For the iPhone users out there, great ebook reading experiences can be had with apps like iBooks and Stanza. But what about for us Android users?

As someone who has recently been getting sucked into reading more and more novels, I’ve been on the prowl for the best ebook readers on Android. So far, nothing has matched the sheer power and elegance of Stanza, but Aldiko has gotten close.

First released in 2009, Aldiko has been working towards offering the best-in-class ebook reading and management experience for Android users. Let’s take a look at what this app can do.

eBook Formats

Aldiko officially supports ebooks in the .epub and .pdf formats. However, if you have ebooks in a different format, you can use a program called Calibre to convert those files into .epub format. From there, Aldiko will be able to read it just fine.

Importing ebooks into Aldiko is extremely easy. All you have to do is connect your Android to your computer and drag the files onto your device. Then, from within Aldiko, you can search your device and tell it which files to import. Simple.

If some of your ebooks are locked by Adobe DRM, you can even sign into your Adobe ID to have those ebooks unlocked.

In-App Bookstore

At the time of writing this article, installing Aldiko on your device will result in a free ebook for you: White Fang by Jack London. For those of you who have never read this book, it is a small and unexpected treat.

However, one of Aldiko’s great features is an in-app bookstore powered by Feedbooks. Without ever having to leave the app, you can purchase books that have been recommended by other readers, books that have been featured in the New York Times Bestseller List, or books that are entirely free of charge.

On top of that, you can use the app to browse through ebook listings on Smashwords. Smashwords is a great place to find ebooks, both free and paid, across all genres and formats.

Library Management

Managing your pile of ebooks is extremely easy with Aldiko. You’ll be able to find the book you want to read almost instantly by sorting by title or by author–whichever you prefer.

Reading

If you want to bookmark a page–in case you have to stop reading for a bit, or if you want to return to a specific spot later–you just tap a button and label the bookmark.

If you want to look for a specific scene but don’t remember where it is, use the full-text search.

As you’re reading, you can bring up a context overlay with a single tap on the page. You’ll instantly see how far into the book you are, and you’ll be presented with a bunch of options for customizing your reading experience.

Settings and Customization

Aldiko allows you to change a lot of settings in order to maximize your comfort. Change the font face, the font size, the margin sizes, and the colors of the text and page. You’ll never be distracted by poor aesthetics again.

And it doesn’t stop there. There are a few other options that really add those finishing touches while you read.

Verdict?

Aldiko still lacks a few features that I would like to see, such as tracking your progress through the current chapter (as opposed to the whole book), more options for sorting your library, the ability to edit book details, etc.

However, compared to other ebook readers on the Android Market, Aldiko is definitely the best one I’ve tried so far. I would highly recommend it for anyone who plans on reading many ebooks on their Android device.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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Mint has now launched its much-loved financial software application for Android tablets. Mint.com is an awesome way to keep track of your spending and savings. It allows you to set goals, keep track of where you are spending your money, as well be reminded when you have bills coming up to be paid. If you have a hard time keeping track of your money, Mint.com is the solution for you. We have covered Mint extensively at MakeUseOf, because it really is that damn good.

Mint.com offers browser-based solutions as well as apps for iPhone, Android Smartphones and iPad. For owners of 9 and 10 inch Android tablets, now there is an app for you. For now, this app is designed to work on 9 and 10 inch models, although it seems that you can use it with 7 inch ones as well. At this point, there has not been word if the amazingly popular Kindle Fire will be supported. Obviously, Mint has supporting Android in their sights, and it’s impossible to ignore the popularity of the Kindle.

The app offers no new functionality from the earlier versions, but that’s not a bad thing, since the earlier version got nearly everything right. The only visible changes are some reordered modules and font changes.

For Mint, this is a great move. It opens a whole new market, and one that is growing fast. If you are a Mint user with an Android tablet, the time to download is now.

Source: Tech Crunch

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Valve’s ever-popular content delivery platform Steam has taken its first steps into the mobile world with the launch of two apps for iOS and Android users. Despite both being available for anyone to download on the App Store and Android Market, Valve have so far only allowed a small number of users use the service.

Currently in beta, both apps provide quick access to  friend statuses, chat and the store front where games can be purchased using saved credentials. In addition to this there is a “Friend Activity” area that logs purchases, achievements and other events and news sections for updates from blogs and Valve themselves.

As it stands these news sections are pretty bare, but the game catalogue is complete and fully functional, allowing for the purchase of full titles from your Android or iOS device. Valve’s president and co-founder, Gabe Newell, said:

“Seeing which of your friends are online and playing a game, sending quick messages, looking at screenshots for an upcoming game, or catching a sale — these are all features customers have requested. Mobile is changing way people interact, play games and consume media, and the Steam app is part of our commitment to meet customer demands and expand the service functionality of Steam.”

Don’t worry if you’re not in the beta just yet, simply by downloading one of the apps and logging in (as well as providing the Steam Guard code sent to your email address) Valve will add you to the list of users awaiting beta entry.

If you’ve been lucky enough to get beta access already then let us know what you think!

Download: Steam for iOS @ App Store
Download: Steam for Android @ Android Market

Source: Steam

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Dolphin has recently announced the release of two brand new add-ons for its popular Android browser. The Dolphin browser already features a number of useful add-ons such as Read It Later, Dolphin Translate, Dolphin.fm, and various tab management add-ons, and has now added the Skitch add-on and the Evernote add-on.

Skitch, a powerful photo editor and annotator, has recently been acquired by Evernote, the popular notetaking app, and both are now available as add-ons for Dolphin browser on Android. To use the add-ons, you will need to have accounts with Skitch and Evernote. With Skitch, you also need to have the actual Skitch app installed on your device. If you don’t already have accounts or the apps, Dolphin will redirect you to the market when you try to use the add-ons.

To use the add-ons, slide the screen to the left to reveal the right side panel. For Skitch, first find an image you want to edit, and then tap the Skitch icon. This will load the image in Skitch where you can edit and annotate it. For Evernote, simply choose the text you want to save, tap the Evernote icon and insert the clipping. You can upload it to Evernote right from within Dolphin.

Dolphin is promising lots more add-ons in the upcoming year, and asks for user feedback and ideas for new add-ons and features. So if there’s an add-on you always wished you could have in Dolphin, go ahead and contact them. You’ve got nothing to lose!

What do you think of Dolphin’s new add-ons? Did you get a chance to try them yet?

Skitch add-on for Dolphin [2.2+]
Evernote add-on for Dolphin [2.0.1+]

Source: Dolphin Browser Blog

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SOPA has been a really big deal as of late, as the piece of legislation is still stuck in the American Congress, and there is no clear sign that it will get rejected. The movement to fight against SOPA has quickly been gaining momentum, including some pretty daring Internet “blackouts”. However, what if you want to do something other than constantly shout out your opinion over social media? With a neat app for Android, you can now support those who are against SOPA and boycott those that aren’t.

About SOPA

In case you haven’t heard by now, SOPA is legislation introduced into the American Congress that is supposed to combat copyright infringement/piracy. While the intentions of the bill are meant to be good-natured, the bill is so poorly written that it will affect much more of the Internet than most people would like.

Because of how it’s written, sites that host good, genuine content could have their existence endangered if they happen to have a link anywhere to a site that contains copyright-infringing material. This could potentially shut down a large number of sites that we all know and love. For more information about the bill, you can check out Wikipedia’s article about it.

Installation

Boycott SOPA, the app in question, can be easily downloaded and installed from the Android Market. If you’re on your phone right now, you can click this link and choose to launch the Market using that link to go straight to the application. Please note that like most other applications that depend on scanning barcodes to identify products, you’ll need to have Barcode Scanner installed as well so that the app will work correctly.

The App

The app is actually pretty straightforward, and is very easy to use. The main screen has a single button to start the scanner, where you can then hold your phone up to the barcode of any product to see whether or not the company that made it is supportive of SOPA or not.

Scan Results

Once you do, you get to see any one of three different screens, depending on the result. In case the company who made the product you scanned is against SOPA, you’ll see this screen with a green check mark.

If the company is for SOPA, you’ll see this screen with a big fat red X across it.

Finally, in case the app doesn’t have any information on that specific company or the company has no official stance on SOPA, you’ll be presented with this screen.

As you can see, don’t be afraid to try scanning any product you find. Some companies have pretty interesting stances on SOPA, especially some that you wouldn’t expect to have a stance on it at all. As you’ll see in the screenshot below, Puffs (hand tissue producer for those that don’t know) is against SOPA while the Coca-Cola Corporation is for SOPA.

History

In case you’ve scanned a lot of different products and forgot what stance the company of a certain product has, you’ll still be able to find out as Boycott SOPA has a history page of all the products that you’ve scanned. This way, you’ll have a very quick and easy list of the good guys and the bad.

Conclusion

That’s all there is to it! So what are you waiting for? Get scanning and do your own part in protecting the Internet from the poorly-written SOPA bill. As the bill is unpopular even with most American citizens, hopefully it won’t pass.

What’s your opinion of this app? Is it helpful? Is there any other app or service that you can recommend that involves SOPA? Let us know in the comments!

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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Being heavily interested in areas of fringe science and technology, I am always intrigued and fascinated by any claims of technology affecting biology, or the other way around. It goes without saying that I am enthralled with all of the new brain-controlled games coming out in the toy market, like the new Mindflex games where you control a floating ball with your mind.

I am also intrigued by the other way around – devices and apps that have the ability to affect your brain. Jackson seems to be equally as intrigued as I. In 2009 he wrote a couple of cool articles covering just such apps, like his list of apps that help you sleep, relax or concentrate. His list of 9 iPhone apps that help you sleep were along the same lines as well. This week, I was complaining at work about being tired and not getting enough sleep, and one of my colleagues mentioned that I might want to consider trying binaural beats.

Improving Your Life With Binaural Beats

“Binaural what?” you ask.

That’s right, binaural beats – sounds of varying frequencies that, when played in each ear, supposedly produces a sort of “resonant frequency” in the center of the brain that can actually induce a specific mental state. The evidence for this interesting brain artifact comes from published research at the University of Florida, the University of California, and discussed in publications like the MIT Press and Scientific American.

If you want to try this phenomenon for yourself and you have an Android, you can. The goal with the apps I’m going to review in this article is to play those frequencies long enough to induce your brain toward that desired mental state.

Binaural Beats Therapy

If you’re ready to try this out, I highly suggest you first download my favorite app, Binaural Beats Therapy. This app consists of 7 preset frequency configurations that will play a carefully modulated tone in each ear, in order to produce the desired mental state that you choose in the main menu.

The display screen while the tone is playing is fairly boring – just flashing dots on the screen or the entire screen may flash different colors.

The audio itself is pretty high quality, and with this app there doesn’t seem to be any lag at all, even for audio that lasts about 2 hours.

Brainwave Tuner Lite

A similar app is Brainwave Tuner Lite, which has only three selections to choose from – one for each major “state of mind”. That includes “sleep and healing”, “meditation and relaxation” and “Focus and Learning”.

It took me a while to choose between using this one or the previous app the majority of the time that I was writing this article. I like the constant tone of Binaural Beats Therapy – Brainwave Tuner fades in and out, which I don’t particularly like. However, it does have a more creative screen while the sound is playing, which I do like.

One of the things that my colleague described to me is an iPhone app he uses to run through an entire program of frequencies. That’s really what I want to do, so I continued hunting for just such an app.

Binality

I found such an app in Binality. Like the previous two binaural beat apps, Binality offers a decent list of target mental states that you may want to pursue. These include concentration, lucid dreaming and meditation and more. Although, I’m not so sure about the “out of body experience” option…

What I really like about this app is the display while the tone is playing. It shows you the entire programmed frequency range as the program works its way through it.

You can jump around if you’d like by choosing a spot on the control bar, but I hear that you get the best results if you allow the entire program from start to finish.

edenBeats

Another interesting binaural beats app is edenBeats. It offers far fewer options as far as preset frequency tones – the menu only lists four at the moment – but the app is much more flexible because it allows you to alter each frequency as you see fit.

The tone generation screen allows you to turn off or on each base and beat frequency settings if you want to.

Best of all, you can create your own custom binaural beats from scratch if you want – and if you really know what you’re doing.

One-Use Binaural Beat Apps

There are two other apps that I should mention briefly. These are intended to be used for one particular purpose – as very targeted therapy. The first app is called Confidence Now. Be forewarned, when you first launch the app, you’ll need to download multiple large files, so try to do it while on Wi-Fi.

Confidence now offers a very long session created by certified hypnotherapist David Ridgeway, which takes you through relaxation, hypnotic induction, and the main session where Ridgeway makes hypnotic suggestions to improve your confidence, with a binaural beat in the background.

The last app is one that claims it can help people that suffer from depression, called Depression Help. This is a very simple app that just plays one preset setup of tones which the app creators claim can eventually alleviate symptoms of depression.

As to its effectiveness, I can’t really say. The comments area for the app has about half of the users saying it worked and half saying it did zilch.

So why not give binaural therapy a shot, and see if you notice any impact in your daily life. If you’re always tired, groggy or distracted, maybe one of these apps could give you the mental boost that you need. If you do give any apps a try, let us know how it works out. And if you know of any other cool Android apps similar to these, please share them in the comments section below.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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Google Talk is great, but not if you have friends scattered across MSN, AIM, Yahoo, Facebook and every other chat network ever created. You don’t have to run eleven different apps to stay in touch; just use imo.im for Android and get every protocol in one slick app.

As you might expect from an app started by one of Google’s first ten employees, imo.im integrates nicely with Android and has a simple, clean interface. It isn’t just another free app that displays ads or pushes you to upgrade, either – it’s ad-free and has no paid, premium version.

Accounts

Launch imo.im and you’ll see three different panes — Contacts, Chats and Accounts. The accounts pane lets you manage your accounts, set status messages and select a buddy icon.

The first thing you’ll want to do is add an account. imo.im supports popular networks like Google Talk, MSN, AIM and Yahoo; social networks like Facebook and Myspace; and even Skype.

You can add multiple accounts and link them together. When you link your accounts, imo.im saves their passwords in an encrypted form on imo.im’s servers. imo.im automatically logs into your other connected accounts whenever you sign into one. This lets you sign into all your accounts with a single password, even if you’re using the imo.im web app.

Contacts

Tap the Contacts icon and you’ll see online contacts from every account you have in imo. You can organize your contacts into groups or use the search box to find them. Just tap a contact’s name to start a conversation.

Long press a contact and you’ll see a screen with more information about that contact. From here, you can set an alias for the contact, which you’ll see instead of the contact’s screen name. For quick access to a contact, you can tap Favorite so they’ll always appear at the top of your contacts list or tap Shortcut to add a shortcut to your home screen. The shortcut will instantly launch a chat with your contact.

The contacts list also includes a few other features – you can tap the menu button to start a group chat or search your chat history (if you have the history feature enabled).

Chats

The chats pane lists your in-progress conversations and  displays a preview of the most recent message. You’ll see a blue chat bubble icon if a conversation has new messages.

The top of the chat screen shows your open chat conversations; you can swipe between them like you’d switch tabs on a desktop chat program.

One of imo.im’s standout features is support for multimedia attachments. Tap the microphone icon to send a voice message – your contact will get a link to an MP3 file (they’ll see a play button if they’re using imo.im.) You can also hit the menu button and tap Attach to add an image or video from your phone’s camera. imo.im can also attach image, video and audio files from your device’s storage.

imo.im provides notifications, so you’ll see new messages arrive even if you’re using another app.

Web App Integration

The imo.im Android app is completely integrated with the the web app available at (surprise) imo.im. You can sign in from any web browser and use the same accounts you’ve set up on imo.im; just sign in with one account and you’ll sign into them all, assuming they’re linked.

The web app and Android app work seamlessly together. Sit down at your computer, start a conversation and continue it on your Android phone – whenever you send a message in one app, you’ll see it instantly appear in the other. Your conversation history is also stored in the imo.im website, so you can access it anywhere, anytime. Don’t worry if you’d rather not store your conversation history online; this feature is optional.

imo.im even has a Chrome extension, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Preferences

imo.im’s preferences screen contains a good number of options. Its notifications are completely customizable — you can disable them entirely if you want. You can also have imo.im alert you with a vibration, LED flash and/or sound when new messages arrive.

Imo.im saves your account passwords by default, but you can disable this behavior in the privacy section. You can also have imo.im automatically start and sign in when your phone turns on, so you’ll always be available to your contacts. This is also where you can control imo’s online chat history feature.

The look and feel section contains a few options that can change the way conversations appear in imo.im. You can disable buddy icons or emoticons and adjust the size of the font imo.im uses in conversations.

Conclusion

imo.im is a standout multi-protocol chat application, both for Android and on the web. It’s probably the best multi-protocol chat app for Android, and it’s completely free. Check out our list of the best Android apps for more Android app goodness.

Tried imo.im? Or do you swear by another chat app? Tell us what you think in the comments.

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ChromeMarks Lite for Android can sync your Google Chrome bookmarks with your Android device. The tool supports syncing bookmarks in both ways between Google Chrome on your desktop and the Android app. Limitations of the free version include that you cannot edit your bookmarks or sync them with the browsers installed on your Android device.

Set Up Bookmark Syncing In Chrome

For ChromeMarks Lite to work, you first need to enable syncing of your Google Chrome bookmarks between computers. In the browser, click the wrench icon in the top right and open > Options. It will open in a new tab. Go to > Personal Stuff and click the > Sign in to Chrome or > Set up sync… button, depending on what is displayed for you.

In the advanced sync preferences pop-up window, select the items you want to sync, such as your > Bookmarks. When you’re done click OK.

Your bookmarks will now be synced with your Google account. To access your Google Chrome bookmarks on a different installation of the browser, simply perform these same steps and all your synced data will be imported from your Google account and subsequently synced with it.

Set Up ChromeMarks Lite On Your Android Device

To access the bookmarks that are synced from your Google Chrome desktop browser to your Google account, download and install ChromeMarks Lite.

When you first open the app, you will see that there are no bookmarks in the database yet. Click the > sync button to initiate the synchronization.

Note that you first have to provide permission to the app. Once this is done, it will initialize and start syncing your bookmarks from your Google account.

This procedure will only take a few seconds and then all your bookmarks will be available in the ChromeMarks Lite app, as shown below. Note that ChromeMarks Lite does not support auto-syncing. Hence, to get the latest bookmarks from your Google account, you occasionally need to click the > Sync button in the top right.

When you click a bookmark, it will either open directly in your default browser or ask you which browser you want it to open with.

By the way, clicking on a bookmark for more than a second will open a menu with options to open it in a new window, share the link or copy the URL.

Does ChromeMarks Sync With My Android Browser Bookmarks?

ChromeMarks Lite does not offer this feature. To integrate ChromeMarks with your Android browser, you have to upgrade to the full version of the app. Unfortunately, Honeycomb and some Samsung users are partly left out, as the tool does not integrate or sync with the stock browser on Android Honeycomb and some Samsung phones. However, before you risk upgrading, you can verify whether or not your device will support the upgrade options using ChromeMarks Lite.

Click the menu icon in the top right, then select > Settings and go to > Upgrade Options.

A green checkmark indicates that your device supports the respective feature, while items marked with a red cross will not be available. Since I am on a Samsung Honeycomb tablet, ChromeMarks presently is not able to sync with my browser bookmarks.

Conclusion

It is a pity that you have to use a third-party app on your Google Android device to access bookmarks synced to your Google account. However, at least this app comfortably enables you to access bookmarks synced with your Google account and despite the limitations of the free version, it is very useful. I reckon that the paid version is worth upgrading to if your Android device supports syncing with your installed browser. Otherwise it’s only worth it if you want to enable manual editing of bookmarks and auto-syncing.

How do you sync bookmarks between your desktop and mobile devices?

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/avastandroidthumb.jpg?323f2c" alt="" />There are plenty of free mobile security apps available for Android. The market seems to be filled to the brim with them. Yet it’s hard to say if they’re trustworthy because often they’re developed by companies that don’t have a reputation.

Fortunately, there’s now one more trustworthy free mobile security app on the market. It comes from Avast!, a company that has managed to successfully spread its name by offering a robust href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ten-best-antivirus-programs/">free anti-virus solution for the PC.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/avastmobilesecurity1.jpg?323f2c" alt="" width="288" height="512" />

Avast!’s entry into the Android market is not a surprise, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/avast-working-android-app-offer-extra-features-rooted-phones-news/">as they leaked details of their upcoming app back in June. The features available are competitive with other free security solutions. There’s anti-virus protection, a web shield that warns users of URLs known to contain malware, anti-theft features including phone location and SIM card change notification, and a “stealth mode” that hides the security app from prying eyes.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of all is the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-top-firewall-programs-computers-security/">firewall that is available to users who own a rooted phone. There are not a lot of firewall options for Android, so this feature sets the app apart from many competitors.

href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.avast.android.mobilesecurity#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDIxMiwiY29tLmF2YXN0LmFuZHJvaWQubW9iaWxlc2VjdXJpdHkiXQ..">Avast!  Mobile Security is free, and there’s no paid version available. You’ll need a device with Android 2.1 or better to run it.

Source: href="http://www.androidguys.com/2011/12/30/avast-free-mobile-security-is-here" rel="nofollow">Android Guys

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/words3.jpg?323f2c" alt="android word games" />

I know I’m not the only one around here who href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-cool-word-games-play-google-chrome-test-language-skills/">loves  href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-quick-online-word-games-play-vocabulary/">word  href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-word-games-play-sharpen-language-skills/">games. Well, today I’d like to share two free, fun Android word games. One involves a bit of fast action, while the other mainly involves looking and hunting around. Ready? Here we go!

Letter Rip

The first game I’d like to share, href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.ant.letterrip.client&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5hbnQubGV0dGVycmlwLmNsaWVudCJd">Letter Rip, supports Android 1.6 and up. It has a 4.0 rating with 813 reviews, which isn’t bad at all, and you’ll soon see why. Here’s what the board looks like early on in a game:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/words5.jpg?323f2c" alt="android word games" width="300" height="500" />

The board starts out empty, and the tiles fill in gradually, about one per second. Your job is to drag tiles around to make words. Much like Scrabble, every letter has a point value, shown as a small number on the bottom-right corner. If you don’t make words fast enough, pretty soon the board looks like this:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/words7.jpg?323f2c" alt="word games for android" width="300" height="500" />

Meaning, it is now completely full. In the screenshot above, this happened because I simply didn’t play – I wanted to let it fill up. The game is far from over: You can still make plenty of words, and they don’t even have to be in a single line. Take this, for example:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/words9.jpg?323f2c" alt="word games for android" width="300" height="500" />

As long as the letters are somehow next to each other, the resulting word is acceptable. Personally, I really like this – it allows for a great deal of flexibility. Gameplay is very calm, and there are no stressful timeouts. Once I found “JET” above, I cleared those spaces on the board and got my 50 points:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/words11.jpg?323f2c" alt="word games for android" width="300" height="500" />

Now, I can drag any letter from the top row into the empty space, and I can also move other letters around. Let’s do this in two steps: First, let’s use the free space to shuffle things around a bit.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/words15.jpg?323f2c" alt="best word games for android" width="300" height="500" />

With this shuffle, I just made a new word, “WISH”, without using any of the letters above. With a quick swipe through those letters, I can claim it, earn my points, and clear those tiles.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/words17.jpg?323f2c" alt="best word games for android" width="300" height="500" />

Now I’d like to use the letters from the top bank, to make a new word:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/words21.jpg?323f2c" alt="best word games for android" width="300" height="500" />

Can you guess what word I made? I would not usually do this so early, but it shows what the top tray is for. Note that after I empty it out, it does not magically refill – you’d best save those letters for when you really need them.

After a while, it looks like all of your options are out:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/words23.jpg?323f2c" alt="" width="300" height="500" />

Not much to do without vowels. Now, you can either surrender, or buy new letters:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/words25.jpg?323f2c" alt="" width="300" height="500" />

Buying letters looks like this:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/words27.jpg?323f2c" alt="" width="300" height="500" />

Again, this is another very relaxing part of the game. You don’t buy random letters in hope you’ll get something good. You actually get to pick and choose the letters you want, and pay their price with the points you’ve accumulated so far. Of course, not all letters cost the same (just as not all letters are worth the same amount of points when used in a word).

Last but not least, I’d like to show you the generous options screen:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/words29.jpg?323f2c" alt="" width="300" height="500" />

As you can see, you get to control the board size, game speed, and even the minimum amount of letters that count as a word.

I really like Letter Rip! because I feel the designers went out of their way to create a calming game. Where in other games I would expect to have a timer, Letter Rip! just lets me keep on playing to my heart’s content. And where other games only let me create words from top to bottom or left to right, Letter Rip! doesn’t care about directions. Very enjoyable, and captures the feel of a crossword puzzle while providing something you can’t do with paper (move letters around).

Word Search

The second game I’d like to share with you is called href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.melimots.WordSearch">Word Search, and it also runs on Android 1.6 and above. It’s a much simpler game, really:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wordsearch.jpg?323f2c" alt="android word games" width="300" height="500" />

What you see is what you get; it’s a large grid of letters, in which you have to hunt for the words listed. Once you find a word, just draw a line through it, and it becomes highlighted. It’s an extremely simple game, but is also nice and relaxed. I only wish there was a way to hide the list of words. As it is, the game doesn’t involve much thought, but mainly looking and hunting around for those words. That’s also a mental skill, however.

My other feature request would be a way to make the board dark. This could be a great game to play at night right before I fall asleep, but the bright white board makes that impossible.

Every time you start a new Word Search game, you get a different grid with different words. You can swipe the list of words left to right – you don’t have to stick to the order they are listed, of course.

There’s not much else to say about this extremely simple Android word game, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun. If you like words, take it for a spin!

Your Turn

As usual, this is the spot where I ask you if I missed your favorite Android word game. I don’t mean Words with Friends; can you surprise me with an awesome free word game that not many people know yet? Tell me below!

Image Credit: href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-58783639/stock-vector-clerks-solve-a-crossword-in-lunch-hour-vector-and-illustrations.html?src=a2560904ade4f49f0da01d2985f68bd0-1-19" rel="nofollow">ShutterStock

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href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/announcement-android-apps/" rel="bookmark"> width="125" height="125" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/android-150x150.jpg?323f2c" class="with-border wp-post-image" alt="BEST android" title="BEST android" style="width:125px;height:125px;" /> class="title">[ANNOUNCEMENT] Best Android Apps

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/beer-icon.jpg?323f2c" alt="beer apps for android" />I love beer. I love drinking it, I love discovering new kinds of it and I love learning about it. Are you a beer lover too? Well, it’s your lucky day! I’ve recently decided to move my beer passion to the next level, and take it with me wherever I go.

As a result, I am presenting to you the ultimate list of free, informative, helpful and fun beer apps for your Android device. Whether you want to learn about new beers, record your drinking habits or even brew some beers yourself, you’re going to find something you can use in this list.

href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.transmutex.bjcpdroid&hl=en">BJCPDroid [1.6+]

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/BJCPdroid.jpg?323f2c" alt="beer apps for android" width="547" height="443" border="0" />

BJCP stands for Beer Judge Certification Program. The BJCP’s goal is to train beer experts, and their Android app is a very informative beer index which includes everything you ever wanted to know about beer styles, flavors, aromas, ingredients, etc.

If you’ve always wanted to know the difference between a brown porter and a robust porter, or to get to know some classic examples for amber hybrid beer, you’re going to love BJCP’s app. There are no frills here, just information, and lots of it.

The app includes ads, but if you happen to be a BJCP member, you can remove them by entering your BJCP number.

href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.dangiulvezan.hoptopia&feature=also_installed_confirmation">Hoptopia [1.6+]

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/hoptopia.jpg?323f2c" alt="android beer app" width="552" height="444" border="0" />

Hoptopia is a great source for craft beer reviews, which you can browse by name, beer style and brewery. The beers are reviewed by real people, and each is given an overall score (out of 100). You can also read an in-depth review about each beer, and see what price you should expect it to go for.

After reading about a beer, you can add it to your favorites, which you can access from the “More” tab. This way, you can get to know lots of new beers by browsing, and create your own collections of interesting beers you want to try. The beer database is not huge, but definitely comprehensive, and will provide an interesting read for any beer lover.

href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.beerdiary&feature=also_installed">BeerDiary [1.6+]

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/beerdiary.jpg?323f2c" alt="android beer app" width="552" height="442" border="0" />

BeerDiary is a very simple app, which I nonetheless find extremely useful and fun to use. If you often feel the urge to record your drinking habits or to list the different beers you drink so as to never forget them again, you’re going to love BeerDiary.

With BeerDiary, you can add all your favorite beers, including the brewer’s name and location, a description and tag. You can then view your beer list at any time, and tap the beer-glass icon to signify that you’ve now drunk that beer. What you get is a list with all the beers you’ve drunk, and the exact times and days you’ve done so. You can browse your beers by name, brewer or tag.

The app doesn’t do any more than this at the moment, but a simple app is sometimes all you need for a simple task.

href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.metosphere.beerfree&feature=search_result">Beer [1.6+]

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/beer3.jpg?323f2c" alt="android beer app" width="554" height="442" border="0" />

With a name like that, where can an app go wrong? Beer, or by its full name, Beer – List, Ratings & Reviews, is for those who are looking for a beer diary with more capabilities than BeerDiary, and are also interested in reading other people’s opinions.

For each beer you add to your list, you can input a name, style, barcode, photo, ratings, and much, much more. You can also share each beer you add via Twitter, Facebook or email. For your own records, you can view stats, export to CSV, backup and restore, and more. You can search through all your beers, and also search through beers other people reviewed, read their opinions and comment.

href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.brewzor.calculator&feature=related_apps">Brewzor Calculator FREE [1.5+]

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/brewzor.jpg?323f2c" alt="best beer app android" width="560" height="441" border="0" />

If you’ve ever brewed beer by yourself, you’ve probably done some calculations. Depending on the process you’re using and on your level, there are all kinds of parameters you need to take into considerations when brewing beer.

Brewzor calculator is a free app aimed at both home brewers and professional brewers, and provides an impressive number of brewing calculators, some of which I’ve never even heard of before. You can set up the app to use your exact measurements, and also configure what kind of equipment you’re using. If you’re not sure what a calculator does, visit the href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.brewzor.calculator&feature=related_apps">app’s page for some explanations.

You can also try href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.brewzor.pro.beta&feature=search_result">Brewzor Pro Beta, a beer recipe manager, which includes all these calculators and an elaborate recipe manager for any brewer.

href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.weekendcoders.brewr&feature=related_apps">BrewR [2.1+]

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/brewr.jpg?323f2c" alt="best beer app android" width="552" height="443" border="0" />

BrewR is another app aimed at brewers, and will especially appeal to home brewers. You can add your own recipes, complete with ingredients (which you can choose from the vast ingredient database), recipe notes and specific batch notes. It also includes several timers to use while brewing, such as a boil time countdown and hopping time alerts.

The ingredients in the database are editable, so you can pretty much add any ingredient you can dream of. You can also add your own notes to each ingredient. When you have a list of recipes, you can filter them and sort them in various ways, and even share them with friends through all the regular social channels.

href="https://market.android.com/details?id=org.icount.beer&feature=search_result">Beer Counter [2.2+]

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/beer-counter.jpg?323f2c" alt="beer apps for android" width="553" height="442" border="0" />

Beer Counter is yet another of those simple apps that do one thing well. If you want to keep track of how much you had to drink or of how much money you need to pay for your drinks when you hang out with friends, Beer Counter is the perfect solution. All you have to do is set your currency and the beer price, and then just tap the huge number every time you have another drink.

The app will save your stats for you, complete with time and place, and will tally up the costs for the night, until you start it over. You can view your activities on a map and automatically share your drinking ventures on Twitter and Facebook.

Bottom Line

Do you love beer but don’t own an Andoird device? Don’t despair! Check out href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-10-free-beer-related-applications-iphone/">this list of awesome beer-related iPhone apps or href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-6-websites-visit-love-drink/">this list of great drink-related websites you should visit.

Do you know of some  more great beer-related apps? Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: href="http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/301324/301324,1315317713,1/stock-vector-beer-app-icon-for-mobile-devices-84120178.jpg" rel="nofollow">Shutterstock

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href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-music-apps-android-device/" rel="bookmark"> width="125" height="125" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/AndroidMusicApps06-150x150.png?323f2c" class="with-border wp-post-image" alt="AndroidMusicApps06" title="AndroidMusicApps06" style="width:125px;height:125px;" /> class="title">The 5 Best Music Apps For Your Android Device

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/exfm.jpg?323f2c" alt="find new tunes" />Music is a beautiful part of life. While most of us don’t make music (I envy those who do), we all listen to it. But having music play in the background while you’re working on something else is probably not the best way to listen to it, especially if it’s music you’ve never heard of before. href="http://ex.fm/trending">Ex.fm is a music discovery service which we’ve href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/exfm-ex-fm/">covered before, but at the time, it was strictly web-based (with an optional Chrome add-on).

The service has recently released an href="https://market.android.com/details?id=fm.ex.android&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImZtLmV4LmFuZHJvaWQiXQ..">Android app, so I figured it might be a good idea to take it for a spin.

Starting The App

Upon launching the app, you are greeted with a registration/log-in screen:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/exfm3.jpg?323f2c" alt="find new tunes" width="300" height="500" border="0" />

This is a bit surprising (disappointing, even), because the website itself ( href="http://ex.fm">ex.fm) doesn’t require an account to use. Once you create an account (or log in with your existing one, like I did), you are presented with a quick tour:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/exfm7.jpg?323f2c" alt="android tunes" width="300" height="500" border="0" />

Main Interface

This is what the “body” of the app looks like:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/exfm11.jpg?323f2c" alt="android tunes" width="300" height="500" border="0" />

The “Tastemakers” button shows a stream of users throughout the ex.fm universe. This is a good starting point for hunting a song to listen to; let’s try The Moth And The Mirror:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/exfm14.jpg?323f2c" alt="android tunes" width="300" height="500" border="0" />

So this is what an individual song looks like while a song is playing. Pretty slick! And it’s a good song, too, so I tapped the “heart” button on the top left, to “like” the song and save it for future listening. For some reason, the “Share” menu doesn’t use Android’s built-in sharing option, but instead shows a trimmed down menu containing just three ways to share the current track:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/exfm16.jpg?323f2c" alt="tunes for android" width="300" height="500" border="0" />

The “Buy” button simply opens up a mobile browser to Amazon, and the Shuffle button mixes up the current playlist. Speaking of playlists, you don’t have to actively create those. When I tapped the first song, the app simply launched into a playlist and proceeded playing smoothly. You can also look at the current playlist:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/exfm18.jpg?323f2c" alt="tunes for android" width="300" height="500" border="0" />

To skip to a different song, simply tap it. You can’t drag songs around to rearrange the playlist, though.

Following Users

Sooner or later, you’re going to stumble onto an awesome user with great taste with music. When that happens, you should stalk them. Or maybe just “follow”, which is something you can easily do from their profile page:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/exfm20.jpg?323f2c" alt="exfm[20]" width="300" height="500" border="0" />

The profile page also shows you a user’s activity, as well as who else is following that users (and who that user is following).

Your Own Profile

Your own profile page looks quite similar, only you can’t follow yourself (that wouldn’t make much sense now, would it?).

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/exfm22.jpg?323f2c" alt="tunes for android" width="300" height="500" border="0" />

Listening In The Background

Needless to say, playback continues even when you turn off your screen. But what’s nicer is that it also continues when you leave the app and use your phone for other things; when running in the background, ex.fm shows a handy notification with the name of the current song:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/exfm24.jpg?323f2c" alt="exfm[24]" width="300" height="500" border="0" />

Tapping to notification pops you right back into the application.

What Doesn’t Work Right

In a word – search. Searching for artists was an absolute fail when I tried it.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/exfm9.jpg?323f2c" alt="find new tunes" width="300" height="500" border="0" />

No matter how many times I hit Enter, the screen would refresh for a split-second, and stay just as blank as you see it above. Needless to say, the href="http://ex.fm/search/mumford">same search executed on the website works without a hitch, yielding a lovely playlist featuring mellow Mumford & Sons music.

Also, when I switched from Wi-Fi to mobile data midway through a song, the application crashed. It is quite new on the Market, though. Mobile data performance was reasonable for me, but your mileage may vary (depending on your carriers).

Final Thoughts

Ex.fm shows a lot of promise, and it is already a very good way to listen to music on the go without burdening your device with gigabytes of music files. Once they fix the search, it’ll be even better.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/facebook-icon.jpg?323f2c" alt="facebook-icon" />Facebook has launched a major update for its href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.facebook.katana&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5mYWNlYm9vay5rYXRhbmEiXQ..">Android app which improves on photo viewing, navigation, search and speed. The new update brings the app closer to the experience the iOS version provides – definitely good news for Android users, who have had to deal with an inferior version up till now.

The new version brings three major changes – faster and better photo viewing, access to notifications from the main screen, and a sidebar which provides access to all your friends, pages, groups, etc. You can also use it to access your Facebook apps and games on the go.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/facebook-app-1.jpg?323f2c" alt="facebook-app-1" width="535" height="431" border="0" />

According to Facebook, photos and albums are now twice as fast as they used to be. The interface has also changed completely, providing a nice black background for viewing, along with easier buttons for comments and likes, and tags on top of the photos.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2011-12-08-14h20_16.png?323f2c" alt="2011-12-08 14h20_16" width="277" height="464" border="0" />

The left sidebar resembles the one from Facebook’s href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/facebook-ipad-finally-features-news/">iPad app, and along with easier navigation also provides easier search through all your friends, statuses, pages, etc. The notification bar, which hasn’t actually changed, was simply added to the main news feed page, which makes it easier to view notifications and chat without losing your place in the news feed. According to Facebook, those of us with timeline profiles should also see their timelines integrated into the app, but I haven’t seen mine yet.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/facebook-app-3.jpg?323f2c" alt="facebook-app-3" width="265" height="442" border="0" />

So what do you think of the update? Too little too late, or is this exactly what Android users have been waiting for?

Get Facebook 1.8 for Android 1.5+ href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.facebook.katana&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5mYWNlYm9vay5rYXRhbmEiXQ..">here.

Source: href="https://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=10150393505147131" rel="nofollow">Facebook Blog

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/wifi.jpg" alt="wifi"/>

Data plans tend to be limited, and connection speeds are sometimes not all that impressive. So when you use an Android phone (or any smartphone for that matter), Wi-Fi becomes an essential way to get online.

Today I’ll be showing you two different apps designed to make your Wi-Fi experience better so you can get better speeds and a more stable connection. These are both for Android, but you can actually use what you learn from them with any Wi-Fi device, including your laptop.

Improving Wi-Fi Connectivity At Home

href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi">Wikipedia says: “Many 2.4 GHz 802.11b and href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11#802.11g">802.11g access-points default to the same channel on initial startup, contributing to congestion on certain channels”. So while there are several available Wi-Fi channels, chances are that you and all of your neighbors are actually using the same single channel for your wireless communication. This causes interference and can slow things down.

You can always tell which Wi-Fi channel you are using using your access point’s configuration interface; but how can you tell what channels you neighbors are using? This is important so you know what’s free and where to switch, and this is where our first app comes in: Free href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer">Wifi Analyzer. With over 5 million downloads and over 61,000 reviews averaging 4.5 stars, Wifi Analyzer kicks some major butt, and provides a plethora of information about your wireless situation. Let’s take it for a spin:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/wifi7.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="501"/>

This is the first screen shown when you launch the app, and right away, you can see how most of the networks around here are centered on channel 6. Only one network sits around channels 1-3, and channels 9 and up appear to be completely clear. Let’s swipe to the next screen:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image92.png" alt="" width="300" height="500"/>

Here, you get to select a network and see its signal strength graphically.  This display constantly updates, and can also beep according to the signal level (more beeping means a stronger signal). This is fun because you can walk around with your phone like a metal detector and see where the signal grows stronger or weaker: Does this or that wall actually block your Wi-Fi signal?

The last feature I want to show you is what I call “the bottom line”. This is the screen where Wi-Fi Analyzer recommends which channel you should switch to:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/wifi5.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="500"/>

As you can see, my home network sits on the absolute worst part of the spectrum possible. Wifi Analyzer says I should switch to channels 11, 12, or 13, and I tend to agree. Doing this will result in less interference, and thus in a better connection for everyone (even my neighbors will have less interference with their Wi-Fi connections!).

Okay, that’s great for when you are at home and you get to control the access point’s channel. But what should you do to get a better connection when you’re outside, at a coffee shop or an airport?

Improving Wi-Fi Connectivity While On The Go

When you’re in a public location, the biggest problem with the Wi-Fi connection is usually poor signal strength. In other words, the access point is simply too far away. This can be very frustrating, because you usually don’t have any way to know where to go for better connectivity. Which way is closer to the access point? If you start walking around, you may lose the connection or end up making it even worse.

Well, this is where href="https://market.android.com/details?id=girsas.wifiradar">Wi-Fi Radar comes in. This handy little app also enjoys some stellar reviews (over 1,100 reviews averaging 4 stars), and its claim to fame is its ability to show you where access points are physically. So you get a radar-like display with your phone in the middle, surrounded by access points. It comes with simple instructions:

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So when using it, you will find yourself slowly rotating with your device. People may look at you oddly, but you can just tell yourself they are suffering crappy connections and you’re smarter.  Once the scan starts, it looks like this:

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This is the trickiest part in using the app. In the screenshot above, I have separated both bars so you can see them clearly. The brighter bark (around the 6% mark) moves on its own; the darker one (around the 20% mark) moves when you rotate the device slowly. Your goal is to keep them together. This means you need to very slowly rotate the device, a little bit at a time, while the progress bar moves. You are going to look pretty stupid while you’re busy doing this, but that is the price to pay for good connectivity.

This process takes a good two minutes, or even more. Once you’re done, you get a display that looks like this:

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When you move around with your device, the display updates and things shift around. Even after all of this work, the display may not be correct; it is best if you have some point of reference, because then you can rotate the whole display as needed, using the “Result Offset” option.

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This isn’t because the app is bad (it’s actually quite good), but because it is trying to do something that is remarkably difficult. If you’re patient and determined, you may find yourself enjoying the best Wi-Fi signal your airport can offer.

Other Wi-Fi Essentials

I am always on the lookout for awesome Android apps; did I miss an important Wi-Fi related application? Let me know in the comments, and I might review it!

Image Credit: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=66078067">ShutterStock

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