Created on: October 04, 2010 With tens of thousands of apps available in the Android app store, wouldn't it be nice to be able to find apps that games that appeal to you without having to think what to type into the search box? Well, now you can with AppESP, a dedicated app which attempts to find other apps and games which you may find useful. AppESP analyzes your current downloaded apps and games and searches for patterns in order to come up with an intelligent list of potential new apps for you to download. To begin with you will need to allow AppESP access to view your existing apps, without this permission it will not be able to make any comparisons. You will then need to create an AppStoreHQ (the developer of the software) login so that you can recover your lists of suggested apps and games without the need to scan your content each time. Once a scan has been done, you are presented with a list of recommended apps. For each app in the list, you can set it as 'not interested' which means it will not appear in any future scans you do or you can view the app details. These details are very useful in allowing you to decide whether to download or not. You are given a description of the app, this is the same description as you would get if you searched for the App in the Android market. You also get to see how highly the app ranks within the Android market and its weekly ranking change so you can see if an app is starting to gain recognition or whether it is slipping in popularity. From this screen you can choose to download the app direct from the market as well as Read More
Created on: September 27, 2010 Last Updated: April 06, 2011 Following on from its huge success on the iPhone, Mobile app developer, Rovio, have released a version of Angry Birds on the Android platform. Angry Birds is an extremely addictive puzzle game in which you must catapult birds over obstacles in order to destroy their enemy, the green pigs. In order to play the game you will first need to download it from the Android market. Angry Birds Lite is a free download and will take up about 12mb of your phone's memory. Angry Birds is froyo compatible so this means that you can install the app to your memory card should you wish to preserve your phone's internal memory. In the lite version of Angry Birds, you get to play the first chapter which consists of 15 levels. This is a nice introduction to the game as the difficulty level builds up nicely from being able to complete a level with one shot in the first levels, right through to the latter levels where it seems almost impossible to complete it, meaning you need to actually plan your strategy before starting out. There are different types of birds at your disposal. The standard birds just fly into anything in their path, knocking it over in the process. Certain birds, when clicked in mid-air will split into three smaller birds allowing for a strategic three way attack on a pig. The third type of bird is the speed bird. When you tap on this bird, it will increase it's speed which is extremely useful when you need to move a heavy object. Not all birds are available on each level, you do not get the choice of choosing these birds, the game will select them when needed. In order to fire Read More
Created on: September 13, 2010 With the recent advent of electronic eBook Readers flooding the market, electronic eBooks have gained popularity like never before. The Amazon Kindle was responsible for sparking this fledging market, and since the kindles release there have been many competing eBook readers released. One of the drawbacks to the Amazon Kindle was originally the high retail price, so naturally it was profitable for Amazon to design a digital application as well. The first digital application for the PC was a welcome addition, especially if you tend to order a lot of books from Amazon, but don’t have the resources to purchase a kindle. With the release of the Android as an operating system it was only a matter of time until it became the next portable eBook reader to grace the market. The kindle software for the Android will immediately look familiar to anyone who has experience with the iPad/iPhone version. The first time user of the Android version will need to login to Amazon from the opening menu. This action will enable your entire archived library to become synced with the Android version. This section has a very intuitive display, which shows the cover and titles of previously purchased eBooks. When these titles are clicked the eBook will automatically become synced with the Kindle for Android application. Content on the Android Kindle app is purchased through an optimized Amazon mobile browser. There is far less clutter, and the controls are very user friendly. Visually, the typefaces are prevented from being changed, but you can choose from five different text sizes. There is also a choice between three different text themes. Truly a lot of thought has gone into the Android Kindle interface, and reading eBooks is a pleasure on this Kindle app. Control of the eBook Read More
Created on: September 12, 2010 Last Updated: March 25, 2011 Amazon Kindle is the name given to the hardware and software platform developed by Amazon.com which allows the rendering of ebooks and other digital media. The most common way to read this literature is via a dedicated Kindle reader which supports WiFi and 3G connections for downloading books onto the device. These devices are excellent but do come at a price so it would be nice if there was a cheaper alternative out there. The cheaper alternative actually turns out to be a free alternative if you own an Android powered smartphone. Kindle for Android is a free app which you can download from the Android market which turns your phone into a fully functional Kindle reader. Kindle for Android requires 3.5Mb of space on your phone and cannot be installed to your SD card if you are a Froyo user. You will also need to make sure you have enough space in order to download your ebooks. When you open Kindle, you will see a list of books you have purchased and that are currently on your phone. As space is at a premium, you can remove books from your phone and Amazon remembers that you have already purchased them so you can re-download them at a later date at no extra cost. These are known to Kindle as archived items. In order to purchase Kindle items from Amazon, you will need to syncronise your Kindle software with your Amazon account. This is simple to accomplish, even if you previously didn't have an Amazon account. Once you are set up, you are free to roam the Kindle store which is broken down into simple categories such as bestsellers, new releases and perhaps best of all, free popular classics, enabling you Read More
How to use AppESP to find Android apps you really want - by Craig Buck - Helium - Helium - Where Knowledge Rules
Android app reviews: Kindle for Android - by Cameron T. E. - Helium - Helium - Where Knowledge Rules
