Tag: android applications

Best Free Android Apps for Reading

There are many people who like reading books from their Android smartphones but don’t like the book reader apps found in their devices by default. If you’re one of those people, and if you’re thinking of finding a new Android app for reading, my post will be useful for you.

I’ve downloaded and tried many reading apps, and here are, IMHO, the best ones among them. They are all free and can be downloaded from Android Market (If you’re new to Android and don’t know how to download and install apps from the Market, read our guide).

1. Cool Reader by Vadim Lopatin is probably the best reading app I’ve seen so far, and it’s the app I’m currently using on my Android-based Samsung Galaxy Ace.

The app supports a huge list of formats (fb2, txt, doc, rtf, html, chm, tcr, pdb, pml, epub and mobi), it’s easy to use and it looks cool. First, I like the default background – when you look at it, your eyes don’t hurt and it seems you’re reading a real book (you can change the background’s color and textures, and even put your own background, but the default one seems to be the best for me), you can almost feel that paper smell, too :) Second, you can easily jump to the needed page, search for some text, bookmark the pages… Very useful, an ideal app for reading fiction.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I like the page turning part, too. Besides, it can read books from .zip files, which is also very nice.

2. Moon+ Reader by Moon+ is the next free reading app I have in my Android smartphone. It supports txt, html, epub, umd, fb2, chm, zip and OPDS formats (no .doc support, unfortunately), has many visual options, different types of paging, many different themes (plus you can change between the Day and Night modes) and supports 28 languages.

Though I usually prefer to read books in Cool Reader anyway, Moon+ Reader is still a very good reading app. And this video will show you more about it:

3. FBReader by Geometer Plus is the third Android app for reading I can recommend. It’s really fast, but the number of supported file formats is not that impressive (epub, oeb and fb2).

You can download books with the help of FBReader or download them manually and read them in the app. The book reader already includes some famous English, French, Chinese, Russian and Polish libraries, too.

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September 5, 2011 | 0 Comments More

How to Install and Uninstall Apps on Android

What’s the best thing in having an Android device? Right, Android has conquered half of the world thanks to the huge number of great apps available on the Android Market. So many of us want to have Android-based smartphones to get the opportunity to use those apps.

Some people are interested in getting different SMS-related Android apps, for others having Google Maps or Facebook apps is a must, some others need Adobe Flash or other similar applications. Android Market has more than 300.000 apps now, so almost anything can be found there.

The only question for some people is how to download and install the desired apps and how to remove them. If installing apps is more or less easy and clear, you can’t say the same about uninstalling – many people have no idea how to do it.

To tell the truth, when I got my first Android device, it took me some time to understand how I should install an app from Android Market. I tried to download them from my PC to move them to my phone later, but I didn’t manage to. Later I learned about the right way to install Android apps, and I would like to share it with you. Maybe this post will be useful for those who have just bought their first Android devices and experience the same difficulties I once had.

You probably already know that some Android apps from the Android Market are free, some others cost money, not that much though. It’s really easy to download and install both.

How to install Android apps

  • First of all, enter the Marketplace from your smartphone (no, you can’t download from your PC, unfortunately…). You’ll need an Internet connection – that goes without saying.
  • Find the app you want to install – either go to one of the categories (Applications, Games) or use the Search button.
  • Learn more about the app, read about its developer, permissions and so on. Usually user reviews are also available – they can also be very useful for you.
  • If you decide to install the app, just click on the Free (or Install) button if the app is free or the Buy button if the app is paid. If you’re going to download a free app, just click OK to accept the permissions, and the app will be downloaded and installed automatically. In case of a paid app, after accepting the permissions by pressing OK, you’ll most likely have to sign in to your Google Checkout account and click on Purchase now. That’s all.

How to uninstall Android apps

If there is an application on your smartphone you don’t want any more, here is an easy way to get rid of it.

  • Enter the Android Market and select My Apps (have a look at the screenshot above) – you’ll see the list of apps installed on your smartphone.
  • Select the one you want to uninstall.
  • Open the app, and you’ll see two options – Open and Uninstall. Select Uninstall – that’s it.
August 17, 2011 | 0 Comments More

New Android Trojan Records Phone Conversations!

As an open-source platform, Android is vulnerable to malicious software and apps. A couple of months ago more than 70 types of malicious apps were found by Kaspersky Lab, then other two dozens of infected apps were found on Android Market, later another dangerous Trojan was found in Android apps and then new malware called DroidKungFu was discovered in many smartphones running Android 2.2 or the earlier versions.

Now a new threat for Android smartphones has appeared. It’s a Trojan app that can record your phone conversations and save them in your microSD card.

Previous infected apps could access your smartphone’s call log and see whom you called and who called you, but none could get access to your conversations. And this new Trojan is really scary – it records your conversations in “.amr” format and can even send them to the computer of its maker, and you won’t even know about it.

This Trojan disguises itself as an ordinary Android app. You download and install it – and it starts doing its dirty work! So if you don’t want anyone to be able to listen to your phone conversations, be careful when downloading third-party apps from unofficial sources. Better use trusted sources and download only those apps that are created by well-known developers. Besides, don’t forget to have a look at the permissions requested by the apps you’re installing.

August 3, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Android Live Wallpaper Packs

I don’t think there are many Android smartphone owners who like using the standard wallpapers coming with the devices. Even if those default wallpapers seem to be good at first, as weeks and months go by, we get tired of them and want something new.

Here the XDA developers come to help us. XDA member kanak122 has posted two packs with great personalized Android Live Wallpaper.

The first pack is 57.5 Mb and includes 34 wallpapers. In the pack you can find almost any kind of wallpapers, including some pirate themes, rains and many other interesting things. You can download this pack from this forum thread, and it’s completely free.

The second pack is a bit heavier – 97.4 Mb – though it includes only 21 wallpapers. Here you can find many different themes including Christmas, galaxies (one of the best wallpapers from the pack, I think!) and many others. So there’s a big choice of personalized wallpapers to replace the standard ones and to accentuate your personality. Grab the pack 2 from the XDA Developers forum’s thread and don’t forget to thank the author of the wallpapers!

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August 1, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Two Dozens of Virus-Infected Apps Found on Android Market

Android, as an open source operating system, has many advantages and disadvantages. The most serious disadvantage is, perhaps, the fact that such platforms are vulnerable to malicious software and virus-infected apps.

Lately more and more infected software and apps appear on the Android Market. In March, Google removed 58 virus-infected apps from the Market; in May, the Kaspersky Lab found other 70 dangerous apps. Just a couple of days ago other two dozens of virus-infected apps were found on the Android Market.

Lookout, a Mobile security company, says there are about 30,000-120,000 phones affected with those dangerous apps. “This weekend, multiple applications available in the official Android Market were found to contain malware that can compromise a significant amount of personal data. Likely created by the same developers who brought DroidDream to market back in March, more than 25 applications were found to be infected with a stripped down version of DroidDream we’re calling ‘Droid Dream Light’ (DDLight),” Lookout says.

Here is the list of apps infected with this Droid Dream Light, according to Lookout:

Developer: Magic Photo Studio

  • Sexy Girls: Hot Japanese
  • Sexy Legs
  • HOT Girls 4
  • Beauty Breasts
  • Sex Sound
  • Sex Sound: Japanese
  • HOT Girls 1
  • HOT Girls 2
  • HOT Girls 3

Developer: BeeGoo

  • Quick Photo Grid
  • Delete Contacts
  • Quick Uninstaller
  • Contact Master
  • Brightness Settings
  • Volume Manager
  • Super Photo Enhance
  • Super Color Flashlight
  • Paint Master

Developer: Mango Studio

  • Floating Image Free
  • System Monitor
  • Super StopWatch and Timer
  • System Info Manager

Developer: DroidPlus

  • Quick Cleaner
  • Super App Manager
  • Quick SMS Backup

Developer: E.T. Team

  • Call End Vibrate

Developer: GluMobi

  • Tetris
  • Bubble Buster Free
  • Quick History Eraser
  • Super Compass and Leveler
  • Go FallDown !
  • Solitaire Free
  • Scientific Calculator
  • TenDrip

Here is how Lookout explains the way the DroidDream Light works:

“Malicious components of DroidDream Light are invoked on receipt of a  android.intent.action.PHONE_STATE intent (e.g. an incoming voice call).  DroidDream Light is not, therefore, dependent on manual launch of the installed application to trigger its behavior.  The broadcast receiver immediately launches the <package>.lightdd.CoreService which contacts remote servers and supplies the IMEI, IMSI, Model, SDK Version and information about installed packages.  It appears that the DDLight is also capable of downloading and prompting installation of new packages, though unlike its predecessors it is not capable of doing so without user intervention.”

It’s not really easy to protect your smartphone from viruses, since anti-virus programs are not as wide-spread on smartphones as on PCs. But you can at least be careful with what you download (download apps from trusted sources only), pay attention at your device’s “behavior” and get an app that will check the apps you download and make sure they are not infected.

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June 6, 2011 | 0 Comments More