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Android Advisor Issue 3
Android Advisor Issue 3
ANDROID
ISSUE
03
ADVISOR
BEST EVER
SMARTPHONES
+
MWC
ROUND-UP
14
0
2 us 8
R
O3 NexWear
F
T LG Gndroid
O
H
A
Welcome...
W
19/03/2014 15:28
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Is Android overrun
with malware?
Given its popularity, its no surprise Android was
the top target for malware makers in 2013
19/03/2014 15:28
Popularity
has its
down sides
19/03/2014 15:28
Mutant Windows-Android
hybrids must go
Microsoft and Google reportedly arent happy with the
idea of sharing space on the same PC
The Asus
Transformer
Book Duet
TD300 was
announced at
CES 2014
19/03/2014 15:28
Google grimaces
Googles opposition is a little more curious. Reports
suggest Google simply doesnt want Android sharing
space with another OS.
But, as far as we know, Google never objected
to Canonicals concept for a hybrid Android-Ubuntu
phone, and Huawei plans on bringing an AndroidWindows Phone hybrid device to the US in the
coming months.
PCs are different, however, and perhaps Google
simply doesnt like the idea of Android playing a
complementary role to Windows on a PC.
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Device makers
need Google
on their side if
they hope to
offer access to
Google Play
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These Android
phones look
suspiciously
like Windows
phones
19/03/2014 15:28
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Cheap is
cheerful in the
smartphone
world
19/03/2014 15:28
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Cheap
handsets
such as the
Samsung
Galaxy Ace 3
proliferate
19/03/2014 15:28
Samsung
was in hot water
with the tech
press following
news its phones
were cheating
on performance
benchmarks
19/03/2014 15:28
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Running Tizen,
the Galaxy
Gear 2 could be
compatible with
both Android
and iOS devices
19/03/2014 15:29
COMING SOON:
Android Wear & Moto 360
Google has unveiled its Android Wear smartwatch OS,
with a range of devices set to launch this summer
19/03/2014 15:29
The Motorola
Moto 360
will be one
of the first
smartwatches
to run Android
Wear
19/03/2014 15:29
COMING SOON:
Google Nexus 8 tablet
The Nexus 7 is getting a larger, higher-resolution screen,
and is expected to go on sale in July
19/03/2014 15:29
This image
appeared on
Googles KitKat
website last
November, but
we think its
screen is larger
than that of a
Nexus 7
19/03/2014 15:29
COMING SOON:
LG G3 smartphone
LGs forthcoming G3 could be the first smartphone with
a next-generation super-high-resolution display
19/03/2014 15:29
Pictured: LGs G2
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BoomSound:
Front-facing stereo
speakers, aka
BoomSound, have
gained a performance
boost. This is thanks
to larger speaker
chambers and a
redesigned amplifier
Screen:
The HTC has
increased its
screen from 4.7- to
5in, with improved
contrast and
viewing angles.
Navigation buttons
have been moved
onscreen, too. The
full-HD resolution
results in a pixel
density of 441ppi
Motion Launch
Gestures:
The HTC can be
switched on by
double-tapping the
screen. Swiping in
from the edge of
the screen launches
BlinkFeed or the
widget panel.
Holding the phone
in landscape and
pressing the volume
key will launch the
camera app
HTC One M8
Storage:
The HTC has 16GB
of internal storage,
and now comes
with a microSD
card slot that can
accept cards up to
128GB in capacity.
The phone also
comes with 65GB
of Google Drive
cloud storage
Sense 6.0:
The latest version
of HTC's user
interface, Sense
6.0, is paired with
Android 4.4.2 KitKat.
You can personalise
BlinkFeed to a
greater degree,
and change the
theme of the
software and
even the font
19/03/2014 15:29
reo
ve
mance
anks
er
plifier
Unibody:
The chassis is
machined from
a single piece of
aluminium, which is
treated for a glossy
finish and now
wraps around to the
front of the phone.
Three colours are
available: Metal
Grey, Arctic Silver
and Amber Gold
Duo Camera:
The main
Ultrapixel camera
takes standard
photos, while the
second sensor
captures depth
information. This
allows users to
refocus shots
after theyve
been taken
Co-processor:
Like the iPhone 5s,
the HTC One has
a co-processor.
HTC's low-power
chip keeps sensors
awake for features
such as Motion
Launch Gestures
and can also track
activity via its
preloaded Fitbit app
Battery:
A larger
2600mAh
battery and an
Extreme Power
Saving mode
means the HTC
One can last up
to 30 hours on
just 10 percent
of charge
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Screen:
The 5.1in full-HD
Super AMOLED
display is brighter
with more clarity,
delivering a
deeper and more
vivid picture.
Local Contrast
Enhancement
helps it to adapt
to lighting
conditions, so
youll always
be able to see
whats onscreen
Faster internet:
By combining the
power of LTE and
Wi-Fi, Samsungs
Download Booster
lets you download
files in a hurry. And
when youre simply
surfing the web,
802.11ac Wi-Fi and
MIMO technology
offers double the
speed of the S4
Samsung Galaxy S5
Dust- &
waterproof:
With IP67
certification,
the Galaxy S5
is resistant to
sweat, rain,
liquids, sand and
dust, so you can
just get on with
whatever activity
takes your fancy
without worrying
about protecting
your phone
Finger Scanner:
In common with
the iPhone 5s, the
S5 allows you to
unlock the handset
with the swipe of a
finger. You can also
use the fingerprint
scanner to make
PayPal payments
and purchase
content through
Samsung apps
19/03/2014 15:29
Camera:
The S5 now
sports at 16Mp
camera (up from
13Mp). New
features include
Fast Auto Focus,
Selective Focus
and Virtual Tour
Shot. Theres
also a 2Mp
webcam at the
front
Health
& fitness:
Samsung has
ramped up the
health controls
with a new Heart
Rate Sensor. It lets
you measure your
heart rate directly
on your phone,
then monitor your
fitness with S
Health
Battery:
The S5 features a
2800mAh battery.
Combined with
its Ultra Power
Saving Mode the
Samsung can last
24 hours on just a
10 percent charge
19/03/2014 15:29
Screen:
Sony claims to
offer a viewing
experience you
wont forget, with
a 5.2in full-HD
(1920x1080,
423ppi)
Triluminous IPS
display. Live
Colour LED
offers increased
colour depth and
gradation, while
the X-Reality
picture engine
promises crisp
shots free of
jagged edges
Sony Xperia Z2
Processor:
Sony pairs
Qualcomms
2.3GHz
Snapdragon
801 quad-core
processor, which is
75 percent faster
than the S4 Pro,
with 3GB of RAM
and Adreno 330
graphics. Youll
get super-fast
performance with
minimal drain on
the battery
Sound:
Sony has a strong
legacy in audio
technologies,
and the Z2 wont
disappoint. Digital
noise cancellation,
stereo speakers
and Clear Audio+
technology will
help your music
come alive
19/03/2014 15:29
Camera:
With a whopping
20.7Mp stills
camera and 4K
video camera,
the Xperia Z2
promises standout
photography
and video from
a smartphone. It
combines a large
1/2.3in Exmor RS
sensor with Sonys
G Lens and BIONZ
image-processing
engine, for blur-free,
ultra-sharp shots,
even in low light
Build:
Crafted from
premium materials,
the Xperia Z2
has a one-piece
aluminium frame
with glass panels,
and a high screento-phone ratio
that makes it feel
natural in the hand
Battery:
A 3200mAh
battery promises
up to 740 hours
on standby.
Battery Stamina
mode can
minimise drain,
automatically
turning off
functions you
dont need, while
keeping the
notifications you
want
19/03/2014 15:29
S5 vs One vs Z2
2014s flagship smartphones go head
to head in our comparison review
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Display
There is very little difference in the sizing of these
three smartphones screens, with the HTC the
smallest at 5in, the Samsung slightly larger at 5.1in,
and the Sony biggest of the bunch at 5.2in. All three
offer a full-HD (1920x1080) resolution, but the HTCs
smaller screen means it offers the highest pixel
density at 441ppi. Meanwhile, the Samsung Galaxy
S5 offers 432ppi and the Sony 423ppi, although you
wont be able to tell the difference between them.
Samsung employs a Super AMOLED panel in its
Galaxy S5, which it says can automatically adjust to
lighting, thereby optimising the display for whatever
the conditions. Sony uses a Triluminous display,
and its X-Reality mobile picture engine and Live
Colour LED technology (which is said to
increase colour depth and gradation)
result in a gorgeous-looking screen
that is sharp, colourful, vibrant and
immersive. HTC, meanwhile, has
increased the size of its super-sharp
panel and moved the navigation
buttons onscreen, allowing for a
handset thats only slightly chunkier
than the original HTC One.
19/03/2014 15:29
Storage
The Samsung, Sony and HTC are each available
with 16GB of internal storage for your apps, music,
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Cameras
At last we have an area where these Android
phones are less evenly matched. On paper you
might be tricked into thinking the 20.7Mp Sony
Xperia Z2 is the best suited to the amateur
photographer, while the 4.1Mp HTC One M8 is about
as useful for taking photos as an envelope, and the
16Mp Galaxy S5 sits somewhere in the middle. But
achieving decent photographs depends on a lot
more than the number of megapixels offered by a
sensor, and each of these three phones offers some
interesting technologies in this department.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 has gone from 13Mp in
the S4 to 16Mp here, with its 1/2.6in sensor boasting
a super-fast auto focus that lets you take a
shot in 0.3 seconds, a selective focus
mode that blurs the background
and makes your subject
really stand out, and
a pretty decent
HDR (Rich Tone)
mode. Theres also
a 2Mp front-facing
webcam, and the
S5 is capable of
4K video at 30fps.
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Connectivity
Whether you buy your smartphone from HTC,
Samsung or Sony, its going to come with the latest
connectivity technology. That means 4G LTE mobile
connectivity, Bluetooth 4.0, the very latest in Wi-Fi
technology 802.11ac and NFC.
Sony also allows the sharing of 4K content
between your smartphone and TV via MHL, and
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Software
Unsurprisingly, all thee handsets run the very latest
version of Google Android: KitKat 4.4.2. None is a
vanilla implementation of Android, however, with the
Sony Xperia Z2 perhaps the closest.
Samsung has performed a bit of a clean up of
Android for its Galaxy S5, with round icons found
in the notification bar and Settings menu. Similar to
BlinkFeed, Samsungs Magazine interface is placed
to the left of the main Home screen, and we couldnt
find a way to remove it. Three
extras are worthy of mention:
Kids Mode offers a fun,
colourful interface for children,
restricting content and access
to other features with a PIN;
S Health is paired with the
heart-rate monitor on the
S5s rear to help you track
your fitness; and Private
Mode is a place in which
to store all those naughty
or embarrassing photos
and videos you dont want
anyone else to see (the
fingerprint scanner is used
to gain access to this mode).
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Battery life
Battery life is always a bit of a sticking point for the
most powerful Android phones, with few able to last
more than a day without needing a recharge. So
its pleasing to see phone makers include special
power-saving modes that can drastically improve
the runtime. The Galaxy S5s Ultra Power Saving
mode, for example, switches the display to black and
white and turns off unnecessary features, allowing
the Galaxy smartphone to last 24 hours with just 10
percent charge. HTCs Extreme Power Saving mode
is even better, allowing 30 hours of runtime once the
battery drops to 10 percent.
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Verdict
We wont be able to form a decision on which is the
best smartphone until weve had all three into the lab
for benchmarking. However, on paper alone, the Sony
Xperia Z2 appears to lead the pack. With an extra gig
of RAM over the competition, a promising stills- and
video camera that lets you display 4K footage on
your 4K TV, one-touch sharing, listening, mirroring
and backup via NFC, a gorgeous screen, excellent
dust- and waterproofing credentials and the largestcapacity battery prior to the existence of any powersaving mode, Sony is surely on to a winner with the
Xperia Z2. The Samsung Galaxy S5s fingerprint
scanner and heart-rate monitor also impress, as does
the HTC One M8s Duo Camera, but none is on our
list of priorities.
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Acer Liquid Z4
Also new from Acer is the Liquid Z4, which is half
the price of the companys E3 at just 82. Its a
compact handset with a 4in (800x400) display thats
not only a little dull, but low-res and relatively small
by todays standards. The build is better than you
might expect at this price, though, with a smooth,
rounded back that feels nice to hold, and pleasant
red detail around the camera lens on
the black model (its also available
in white). A small button on the
rear, dubbed AcerRAPID, aims to
simplify one-handed use, and lets
you access the camera, answer
calls and launch predefined
apps. A 5Mp rear camera is
paired with a flash, and our test
shots were satisfactory for a
budget phone. Inside, a 1.3GHz
dual-core processor, 512MB of
RAM and 4GB of storage space
are stingy, but acceptable
given the price. If only it had a
microSD slot The Liquid Z4
goes on sale in April.
19/03/2014 15:30
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Archos 64 Xenon
The 64 Xenon is a phablet from Archos that costs
just 199. Its a huge device, with a 6.4in display
and large bezel making it uncomfortable to hold.
Its not heavy, mind, at just 196g. That 6.4in panel
is an IPS display with a 1280x720-pixel resolution
matching that of the 50c Oxygen, but with a
lower pixel density. The brushed-metal case looks
cheap, and the overall design isnt outstanding
with oddly placed buttons on the rear. Inside is a
Mediatek MT6582 quadcore processor running at
1.3GHz, 1GB of RAM and
a Mali-400MP2 graphics
processor. Storage is just
4GB, but a microSDHC
slot lets you slide in an
extra 32GB. The phablets
rear-facing camera is
surprisingly impressive, at
8Mp with an LED flash. We
managed to capture some
pretty nice photos using
the Xenon, despite the
poor lighting conditions
at the stand. It can also
record video at 1080p,
while the front-facing
camera is 2Mp. The 64
Xenon runs Android Jelly
Bean, with no signs of
KitKat on the horizon.
The release date is yet to
be announced.
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Huawei MediaPad X1
The MediaPad X1 is Huaweis take on a Nexus
7 killer, and the Chinese firm claims its the most
slender tablet (or, rather, phablet) in its class. The
X1, which will cost W399 and launch within the next
few months, is certainly narrow and very easy to
grip with one hand. The MediaPad is both thin and
light, at 7.2mm and 239g, but with a 7in full-HD IPS
screen its way too big to use as a phone. The rear
cover is made from aluminium, with plastic strips at
the top and bottom. Inside is a 1.6GHz quad-core
processor with 2GB of RAM and 16- or 32GB of
storage. Theres also a microSD card slot for adding
more. It has the best camera weve seen on a tablet,
with a 13Mp sensor and LED flash. The front-facing
webcam is also pretty decent at 5Mp. The Huawei
MediaPad X1 runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean with
Huaweis Emotion UI
2.0 interface, which
removes the app
menu and places
everything on the
home screen.
Perhaps most
interesting of all is
the fact Huawei
claims the X1s
5000mAh
battery can
last between
20- and 25
hours, and
charge other
devices.
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LG G2 Mini
Like many smartphone
makers, LG has made a
smaller, cheaper version
of its flagship smartphone.
The price has yet to
be announced, but the
smartphone will no doubt
be more affordable than
its bigger brother when it
arrives in early April. The G2
Mini has a 4.7in (540x960)
IPS screen that makes it
more comfortable in the
hand than the 5.2in G2.
Its a little thicker, too, at
9.8mm, but we wouldnt call
it chunky. In common with
the G2, a Rear Key places
power and volume controls
below the camera; getting
one up on that phone, the
rear cover is removable,
providing access to the
battery and a microSDHC card slot. Hardware specs
have been downgraded from the G2, the Mini has a
1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB
of internal storage. It runs Android 4.4 KitKat.
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LG G Pro 2
The G Pro 2 phablet has a huge 5.9in display, yet
LG has managed to keep down the size and weight,
and keep things stylish. A thin bezel means even
tiny hands can hold and grip the LG with ease, and
features such as Mini View aim to improve the ease
with which you can use the phablet in one hand.
This KitKat device also boasts 4K video recording
and Knock Code lock/unlock security. Photos and
video look delightful on the huge display, and we
like the adjustable split-screen mode that lets you
watch a film while typing a quick email. Theres a
13Mp camera on the rear, and a 2.1Mp webcam at the
front a white border placed onscreen can aid the
capture of selfies with the latter. Inside is a 2.26GHz
Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor
and 3GB of RAM. The G Pro 2 is available with 16- or
32GB of storage, and a microSDXC card reader lets
you slot in a further 64GB. A 3200mAh battery is
removable. Pricing is yet to be confirmed.
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LG L90
We seriously dig the
LG L90, the top model
of three L-series
smartphones unveiled at
MWC (other devices in
this family are the 3.5in
L40 and 4.5in L70). Its a
4.7in (540x960, 234ppi)
mid-range smartphone with a 1.2GHz
Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core chip and
1GB of RAM lurking inside. You get 8GB of storage,
plus a microSDHC slot for adding up to 32GB
more. A rear-facing 8Mp camera with flash offers
acceptable quality, while the secondary snapper is
a crummy 1.3Mp model thats there purely to
facilitate Skype and Snapchat. The LG L90 supports
dual SIMs, but mobile connectivity stretches only so
far as 3G. Pleasingly, Android 4.4 KitKat is onboard.
Pricing and availability is yet to be confirmed.
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Nokia X & X+
The X (W89) and X+ (W99)
are two very similar budget
smartphones from Nokia running
Android. Yes, you read that right.
Their design looks very similar
to Nokias Asha range: square,
chunky, and with six colours
available. At 10.4mm and 129g
they feel a little brick-like, too.
The 4in (480x800) screens are
basic, but getting an IPS panel
is surprising at this price. Inside
the X and X+ is a dual-core
Qualcomm
Snapdragon
S4 chip, plus
512MB (X) or 768MB (X+) of RAM.
It sounds stingy, but offered
smooth performance during our
hands-on testing. Both models
have just 4GB of internal storage,
but a microSDHC slot lets you
add an extra 32GB. The Android
OS has been heavily customised,
looking very similar to Windows
Phone, and it doesnt offer
access to Google Play.
19/03/2014 15:30
Nokia XL
The 89 Nokia XL is the
third Android-powered
Nokia smartphone to
appear at MWC. Its a 5inscreen smartphone that,
like its brothers, runs
a heavily customised
OS with no access to
Google Play. Available
in March, the XL
looks far more like
a Windows Phone than any
Android handset weve ever seen. But the hardware
isnt bad: you get a 5in (480x800, 197ppi) display,
a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 768MB of
RAM and 4GB of storage (plus a microSDHC slot).
A 5Mp rear camera is paired with a flash, while
a 2Mp front snapper is ideal for video chat. At
141.4x77.7x10.9mm and 190g, its not the skinniest
smartphone, but its not too chunky either.
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Sony Xperia M2
The new kid on Sonys mid-range block is the Xperia
M2, and it should offer reasonable value when it
goes on sale in May at 250. Its as beautiful as its
higher-priced siblings, measuring 139.7x71.1x8.6mm
and weighing in at just 148g. Its a solid-feeling
device that you wouldnt be ashamed to take out
your pocket in public. However, we found the 4.8in
(540x960, 229ppi) touchscreen a little unresponsive,
and saw some lag opening certain apps surprising,
given the 1.2GHz Qualcomm quad-core chip and
1GB of RAM. Theres also 8GB of internal storage
(with a microSDHC slot), an 8Mp rear camera, 4G
connectivity and support for dual SIMs.
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Mobile World
Congress: you
really dont
want to go
inside
19/03/2014 15:31
The food
This isnt unique to MWC, but theres a real danger of
becoming malnourished at technology tradeshows.
Our delicate stomachs can struggle with the foreign
food, and your eating times inevitably get screwed
up. In CES the press get a packed lunch each day;
not so in Barcelona.
The queues
Were English, so apparently were good at queuing.
The queues are MWC are nothing short of horrific.
No matter what youre trying to do or where youre
trying to go there will be a gigantic queue. There
are out-the-door queues for food at lunch time,
picking up your badge to get you into the show,
queues as far as the eye can see for taxis at the
end of the day and, yes, more queues to see the
best devices with which everyone wants a hands-on.
Youre alright with the rubbish products.
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Dodgy Wi-Fi
In order to bring you all the information were
gathering from the show, we need a good internet
connection. Unfortunately, as with almost every
other show and press event, the Wi-Fi is unreliable.
Obviously its going to be difficult to provide a
speedy and constant connection to thousands of
attendees, but it sure makes our job frustrating.
Luckily the press room has hard-wired ethernet
cables, so its not all bad.
Expenses
This is most definitely a first-world problem,
but expensing a trip like MWC is a nightmare.
Remembering to get a receipt for everything you buy
is hard enough; not losing said receipts is even more
difficult. If you manage to do all that, sorting through it
all when youre back in the office is worse still. Its not
only logistically tricky, but working out what youve
bought on a Spanish receipt is practically impossible.
Online editor
David Court
wrangles with
his expenses
19/03/2014 15:31
Android smartphone
processors explained
We explain the past, present and future
of smartphone chip design
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A basic block
diagram of the
Snapdragon
800 chip
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The Exynos 5
Octa features
four big highperformance
cores paired
with four little
cores that
offer lower
performance
but big battery
savings
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A die shot
of the nVidia
Tegra K1. You
can easily
make out
the four big
CPUs, one
small CPU
in the centre,
and the giant
graphics array
19/03/2014 15:31
64-bit dreams
While Apples move to 64-bit has motivated the rest
of the mobile industry to follow, dont expect to see
dramatic dividends in upcoming Android phones and
tablets. Apples tightly controlled vertical integration
in which system software and device hardware
are made by the same company makes it easier
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Lookalike apps
Our main emphasis here is on how to use exactly the
same applications on our mobile devices as we use
on our Windows PC and vice versa. However,
for some purposes, its possible to manage with
lookalike apps while youre out and about. In
essence, we make do with apps on our Android
devices that provide some of the functionality of
Windows applications.
PDF files
In some cases they work in a way thats
indistinguishable from the Windows version.
Androids reader for Adobe PDF files, for example,
is just about perfect. However, apps that provide
compatibility with Microsoft Office documents
namely Word, Excel and PowerPoint files while
very desirable, are something of a mixed bag.
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Microsoft Office
Quickoffice
should meet
most of your
productivity
needs
Quickoffice
Quickoffice isnt 100 percent
compatible with Microsoft
Office. We found that opening
a Word document that was
formatted with multiple text
columns appeared as a single
column, but it will probably
meet most of your needs.
Image files
You may also need a means
of editing photos and other
graphics files in standard
formats such as Jpeg or Png.
Here, were not concerned with
compatibility with particular
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Remote
Desktop can
give you
access to
Windows on
Android, but
it has some
limitations
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OnLive
is a free
virtualisation
solution
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To run Android
on Windows
try BlueStacks
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What is Spritz?
In its simplest form Spritz is an app for the Samsung
Galaxy S5 and Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatch
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Cartoon HD copycats
If you search the Google Play store for Cartoon HD,
many Android apps appear in the results fighting for
your attention. Descriptions will no doubt state that
the app is legitimate and collecting content from
YouTube and websites in the public domain but
just because they say that it doesnt make it true.
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1. Waze Free
Waze isnt the best satnav app just because its free,
its because it manages to merge a great navigation
app with crowd-sourced data to tell you in real time
about traffic jams, closed roads, speed- and red-light
cameras, plus local petrol prices.
This would be all for nothing if no-one used it, but
Waze has millions of users around the world, with
plenty in the UK. Youre encouraged to participate,
even if only passively, which is why its such a
success. Collecting data about your position and
speed means other Waze users can be alerted to
slow traffic without anyone lifting a finger. You can
report temporary speed cameras, accidents and other
hazards as well as map corrections.
The app itself is a breeze to use, and it looks great,
but maps arent stored offline so youll need an active
data connection. It even includes a Glympse-style
option to let someone track your progress and ETA
while you drive. Road speed limits arent displayed,
but youll only be warned of speed cameras if youre
driving too fast.
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4. TomTom 37.99
One of the biggest and most recognisable names
in the satnav market is TomTom. Its Android app is a
little on the expensive side, but it has a lot to offer.
Since youre paying a lot for the app, its not
surprise that downloadable maps are included.
You must download them to your device before you
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5. Navigon 34.95
Garmin is a big name in
outdoor activities and, of
course, satellite navigation.
Navigon is its satnav app for
Android. Its a little on the
pricey side of things, but its
worth a look.
Although its a little
cheaper than its TomTom
rival, users will have to pay
extra for features such as
points of interest, live traffic
information, petrol station
locations and more.
Youll be able to download
the latest map at the time
of purchase, but updates will
again cost you more, which
is a shame considering the already high price. Youll
need over 1GB of space on your device, but this
negates the need for data usage for navigation.
There are some good features that you dont have
to pay extra for, though, including Google Street View,
support for Glympse location sharing, turn-by-turn
guidance and speed-camera alerts.
Navigons Reality View Pro is one of its better
features, providing a photo-realistic display so you
dont up in the wrong lane and miss an important
turning. Although there are some good features,
the interface isnt as polished as the others listed
here. Its rather cluttered and difficult to pick out
the information youre looking for while driving.
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Pushbullet
Not everybody needs to send text messages in an
on-demand fashion. Maybe you only need to know
what is buzzing on your phone, so you can safely
ignore it. If thats the case, Pushbullet is what you
want. The core function of Pushbullet is sending
links, images and map locations back and forth from
your phone, which saves time and frustration, but it
also shows notifications in a browser extension.
Install Pushbullet on your Android phone, then
install the Chrome or Firefox extension on your
desktop. Pushbullet on Android will ask you to enable
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DeskSMS
With DeskSMS, you can receive
and respond to texts pretty
much anywhere you can open
a browser or check your email.
You first install DeskSMS
on your phone, then give it
permissions to read and send text
messages. You also authenticate
your primary Google/Gmail
account, then let it test its
connection to your Hangouts
account, your email, and/or a
browser extension for Chrome or
Firefox. If it goes through, youre
now receiving text messages
as chats/emails/notifications,
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Google Voice
This one requires more commitment than the other
options, but its an established system.
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AirDroid
How would you like to send, receive and start
text-message conversations from inside a browser
window? AirDroid can do that. Install it on your
phone or tablet, then head to web.airdroid.com on
any computer and youll see custom desktop within
your browser window. As long as you have that page
open, youll see text notifications, and you can click
Messages to check your archive or send texts.
You see those other apps and widgets, though,
right? See how you can browse and launch files,
apps, photos and music on your phone from any webconnected computer? See how you can remotely
control your camera from inside AirDroid? Take a
screenshot, check the battery, trade links and notes
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so that it wouldnt sound like your average run-of-themill robot. And more recently, Google introduced two
High Quality digital voices in the latest Text-to-Speech
app update to help make your Android-powered
device something you want to talk to you.
Currently, there are only a handful of apps outside
of Googles own that utilise the native Text-to-Speech
feature, but its still a very handy feature.
Enable text-to-speech
First, youll have to enable the Text-to-speech
functionality from the Android Settings menu.
In Android 4.2.2 or later, head to the Language &
Input panel, and then select Text-to-speech output,
located toward the bottom of the screen.
Tap on Preferred Engine to set up the language
your device should speak. From this page, you
can also install any additional language packs, if
necessary, and choose whether or not Google can
update the TTS app using your cellular data.
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Get reading
Third-party e-book and reading apps will work with
Google Text-to-speech only if they utilise the API.
Unfortunately, Amazons Kindle app doesnt, but
you can take full advantage of the feature with
Google Play Books.
You can easily enable the Read Aloud feature to
dictate stories to you from the Settings menu. Just
turn it on, and your Android device will begin to read
to you; itll heed to semi-colons and commas and
pronounce words to the best of its ability.
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snap to add it. Seriously; if you can snap off the back
cover, you can do this. It might even take you longer
to read about doing it than to perform the surgery.
Just follow these simple steps.
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Managing lights
There are several light management apps out
there, but Light Manager is our favourite, because
its free, easy to use, and light on system resources.
Light Flow, another popular LED management app,
is almost three times the size of Light Manager,
and weve found it has a tendency to drain your
devices battery.
Getting started with Light Manager is simple just
download, install and open the app, and youre ready
to start customising your notification lights. The app
can look a little overwhelming at first, but its simple
black-and-white menu is pretty straightforward. At the
top, youll see the apps settings menu:
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