APP SPECIAL................... IMPROVING ANDROID with Amazing Third-Party Apps

IMPROVING ANDROID with Amazing Third-Party Apps





Your Android phone has a lot of features baked in from the start. But what if you want better?
There are some amazing (and free) third-party replacements for the stock features of any Android phone.

IMAGE GALLERY

The default gallery app on most phones is good enough just for viewing images.

However, there are third party apps that offer you much more. We recommended QuickPic. It's faster, gives you multiple view options (stacks, grid, lists), colour themes, cloud storage support, WiFi transfer, lets you secure folders via a password and even has a built-in editor. You can also look at the free Cyanogen gallery app that lets you manage local as well as photosvideos stored on cloud storage. It also automatically sorts photos into smart folders using the locationdate metadata.

EMAIL

@ Usually, the Gmail app and a separate email app are pre-loaded (and the email app only offers basic functionality). A great replacement for the default app is a free app called CloudMagic. It lets you add up to 5 accounts and supports every type of email provider (Gmail, Outlook, Exchange, iMap, iCloud, Google Apps etc.). It offers a unified inbox, password lock, push notifications, custom folder sync and lets you attach files from the cloud.If you only want a Gmail replacement, check out the free Mailbox app. Mailbox has its own sorting system that lets you manage mails easily.

CALENDAR

There's not much to complain about Google Calendar app on Android. However, if you want a better looking app with additional features, give the free SolCalendar a try. SolCalendar lets you sync with other calendars you may be using (Google, Yahoo, iCloud, Exchange) and shows an easy-tounderstand month view with easily visible highlights. You can also take a quick look at the weather, set recurring alarms, view your agenda on a day-by-day basis as well as maintain a to-do list -all in single app. The next best option is the free Cal app which has a beautiful layout but doesn't offer as many features.

CAMERA

Every phone maker tweaks the camera app with various features and interface.However, Google offers its own camera app for free in the Play Store for anyone to use. While it has a basic interface, it offers features like photosphere, 360 degree panoramas and the option to capture images during video recording. There is also a useful lens-blur feature that lets you control the depth of field in a photo (post capture). If you're looking for an app that gives you tons of effects, editing, manual controls & filters, try Camera 360 Ultimate.

NOTES

For notes, we recommend Evernote. This free app is loaded with features and syncs your notes across multiple devices with ease. Not only can you create notes in the app, you can also easily organise them into notebooks. Notebooks can be shared (for collaboration). A great feature is the fact that you can create different type of notes: to-do lists, expense management as well as travel management. You can even add multimedia files to a note for quick reference and quickly search through hundreds of notes. Alternatives are Google Keep and Microsoft OneNote.

CONTACTS

There are two connected contacts apps you can try: 6 Degrees & Addappt. They both have different approaches: Addappt syncs your contact information with others who use Addappt -any change either of you make to your contact details is updated in other's contacts. 6 Degrees does that and also allows you to search for and get introduced through common contacts. Also try Drupe -it brings contacts together with multiple actions to save a lot of time.

DIALLER

The basic phone dialler does nothing apart from dial numbers. The free Truedialer (by True Caller) replaces the default contacts & dialler and lets you quickly search for numbers beyond your phonebook because it integrates with True Caller's online database. You won't have to see unknown numbers in the call log either because the app will automatically add info (where available).

KEYBOARDS

Even if you think the default keyboard on your Android is great, it might help to try out something else (you might end up saving time by customising it to your needs or typing faster thanks to better prediction and swipe input).Swiftkey gives you over 70 themes, adjustable keyboard sizes and personalised predictions. Swype gets used to your style and stays with you if you change devices. Others that are worth a shot are Fleksy and TouchPal.

FILE MANAGER

Even if you have a basic file explorer on your Android phone, ES File Explorer is still worth a look simply because it integrates so many different functions into a lightweight app. Apart from the usual finding, cut, copy paste functions, it can manage installed apps (uninstall too), function as a cloud storage client (compatible with Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Box and others), kill tasks to free RAM, manage downloads and act as a remote file manager (manage phone files from a computer).It supports playback of all sorts of files and supports ZIP and RAR files natively.

MESSAGING

If you're bored with the standard SMS app, give Textra a try. There are so many features built in plus it looks awesome! If your phone does not have a blacklist and you're fed up with spam messages, get SMS Blocker Clean Inbox.Set it as the default SMS app and it will automatically filter all spam. If you have a giant SMS inbox, TBox will help you get organised (and search better) with auto archiving and smart labels.

Hitesh Raj Bhagat & Karan Bajaj ET11APR15