Android Tips, Tricks, Apps 2Hacks The independent guide to mastering your Android device = i AMIR eOwH es SUL a ict Blaney Sone Tau) = Jes Fh LBS) |} rHO Pr Bs = ABC) aYeag S 4 # e O al |Z 7 P Ei a is ES 5 Fie"; . ' 7 ' *.,<* i. Welcome to Android Tips, Tricks, Apps Hacks Android is a mobile phenomenon, powering millions of smartphones and tablets all around the world. Thanks to innovations from top manufacturers like Samsung, HTC, and Sony, each year our phones get more sophisticated and more powerful and there are now countless ways in which Android can enhance your life, via both the core apps and the vast selection on Google Play. This latest volume of Android Tips, Tricks, Apps & Hacks focuses on the best apps available to users of Google's OS. The Tips section offers over 100 ways in which you can use the core Android apps more effectively, eking out even more functionality from your device. The Tricks chapter then explores some of the best third party apps in depth, explaining how you can use Android for blogging, staying fit, editing images, making music and more. Once you've got to grips with Android's amazing diversity, you can go one step further with our Hacks tutorials, which shows you how to root and alter your device with a host of innovative technical tweaks. Finally, our Apps section gives you a rundown of some of the best apps on Google Play. Enjoy the book. Android Tips, Tricks, Apps “Hacks Imagine Publishing Ltd Richmond House 33 Richmond Hill Bournemouth Dorset BH2 6EZ @ +44 (0) 1202 586200 Website: www.imagine-publishing co.uk Twitter: @Books_lmagine Facebook: www-facebook.com/|magineBookarines Publishing Director Aaron Asadi Head of Design Ross Andrews Production Editor Mike Hine Senior Art Editor Greg Whitaker Senior Designer Sarah Bellman Printed by William Gibbons, 26 Planetary Road, Willenhall, West Midlands, WV13 3XT Distributed in the UK & Eire by Imagine Publishing Ltd, www.imagineshop.co.uk, Tel 01202 586200 Distributed in Australia by Gordon & Gotch, Equinox Centre, 18 Rodborough Road, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086. Tel + 61 2 9972 8800 Distributed in the Rest of the World by Marketforce, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, Landon, SE1 OSU Disclaimer The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited material lost or damaged iin the post. All text and layout is the copyright of Imagine Publishing Ltd. Nothing in this bookazine may be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the publisher. All copyrights are recognised and used specifically for the purpose of criticism and review. Although the bookazine has. endeavoured to ensure all information is correct at time of print, prices and availability may change. This bookazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein. Android is a trademark of Google Inc. Android Tips, Tricks, Apps & Hacks Volume 8 © 2014 Imagine Publishing Ltd ISBN 978-1910155035 Part of the @ bookazine series AMAZING NEW PANN B) sO) |B, SECRETS “ee eee === ee 5 SAMSUNG The best of the beet on the ultimate stage LT de @ Morespeed @ Better battery 7 Hidden settings @ Get the most from 4.4 KitKat Tk Gmail Play Movies & TV I Ds Chrome Play Newsstand Home screen Google Now Play Books Settings Google Calendar Google+ Device Manager Camera Google Maps Clock Photos Google Earth People Music Player Google Drive Phone Google Play Hangouts Messages Play Games Google Translate Mail Play Music YouTube Discover Twitter on Android Create and share notes Manage your finances Publish your own blog Establish a fitness regime Plan a running routine Watch what you eat Track your sleep habits Navigate with your phone Track a flight Plan the perfect holiday Buy concert tickets Search for anew home Buy and sell items Discover your next book Build a music-based profile Create music on your device Improve your photos Search with your camera Learn a new language Get into astronomy Hi 130 132 134 136 138 140 142 144 146 148 MASTERCLASS 118 From beginner to advanced: Android hacks you must try Apps 150 Essential apps Our pick of the five best apps from several categories on the Google Play Store AGES aT acks Automate Nandroid backups Manage recovery from an app Modify your smartphone with just one app Completely hide root from apps Power up with Xposed modules Flash KitKat using ROM Installer Tweak your ROM with GravityBox Get much longer battery life Keep your device on during backups Root and install Superuser on OUYA Android Tips, Tricks, Apps & Hacks AMAZING NEW ANDROID SECRETS KitKat, the latest version of Android, is full of great features — here we round up 30 of the best eyaltial late Riedeelai(cet(elar-laveerctics| C naming system, the latest version of Android (4.4) is known as KitKat, and it brings with it a collection of great new features. There are the standout changes, like italouO) ole/-lcaeRGrelelel(-Bal-lalelelV]ce-|e)eNi-ls)-lalare the old Messaging tool, built-in suport for all your cloud services, and the new Google Experience Launcher complete with the cial arelavesreerelele|(<ah [e)Va But there's also a whole host of features hidden away in the OS that enable you to get a whole lot more from your phone or tablet. There's the new app runtime that significantly speeds up your apps; the enhanced Gallery tool which, even though it looks set to be replaced by Google+ Photos, is now an incredibly powerful image editor; and there’s FEW te) (-Maleci@ejmalie(e (eRe Rayi-r-L ce tar-| aun] .co 8 Android Tips, Tricks, Apps & Hacks Android even more pleasurable to use. In this feature we'll guide you through some of the best features that you may miss when you first update your OS, or pick up one of the brand new devices that come with KitKat. But first, when will your old smartphone or tablet get this tasty new update? KitKat launched initially on Nexus 5 devices, but has been rolled out to other handsets and manufacturers faster than previous updates. Many still find the process slow, however, and there are plenty of custom ROMs featuring KitKat features available to download on the web. If you're impatient, a trip to XDA- developers.com will tell you whether a cooked version of KitKat is currently available for your handset. With Motorola owned by Google, you shouldn't be surprised to find that its phones have started receiving updates. The Moto G has an update available now, although older devices such as the Droid Ultra, Maxx and Mini currently don't. They have been updated in the USA, however. The Moto X launched in the UK with KitKat pre-installed - so no update necessary there! Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy $4 devices have now received a KitKat update, and other devices in the range are expected to get the update treatment soon, too (Active, Mini and Zoom). Owners of HTC One models (as well as those with the HTC One Mini and HTC One Max) have begun receiving updates, too — though once you've seen the new HTC One (M8), which comes with KitKat, you'll likely want to upgrade right away! If you have the Google Play edition HTC One, then you should have been running Android 4.4 KitKat Nexus 5 Google Now page is built directly into the home screen New KitKat Dialer will display the identity of incoming calls from companies not in your contacts list No infrared for remote control options Free from carrier bloatware, Android in its purest form, as Google intended HTC One (M8) HTC BlinkFeed presents curated social networking updates in digestible chunks # Turn your phone into a remote control and reminder system with HTC TV HTC Sense Ul provides quick access to Accuweather data from the Blinkfeed view HTC Zoe records GIF-like short movies you can easily loop and share Nexus 5 vs other KitKat ph Samsung Galaxy S5 Dual Shot, Sound Shot and Drama Shot camera options for highly memorable photos 5 Translator makes it easy to communicate when you are travelling abroad Use Air Gesture for hands-free smartphone interaction Samsung WatchON turns your smartphone into a multimedia remote control ones Moto G Moto Assist automatically silences the ringer in meetings and at night ” Photo Sphere camera app on standard Moto G, stock Android camera on Google Play Edition Trusted Bluetooth saves time adding Bluetooth devices you trust to your phone Built-in access to Motorola Care, instant chat and telephone support via the Help app Speed and performance improvements How switching to ART can give you a real speed boost Android can be slower than we might like it to be. We know this, the device manufacturers know this, Google knows too. Over the last Android KitKat - but beware, it might not turn Use Dalvik couple of years, the Android development team out to be as good as you'd hoped. At this point, have been working on Android Runtime (ART),a ART is little more than a toy, an experimental Use ART new method of handling how apps run. preview that Google has included in Android 4.4 Paes Currently, this role is filled by Dalvik, and this has KitKat. Should you activate ART and assess how been the case since the first Android phone was it runs your apps? It’s up to you. Some may released in 2008. Clearly Dalvik is capable of speed up, others may slow down or fail to run at doing the job, but ART offers a new, faster all. Until ART is optimised we can only guess at alternative. As things stand, apps are compiled how much its eventual introduction will when they’re run using the just-in-time (JIT) enhance Android. Estimates suggest that app compiler, but with ART the apps are compiled launch time can be halved and animations will when they are installed thanks to ahead-of-time | besmoother. ART isn’t all good news; there are (AOT) compilation. The implication is that apps some drawbacks, such as the increased storage become more like native software. They should requirements for installed apps and longer be quicker to launch and use less battery, installation times on older devices. How to switch to ART (@) Developers — * EnableAndroid © ~~) Waitfor eee options ae Runtime the reboot Developer options must be = <== enabled to switch toART- tap Select Runtime and choose —_—— = display a message informing you | gj this maybe hiddenon your | Use ART. Click OK to confirm — that “Android is upgrading” as ae device. Torevealthe option, —your phone will be restarted in o your apps and services are open Settings>About ==: order to make the necessary optimised to run ART. Once Phone and tap the Build number field seven times. — ete | —_ i a. ee | In Settings>Developer options, changes. This may take some time to complete. perhaps by requiring fewer cores. It sounds good, doesn't it? You can switch to ART on Speed improvements in KitKat What are the differences in speed between ART and Dalvik? Android starts, your phone should be much faster! As your device reboots, it will Doctor Who: Legacy . i — | Dalvik Dalvik scores Dalvik scores Dalvik scores ; —— rr 16719 | 137/305 | 539 ART scores ART scores ART scores Gmail | 17431 LPLUE YA ae) IS i i 810 ED ar ll A als oy) 24% 1% Chrome faster faster faster 0 «OOM Davi a 9/10 WE at | Limitations to ART Switching to ART is a good idea if you want to see how fast Android might . ixol become, but while your phone's overall performance might improve, if apps Comics (Comixo ogy) you rely on in day-to-day life no longer work (such as WhatsApp or Rdio) then — «| ; switching to ART doesn’t make sense. Furthermore, there are some custom a Dalvik ROMs that don’t support ART. If you're flashing ROMs and want to use Android 9, /1 0 Art Runtime, find an up-to-date CM or AOSP ROM. 10 Android Tips Tricks, Apps & Hacks OC