Handy Android apps
Android market
On the Android Market (http://www.android.com/market) on your smartphone you will undoubtedly already have downloaded popular apps such as Google Earth, Google Maps, Shazam or Facebook. Here are some less well known but very useful apps. Unless mentioned otherwise, you can find them all in the Android Market.
Wireless
A Wi-Fi connection normally ensures the fastest data transfer, whilst the data sent is not deducted from your mobile subscription. That’s why a tool such as the WIFI Manager can come in handy. It charts all the wireless networks it detects and provides detailed information about each network. You can configure the tool so that the unprotected networks head the list.
Tip. This app can also help you to troubleshoot wireless connections.
Text entry
To be able to enter text more rapidly, try Swype. This tool replaces the standard Android keyboard and in principle works in any app. Instead of having to hit the keys one by one, you only need to swipe over the characters in one movement in order to obtain the complete word. Swype has an integrated dictionary to which it adds all unknown words you frequently use. Conveniently, Swype inserts a space between two words automatically. Once you’ve familiarised yourself with this innovative text input method, you can easily enter up to 40 words a minute. More information is available at http://swypeinc.com/product.html. A Google search (Swype for Android download) will point to the installation file.
E-books
Is your screen large enough for reading books? The Aldiko Book Reader app makes it possible to read e-books on your smartphone as well. You can download and manage e-books directly from within the app. By default the text of the e-book is shown in black and white, but the “night mode” reverses this. You can customise the font, colours and margins.
Synchronisation
Do you often create documents on one or more computers which you would like to synchronise with your smartphone? The Dropbox app is the ideal solution. All the files you drop into the special Dropbox folder can be accessed via your smartphone as well. And the reverse is possible too: photos and films you take with your Android device can be uploaded immediately to your online Dropbox, after which you can view them on your computer. It’s also possible to share files with others.
File management
After a while you will have saved a lot of files in your Android device, whilst apps also save lots of information in various folders. ASTRO File Manager gives a neat overview of all files and folders. You can configure how and in what detail you wish to see this information (names or icons) and in which order (sorted by name, date, size or type). There’s a powerful search function and you can, of course, perform operations such as copy, paste, move, delete and rename.
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