XDA Developers

Today's app of the day is XDA Developers.

If you are a bit of an android geek, then you are most likely familiar with XDA Developers, and their thriving online community of android developers and enthusiasts. In short, the XDA Developers app allows you access to the famous XDA forums in a simple to use interface, making it far easier to keep up to date instead of using the actual online forum on your phone (which can be clunky to look at and difficult to navigate).

Alternatively, if you want to be an Android developer, check out online college degrees to find classes that can teach you mobile application development for the Android platform.

If you aren't familiar with the XDA Forums, it is still worth giving XDA Developers a try. You will quickly notice the forums are arranged in an intuitive way, making finding reviews, apps, tipps and tricks, etc for your device a simple task.

 

In the words of the developers:

XDA Mobile Application! Free! OMG!

*Special announcement: many that are leaving reviews are remarking that we have removed features from the free app. This is not the case, in fact, we've recently added two features (Legacy support and the ability to choose landing behavior in a thread). Another complaint is about the automatic start-up. The application has started on boot-up for many versions now. That is a required part of the Notification system, and without it, it would not function. Lastly, the Search can be found under the "More" tab on the right. Thank you for your interest.*

The world famous XDA forums formatted for your Android phone! With this app you can browse the forums, read, post, send private messages, and more.

We now have a Premium app that removes the ads, plus offers new features.

\XDA Developers

Price: Free

Glympse

Today's app of the day is Glympse.

Glympse is a great way to easily share your current location via SMS, Facebook, Twitter or email. In short you can start Glympse, and get given a short message to send to your friends via the sources outlined above. Your friend can then open the message and see (on a map) exactly where you are. Best thing of all, there is no need for your friends to have Glympse, making it perfect for letting people know where you are quickly and easily.

 

 

In the words of the developer:

Safely share your location in real-time via email, SMS, Facebook, or Twitter.

"Glympse: The Coolest Thing Your Smartphone Can Do"
-FastCompany

Glympse is the easy way to safely share your location in realtime. No sign-up needed. No social network to manage. Just send a Glympse to anyone via email, SMS, Facebook, or Twitter. Your location is only shared for the duration you specify and then stops.

Glympse works on all phones and tablets running Android 1.5 or newer.

Note about the Widget: Most versions of Android do not allow Widgets for apps installed to the SD card. If you encounter this issue, moving the application back to main memory should resolve the issue.

We love to hear from customers. If you have an issue or suggestion, please send us a mail at support@glympse.com or use the "Send us Feedback" feature in the app under Settings. We have no way to respond to you for more information if you post your issue in the comments of the Android Market.

 Glympse

Price: Free

Advanced Task Killer

Today's app of the day is Advanced Task Killer.

From android 2.2 onwards, task killers aren't necessary to properly manage your device. That is because android now manages apps invisibly in the background, with task killers actually reducing battery life instead of increasing it.

That aside, Advanced Task Killer is still useful if you have a stubborn application that refuses to close. Advanced Task Killer is quick, simple and works. All in all, a great app that is well worth the install.

In the words of the developer:

*Uninstall and reinstall can fix Force Close issue*
*Uncheck 'Advanced Task Killer' from running list to avoid ANR issue*
*Go to menu and send bug report to us if you have any issues*
Advanced Task Killer is also known as ATK. It is a tool to kill applications running. 
-Ignore List
-One tap widget
-Auto kill
-Customize item height

ATK is often used to kill app and clean memory. We do suggest people use ATK manually kill apps instead of auto killing app.

1. How to use it (for new users to quick start)?

ATK is pretty simple. Open this tool and take a look at the running applications list? Uncheck some apps you don't want to kill (such as Advanced Task Killer and some system apps) Tap the button 'Kill selected apps', it will kill all applications checked.

2. How to use it (for new users to do more)?

If you don't want to kill any app, you can tap it on the running applications list. Then it's checking box will turn to gray.

3. Why there are app running that I haven't used or even opened?

Some app will start up once you turn on your phone or be invoked by some evens.

4. What is ignore list/ignore?

Ignore list is for you to ignore some app you don't want to kill. If you long press on the app listed on the main screen of ATK, the menu will pop up, then you can select 'Ignore', the application would be moved to ignore list. When you tap 'Kill selected apps', it won't be killed any more.

5. What is default action for long press?

You can set your default action for long press and click on the settings. The system default action for long press is pop-menu. That means you when you long press on the application(displays on the running applications list), a pop-menu would shows up. For example, if you want to switch to the application after you long press on it, you can set the default action of long press to 'Switch to'.

6. Why I lost my network connection after I tap 'kill selected apps'?

This is because some apps related with network connection are killed. Such as 'voicemail'. You can ignore it instead of killing it.

7. Why my Home reloaded?

This is because some apps related with Home are killed. Such as 'HTC Sense', 'Mail'(if it is integrated with Home). You can ignore it instead of killing it.

8. Why I cannot receive notification of Email?

This is because you killed 'Email'. Instead of killing it, you need to ignore it.

9. What is Auto Kill?

If you want to kill apps automatically you need to choose one of auto-kill level

- Safe: Only kill the apps aren't running but still consume memory.

- Aggressive: Kill the apps running background and apps aren't running.

- Crazy: All apps except for apps you are using with.

You should be able to see Auto Kill information shows on the title, like 'Auto-Kill: 12:20'. That means auto kill will start at 12:20, you can also change the frequency to impact the auto kill start time.

App killer is only a tool to kill apps and task. It won't help your battery directly. But if you kill any app which consume battery a lot, you might think app killer is helping your battery.
Advanced Task Killer Pro is paid version which doesn't contain ads.
KW: taskiller taskkiller task killer taskmanager manager panel taskpanel process app killer, task killer pro

Advanced Task Killer 

Price: Free

Bump

Today's app of the day is Bump.

 Bump is a great app for android and iOS allowing you to easily share content between mobile phones. All you need to do is start the app, chose the content then  Bump your phones together. 

In the words of the developer:

Bump two phones together to share photos, contacts, and apps!

Use Bump™ to share contact information and photos by simply bumping two phones together. Just open Bump, hold your phones, and gently bump your hands together -- Bump will magically do all the rest.

• SHARE CONTACTS: Share your contact info; connect on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
• SHARE PHOTOS: Share photos with friends and family
• FIND MUTUAL FRIENDS: Find friends in common with people you bump from your social networks and phone contacts
• SYNC DEVICES: Move contacts and photos between devices
• SHARE APPS: Share app recommendations

Use Bump with all your friends! More than 75 million downloads.

Bump works cross-platform between all Android and most other modern mobile phones.

Bump

Price: Free

HD Widgets

Today's app of the day is HD Widgets.

HD Widgets is a great app for android devices that allows you to customise your home screen with a large variety of high quality widgets. Whether it is power toggles, clocks or weather widgets, HD Widgets will give you enough freedom to spice up any device.

HD Widgets works great on both mobile phones and tablets alike, so if you like the look of any of the widgets below -  give it a try!

In the words of the developer:

The best new widgets for Android - ready for ICS and Honeycomb!

"Amazingly awesome and beautiful" - Android Community

"elegant and eye-catching" - Computerworld

"heavy on polish and detail yet light on the wallet" - AndroidGuys

Top 10 Android App of 2011 - Techcrunch

Top 50 Android Tablet Apps - The Guardian

Staff Pick - Android Market

Android Tablet App of the Week - Maximum PC

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

** HEADS UP - IMPORTANT TIPS:

If you don't see widgets right away:
=> HONEYCOMB / ICS devices: do a quick restart
=> APP2SD users: HD Widgets won't work on external SD card

MODDED TABLETS: require ICS mod/update to use tablet widgets & activities. (Gingerbread & earlier will only show phone widgets & layout.)

** Something wrong? Got ideas? Please tell us: hi@cloud.tv
** We respond to everyone!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Recently Added:
- Galaxy Note widgets
- widget hotspot customization
- QHD (Atrix 4G/ Evo 3D)
- multi-language weather reports (AccuWeather recommended)
- XHDPI (Galaxy Nexus & Note)

Coming next:
- more switches & switch panels (battery, 3G/4G, GPS, power saver, phone)
- more widgets (4x1 header, 2x1 clock)
- widget clean-up

Coming later:
- 2.x tablets (Galaxy Tab, Dell Streak)
- "bumpers" (something we need to test)
- moar THEMES!!

UNIVERSAL app made for tablets and phones! No need to purchase again =)

HD Widgets are the next generation of widgets - something fun and amazing designed for today's high resolution, multi-gesture screens. Make iPad/iPhone users go nuts with envy!

HD Widgets includes a dozen beautiful widgets that show current time, current weather, weather forecast, and utility switches. We put a TON of time into designing each widget to look great on every Android screen, from 320x480 phones all the way up to 1280x800 tablets.

The best part of HD Widgets is how fun and easy it is to use. Everything in the app is swipeable: the menu, the pages, and the options. You just swipe left and right to change details on the fly. You can mix and match various clocks (LED, flip clock, and Honeycomb) with backgrounds, layouts, and other options. Simple!

Widget Features
- lots of amazing, beautiful widgets
- clock, date, location, weather, forecast, & utility switches
- LED, flip clock, & Honeycomb clock designs
- over a dozen colorful backgrounds
- large made-for-tablet widgets
- hot spots for alarm clock, calendar, & weather
- phone widgets: 1x1, 2x1, 4x1, 4x2, 4x4
- tablet widgets: all phone sizes + 8x1, 8x2, 4x7, 6x1, 6x2, & 3x5

App Features
- User Guide to help you get started
- fullscreen weather activity
- high-resolution weather icons
- fun & unique swipe-based UI
- quick and easy editing
- widget & theme previews

Options
- choice of AccuWeather or WeatherBug service
- 12 / 24 hr clock
- F / C temperature

About Us

We're Mike and Radley, a couple of music fans who make fun media apps for a living. Our main app, Cloudskipper, has already skyrocketed to over a half-million installs. Now we're offering HD Widgets to help bootstrap our start-up.

We're fanatical about bugs and crashes! We receive a notification for any crash/freeze and jump to fix it. The update goes up usually within minutes, so please keep an eye out for updates.

 

HD Widgets

Price: $1.99

Snake 97

Today's app of the day is Snake 97.

Snake 97 is a classic replica of snake on the Nokia 3310, one of the most popular phones of all time. In fact, I am sure that there are not many people of my age (mid 20's) who haven't played the classic Nokia Snake, so it is a bit of a nostalgic trip back in time to play it again on a modern device.

With fakes keys, plus all the settings of the original, Snake 97 is still worth the play, over 15 years after it was originally created!

In the words of the developer:

Play Snake like it is 1997!

Play Snake like it is 1997. This is a remake of the original Snake, complete with dot-matrix display and monotone sounds.

It is as addictive (and frustrating) as the original, play Snake '97 and be prepared to loose some productive hours.

Simply launch the app, touch a button and start!

Snake '97 features:
- old school controls (or choose for big easy controls)
- original sounds
- 9 original and 2 extra difficulty levels
- a high score that cannot be reset (just like the original)

The story behind this game is that my phone got damaged, requiring me to revert back to an old phone. Suddenly I knew the phone was missing something and the idea for a accurate Snake remake was born.

Snake '97 is an homage to the classic mobile phone game programmed in 1997.

By carefully analyzing the classic gameplay, timing and controls, this Snake '97 remake is one of the most accurate available.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, feel free to contact me.
Have Snake fun!

Best regards from Amsterdam,
The developer,
Willem.

 Snake 97

Price: Free

Maps Ruler

Today's app of the day is Maps Ruler.

Have you ever wondered the distance between certain points? It's easy to work this out if there is a road in a straight line, or if you have google earth on your PC, but on a mobile device this is a bit more difficult. Maps Ruler helps make this easier, giving you the ability to click between any two points (or more if you want to measure non linear distances) and immediately find out the distance between.

In the words of the developer:

Find shortest way and save energy or use it as a golf distance calculator.

Maps Ruler is helping you to calculate distance between selected points.
Find shortest way and save energy or use it as a golf distance(yard) calculator.

**Maps Ruler 2 released seperately.Please check it from other applications.

-Path save/load
-Multiple points,
-Conversions: meter, km , mile, feet, fathom etc.
Keywords: Maps,distance,measurement,map,distance,golf,yard,rangefinder, distance,golf, distance measure, far,

Maps Ruler

Price: Free

World of Goo

Today's app of the day is World of Goo.

'

World of Goo is a great game, available on almost every possible platform these days. If you haven't played it before, World of Goo essentially involves using tiny balls of goo to construct shapes and work your way across divides, gaps, obstacles, up walls, etc.

Construction is usually based around the tried and tested strength of triangles, with the variety of missions is immense, with plenty of variety and challenge to keep you glued to your device for many hours. On top of some of the most unique gameplay around, World of Goo features excellent sound and beautiful graphics, involving bright, vivid and crisp graphics.

I have now played World of Goo on both my Wii and PC, but the android version (on my Asus Prime) is hands down the best experience yet, with touch control a natural fit for dragging balls of "goo" around a screen. In short, if you haven'y played World of Goo yet, now is the time to start. If you don't believe me, try the demo. Word of warning though - it will be tough not to spend the few dollars to upgrade to full!

In the words of the developer:

- "Game of the Year" -MetaCritic, IGN, TouchArcade, Rock Paper Shotgun, GameTunnel

Beautiful and surprising, the millions of Goo Balls who live in the World of Goo are curious to explore - but they don't know that they are in a game, or that they are extremely delicious.

This is the FULL award winning game, now on Android. Drag and drop living, squirming, talking, globs of goo to build structures, bridges, cannonballs, zeppelins, and giant tongues.

Mysterious Levels - Each level is strange and dangerously beautiful, introducing new puzzles, areas, and the creatures that live in them.

World of Goo Balls - Along the way, undiscovered new species of Goo Ball, each with unique abilities, come together to ooze through reluctant tales of discovery, love, conspiracy, beauty, electric power, and the third dimension.

The Sign Painter - Someone is watching you.

World of Goo Corporation - Congratulations! World of Goo Corporation is the Global Leader in Goo and Goo Related Product, including World of Goo Corporation Trademark Brand Soft Drink Beverage and World of Goo Corporation Trademark Brand Facial Exfoliating Lotion. Succulent!

Massive Online Competition - Human players around the world compete in a living leaderboard to build the tallest towers of goo in World of Goo Corporation's mysterious sandbox. World of Goo Corporation is contractually obligated to state that everyone is a winner and is enthusiastic to celebrate everyone's tower building opportunities equally.

Congratulations, and good luck!

Awards and recognition for World of Goo:
* Wii Game of the Year -IGN
* iPad Game of the Year - TouchArcade, MetaCritic
* Best Indie Game -Spike TV Video Game Awards
* Best Design -Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences
* Best Downloadable Title -Game Developers Choice Awards
* Best Design -Independent Games Festival
* Technical Excellence -Independent Games Festival
* Best Indie Game -Spike TV Video Game Awards
* Game of the Year -Rock Paper Shotgun
* Game of the Year -GameTunnel
* Best PC Puzzle Game -IGN
* Best Wii Puzzle Game -IGN
* Best Artistic Design Wii -IGN
* Best New IP Wii -IGN
* Most Innovative Design Wii -IGN
* Puzzler of the Year -Golden Joystick Awards

NOTE: There are lots of Android devices out there with varying capabilities. If you have an older phone, we recommend trying the demo first.

EULA is available here:
http://worldofgoo.com/eula.txt

World of Goo

Price: $4.99

Demo: Free

Sync SMS

Today's app of the day is Sync SMS.

If you have more than one phone, or more than one android device (i.e a phone and a tablet), you may find it annoying that your SMSs are not synced between devices. More-so, if you have a tablet, it is likely that you can not send an SMS from it at all,

If this sounds familiar, then Sync SMS is the app for you. Through utilising a dropbox account (which you must have in order for Sync SMS to work), Sync SMS will keep your messages synced between all your android devices, and also allow you to send messages from any device.

Of course, you will require your tablet to be connected to a wifi network, and you will require the app to be installed on both your tablet and your phone, but if these pre-requisites are met, and with a bit of tinkering of settings, you will find yourself being able to send and receive messages no matter what device you have in your hands.

 

In the words of the developer:

SyncSMS lets you sync your text messages between your Android phone and tablet.

SyncSMS lets you sync sms text messages between your Android 2.1+ phone and 3G or WiFi-only Android 2.1+ tablet. This app lets you receive sms text messages on your tablet which have been received by or sent from your phone. Also, this app lets you send sms text messages on your tablet which will be copied to your phone and sent out by your phone. You will need to sign up for a free Dropbox account, if you don't already have one, in order to temporarily store the sms text messages between syncs.

Notes:
- Do NOT have to be on same WiFi network, each device just needs a data connection of some sort
- Only need to purchase this app once, and install on both phone and tablet
- For some tablets you will have to force the device type setting to tablet
- SMS Text messages on tablet are sent via your phone (charges from your carrier may apply)

Features:
- Send and receive sms text messages from tablet
- Optimized interface for tablet (honeycomb not required)
- Widget for enabling/disabling sync sms
- Customizable sync intervals
- New sms message notifications
- Threaded conversations
- Contact pictures
- Modern UI
- Option to encrypt messages stored on Dropbox
- Option to password lock the app

Community support:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1010597

Please contact me before leaving any negative feedback, as I try to respond to mails within 24 hours. Thanks!

Keywords: sms, text, texting, message, sync, synchronize, send, receieve, backup, restore, share, phone, tablet, tab, multiple, devices, social, communication, wifi, 3g, data

Sync SMS

Price: $2.99