10 must have Free Android Apps

Who would have imagined that mere applications running on mobile devices could become an essential part of our lives. Seemingly, these days there's an app for everything. The Android Market is vast and taking advantage of these applications could boost productivity at work, manage daily errands and even help bide away those boring moments while commuting. If you're on a tight budget and who wouldn't be being this close to Christmas, then there are several freebie apps available, which could suffice your needs. We’ve put together some must have free Android apps for your perusal, take a look.

Games
Angry Birds
Anger management is definitely not on the cards for these birds. This challenging physics-based game can keep you engaged and glued to the screen for hours. We really don’t need to talk about how popular the game has emerged to be, compelling players to blend skill, logic and accurate force for that perfect shot. This game has also been updated with intriguing levels and themes. Unlike its iOS counterparts, the Angry Birds Rio and Angry Birds Seasons, which have upped the gaming experience further can also be downloaded for free off the App Market.

No scope for anger management

Words with Friends
Words with Friends is an addictive, crossword game which could instantly remind you of the good old Scrabble. The game involves word building, triple score seeking and the player can chat with friends even while playing through the built-in chat section. Needless to say, it’s a turn-based game that could help build your vocabulary.

Productivity
Google Docs Google Docs app for Android can be like a sigh of relief for many. Be it creating, editing, uploading or sharing documents, Google Docs eases all of it. This must-have productivity app lets users upload files and convert them into Google documents. Go ahead and click a photo of printed text to convert it into a Google document, share it with others online and even access it from you PC anytime anyplace.
 
Astrid Keeping a track of daily errands is often tedious. This app has reminders, lists, allows syncing and also comes with a widget.  It enables task sharing and optional instant notifications can be used to keep you updated with this app. You can share lists by syncing them with the Astrid website. They can also be synced with Google tasks and the app also features custom filters.

Utility
Dropbox
Dropbox holds all your docs, photos and videos in one place which can be accessed through various platforms like your computer or Android smartphone. This free app ensures that your data is a click away, even while you are travelling or sitting in the comfort of a couch. The content can be effortlessly shared with family and friends. The app also allows editing documents stored in your Dropbox account.

Lightbox
LightBox was introduced to fill in the space for Instagram. This app has proved to be quite effective to shoot, enhance and share photos. It comes with several effects that can be added to photos for a better and fun-filled experience. Besides editing photos, the app makes it quite effortless to share them with social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and more.

Google needs European Commission's clearance to buy Motorola Mobility

It was only recently that Google confirmed its interests in buying Motorola Mobility for a whopping $12.5 billion. While we were at peace, believing that the deal will now come through smoothly for both Google and Motorola Mobility, a Reuters report confirms that Google needs to clear one final hurdle - getting the European Commission's ascent. A post on the official website of the European Commission confirms that the search giant had sent an official notification to the commission, detailing them about the said deal.

Will have to wait until January 2012 

Although the European Commission will review the details of the deal over the next several weeks, enthusiasts who were expecting the deal to come through by the end of this year will be disappointed, since a decision will come only by January 10. Reportedly, as a part of its review, the European Commission will investigate, among other facets Google's business practices, which got questionable after smaller rivals of the search giant began voicing their issues . The U.S. Department of Justice, too will assess the deal proceedings.

RIM to bring Mobile Fusion security tool for iOS and Android

BlackBerry has been struggling to keep up with the ever-demanding mobile terrain with competitors dishing out the best of iOS, Android and Windows platforms. BlackBerry devices have been preferred by corporate and government agencies for years, but these devices are being replaced by Android and iOS smartphones. RIM has decided to offer its new security tool to other mobile devices, including the ones running on iOS and Android. The company will launch the Mobile Fusion in the first quarter, a device management software that enables corporate IT staff to set and monitor apps, passwords and software for other devices, reports Reuters.

Cashing on other platforms

This tool allows the company to remotely lock and also wipe off data from a lost/stolen device. "We will take full advantage of whatever security capabilities are provided by the core operating system. We're not going to hold that back in any way, shape or form," said Alan Panezic, RIM's Vice President for enterprise product management.

The Mobile Fusion will sit behind the corporate firewalls of BlackBerry Enterprise Servers (BES). However, the price of the new software, which is said to be ‘competitive’ isn’t disclosed, yet. There are other small companies such as Good Technology, MobileIron and BoxTone offering the service.

"This will definitely rattle some cages" among smaller companies, filling a niche by securing and managing iPhones and other non-BlackBerry devices for corporations, Forrester analyst Christian Kane said.

HP launches first products using Autonomy's tech

U.S. group Hewlett-Packard has rolled out its first software using technology gained from its $12 billion acquisition of British group, Autonomy, eight weeks after the deal closed. The new platform processes unstructured information, such as telephone calls, emails and video, and structured data in databases, making all forms of information searchable, HP's Vice President of Information Management, Mike Lynch, said. Lynch, who founded Autonomy, said on Tuesday the launch showed the rationale behind the deal. "We believe fundamentally that information is moving away from the rows and columns of databases, which has powered the industry for 40 years".

Together with Autonomy

HP has started selling Autonomy's technology, used by governments and multinationals, to small and medium-sized firms, he said. It acquired Autonomy as part of a shift towards higher-margin software that was accelerated with the arrival of former chief executive, Leo Apotheker. Shareholders were less enthusiastic about Apotheker's changes, resulting in his ousting in favour of former eBay boss, Meg Whitman in September.

Lynch said he was relishing the opportunities available as part of the bigger group and, even after pocketing hundreds of millions of pounds from the deal, he was sticking around. Many other Autonomy employees also received large payouts.

Apacer brings world's fastest 64GB microSDXC card

Apacer took the lead by launching the world’s fastest high-capacity Ultra High Speed microSDXC 64GB memory card with the latest UHS-1 interface and SDA 3.0 memory card standard. It provides upto 30 MB/s UHS ultra-high transmission speed for high-end mobile devices, such as advanced smartphones, tablet PCs, event data recorders, etc. There’s no word on the pricing, as of now.

It’s also backward compatible with SD 2.0. UHS-1 refers to Ultra-High Speed Bus 1, which can deliver transmission speeds up to 50 MB/s and features a random read/write speed of up to 500/100 IOPs. Apacer’s Ultra High Speed microSDXC 64GB memory card can store approximately, either 23 hours of HD videos, an uncompressed Blu-ray high-definition video, or over 16,000 12-mega pixel photos. As mobile devices evolve fast, sharing of HD audio-visual files have gone mainstream, Apacer Ultra High Speed microSD memory card will be your prime choice for best storage options.

LG announces initial ICS update plans

LG has been late at launching Gingerbread updates to most of their handsets, but that hasn't stopped them from making announcements about future updates. It appears that many smartphone manufacturers that run Android on their handsets are working to upgrade their handsets to Google’s newest OS, Ice Cream Sandwich. LG recently rolled out Gingerbread to the Optimus 3D, and now through their Facebook page they have announced their initial plans for upgrading their existing devices to Android 4.0.

LG reveals Android 4.0 plans

The post by LG on Facebook confirms that the Ice Cream Sandwich will be initially available for the latter's high-end smartphones, which got into the market, this year. These handsets include the Optimus 2X, the Optimus Black, the Optimus 3D and the Optimus LTE. They also state that they are assessing whether the ICS update will be compatible with other handsets that are not included in the Android 4.0 update plans.

While this is great that LG announced their plans to upgrade their devices to ICS, users aren’t too pleased as they claim that they do not have Gingerbread running on their handsets, as yet. Hopefully, to address the increasing frustration of the users, at their OS upgrade cycle, LG releases the Ice Cream Sandwich, sooner than later. The post ends by saying that by December 2011, the upgrade scheduled for the aforementioned devices would be known through LG Mobile Global Facebook page and their local LG websites.

Amazon says Kindle sales surge on Black Friday

Amazon.com Inc said on Monday it saw a surge in sales of its Kindle devices, helped by its new Kindle Fire tablet, on the crucial "Black Friday" shopping day after Thanksgiving. Consumers bought four times as many Kindles on Black Friday as they did on the same day last year, when the company sold only e-readers, the largest Internet retailer reported. The $199 Fire was the best-selling product on Amazon.com on Black Friday and it has been the top seller over the eight weeks since the tablet was launched, the company added.

Sold well on Black Friday! 

"We're seeing a lot of customers buying multiple Kindles - one for themselves and others as gifts - we expect this trend to continue on Cyber Monday and through the holiday shopping season," said Dave Limp, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. Amazon shares were up 6.5 percent at $194.25 on Monday afternoon, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was up 3.4 percent. "If the 4x sales run-rate (vs. 2010) is representative for the entire fourth quarter, then we believe our current Kindle estimates could be conservative," Anthony DiClemente, an analyst at Barclays Capital, wrote in a note to investors.

Amazon sold about 3.4 million Kindle e-readers in the fourth quarter of 2010, DiClemente estimated. Data released on Monday by Amazon suggests the company may sell 13.6 million Kindle devices in this year's fourth quarter, the analyst noted. DiClemente was previously forecasting Kindle sales of 11 million in the fourth quarter, which consisted of 4.5 million Kindle Fire tablets and 6.5 million other Kindle devices. The new Kindle Fire is a crucial part of Amazon's effort to sell more digital products such as e-books, apps, video games, music and movies. The company is selling the tablet in more than 16,000 retail stores to try to get the device into as many hands as possible. IN-STORE SALES The Kindle Fire was the best-selling tablet in Target Corp stores on Black Friday, Nik Nayar, Vice President of merchandising at Target, said in a statement. Target sells several tablets, including the market-leading iPad from Apple Inc. Over Black Friday, Target offered a $75 gift card when customers bought an iPad 2 with 3G.

Goldman Sachs analysts visited stores run by Best Buy Co. Inc. and other retailers in recent days and found that Kindle products were "very sharply outselling" Nook devices from bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc. At stores run by Barnes & Noble, interest in the Nook was "robust," but the Goldman analysts said extra distribution to other retail stores was having less impact than expected. "Now Amazon has a more competitive suite of hardware, its hardware share should increase, and its ebook share should follow," the analysts wrote in a note to investors on Monday. Barnes & Noble shares were up 7.3 percent at $17.25 on Monday afternoon.

BlackBerry PlayBook sold out on Best Buy

Now, after all the hype over the rumour about RIM planning on dropping the PlayBook tablet in the wake of less than satisfactory sales, or the more recent bit about several units of the tablet lying untouched in RIM's inventory, Best Buy has a different tale to tell. Try searching for the "BlackBerry PlayBook" on this popular online shopping site, and get ready to experience a "jaw wide open" moment. The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, which RIM re-priced at $199.99 and $299.99 for the 16GB and 32GB models respectively, as a part of the Black Friday promotions it undertook like several other retailers, have all been sold out, right down to the last unit!

"SOLD OUT ONLINE" on Best Buy

As if that wasn't enough, even the "factory refurbished units" of the BlackBerry PlayBook seem to be unavailable now, with a bold sign reading - SOLD OUT ONLINE greeting us. So, while all speculations and gossip about the PlayBook tablet biting the dust can be safely put to rest, we wonder what brought this sudden twist of fate for the PlayBook tablets on Best Buy. By the mere looks of it, it seems that the heavy discounts on the tablet made it happen. Best Buy now plans to re-stock the PlayBook, confirms a CNET report. 

We had got the PlayBook to your Tech2 labs for a detailed review. Back then, the PlayBook settled on quite a balanced scale. Yes, it was priced high (Rs.27,990 for the 16GB version, Rs.32,990 for the 32GB and Rs.37,990 for the 64GB one), and came without native e-mail, calendar and memo apps, but, it did most of its other assigned tasks quite well. The only deterrent, other than the lack of apps was the price which doesn't seemed to have changed too much to make a difference.

HTC announce the Sensation XL featuring Beats Audio

Update: HTC just launched the Sensation XL in India and it's priced at Rs. 38,799 (Best Buy price). That pricing does sound a bit 'sensational', considering it's a single core 1.5 GHz processor with 768 MB of RAM. It's right up there with the elite, with handsets like the iPhone 4S also priced in a similar range. Beats audio is definitely one of the USPs of this smartphone and according to HTC, the earphones come with a ControlTalk function that allows users to pause, rewind and forward tracks. The Sensation XL also comes with the service called HTC Watch that allows users to rent or buy movies and TV shows for their device.  

Sensational price?

Building up on their Sensation line of handsets, HTC have recently raised the curtains on the Sensation XL. After the Sensation XE, this is the next smartphone from HTC to feature Dr. Dre’s Beats Audio technology. The company aims to take mobile entertainment to a new level by having a 4.7-inch touch screen with a resolution of 480 x 800 and a specifically optimized audio experience. This handset features Android Gingerbread, featuring HTC Sense UI, and runs on a Qualcomm MSM8255 chipset with a single-core 1.5 GHz Scorpion CPU and Adreno 205 GPU.

HTC's next handset with Beats Audio

Speaking about their latest offering, HTC’s CEO, Peter Chou said that with Beats Audio, the HTC Sensation XL continues HTC’s commitment of delivering the best audio possible on your phone whether you’re listening to music, watching a movie or playing a game. He goes on to add that this is an amazing example of why their partnership with Beats makes so much sense for customers today and in the future.

A quick glance at what the HTC Sensation XL has to offer:

4.7-inch touch screen with a 480 x 800 pixel resolution

• Metallic body measuring at 132.5mm x 70.7mm x 9.9 mm
• 1.5 GHz single core processor
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, micro-USB
• 768 MB RAM
• Gyro sensor
• 8 megapixel camera with F2.2 lens, dual LED flash, 720p HD video recording
• 1.3 megapixel front camera
• Internal GPS antenna
• 1600 mAh battery
• 16 GB internal storage

This smartphone will be available in the EMEA, as well as Asia Pacific from the beginning of November. HTC will also be offering a limited edition bundle that includes special edition Beats Solo headphones. No word is yet available on the pricing of the HTC Sensation XL

Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard K400 pictures and hands-on

Logitech may have ballsed up its Google TV venture, but that doesn't mean that the Swiss company has given up completely when it comes to making a place for its peripherals in your living room.
Its latest attempt, the Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard K400, was announced back in August and Pocket-lint has been given it the once over to check that it's up to scratch.
The K400 has a 10m range, so there's no need to get your behind up off the sofa; comes with a built-in touchpad, so there's no need for a mouse, and is plug and play with a simple USB receiver.
We didn't have any trouble pairing it up with our media-centre PC, the mouse cursor was whizzing around within a few seconds and the keyboard responded without any issues. It's a nice, cushioned keyboard that wouldn't be out of place of a desk for longer periods of typing.
But it's in the living room that you'll really benefit from using the K400. It gives you all the controls you'll need to rinse the web of all of its media goodies, to watch on your big screen TV, without needing to fanny about with a mouse thanks to the 3.5-inch multi-touch touchpad. There's a time and a place for a mouse, we know, but it's not your knee or the arm of your sofa.
The receiver is tiny, and actually works with other Logitech devices (it can handle up to five). It's basic, it's simple - but that's why it's so useful.
The Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard K400 is available now, priced at £34.99.