iOS 7 came with a brand new user interface. A new control center came along with many other updates from Apple in the last WWDC 2013 conference. If you ever wanted to bring iOS 7‘s control center to your Android device, an app named Control Center is here to the rescue.
Control Center is a free Android app that runs on your Android 2.2+ device. You’ll just need to install the app, configure a few optional settings and you’re ready to go. But make sure to hit the Start Service button after installing. Swiping up from the bottom of the screen will bring the iOS 7-like control center.
The app comes with some options that we Android users use often. Supports Airplane mode ON/OFF, WiFi On/Off, mobile data ON/OFF, Bluetooth ON/OFF and rotation.
Also, you can control your screen brightness and phone ringing mode easily.
Other useful utility options available in this tool are Torch, Clock, Calculator, Camera and Game Center. Something you must note is that, you can change these tools with other apps that you love by using the Long Press to Update option.
You can also control the Control Center position in your screen by using the Arrow Indicator and Touchable Area options in the app. You can also choose to enable Touch Vibration.
After launching the revamped web version of Google Maps at the I/O 2013 event, Google has ported the same to Android now. The new Google Maps v7.0.0 available for Android 4.0.3+ devices. The update will be available on the Google Play store.
This new version of Google Maps brings a completely new interface. This new version also comes with updated navigational features like live traffic updates, dynamic re-routing and incident updates. These ensure to make your navigation quick and easy.
Google has taken steps to make this new version more useful with a Foursquare-like Explore feature. The Explore section of this updated app shows some interesting places nearby to dine, drink, sleep or play. It seems like Google brought the Google Now cards-like interface to Google Maps. The sections in Explore and Navigation will show information to you in the form of Cards.
Google Maps v7.0.0 also rates place with 5 star rating system. This helps you find useful places. Offers from the multinational brands like Toys “R” Us and Michael’s are shown right inside this app. Zagat also works in partnership with Google to rate good restaurants.
New Google Maps for Other Devices
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This new, improved Google Maps v7.0.0 will be available for tablets too. It’ll come with a dedicated tablet UI. iPhone and iPad versions of Google Maps will be available soon.
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Some things that will be no longer available
Google Maps v7.0.0 also retires the old Latitude and the check-ins features. They’ll not be available from August 9th. Instead check-ins and location sharing is ported to Google+ app.
Also, you won’t be able to download maps for future use. The download option is removed. If you want to cache an area for future reference, you’ll have to type OK Maps in the search box and that area will be downloaded for offline use.
Download Google Maps v7.0.0 now
Google Maps v7.0.0 is already out on Google Play and will be available for all the devices soon. In case you’re enthusiastic about trying this app soon, you can get the updated APK file below. Note that this APK works only for those devices running Android 4.2 and more.
Apps that are badly coded tend to make your mobile device slower. Greenify is a root only Android app. Greenify lets you hibernate apps that eat your memory and drain your Android battery. Hibernating an Android app doesn’t run that app in the background.
Getting started with Greenify is really simple. You can download the app on Google Play and it’s available for free. Once you install this app, Greenify will analyse your installed apps and classify them into groups. Apps that run continuously in the background are shown first and apps that hog your memory are also shown.
Select them one by one and then tap the “Tick” mark to hibernate them. Since Greenify is a root app, this app will require Superuser permission. If you see Superuser permission access request, you can feel free to Allow the app to get Superuser permissions.
Caution
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When you hibernate an app, it will no longer run in the background. This means that, the app will no longer send you notifications. It’s best to note that you don’t hibernate apps like Instant Messengers, alarm clocks and messaging apps with Greenify or you might experience some lose in functionality.
Does hibernating an app mean I can’t use it?
No, it’s no like that. You can hibernate an app and still continue to use that app. You can use that app normally and once you leave the app, the app will go back to the hibernation mode again (Not immediately, only after the screen goes off) You can also use the Greenify widget to hibernate apps. The widget is available in the Widgets section of your Android.
It is a well known fact that Google Play allows the users to return the purchased Android apps after 15 minutes minutes of purchase. What if you want to return an app that you bought a month back? This guide highlights a quick way to easily refund your purchased Google Play app even after the 15 minutes trial window.
Guide to Return Android apps After 15 Minutes
Go to Google Play and login using your Google account.
Click on the “My Orders & Settings” button at the bottom of the page to see the list of all Android purchases that you made. It will show the list of both free and paid Android apps that you purchased.
Search for the app that you want to refund.
Click on the “Report a problem” button available next to that.
A box appears, select the “I’d like to request a refund” option in the “Select your Issue…” drop-down list.
A text box appears then. Type a brief message in that box.
Click “Send report“.
Now it’s time to wait for a while. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a mail from Google immediately, stating that a refund will be issued. There are also circumstances when you don’t get any mail from Google, yet get your account credited with the refund amount.
This is a really useful option that most of the Android users are unaware. I have returned around 5 apps myself after finding them pretty ugly.
InstaMessage is a free app for the Android devices that helps you to chat privately with other Instagrammers. The app is available on iOS as well as the Android platform. This app is simple and is really easy to use. It requires no registration. It uses your Instagram login credentials to work.
Once you download the app and install, you’ll be asked to set a cover photo, update your status and set other personal information. The app has four sections shown at the bottom : Explore, Chats, Friends and Profile.
It works similar to the other IMs like WhatsApp. To chat with other Instagrammers, you’ll have make sure that they too have InstaMessage installed on their device.
Interesting Features in InstaMessage
The app lets you search for any Instagram user easily. You can also Follow the Instagram users right within the app. You can also check their photos right inside this app.
If the Instagram user is using InstaMessage, there will be a Heart symbol shown. Once clicked, it’ll notify that user of your interest in him/her.
It uses your phone’s GPS technology to search for Nearby Instagram users. The nearby users are shown in the Explore section.
You can also check for the most Popular InstaMessage users and start a chat with them straight away.
The Friends tab shows the list of InstaMessage contacts.
The tab also shows the list of Instagram users not using this app.
You can invite Instagram users to InstaMessage by using the Invite option available.
There is an option to promote yourself in the Profile section. Hit the Promote Me button to post a photo on Instagram asking users to chat with you.
The app supports Push Notifications too. The app alerts you of New Likes and New Messages.
You can also Block Users.
Feature(s) Missing in InstaMessage
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The app lacks an option to see whether a particular message is delivered or read.
There is no option to Like and Comment on the Instagram photos.
The app works cross platform too. You can use an Android to chat with a friend using an iOS. It requires Android 2.2 and up. It requires iOS 4.3 and later. It works well with your iPhone 3GS and above, and also with iPod Touch 3rd generation and above.
What’s your thought on this app? Do share with us.
I have always liked reading through newspaper headlines mostly of English and Marathi daily newspapers. Now, I hardly read actual newspapers and end up using Google News and other select feeds. But this reliance on Google has ended up me missing out on skimming through news in Marathi language which is my mother tongue.
The website can be accessed as a mobile website. Just head over to m.newshunt.com and a mobile friendly website allows looking through news taken from various sources in India. The service supports many languages like Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil and more.
There is a free app released on Android, iPhone/iPad, BlackBerry and even the Nokia Ovi store.
NewsHunt does not at the moment support Windows phone which. They will have to use the browser.
If you want to save money on buying a newspaper but still catch the articles, this app seems to be a perfect fit.
I’ve reviewed Instashare previously, it’s an incredibly simple way for sharing files between iOS and Mac. And now, it’s time for Android.
Sharing files between devices – it’s a really simple and obvious thing which many of us do regularly. Yet it’s unnecessarily complex. There are many apps which fall in this category – Bump is a good example. But it needs a working internet connection and takes a lot of time for transferring big files.
Then there’s NFC, much simpler way to share files, although pretty limited considering that many phones of today don’t have it. Also, laptops/desktops obviously don’t have it. At last, there’s Bluetooth, it’s reliable and cross platform, excepting iOS devices.
Even Apple released AirDrop for iOS, at WWDC, but it’s pretty limited.
Instashare doesn’t have the problems you face while using Bump, or NFC, or Bluetooth. First, it’s really simple. You open the app on your phone, drag and drop a file and done. Secondly, it works via WiFi and Bluetooth – even on iPhones and iPads.
The Android app is pretty self explanatory, you just have to select Instashare in Android’s share intents menu and the file will then be visible in the app, ready to share with other devices.
There’s no limit what so ever, on file size or type. A Windows app is also on its way.
Twitter has lately improved its mobile apps a lot. The Android app has been completely redesigned and looks much better now. Nevertheless, the app ecosystem is what makes Twitter fun for me, especially on Mobile.
For starters, Falcon Pro is a very popular twitter client for Android. It became immensely popular after releasing in the previous year – for its design, tablet support and more.
Because of its popularity, it reached Twitter’s token limit soon, but the app developer got away by resetting tokens and making the app available for download again.
The app is now due for a 2.0 beta update (not stable yet), and here’s what’s new. Read on.
Multi-User Support
Probably one of the most requested features, it’s now baked into the app. I don’t myself maintain multiple twitter accounts, but I can see that many people maintain their business/company’s Twitter account along with their personal Twitter account.
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Switching accounts is easy – you’ll see a spinner in the left sidebar, showing you a list of available accounts.
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A small downside to this implementation is that, you can no longer go to your profile page by tapping on your user account.
Pure Black theme
Falcon Pro ships with a grey theme by default which looks pretty dark. In the 2.0 version, the developer has added a pure black theme. As expected, the theme looks really great on AMOLED screens (I tried it on a Galaxy Nexus).
The obvious advantage is long lasting battery life – especially if you’re a Twitter addict, with the app open all the time.
Apart from these two major changes, there are small tidbits like inline previews for Vine posts (though it is half baked right now), the UI is a lot flatter (with bezels removed). The app also uses a new transition when you move to Tweet details page.
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Try the beta right now
Here’s a good news: If you can’t wait for the app update to roll out, you can grab the beta and start using it right now.
You’ll then be able to download the updated, aka beta version of Falcon Pro. You of course need to have Falcon Pro pre-installed on your phone to trigger the beta update.
Do you use third party clients for using Twitter? If so, write them in the comments!
Update: The app is now available on Play store. The updated version also has a swipe to switch tabs feature which is really handy.
Twitter has just sent a minor update to both its iPhone and Android apps showcasing a new Tweet composer.
They have simplified the process of composing a tweet. For example, in the iPhone app, you just get three options – attach location, take a photo or choose a photo. You then get to choose filters for your photos and you’re done.
On iPhone, the Twitter app is much wider now, taking up full space. That can be a considerable improvement for readability. Also, the app notifies you when a friend of you joins Twitter (which is confirmed by checking contacts in your E-mail, I guess).
On the other hand, Twitter for Android now takes full advantage of Android’s powerful notifications system and groups multiple notifications into one. You get to see user’s display picture in the notification itself and they are expandable too.
There have been rumors in the past few days regarding Google releasing a totally revamped Gmail app for Android and also a new categorisation feature for Gmail web. As it turns out, the rumors are indeed true.
Gmail can now automatically categorise the incoming mail into tabs like ‘Social’, ‘Promotion’, ‘Updates’ etc. allowing you to quickly switch between different kinds of E-mail.
Even if the categorisation is done wrong, you can always drag and drop messages into a certain category or even set a specific sender’s mails to fall into a category. You can of course totally switch off this feature and get back to old style Inbox.
For me, the most exciting thing is the new Android app, which ideally should have been released at I/O. The new Gmail app is redesigned, taking a lot of inspiration from Gmail for iPhone.
It also sticks to Android’s new design guidelines which recommend a navigation drawer.
Here’s a promo video by Google.
Both the Android and iPhone apps, along with the new Gmail Inbox (on web) will be released in the coming weeks. So stay tuned!
