The continuation of my earlier post. Apologies because I was forced to cheat and include one app that's not free here. But believe me..this app is totally worth your money.
In this part, I'll focus on utilities and tools that'll make your Android phone more productive.
Utilities & Tools
1. Llama
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Funny name? Yes! But, Llama is a very useful app that utilises your location to personalize your phone settings. Suppose you want to switch your phone to silent mode while at work but keep the ringer volume maximum when at home, or if you want your phone to use your WiFi connection at home but stop searching for WiFi networks once you've left, or if you want your phone wallpaper to change according to what time of the day it is or depending your location or maybe even your phone's battery level, Llama can automate all these processes and more! The best part is that it doesn't use your cellphone's GPS to determine your location. Instead it identifies the cellular phone masts in your areas and remembers them. So no battery drain and no data usage!
If you've already heard about or tried Tasker, then you'd have figured out that Llama is like a love child of Tasker with the added benefit of being absolutely free! It will take a little bit of work and time to figure out, but it's worth it.
Guides on how to automate and use Llama here-
2. SwiftKey3 Keyboard
This is the paid app i was talking abouabout you must have. No question about it. Just go and get it!
Typing on a touchscreen is not as fast as the used to be on a normal keypad (remember those old phones that actually had a keypad we could hammer at and how we used to boast about who can type the fastest!)
This app is guaranteed to increase your typing speed majorly. You don't need to precisely type each and every character. You just jab at the buttons as fast as you can and SwiftKey will predict the word that you're probably typing. Press the space bar and the word is inserted. SwiftKey learns from the words you use on Facebook, Twitter and Gmail, so it gets better at prediction as time passes.
The down side? It'll set you back by a couple of $$. But take the one month free trial and give it a shot.
Here's a video on how smooth this app is-
Download SwiftKey 3 from the Play Store ($3.99 or Rs.99)
Requires: Android 2.1 and up
3. Moon+ Reader
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Ebooks are not only in pdf format any more. So Adobe is not the solution to your 'How can I read my ebooks on-the-go problem'. Step in Moon+ Reader. It can handle almost any format you throw at it... be it epub, lit, chm, mobi, rtf, txt, fb2 etc.
There are other more popular mobile ebook readers, but I found most of them lacking in format support. For example, both Aldiko and Mantano Reader do not support mobi files. Moon+ Reader may be a bit lacking in GUI (just a bit...it's not that hard on the eyes), but it makes up for that in terms of functionality.
It does not have an ebook library to buy or download books from so use this app primarily to read books that you already have.
Download Moon+ Reader from the Play Store (Free)
Works with almost all Android versions. Even the very old ones.
4. Onavo Count
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All of us having a limited data plan need this app (I'm talking about you 3G users out there). The ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich) update has brought data usage monitoring to Android but I still prefer this app. The home screen widget shows how much data is used and what's the balance. There's a a widget to show active data usage as well and also monitor which app is abusing your data. When you install a new app, Onavo scans it and tells you whether it's data friendly or not. If it's not, you can choose to restrict it to WiFi. Pretty handy for people who need to keep tabs on their usage. You can even set up a separate roaming plan for when you're travelling.
5. Google Goggles
Google Goggles works on a simple principle - get Information by clicking a photo. Just swipe out your phone and scan the place or thing you want, using this app, and it'll tell you what it is- be it a landmark or a product like a book or a piece of art or just plain text.
6. AirDroid
AirDroid is an app that has evolved tremendously over time. Maybe your phone is charging in the adjacent room and you just remembered that really important text you need to send your father-in-law. AirDroid will save you the trouble of getting off your PC and trudging till your phone. It mainly allows you to access the contents of your phone through the PC browser via WiFi. You can send a text to someone, manage installation of apps on your phone, remotely wipe data off your phone, move around the data on your phone and even stream videos from the phone camera. And the phone doesn't need to be anywhere near you while you do all of this.
Download AirDroid 2 from the Play Store (Free)
Requires: Android 2.2 and up
Photo credit: Gabriel Avramov
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