android underground

Life after Hangouts: Google Breadcrumb Trail, Google Popcorn, Google Bla Bla Bla, and the end of Android as we know it

2013-05-16T21:07:00.000+02:00

Hangouts in the Play Store Google released their messaging app called Google+ Hangouts. It's available for download for all Android devices except those that run really old Android versions. Hangouts bundles Google Talk and Google+ chat. Some call it an integrated chat app, but for a real integrated chat suite the messaging features of Hangouts need to get built into a multi-network chat

Small step towards integration: Google Earth adds Street View

2013-05-09T04:43:00.004+02:00

Even though Android has a share menu to make apps talk together, things are not very integrated. Most Android apps do one thing only, and you usually need a collection of apps with overlapping functions to do related things. A handful of Google messaging apps, a bunch of different search apps, an email app and a Gmail app, and a bunch of alarm clock/countdown timer/stopwatch/time zone/clock

Viber now VoIPs on Windows and Mac, adds video messages, forgets off switch again

2013-05-07T23:31:00.000+02:00

The Color Purple VoIP and messaging app Viber added a few new weapons to fight Skype. But first things first: Viber is still ugly like hell, even with the new looks that come with the latest update. Holo looks or not, the Viber purple is only good for the color blind. The new icon is no beauty either. Now that it looks like a text balloon and its corners got rounded it looks a little bit

Google Googles stops taking the long way but keeps making noise

2013-05-02T22:40:00.000+02:00

picture from Wikipedia Google Googles is a great picture identifier, a good text and business card scanner, a useful translation app, a quick'n'dirty barcode scanner, sudoku solver, and a few things more. But it has two things going against it. A couple of updates ago Goggles got a start screen with picture shooting as an option. That extra screen meant you couldn't shoot pictures straight

AirDroid gets more cloudy

2013-04-26T23:15:00.000+02:00

Want wireless control over your Android? AirDroid is the easiest way to hook your computer to your phone or tablet over WiFi. You can pingpong files back and forth, backup your apps, play with your contacts and messages, browse your pictures, play your movies and music, and much more. Among other things, AirDroid has a task killer to nuke misbehaving apps, which is also a quick way into your

Stop Google, Facebook, and other Big Brothers from tracking everything you do on your Android gadget

2013-04-20T09:32:00.000+02:00

Big Brother is watching you. For real. Your supermarket doesn't need to know that you watch online porn, your bank doesn't need to know who you vote for, and your health insurance doesn't need to know what you smoked during that stag party in Amsterdam last weekend. So why should Google know what you see on CNN.com, and why should Facebook know what you read on android underground? And how can

"Free" phone calls: what's in it for Facebook?

2013-04-19T22:44:00.000+02:00

Talk freely There are plenty of Android apps to phone for free. Google Voice, Skype, fring, Viber, TextMe, Vonage, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. All those free apps have one thing in common. They need money to feed their hungry programmers. Many VoIP apps use their free "VoIP-only" service as a method to advertise their paid offers to call landlines and cell phones. SkypeOut is the

ES File Explorer looks better, needs finishing touch

2013-04-11T23:42:00.000+02:00

Ugly duck gets a facelift The best file manager for Android? ES File Explorer! The best-looking file manager for Android? Definitely not ES File Explorer! It's a prime example of an app that favors function over form. And it has functions aplenty. It browses the files and folders on your memory card and the internal memory of your phone or tablet. If you rooted your device, ES File Explorer

Gemini App Manager won't defrost what it froze, tame your apps with App Quarantine, SystemCleanup, Autostarts, or ROM Toolbox

2013-04-09T23:53:00.000+02:00

Gemini has an evil twin Gemini App Manager can do many things. Its main attraction is its autostart manager. Unlike many other apps that only let you stop apps from launching at boot, Gemini lets you kill all autostart triggers. Gemini also used to let you freeze bloatware for free, something that apps like Titanium only do if you pay. But then Gemini had trouble with its advertiser. Since

Google Translate goes offline

2013-03-27T22:56:00.000+01:00

Speak unconnected When do you really need to translate something from one language to another? When you're in a foreign country where nobody speaks a language you understand and vice versa. This often means you're in a place where international data roaming charges are even more scandalous than politics, so you definitely need a translation app that works when all data connections are off.

Android Facebook apps: Friendcaster, Seesmic, Fast, Atrium, Stream, Flipster, Tinfoil, FBM, Connector, facebook web

2013-03-17T20:33:00.000+01:00

Facebook without Facebook The official Android Facebook app invites vitriolic Play Store comments due to its abominable performance. Facebook eats RAM like Wimpy eats burgers, it sucks your battery dry like a vampire with bulimia, you need voodoo to stop it from autostarting, and if you cross the border its massive background traffic will force you to take a second mortgage on your house to

Google boots ad blockers from Play Store: is it because of Adblock Plus?

2013-03-15T19:34:00.000+01:00

Google finds an excuse to block ad blockers Google lives from advertising, so for obvious reasons they're not happy with apps that block ads. But Google also tries to maintain an image of neutrality, and keeping ad blocking apps out of its Play Store doesn't go well with maintaining that image. That used to be no problem, because the popular ad blockers AdFree and AdAway require root access

Android PDF readers with text reflow: Foxit Mobile beats qPDF and Adobe

2013-03-09T17:36:00.000+01:00

Most PDFs were made for printers and big monitors. They often have multiple columns, which looks good on paper but not on small screens. And you usually need to do a lot of horizontal scrolling if you want to keep the letters big enough to read. Most mobile web browsers rearrange website content to fit your screen. If you want to read PDFs on your phone, you need a PDF reader that can reflow

AFWall+ firewalls better, adds toggle widget

2013-03-07T22:43:00.000+01:00

Need to keep some of your apps offline? AFWall+ is the best firewall for Android since DroidWall isn't updated anymore. It splits internet permissions into three types that you can allow or deny at will: WiFi, mobile data, and mobile data roaming. And unlike other firewalls, AFWall+ can notify you when it detects new apps so you don't forget to set firewall rules for them. The latest AFWall+

Book Catalogue makes goodreads easier to reach, prevents accidental edits

2013-03-02T18:51:00.000+01:00

Book Catalogue is a very good app to keep track of your books. It syncs with goodreads and LibraryThing, and keeps everything locally stored on your phone too. Book Catalogue is a better goodreads app than goodreads own Android app. It had one major flaw, though. To sync with goodreads you had to dig deep into the menus and scroll through a screen called "admin." But not anymore. Book

New Skyfire drops Flash video, old Skyfire keeps it

2013-03-01T22:44:00.000+01:00

Flash is old, eats batteries for breakfast, and has almost as many bugs as Windows. But there are plenty of websites out there that don't work without it, so the old Flash is gonna be with us for some time to come. Web browser Skyfire has watered-down Flash support. The only Flash it delivers is Flash video. You know, those video files in ".flv" format. Skyfire is useful for a few other video

Skype adds video messages, keeps noise

2013-02-28T23:05:00.000+01:00

Form over function A long time ago Skype for Android had a good user interface with tabs. But then Skype decided to get new looks, and form replaced function. They added unwanted noise as well. More than a year ago Skype took away the possibility to silence the startup and shutdown sounds. You can't switch off the deafening dialpad tones either. Have an Android tablet? Skype removed the

Smooth Calendar update not so smooth

2013-01-10T22:01:00.000+01:00

Little widget with lots of info I like my calendar widget to cram a lot of useful information into a tiny space. In my current setup my homescreen shows my next five appointments in a tiny 2x1 widget. This leaves plenty of space for more important things on my main homescreen, such as my music player widget. The widget that comes with Jorte Calendar has more customization options than any

Swype Beta sweeps out account requirement

2013-01-09T23:04:00.000+01:00

Swype, don't type If your Android phone manufacturer or carrier didn't install Swype on your phone, there are many good reasons to install it yourself. After climbing over a very low learning curve Swype is the fastest way to enter text on a phone, and it beats standard keyboards on tablets too. There are similar keyboard apps, but Swype is free. Swype works offline, its handwriting input

Alternative last.fm radio player Liquid Bear adds features and bugs

2013-01-06T21:41:00.000+01:00

Since last.fm slammed the door shut for mobile listeners, KLastFM and CoboltFM stopped playing. Fortunately Liquid Bear plays last.fm radio by using a smart trick. It gets the playlists from last.fm and the music from vk.com. The app has a simple and effective tab layout, and it pulls lyrics in if you long-tap a song in the play queue or hit the drop-shaped button in the playback tab. You need