelessly from a
KitKat device
Works with
Printing services
3 Head
back to your devices main Settings
print
4 Cloud
The premise of cloud printing is that users
HP printers
5 The
alternative default printing service is
can print to any web-connected printer. Cloudready printers are the ideal choice. Selecting Cloud
print will search for any available printers. If none
are available, the option to save to Google Drive
will still be available.
KitKat
provides new
printing options
48
network
2 Wi-Fi
Wireless printing means that a wireless
3 Cloud printers
5 No cloud please
guide
printing
6 Start
Open the document you wish to print. We
are using a Word document created in Quickofce.
Tap the menu icon and select Print from the menu.
When there are no printers available, the Save to
Google Drive option is default. Tap Print to save to
the current Google Drive account.
settings
1 Cloud
Head to Settings>System>Printing and
to paper
7 Print
Where wireless printers are available it is
jobs
2 Print
Under Settings>Manage resides the
Print job option, which lists the documents
saved to Google Drive. To Refresh the list all you
need to do is tap the refresh arrows. To select a
document for removal, quickly tap your le of
choice, or hold and wait for it to turn blue. Tap
the Trash icon to delete.
HP settings
8 Change
The HP Plugin enables users to modify a
few settings. These can be found via
Settings>System>Printing. Select HP Plugin and
tap the menu button in the top-right corner and
select Settings. Now tap the 2-sided off button to
allow for two-sided printing.
Cloud printing
3 Google
Google Cloud Print printers connect
directly to the internet and will be available
without the need for a laptop or desktop
computer. Under the Cloud Print option, tap the
menu icon (top-right) and select Add Printer.
This will redirect the user to the online location
with more information.
a printer
4 Add
There are a couple of options for adding
a standard printer. The rst is to follow the
previous step and select Add Classic printer.
The other alternative is to select HP Print
Service Plugin (via your devices Settings app)
and tap the menu icon, select Add printer and
tap on the + icon.
49
DroidSupport
troubleshooting advice hints and tips
expert
emailGotan
an Androidrelated problem that
you need solving?
Let us know!
qa@littlegreenrobot.co.uk
Share your tips & tricks
Join us on Facebook and Twitter
to share and receive some
great tips and advice
facebook
/littlegreenrobot
twitter
@lgrobot
Missing features
on the Nexus 5
Ive recently upgraded from a
Samsung Galaxy S III to a Nexus
5. I love pretty much everything
about the phone, but I am
missing a few of the features
that I took for granted on my S
III. These include things like the
quick settings shortcuts in the
notications pane, and
advanced video and camera
apps. What are your
recommendations?
Paula Vine
Chronus is our
pick of the best clock
and weather widgets
This is a difcult
problem to solve
because we do not
know all the information
required to see where the
process is failing. If your friend
does not use a smartphone that
will immediately rule out many
potential solutions such as
WhatsApp, which would make
swapping pictures easier,
quicker and less expensive. Our
rst thought is that one of you
does not have picture messaging
enabled and we have seen in the
past that you will not always see
/littlegreenrobot
Get help from our
Facebook community
qa@littlegreenrobot.co.uk
Try to nd a way
to use free apps
like WhatsApp,
even if that does
mean your friend
purchasing a
budget device
DroidSupport
Get more from your Android phone with our handy hints
Change volume
settings quickly
Magically add
an SD card
up valuable
memory
3Free
51
DroidSupport
I have
forgotten my
password!
If you use your device with a desktop cradle you can go into
Settings>Developer options and set the screen to stay awake
when charging. We are past the time where leaving the screen
on will cause damage and this will give you a useful desk clock.
Caring for
the elderly
J Keane
Paul Reitman
52
My device
is slow
Clive Morgan
/littlegreenrobot
twitter
@lgrobot
Follow us on Twitter to
send us your tips & tricks
qa@littlegreenrobot.co.uk
Update
60% Complete
update update
We bring you the news and
T
Wi-Fi connection problems are common
the router
1 Forget
If you are having problems connecting to a
specic router or hotspot, go to Settings>Wireless
and networks, select the router and then tap
Forget. Now try connecting to it again and it may
work perfectly.
Fixer
2 Wi
Wi Fixer is a free app available from
Google Play that deals with all kinds of Wi-Fi issues
and is worth having installed even if you only
occasionally suffer Wi-Fi connection problems. It
could make a huge difference.
sleep
3 Dont
When devices fail to connect to a router
Seeder will help performance in a
non-obvious way
DroidSupport
53
Hacker Zne
status update
Google
Nexus 5
Rooted? Yes
Active Development:
QQQHigh
As easy to root as any
other Nexus, the 5 will
almost certainly
become a test-bed for
ROMs and mods.
Nexus 7
(2013)
Rooted? Yes
Active Development:
QQQMedium
Easily rooted and with
almost unlimited
potential for hacks
and mods should you
need to improve on
what youve got.
Samsung
Galaxy S4
Rooted? Yes
Active Development:
QQQMedium
If you want to remove
some of the Samsung
bloatware or optimise
the phones
performance youll nd
many options.
HTC One
Rooted? Yes
Active Development:
QQQMedium
Not a massive number
of ROMs available.
However, most of the
popular names are
present and correct on
the device.
Unlock the
Nexus
bootloader
If youre planning on rooting and
hacking your Nexus device youll
need to unlock the bootloader
rst. Its a good idea to do this
straight away as the process will
completely wipe your storage.
54
Control
music with
the volume
buttons
Access
notications
while locked
OTA updates
when rooted
/littlegreenrobot
See masses
of app info
Youll see info
Free
qa@littlegreenrobot.co.uk
detailing the
average and
maximum
amounts of RAM
the app has
been using and
other services it
has been
connecting to
Upgrading
the Galaxy
Nexus
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
Get great new features without getting your hands (too) dirty
One Power Guard
Free
Jargon
Buster
Hacker Zne
Free
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.
www.littlegreenrobot.co.uk
55
By hacking your
Android device
you can overcome
any problem
you can even
install a whole new
version of the OS if
you want
56
Hacking Masterclass
First steps
Before you can undertake any hacking on your
device you will need to root it. The term root comes
from the Linux world where root is the name of the
default account on a Linux machine, and has full
access to the entire system. The equivalent in the
Windows or Mac world is the administrator
account, and that is essentially what rooting your
device gives you: administrator privileges over your
phone or tablet.
Despite Androids reputation for openness an
out-of-the-box Android device is pretty well locked
down. You can do what you like within the connes
of a walled garden, but access to the system itself
is strictly off limits. This is primarily a security
measure. If you can access crucial system les
then you can also edit and delete them, and if you
edit or delete the wrong le you can render your
device unbootable. Likewise this locked down
state also prevents third-party apps from
accessing the most sensitive parts of the device.
DONT
DONT
DONT
DONT
57
Hacking options
Now that your device is rooted you can do a whole
lot more. The rst thing to try is to head to the Play
store, search for root and youll see a whole
selection of apps that you previously would not
After that you can begin to explore the world of custom ROMs an entirely new
version of the Android OS and kernels
Works with
root
1 IfCheck
external USB storage is not supported
natively on your phone and it tends to be on
agship devices from HTC and Samsung your
best bet is to use the StickMount app from the
Play store. This needs your device to be rooted in
order for it to work.
58
the drive
2 Add
Launch StickMount and give it root
permissions when prompted. Plug your USB OTG
cable into the USB port on your phone or tablet,
with the Flash drive also connected. OTG adapters
can be picked up inexpensively online. Tap the
Mount button to access the drive.
the storage
3 Access
You can now go to Settings>Storage and
you should see the USB drive and its associated
details, such as the amount of space used and
available. The content stored on the drive should
show up in related apps. Tap the Unmount button
before you remove the drive.
Solve problems
with Safe Mode
Booting in to Safe Mode is the easiest way to deal with
apps that start misbehaving
or the most part, downloading and installing Android apps is a pretty safe and
reliable process. You may occasionally come across one that is poorly written and so
crashes frequently, but the problems it causes will be limited to the app itself. On rare
occasions however you may nd an app that causes wider problems and makes it difcult for
you to use your phone, maybe an app that is conicting with a mod youve made to your
device, or is causing other system apps to crash in such a way that you cannot even uninstall
it normally. Safe Mode is the solution to this problem.
Configure
autobrightness
Hacking Masterclass
Works with
crashing
1 Calamitous
As you can see in our example weve
got an app conict that is causing the Dialer app to
crash repeatedly. This error message pops up the
moment we dismiss it, leaving the phone to be
completely unusable. Even powering off is proving
to be some challenge.
reboot
2 Safe
Once weve got the phone off we can
reboot into Safe Mode. Hold the power button until
the Google logo appears, then hold volume down
until the phone has nished booting. Youll see the
Safe Mode notication in the bottom-left corner of
the screen to show that it has worked.
the app
3 Remove
Youll notice that none of your widgets will
have loaded. This is because Safe Mode runs only
the core OS and no additional apps. As a result
your persistent crashes will no longer happen.
Open the Play store and uninstall the app that was
causing you problems, then reboot.
your widgets
4 Restore
When you reboot your phone you will most
likely need to restore your home screen and
lockscreen widgets once again. You may also nd
that you have been logged out of certain accounts
on some of your apps. None of your data will have
been lost, however.
59
Works with
Enhance your
phones UI
Use the GravityBox app to add useful shortcuts to your phones UI
quick
3 Get
torch access
60
shortcuts
1 Lockscreen
In GravityBox head to Lockscreen tweaks.
Here you can congure how the lockscreen works
when you dont have a pattern lock set. Tap Unlock
ring settings and tap On to add as many as ve
app shortcuts to the unlock ring.
ever-present
4 The
app launcher
notication
2 Battery
Next in the Lockscreen tweaks is Show
battery arc. Tapping this adds a nice visual ourish
to the unlock ring, showing the status of the
battery inside it. This tweak will not work if you use
security to lock your screen.
your apps
5 Choosing
Pick up to eight apps you want to assign to
this omnipresent app launcher. You can also
choose shortcuts to common tasks you perform.
When done reboot your phone youll see the app
launcher icon in the Navigation bar. Tapping that
will show the apps.
Installing
problem apps
build.prop editor
1 The
Get Build Prop Editor from the Play store,
launch it and grant root privileges. The rst task
is to ensure youve got a backup of your build.
prop le, so open the sidebar and tap Create
backup. You will also restore it from here should
you wish to in future.
Works with
the ID
2 Change
In the main window scroll down to ro.
product.model, tap on it and change the Property
Value to that of a different Android device. You
may need the product code rather than its
common name, for example, the Samsung
Galaxy S4 is the I9505.
Hacking Masterclass
Works with
and test
3 Reboot
You may also need to change the ro.
product.manufacturer value to that of the
manufacturer. When you are nished you will be
prompted to reboot. Do this and then test that it
works. You can restore your backup if not, or
make further changes.
The more you use your smartphone as your main phone the more youll be on the receiving end of junk calls and texts. With the
root app Call Master you can reject or block them without ever even knowing they existed
Root permissions
1 Call
Master requires root so
you will need to grant that when
prompted. Also take note of the
warning when you launch the app
incorrect use of the options could
result in you blocking numbers that
you dont want blocked!
Create a list
2 Tap
on the List option from
the main screen. This is where youll
assign instructions to specic lists
of numbers. Well be creating a
whitelist of allowed numbers and a
blacklist of those we want to block.
Tap the Block option to proceed.
and allow
3 InBlock
the Block screen tap the +
icon to add numbers that you want
blocked. You can choose from
contacts, or add them manually.
Swipe left shows you Special
options, such as blocking any
number that shows up as Unknown.
61
Works with
Revoke unwanted
app permissions
XPrivacy enables
you to take
control of which
apps can access
your data.
62
Xposed Framework
2 The
The Xposed Framework is installed via an
APK. Point your device browser to http://repo.
xposed.info/module/de.robv.android.xposed.
installer, download the APK and then click Install.
You will need unknown sources checked in
security settings. After installation, open Xposed
Installer and complete the Framework steps.
XPrivacy
4 Enable
After downloading the Installer, youll see a
apps
5 Filter
After the reboot, you can uninstall XPrivacy
Automatically change
the keyboard you use
Hacking Masterclass
Works with
fake data
6 Dening
In the Settings menu of XPrivacy youll nd
a Fake Data section. This is where you can dene
the data passed to apps where you have marked
that they should not receive your real information.
These are primarily text input elds; for your mock
location a search box to retrieve the appropriate
latitude/longitude co-ordinates is provided.
and install
1 Download
Keyboard Manager
your
2 Dene
preferred keyboards
app-specic
3 Add
keyboards with
Keyboard Manager Plus
compatibility
4 Retain
with multiple
hardware keyboards
63
Works with
Optimise
your phone
for gaming
Take performance
to the next level with
a custom kernel
A custom kernel can help you eke out every ounce of performance
you have a
3 Ensure
recovery plan
Before you start modifying your device you should
ensure that you have a way to revert back to stock
should things go wrong. This could be in the form
of a stock ROM ash (eg a RUU for HTC or an Odin
ash for Samsung) or with your own backup made
using a custom recovery.
64
availability
1 Check
Custom kernels are reliant on three
factors. The rst is a public release of the source
code. The second is an unlocked bootloader to
allow ashing. The third is an active developer
community that is creating the custom kernels.
Checking your device area at XDA-Developers is a
good place to look for kernel activity.
a custom recovery
4 Flash
Now that you have your bootloader
unlocked, you should ash a custom recovery.
Depending on your device, you may or may not
need to use the custom recovery to ash the
kernel, but either way it is very useful for creating
your own backup. Ensure you pull the backup off
your device in case you accidentally wipe!
your bootloader
2 Unlock
After you have conrmed that a custom
kernel is available for your device, you need to
ensure the bootloader is unlocked. The exact
process depends on your manufacturer for HTC
devices you need to visit HTCDev.com, Samsung
devices come ready to ash and Motorola also has
its own unlock site.
Hacking Masterclass
Works with
the kernel
6 Flash
The support topic should include ashing
instructions. Kernels are often ashed using
custom recovery, the Odin app on Samsung
devices or the fastboot utility, particularly on
Nexus devices. Double check before ashing that
the kernel is denitely for your model of device.
for a
1 Check
custom kernel
for companion app
7 Check
Many kernel developers such as faux123
and franco offer companion apps. These allow you
to enable and disable functions as well as tune
specic settings for features like voltage and clock
speed. These are normally downloaded from the
Play store. Prices vary some are free and some
offer more fully featured paid versions.
updated
8 Stay
Custom kernel developers tend to update
their kernels frequently with new features,
optimisations and xes. For this reason its a good
idea to try and stay up to date with the latest
version. If you are using a companion application it
may offer an auto-update option, otherwise
subscribing to the support topic will help.
your kernel
3 Flash
Follow the instructions in the kernel
support topic to ash your kernel. Depending on
your device this may be using your custom
recovery, a manufacturer tool such as Odin for
Samsung or fastboot. After ashing, check for a
companion app to let you congure features.
your device
2 Prepare
If you havent ashed a custom kernel or
custom ROM already, you need to prepare your
device. Unlock the bootloader, ash a custom
recovery, backup (and pull the backup from the
device) and ensure you have a recovery plan
should things go wrong for example a stock
ROM ash.
tap to wake
4 Double
After installation you should nd that a
quick double tap on the device screen wakes
the device. You can also congure a similar
action to put the device to sleep using custom
launchers such as Nova Launcher (although this
action will only work from the home screen).
65
Works with
Install CM
with an all-inone tool
Root your device, unlock
your bootloader and change your
ROM with CyanogenMod Installer
CyanogenMod
Installer is an
easy way to get
into rooting
up your data
1 Back
The rst thing to do is make
sure that youve backed up your les
and data using an app like Titanium
Backup or Nandroid Manager, both
free on the Google Play store. After
that, head into your Settings app and
then tap Security. Scroll down to nd
Enable Unknown Sources and then
give it a tick.
the
6 Download
Windows Installer
Fire up your browser and go to beta.
get.cm, which is another ofcial
CyanogenMod page. Youll see a page
of instructions, so scroll down to Step
4 right at the bottom. Click on the
underlined link to download the
companion installer, which will take
care of almost everything from here.
Hacking
HackerMasterclass
Zne
the
2 Download
Android Installer
continue
7 And
Run the Windows Installer
once its downloaded. After it opens
up, it will then take a little time to
update itself rst. Once thats
nished, youll be asked to
temporarily disable your antivirus
program, so that it doesnt interfere
with the installation. Do so; just
remember to enable it later.
installation
3 Begin
The rst thing youll see is a
conrmation screen, where you
need to grant the app permissions.
Tap Install, and then tap Open once
the installation has nished. The
CyanogenMod Installer app will then
load up, displaying a welcome
message with instructions. Tap
Begin once youve read it all.
in your
8 Plug
Android device
the
4 Follow
instructions
and switch
5 Finish
Next up is enabling PTP
installing
9 Start
CyanogenMod
it be
10 Leave
Your device will now reboot
67
Works with
Tweak everything
with Pimp My ROM
Change lots of
inaccessible
settings on your
device with ease
Rescue Package
2 Build
When you rst open the app, youll see a
your CPU
3 Pimp
Also in the Tools section youll see an
Explore tweaks
4 The
tweaks are grouped into categories. In
your GPS
5 Improve
On the Tools tab, GPS Conguration allows
68
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Playmarkers
15min wonder
doubleTwist
doubleTwist
! 5
15 10
5-10 minutes
10-15 minutes
keep
0-5 minutes
refund
specification
Price Free
Designed for: Phone and tablet
Requires Android: Varies with device
verdict
Performance
Design
Value
A versatile music app for all
your listening needs
Swipe up for the play controls
The Album Grid
view works well,
if you have all the art
Like this?
Try this!
Camera
Awesome
HTC
Footballfeed
Ruffl
Swipe Panel
Camera Awesome
Take better pictures and edit them in one app
Originating on iOS
devices, Camera
Awesome has now
made the leap to
Android. And, to be honest, theres
probably a greater need for it here,
as most stock Android camera apps
arent that great. While the Google
Play store is already awash with
third-party camera apps, Awesome
really stands out by offering a greater
degree of control for photo taking
while also providing built-in pictureediting facilities.
Just tap the camera button and it
takes an instant shot with no lag
whatsoever. The various viewnder
icons lead to a whole range of useful
EDITORS
CHOICE
specification
Price 1.87/$2.99
verdict
Everything you need to take
better photos on your phone
Editing facilities enable you to enhance pics
HTC Footballfeed
Ruffl
Swipe Panel
Price Free
Designed for Phone
Requires Android 2.2
Price Free
Designed for Phone
Requires Android 2.0
Things move fast in the world of football, but HTC Footballfeed will
help you stay ahead of the game or at the least the Champions
League and Europa League. With info supplied by UEFA itself, the
latest news, stats and live match updates are sent direct to your phone. And
since you might not be all that interested
in Maribor vs Shakhter Karagandy, theres
the option to tailor the apps info by
selecting your favourite club(s).
The UI is slicker than Lionel Messi, with
the photos on the news section tilting as
you scroll up. Tap the top-left to switch
between the two competitions, then
swipe right for other sections. The Stats
menu shows next matches, standings,
results and info relating to individual
clubs including players and their stats
while the Gallery showcases photos of
players and managers.
Price Free
Designed for Phone
Requires Android 4.1
All the latest news stories and stats are
provided in a super-slick interface
Like this?
Try this!
73
Playmarkers
MailDroid Pro
An advanced email client with some clever features
The stock Android Email client
(rather than the specic Gmail
app) is known for being a bit clunky
and limited in features. No wonder there are
so many third-party alternatives around. Built
from the ground up, MailDroid (also available
in a free ad-supported version) works well
with most accounts and permits push email
for many of them, including Yahoo. Features
include a spell-checker, custom mail rules,
cloud storage integration, spam lter and full
WYSIWYG editor.
Of particular note is the connection
management option, which can be used (by
creating custom rules) to set up exactly how
and when MailDroid connects to your
accounts mail server. Another useful feature The combined inbox colour-codes
messages for each account
is the ability to bookmark email folders for
easier access. Ideal for business
Price 11.87/$17.99
users, MailDroid offers a desktop-style
Designed for Phone/tablet
email client on Android, although you
Requires Android 2.1
might well want to try out the free
version rst.
Like this?
try this!
MailDroid
Pro
Flipagram
iHeartRadio
iHeartRadio
Go radio gaga with your own
custom stations
Price Free
verdict
Buy it
Really enjoying the currently playing
song? These handy buttons enable you
to buy the track instantly from either
Amazon or the Play store and download
it to your devices music library
Performance
Design
Value
A slick, US-centric radio app
with cool custom stations
Flipagram
Skip it
Tap this button to skip the current track.
Note that theres a limit of skips per
station (six per hour) and for each day
(15) across all custom stations
Like this?
try this!
74
Try this?
Like this!
Get to know
The iHeartRadio app offers a range of options and
screens to nd the music you want to listen to
Live radio
Perfect listening
Talk radio
Tweedle
Make a favourite
EDITORS
CHOICE
Tweedle
EDITORS
CHOICE
Tweak the
station
While listening to a
custom station, you
can move this
rotating dial to one of
three positions, to
listen to More
Familiar music, a
Mixed selection or
Less Familiar tunes.
Naturally, the latter is
the best for nding
new music
specification
Price Free
verdict
Slick Twitter client that has a
lot of potential
Create a custom interface theme by
choosing colours for each element
75
Playmarkers
Quip
A mobile-rst word
processor with
advanced features
Launched as a web
and iOS app last
summer, Quip was
designed to be a collaborative
mobile-rst word processor.
To this effect, it appears to
combine aspects of wordprocessing (such as text
formatting and insertion of
tables, pictures and document
links) and note-taking apps
(syncing and sharing). Basic
membership of the service is
free and allows up to ve
users to collaborate on
documents via shared folders
and cross-platform syncing. A
unique feature is the chat-like
thread for each document,
showing any edits and
messages which makes for
easier collaboration.
At the time of writing, the
Android app is still a preview
version. This means that
users are only currently able
to view (not edit) existing
documents and reply to
conversations. Still, its useful for
existing Quippers to have a play
with and it should eventually offer
all the same features, including
the ability to import documents
from Word, Google Drive, Evernote
and Dropbox.
Like this?
Try this!
Todoist
As well as
formatting text, you can
insert pictures, tables and weblinks
specification
Price Free
Designed for: Phone
Requires Android: 4.0.3
verdict
Performance
Design
Value
Very limited in
functionality for now, but
looks promising
76
Todoist
Price Free
Designed for Phone
Requires Android 3.0
Lift Daily
Motivation
Quip
Price Free
Designed for Phone and tablet
Requires Android 2.2
Create a multi-task project with levels
Like this?
Try this!
Amazon
Appstore
A major revamp for
Amazons own app store
FlightTrack 5 Dominos
MapQuest
Pizza
Price Free
Designed for Phone and tablet
Requires Android 2.2
Price 3.05/$4.99
Designed for Phone
Requires Android 4.0
Price Free
Designed for Phone
Requires Android 2.3.3
Price Free
Designed for Phone
Requires Android Varies with device
iStoryTime
Storybook
Library
500 Firepaper
Price Free
Designed for Phone
Requires Android 2.2
Price Free
Designed for Phone
Requires Android 4.0.3
Price Free
Designed for Phone
Requires Android 2.2
Price Free
Designed for Phone and tablet
Requires Android 4.0
A limited library of
childrens books
in 2
minutes
77
hoto Sphere is a brilliant addition to the stock Google camera app that
lets you take 360-degree panoramic pictures and convert them into
gorgeous 3D bubble worlds. Its an impressive piece of photo-stitching kit,
and you can also share the images you take with the rest of the world by
uploading them onto Google Maps. Essentially, youre creating your own Street
View, adding to Googles library of images and letting people see a chunk of the
earth the way it was when you were there. And all you need is a phone with a
GPS connection, so you can tag your Photo Sphere image when you take it. In
this brief tutorial well walk you through how to get started with creating your
own personal little slices of Google Street View, wherever you nd yourself.
your
2 Take
Photo
3 Share to the
world
geo-tagging
Sphere
78
Wikitude Free
Layar Free
SpecTrek 1.69/$2.58
Price Free
Designed for Phone and tablet
Requires Android Varies with device
WiFiTap
WiFi NFC
CREATING A
DIGITAL HOME
Price Free
Designed for Phone and tablet
Requires Android 4.0 and up
Price Free
Designed for Phone and tablet
Requires Android 2.3 and up
PS
AP
IC L
ST IA
RI EC
TU SP
FU
Evernote app
used as yet
Price Free
Designed for Phone
Requires Android 2.3.3 and up
Price Free
Designed for Phone
Requires Android 2.3.3 and up
Price Free
Designed for Phone
Requires Android 2.2 and up
Spotimote 1.99/$2.58
An app that lets you control a
Windows version of Spotify
from your smartphone or
tablet. Perfect for a party.
An impressive
remote control
application for
loads of PC
programs. Use a Windows
PC as a media centre? This
is the app you need.
Plex 3.05/$4.99
Connect your
smartphone to
your PC and
watch and
listen to the content from
your home server when
youre out and about.
Netix Free
Stream a
huge
library of
lm and
TV to your Android
device. A great way
to avoid arguing over the TV.
PowerAmp 2.49/$3.99
An incredibly
powerful and
easy-to-use
music app
that lets you take control
of all your music collection
with no fuss.
79
Iris
Price Free
Designed for Phone
Requires Android 2.2 and up
Skyvi
Price Free
Designed for Phone
Requires Android 2.2 and up
Assistant
Price Free
Designed for Phone
Requires Android 2.2 and up
Recognition
Once you work out what to do the
recognition is okay, although the
app missed a few words on simple
sentences that the others didnt.
WINNER: Assistant The best understanding of our speech, and the quickest to reply
Ease of use
All controlled by a few taps and
voice. Its unwieldy, and there were
a few times when the app crashed:
not great if youre driving.
WINNER: Assistant Fast, and taps into Googles existing knowledge about you
Knowledge
Often sends you in conversational
loops rather than giving answers,
and rarely comes up with anything
that looks like the right answer.
WINNER: Assistant The most intelligent feeling of the three apps in our test
Send a message
Goes a long way around, getting
you to speak your text before
adding the contact. Its not as easy
to do as it should be either.
WINNER: Skyvi Fast and simple to do, and works exactly as you would expect it to
VERDICT:
And the winner is...
ASSISTANT
80
Assistant is hands down the best of the speech recognition apps. Its quick, simple to use and links in with a variety of
other services to make sure youre always getting the best information. With a better message sending provision itd be
an essential download, but even now its impressive.
PS
AP
IC L
ST IA
RI EC
TU SP
FU
Price Free
Designed for Phone and tablet
Requires Android 4.0 and up
Price 2.99/$2.99
Designed for Phone and tablet
Requires Android Varies with device
Tasker is packed with options
Wolfram
Alpha
Automagic
Automation
Locale
Gravity
Screen Pro
Price 1.86/$2.99
Designed for Phone and tablet
Requires Android 2.3 and up
Price 2.40/$3.90
Designed for Phone and tablet
Requires Android 2.2 and up
Price 1.10/$1.77
Designed for Phone
Requires Android 2.2 and up
Price 7.99/$9.99
Designed for Phone
Requires Android Varies with device
81
specification
Price Free
Designed for: Phone and tablet
Requires Android: 2.2
And the
winner is...
TIMELY
82
specification
Price Free
Designed for: Phone and tablet
Requires Android: 4.0.3
Timely
SETTING AN
ALARM
CUSTOMISE
OPTIONS
TIMERS
RINGTONES
ADDITIONAL
FEATURES
Although Neon Alarm Clock includes some great features, its the
additional features available in Timely that make it the best app to
wake you up. Having the added benet of the timer function means its
an app of multiple functions that users should denitely download.
www.linuxuser.co.uk
Available
from all good
newsagents &
supermarkets
today
ON SALE NOW:
ESSENTIAL GUIDES
DEFINITIVE REVIEWS
INDUSTRY INSIGHT
EXPERT OPINION
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Playmarkers
Assassins
Creed
Pirates
Final Fantasy
IV: The After
Years
what weve
been playing
Football Manager
2014 6.99/$9.99
Any football fanatic will
immediately love FMH 2014. The new
version has a redesigned training and
tactical interference for you to explore
and tinker with.
Recommend a game
84
twitter
@lgrobot
Price 2.99/$4.99
Designed for Tablet
Requires Android 3.2
Final
Fantasy IV:
The After
Years
Another successful JRPG
port on Android
Price 10.99/$15.99
Designed for Phone and tablet
Requires Android 2.3
The Rivers of
Alice
Ridiculous
Fishing
Sonic Dash
Nakama
Free
With a simple combination of
button bashing and 8-bit graphics,
Nakama is a fantastic little platformer
that is the perfect pick-up-and-play title.
Sonic Dash
Price Free
Designed for Tablet
Requires Android 2.3.2
Price 3.80/$6.06
Designed for Phone and tablet
Requires Android 2.2
Ridiculous Fishing
As extreme as shing could get
Its important
to cast away
preconceived
ideas of shing games
before playing
Ridiculous Fishing,
because as its name
suggests, its all a bit
over the top. Instead of
casting with your
standards rods,
Ridiculous Fishing sees
you shing with
chainsaws, toasters
and other random
items that you acquire.
Although in essence
Avoid the smaller sh to reach the
ocean oor
you still need to catch
sh to progress, the
main objective is to avoid many of the smaller sh and
navigate your bait to the ocean oor where the bigger sh
await you. Its a simple enough concept, but the
numerous stages you come across are varied enough to
keep it interesting. Latter levels also become frustrating
and theres little room for error if youre trying to get the
big scores. If you mix together a shing game with some
slapstick humour,
Price 1.99/$2.99
Ridiculous Fishing
Designed for Phone and tablet
is what youd end
Requires Android 2.3
up with.
Micro Miners
0.57/$0.99
Micro Miners is a devishly
difcult puzzle game that requires quick
reexes. The screen is constantly moving
and you need to expertly avoid obstacles.
Farming Simulator 14
2.20/$2.99
From harvesting crops to taking
care of cattle, theres a
surprising amount of detail in Farming
Simulator 2014. The main aim is to build
and maintain your farm from scratch, but
it soon starts to feel a bit repetitive.
Dr Who: Legacy
Free
Instead of ghting with Daleks
and Cybermen, Dr Who Legacy is a fairly
mundane colour matching game, which
sees you travel through time and space.
www.littlegreenrobot.co.uk
85
Samsung Galaxy
Ace 3
The Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
is a low-cost 4G handset that
bears clear Samsung hallmarks
4G
The 4G support is a
pleasant surprise in such a
low-cost handset. Whether
4G tariffs are suited to
entry-level users is another
matter, however
Small enough
With a four-inch screen the
Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 is
small enough for little
hands to cope with
Near Field
Communications
Shiny
The Ace 3 sports
Samsungs usual glossy
plastic. It feels more at
home on an entry-level
device than a agship one,
but its still not great
good
for...
86
4G
You get fast web and data speeds at an
affordable price
Review
The key plus point is
its 4G capability this
isnt something you
see very often at such
a low SIM-free price
considerably less expensive (150), has a 1,280 x
720 pixel, slightly larger 4.5-inch screen.
Samsung fans will be pleased that the Galaxy
Ace 3 has some of the special gesture and
motion-based features that make its handsets so
distinctive. There is Smart Stay that keeps the
screen on while you are looking at it, and Smart
Alert which gives you a little vibrating alert to
missed calls and messages when you pick the
handset up as well as the ability to mute calls by
turning the handset over.
Theres a dual-core processor keeping the
Galaxy Ace 3 running and as long as you dont force
things too much it should be ne. Certainly for
everyday stuff like web browsing and all but the
upper end of game playing you should be okay,
though average is denitely the best way to
describe performance.
Samsung includes its usual gamut of add-on
apps too, including its S Voice, S Translator, S
Planner, ChatON, Game Hub, Music Hub, Readers
Hub and its own Samsung App store too. Theres
also the standard Samsung easy mode a less
complicated home screen arrangement that is
ideal for users who dont want, or want to build up
to, the full Samsung user interface.
This is a 4G handset, and NFC is also here, giving
you a degree of future-proong that is welcome in
an entry-level handset and two features that the
Samsung Galaxy
Ace 3
information
Price 210
More information
www.samsung.com
Battery life
The battery should
last a day on fairly light
use, but if you are a
big gamer then you
may need an
afternoon top-up
technical specs
better than
Motorola
Moto G
issue 033
worse than
Performance
Not a speed demon, but smooth
enough for most basic functions
Design
Compact, plastic and therefore
distinctly Samsung
Features
4G and NFC plus lots of Samsung apps
and extras make a good package
Smart Stay
Many of Samsungs quirky
software features are
onboard including Smart
Stay, which keeps the
screen on when you are
looking at it
One-handed use
The four-inch screen makes for easy
one-handed use
Buttons
Verdict
Samsungs commitment
to hardware buttons is
still here, with the menu
and back buttons
positioned as always the
opposite way round to
most other phones
Touch communications
NFC is here, giving the phone a certain level of
future proong
Memory expansion
87
Asus Transformer
Pad TF701T
Top heavy
The screen and keyboard
sections are fairly evenly
weighted, so if you try to use
the touchscreen the whole
thing can topple over
Splendid screen
The super high-res screen
can be tweaked with Asus
Splendid app to alter the
colour hue
Twin set
Screen and keyboard clip
together to make a
laptop-style device
88
good
for...
Ofce work
Polaris Ofce is included for real productivity
on the work front
Review
Asus Transformer
Pad TF701T
information
Price 460
More information
www.asus.com
Battery life
USB 3.0
Power packed
Long life
Two batteries provide long life that you wont
be able to match
Good viewing
The high-resolution screen is superb work
and play is perfectly crisp
Masses of storage
technical specs
Gemini
Devices
JoyTab 9.7
issue 027
issue 017
better than
worse than
Performance
Blistering performance, handles
everything you throw at it
Design
Solid but stocky when you take the
dock into consideration
Features
Theres plenty going on to keep you
busy, but nothing particularly innovative
Verdict
A good
device, but we want
more innovation next time
89
Archos 45
Platinum
Viewability
The screen measures a
healthy 4.5 inches, but its
resolution is low at just
960 x 540
Search button
Theres a dedicated search
button beneath the screen
that calls up Google Now
Musical
matters
Theres an FM radio
and support for
lossless audio les
among the devices
multimedia goodness
good
for...
90
Budget buyers
This is a relatively low-cost handset, one for
the bargain hunters
Review
This shows Archos can do originality and be
quirky, but sadly theres not enough of this
kind of thing on offer
get a no signal symbol in the notications area for
the SIM-less slot. Bear in mind, if you do go for this
phone, that only one of the SIM slots supports 3G.
The other is 2G.
Given Archoss history of selling portable music
players you might expect some sophisticated
capabilities in the multimedia department. But
youd be wrong to do so. Theres an FM radio and
Archos provides a pair of multimedia apps called
Archos Music and Archos Video. But theyre pretty
mundane, to be honest. The music player does
have an equalizer, and its nice to see support for
the lossless OGG Vorbis format, but theres nothing
really standout about either app.
If you are feeling a little nonplussed by the
Archos 45 Platinum, the build may cement that
feeling. Its a fairly blocky design, and rather taller
than it needs to be for the screen size, with a big
bezel top and bottom. Archos has been clever in
putting a Search button beside the more standard
three touch buttons beneath the screen. Tap this
Four cores
Archos 45
Platinum
information
Price 169.99
More information
www.archos.com/gb
Battery life
You may need
a midafternoon
battery boost
to keep the 45
up and running
technical specs
Archos 45 Platinum
Two sims
ZTE Blade
lll
issue 032
better than
Motorola
Moto G
issue 033
worse than
Performance
Quad-core but at the lower end of the
performance scale
Design
Blocky and a bit oversized for the
screen, but nice and original in places
Features
Fairly basic feature set on show doesnt
inspire confidence
Verdict
Shop
around for a better
Music
Micro SD support and an equalizer are handy
for music fans
Travellers
Support for two SIMs will appeal to frequent
travellers scared of roaming charges
Simplicity
91
Acer Liquid
S1 Duo
Two SIMs
There are two SIM slots
under the backplate
Big screen
The screen measures 5.7
inches, making it large
enough for video viewing
and rewarding hours of
web browsing
Pop-up apps
Long press the multitasking
button for access to a
range of pop-up apps
good
for...
92
Review
Acer Liquid
S1 Duo
information
Price 220
More information
www.acer.co.uk
Battery life
Quad-core
The quad-core processor
seemed to handle our
requirements nicely
Slightly
underpowered
battery at a time
when battery
expectations on
phablets are high
technical specs
Writing
words
Polaris Ofce is on board
so you can write all those
important documents
better than
Multitasking
Pop-up apps are useful and aid productivity on
this large screened handset
Video viewing
The big screen works well for video, especially
with the HD resolution
Samsung
Galaxy
Note 3
issue 031
worse than
Performance
Responsive and speedy. Handles most
common tasks with ease
Design
Slightly flimsy but visually attractive.
Very large, obviously
Features
Some good ideas to make full use of
the big screen
Verdict
A good
value phablet for
those that want to test big
screen devices without
saddling themselves with
expensive contracts
93
Android
essentials
Our round-up of the best Android extras
Supertooth Disco 3
Price 69.99/$99.99
More information www.supertooth.net
If youre trying to do creative things with your tablet then the Bamboo stylus is
a real benet. Whether for artistic endeavours or for more productive tasks like
annotating PDF documents and the like, it comes in very handy. The pudgy,
soft-tipped ending is not for the most delicate details in your artwork but is
highly responsive and very comfortable to use. It doesnt have any of the
smartness of the S Pen seen on Samsungs Note devices, but it is beautifully
designed and something you will want to use.
94
Minx Go
Accessories
Groovez headphones
Price 59.95/$TBA
More information www.stk-acc.com
Price 99.95/$149
More information www.cambridgeaudio.com
EDITORS
CHOICE
Misfit Shine
Activity Tracker
Price 99.95/$119.95
More information www.mistwearables.com
EDITORS
CHOICE
RHA MA750
headphones
Price 79.95/$129.95
More information www.rha-audio.com
The MA750 headphones from RHA are a high-quality mid-range set. They come with no
less than ten different-sized and shaped tips for a perfect t in your ear (although
ironically they are rather difcult to t onto the headset itself), and use an over-ear
design which helps reduce some of the weight of the heavier-than-average cord. Sound
quality is excellent, with good dynamic range, and though there are no extras such as a
remote or accompanying app we never felt like we were missing out.
95
Wireless
gadgets
Wire-free fun for your Android devices
96
Freedom
Bluetooth keyboard
Price 39.95/$TBA
More information http://freedomtechnology.com.hk
This version of the Freedom Bluetooth keyboard has backlit keys and comes
with its own compact stand and water resistant case. It runs off its own
internal battery, recharged via the micro USB port. The keyboard is quite small
and so is a tad cramped, although we were able to type at decent speeds,
and far faster than using an onscreen keyboard.
Accessories
EDITORS
CHOICE
Sync by 50
Price 169.95/$229.95
More information www.smsby50.com
Although you may not be familiar with 50 Cents music, his new SMS Audio range
has enjoyed rave reviews. The Sync by 50 is a premium-feeling wireless speaker
that is small enough to be portable, but big enough to deliver big sound on a
regular basis. Connecting to the speaker via Bluetooth is easy enough to do, with
the fascia of the speaker including a selection of standard music controls to use.
Mainly due to the dual 50mm drivers built in to the Sync, music is surprisingly
clear. It isnt as loud as similarly priced speakers, but both the clarity and overall
quality is second to none and should please both casual and audiophiles alike.
Viewquest
Hepburn
Price 149.99/$TBA
More information www.viewquest.co.uk
97
NEXT
MONTH
30 KITKAT
SECRETS
REVEALED
The tastiest bits of Android
4.4 that Google forgot to tell
you about
ANDROID
EVERYWHERE!
Hot Shots
Your amazing Android snaps
From Chris Everall
Used Samsung Galaxy S III
email
qa@littlegreenrobot.co.uk
From Mike & Valeria Finch
Used Samsung Galaxy S III
HOTTEST
NEW
PHONES
OF
2014
The best Android gear
heading your way over the
next few months
Issue 35
goes on sale:
20 Feb
Designed
by Philippe Starck,
Parrot Zik are the
worlds most advanced
wireless headphones
+ Wirelessly stream music via Bluetooth from smartphones and tablet + Active noise cancellation
only hear your music, not background noise + Companion App to customise and optimise audio
settings + On-ear controls no need to reach for your phone or tablet + Automatically pause and
restart music when taken off/put back on + Carry case and spare battery options also available
+ Available now in four gorgeous colours