Google Keep--Save what’s on your mind

Google Keep--Save what’s on your mind: Every day we all see, hear or think of things we need to remember. Usually we grab a pad of sticky-notes, scribble a reminder and put it on the desk, the fridge or the relevant page of a magazine. Unfortunately, if you’re like me you probably often discover that the desk, fridge or magazine wasn’t such a clever place to leave the note after all...it’s rarely where you need it when you need it.



To solve this problem we’ve created Google Keep. With Keep you can quickly jot ideas down when you think of them and even include checklists and photos to keep track of what’s important to you. Your notes are safely stored in Google Drive and synced to all your devices so you can always have them at hand.



If it’s more convenient to speak than to type that’s fine—Keep transcribes voice memos for you automatically. There’s super-fast search to find what you’re looking for and when you’re finished with a note you can archive or delete it.

Changing priorities isn’t a problem: just open Keep on your Android phone or tablet (there’s a widget so you can have Keep front and center all the time) and drag your notes around to reflect what matters. You can choose the color for each note too.

Pro tip: for adding thoughts quickly without unlocking your device there's a lock screen widget (on devices running Android 4.2+).

Google Keep is available on Google Play for devices running Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich and above. You can access, edit and create new notes on the web at http://drive.google.com/keep and in the coming weeks you'll be able to do the same directly from Google Drive.



Posted by Katherine Kuan, Software Engineer

Thread wants to be the ultimate caller ID application for Android users

Thread wants to be the ultimate caller ID application for Android users:
If you’re anything like me, it doesn’t matter if you just met a person, it may be difficult for you to remember who they are only a few days after you first meet. I’ve always put the person’s name in my phone contacts list along with a word or two to help me remember where I know them from and what they might be wanting when they call. That can be a bit tedious though and Android users can now get a new application called Thread that aims to be the ultimate caller ID.


The application replaces your existing caller ID with a custom screen that shows you who’s calling and gives you information on the person from their Twitter and Facebook posts. The custom screen also shows you your most recent text messages and e-mails with that person. That’s certainly better than simply entering a word or two to help remind you who the person is and what the call might be about.
Bradlee Benn is the managing partner for company called Sprezzat, which is the parent company for Thread. Benn says that this incoming call screen is “completely untapped mobile real estate.” The app sounds like a unique idea. I only hope it doesn’t lead to ads being shown on the incoming call screen at some point in the future.
The application is available for download now for the Android platform, but it is in beta. The developers say that a version of the application for Apple devices is coming soon and the app will gain support for more social networks. Social networks on the list for future support include LinkedIn, Instagram, and Evernote.
[via Mashable]

Notify Me for Android Adds App-Specific Notification Banners to Your Lock Screen

Notify Me for Android Adds App-Specific Notification Banners to Your Lock Screen:

Android: The notifications pane at the top of your Android phone's screen is a great and fast way to get to your notifications, but if you'd also like to see pop-up alerts over your lock screen for specific emails, SMS messages, or from certain apps, Notify Me gives them to you, and lets you control which notifications you see. More »

I've Been Using Evernote All Wrong. Here's Why It's Actually Amazing

I've Been Using Evernote All Wrong. Here's Why It's Actually Amazing:

For years, I kept hearing how awesome Evernote was: how it could store everything you possibly needed, make it available everywhere, and how scores of people couldn't live without it. I tried it multiple times, and never saw the appeal until now. Here's what I was missing. More »

Instabridge Invites Friends to Join Your Wi-Fi, No Password Necessary

Instabridge Invites Friends to Join Your Wi-Fi, No Password Necessary:

Android: Ever go to a friend's house and try to join their Wi-Fi, only to be given an illegible password scribbled on a sheet of paper? Instabridge solves that problem: now, your friend can just invite you to join their network from their phone, and you'll instantly log in. More »

What's the Best Way to to Sign Documents Electronically (Without Scanning Them)?

What's the Best Way to to Sign Documents Electronically (Without Scanning Them)?:

Dear Lifehacker, More »

BetterBatteryStats Tells You Exactly Which Apps Are Draining Your Android's Battery

BetterBatteryStats Tells You Exactly Which Apps Are Draining Your Android's Battery:

Android: If your phone's battery is draining a little faster than you'd like, BetterBatteryStats will tell you absolutely everything you need to know about what's killing it. More »

Credit Karma for Android Monitors Your Credit for Free, Shows You Reports Anytime, Anywhere

Credit Karma for Android Monitors Your Credit for Free, Shows You Reports Anytime, Anywhere:

Android: We've mentioned Credit Karma's free credit monitoring services and free monthly credit scores in the past, but now you can get all of their free financial services on the go, thanks to their new Android app. More »

Dragon Mobile Assistant Offers Completely Hands-Free Texting, Shares Your Location with Loved Ones

Dragon Mobile Assistant Offers Completely Hands-Free Texting, Shares Your Location with Loved Ones:

Android: We've discussed how useful Dragon Mobile Assistant, (the spiritual successor to Vlingo, our favorite virtual assistant for Android), is as a hands-free mobile assistant. Now the app has updated to include truly hands-free SMS, and location sharing that will tell someone you're waiting for or traveling to exactly where you are and when you'll likely arrive. More »

Beam Player: simple, clean folder-based music player

Beam Player: simple, clean folder-based music player:

There are countless music players out there offering buckets of features and flair, but sometimes you just want a basic app to play music from a folder structure. Beam Player fits the bill for this use perfectly, and doesn't go over the top on design or unnecessary features either. Best of all it's holo, tablet responsive, and has great widgets and notification controls.
Hang with us after the break to see more of what Beam Player has to offer as a simple music player.
read more

iRig Recorder for Android now available from Google Play

iRig Recorder for Android now available from Google Play:

IK Multimedia first announced that their iRig Recorder app would be coming to Android back at CES in early January. Back then, we were told to expect it to land by the end of January. All went quiet, January became a memory, and the app never appeared for download. Better late than never though, iRig Recorder is now available as a free download from the Google Play Store. While the app is free, full functionalities can be unlocked for the one time fee of $4.99.
Besides being a full featured recording and editing app, iRig Recorder is compatible with the existing iRig hardware, previously only supported by iOS devices. Accessory makers have been notoriously slow to adopt Android, but the arrival of the iRig suite of audio equipment and the Recorder app is fantastic news for anyone who needs to make good quality recordings on the go.

Note taking app Google Keep now available in Google Play and on the web

Note taking app Google Keep now available in Google Play and on the web:

Google's own note taking app, Google Keep, has just gone live and official. The service allows users to do more than just jot down ideas and thoughts, there is annotations, the ability to add pictures, voice notes, and color coding and lists to keep things organized. The included home screen widget even lets us create and view notes from our home screen without opening the app.
To make things even better, everything it integrated into your Google Drive account. This means anywhere you have access to the web you have access to your notes. You can have a look at that here.
The app is pretty simple, but the integration with Drive is a pretty "killer feature". Grab it from the Google Play link above, and hit the break for a short video.
More: Google
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New SmartBot uses your smartphone as a brain

New SmartBot uses your smartphone as a brain:

If you’re the kind of person that likes to tinker around with hardware as much as software, the brand new SmartBot is going to hit the top of your wish list pretty quickly. It’s a small robot that’s powered completely by your smartphone. It uses your phone’s screen, camera, LED lights, etc. to do pretty much everything. The phone sits in a small docking portion of the robot and goes from there. The application for SmartBot even has a little happy face to complete the combo.

SmartBot also has plenty of ports for add-ons and extensions for things like motors and electromagnets and so on, and currently offers support for accessories like a gripping claw, a trunk, and even an adapter for LEGO pieces. It’s even got NFC under the hood. The creators of SmartBot, Overdrive Robotics, even have a full SDK for making apps and games with the device. And for only €160.00 (about $208) you can preorder one of these nifty little gadgets for yourself. Shipping starts in April, so you’ve still got a month to decide. Hit the break for an amusing little teaser trailer that just might convince you to buy one.

Click here to view the embedded video.

source: Phandroid

Come comment on this article: New SmartBot uses your smartphone as a brain

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eTrizzle: find movies from a variety of sources

eTrizzle: find movies from a variety of sources:

Unless you've used the eTrizzle service on the web before, the name won't give you any indication of what this app actually does. Confusing branding aside, the app provides a very useful service. In an age where people are looking to "cut the cord" and have multiple sources of content, it can be either confusing or time consuming to try and find where movies are available.
eTrizzle hopes to solve this problem by aggregating several different sources of digital (and physical) movie content and making it searchable right from an app.
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UberHype for Android Puts Great New Music on your Phone, Anywhere You Are

UberHype for Android Puts Great New Music on your Phone, Anywhere You Are:

Android: Whether you're a fan of music streaming and discovery site The Hype Machine or you just enjoy finding and listening to great new music, UberHype for Android is a must-have. The app brings all of the music available at The Hype Machine to your Android phone, and makes it easy to search for, stream, save, and share great new music, anywhere you go. More »

Use Bookmarklets to Easily Send Web Pages to Pocket, Evernote, Readability, and More in Mobile Chrome

Use Bookmarklets to Easily Send Web Pages to Pocket, Evernote, Readability, and More in Mobile Chrome:

Google Chrome is one of our favorite browsers on Android and iOS, but it doesn't support extensions or let you easily add bookmarklets. This means you can't do handy things like send articles to a read it later service directly from the mobile browser. However, it's not impossible, and tech blog Digital Inspiration shows how to use bookmarklets to accomplish it. More »

Asana for Android Keeps You Up to Date on Your Projects on the Go

Asana for Android Keeps You Up to Date on Your Projects on the Go:

Android: Project management and to-do organizer Asana is great for people with multiple projects or who work with others on their to-dos at home or at work. Now the service has unveiled its official Android app that gives you total control over your projects and to-dos, right from your smartphone. More »

Google Takeout now includes Blogger blogs and Google+ pages

Google Takeout now includes Blogger blogs and Google+ pages:

Google Takeout -- or Takeaway as it seems to be calling itself these days -- is the data liberating service of your dreams. Allowing you to export your Google based content should you wish to leave forever, or just want to have a copy for yourselves, the service has been gradually expanding to cover more and more of Google's services in recent months.
The latest content to come under the liberating front is from Blogger and Google+. Blogger blog posts can now be exported as an Atom Xml file, and Google+ pages can be downloaded as html files with a json file containing the circles for every Google+ page you own. Everything can be taken out, or just individual pages or blogs, it's entirely up to you.
Source: Data Liberation Front