Three Mindless Android Apps: Shake Them All, Talking Cats And Dogs, And Cylon Bobbleheads


Let's face it: We all LOVE those worthless Apps. We like those apps that eat up precious RAM but really don't do anything for our gadgets anyway. So since we're in love with them fun but useless things, let me bring to you three worth having on your Android:

Shake Them All


Do you like keeping e-pets? Things like Neopets or FooPets? Then you may want a scaled-down version of a virtual pet on your Android's desktops.

Shake Them All is basically an interactive wallpaper on your Android. You don't need to wait for the screen to time out for it to activate. Right after you download and install Shake Them All, you will be taken to an option to activate it. After that, you will see a plain wallpaper with these cute little Droidies dancing, or rather floating and flailing around your desktop.

You may then be able to customize the background from the Wallpaper options menu. A new Wallpaper library or option will be available on the Wallpaper settings, "Shake Them All!" And if it's active, the "Configure..." menu will show as the top option when you go to the Wallpaper options menu. From there, you will be able to set the number of Androids flailing and floating around on the screen, the background for the floating and flailing Droids, the "skin" of the floating Droidies, and a few more options.

While it doesn't serve much other use except to amuse you, or, in the case of the "Battery Indicator" skin, indicate how much juice your Droid has left, I would have to say that the app IS pretty relaxing and DOES make for a few mindless moments flicking the Droids around and making them bump off of each other or even fling each other "on their own."

Silly to say, but I did giggle some while playing with the Droids on this app.


Talking Tom Cat, Talking Tom Cat 2 and Talking Ben The Dog 


This is a level up of the previous "useless apps" suggestion: these apps talk, interact with and even "answer" the user.

Well, not really. The app just records the user's voice and echoes it back to them. Though, while you're "on the phone" with any of these creatures, they do look like they're actually respond to you.

If you're on a brain freeze, a few lulz from either Tom or Ben might give your brain the breathing space it needs.


Syfy Cylon Bobblehead


If you're into Battlestar Galactica and you hate them Cylons with a passion, then here's your chance to pummel a couple of Cylons for hours (or minutes, or even mere seconds, depending on your patience and attention span) on end.

The characters mimic the Bobblehead dolls which have springs on their necks; those things usually on car dashboards, bobbing their heads as you drive from Point A to Point B.

This is a very mindless, brainless diversion, and unless you get your kicks out of flicking a Cylon head over and over again, you're probably better off with just Shake Them All.

And of course, there IS Simsimi. :p
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Android Acquisition Tips For The Android Addict


Are you an Android phone addict? Do you want to be able to buy several Androids throughout the course of the year? Here is how you may be able to save on your Android phone purchases:

One great thing about the Android is that it is an Open Source platform. Meaning, it's not tied to the company that made it, and Google has built a business model around it that allows it to keep the platform free, open and highly customizable to whichever company wants to make use of it on their phones. Thus, if you hate the fact that there is only one and only one single form factor for the iPhone, then the Android may be a better alternative for you.

But what if you just wanna have them all?

Let's face it. Not everyone earns Php 50,000 a month. Let alone Php 35,000 or Php 20,000. Thus, it may not be realistic to keep a bad Android phone addiction. However, if you're serious on getting your phone every month or every other month, how about using these Android phone-acquisition strategies?

Buy Used. If collecting Androids is your hobby, then you honestly don't need to buy every single Android you earn, brand new. You may buy your Androids on the cheap, used, from either Sulit.com.ph, TipidCP.com, or even eBay.com/eBay.ph or other websites with User Feedback and Ratings systems. This way, you can ensure that you will be buying from a reputable, trustworthy seller.


IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure that you buy ONLY from sellers with 100% Positive feedback. If there are Negative feedbacks, check what the nature of the customer dissatisfaction is. If it's something you can live with, like either an isolated case or something that got resolved later, then proceed to buy from the seller. If the negative feedbacks are serious, like at least two people with defective items who were not compensated properly, then it's time to look elsewhere.

Get A Postpaid Plan. Phone plans are so affordable lately, that you can get a Samsung Galaxy Y at Plan 349 on Smart Gold, Plan 350 on Sun Cellular, and Plan 499 on Globe Telecom. Also postpaid plans are fully customizable and budget-friendly lately, so you will be able to find one that will suit your needs. When you find the perfect plan for you, you may also enjoy being able to get another phone, on retention/loyalty rewards, every 2 years, or depending on the number of months stated on your contract with your network.

Get Multiple Plans. This is a little crazy, but given the unlimited offers for the three giant networks and their sub-networks, you may find that while you need your Sun plan with the significant other, you may also need the Globe plan for your workmates or business partners, or a Smart plan for your family in the province. Given that Unlimited calls and texts are readily available on Sun for Php 350 per month, or Smart and Globe at Php 599 a month, each, getting 3 brand spanking new Android phones to have and to keep at the end of every two years may be worth the monthly billS.

Buy And Sell. This is probably the craziest notion of all. Buy a new phone, and sell it for less than the original price after a while. While this would usually mean that you would have to transfer contacts every single time you give up your phone to sell it, on an Android, you won't need to worry about the tedious task of transferring every entry. Contacts are regularly synced with your Google Account, so you will be able to retrieve your Address Book as soon as you register your next Android. All you will have to do will be to backup and then wipe out the other data on the Android you're selling.


Feeding an Android addiction may be costly, but if you think it's worth it, these four ideas will give you the spark and the excuses to fuel that Android phone addiction.

Don't blame us for your Android phone buying mania, though. :p

***
Photo Credits: Shake Them All and screenshot
Android Buying Guide
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On The Android, Most Apps Are FREE!

If there's anything I can label about the Android, it's that it's the "Affordable iPhone."

With similarities to the iOS to the level that Apple is trying to sue the Android off the market (pun intended), there are reasons to actually say that the Android is the "Poor Man's iPhone." But with this comic by The Oatmeal, a trump card of the Android just gets re-emphasized:


CLICK HERE for Full Comic on The Oatmeal

Don't you just hate paying for apps and software?

Before I switched to the Mac, I torrented, P2P'd and downloaded cracked and key-generated software like crazy. When I jumped fences and used a 13" Macbook from March 2007 to September 2011, I realized the value of buying software: buying a license respects the devs' hard work, as well as lets them stay in business.

Not to mention having cracked software may expose your computer to malware and spyware. And if you're using your computer to manage financial accounts online, this is very risky for you.

Since then, I would either use totally free Open Source software and donate when able, or actually buy software. I opened a Big Fish Games account, and have bought around 4 or 5  games by now, including Plants vs. Zombies.

But since using an Android, I am getting daily happies for one big fact: Thanks to the Ad Platform for Android apps, Android users need not pay for a good majority of apps they can download via the Android Market.

Which re-perpetuates the truth that this The Oatmeal comic cheekily jabs at: most of us simply HATE paying for software, no matter how completely useful it is.
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Of Love And Android App Development

For these guys, it was all about love.

"LOVE" is hardly a word we associate with coding, let alone SOFTWARE coding. When we say "coding," half-geeks like me think Matrix's logo and promo flyer design. When we say "coding" the keywords that hit me look like these:

 

And yet, if there's anything that hanging out in Levitan Software taught me, it was LOVE that drove them to keep going at it. Coding, that is.

Marvin and Dexter hardly seem to be the stereotypical coding geeks that are in my head. They certainly don't look like this guy:


In fact, if I ran into them at Gaisano Capital in Kalibo, Aklan, I may not figure out that they're the guys who churn out game after game in homegrown Levitan Software. I'd probably pass them off as the regular Kalibonhon, happy to go about their days, in NORMAL fashion.

And yet, "Normal," hardly describes what they do.

Would you call being an iApp developer "Mundane," "Normal," "Regular?" Would you call developing Android Apps for a living as a "Regular Job?"

I don't know about you, but the first time I heard that an Android App company called Kalibo its home base, my jaw dropped.

And when I stepped into the Levitan Software office:


I was awed... By how easily I could have passed it off as an extra-posh (in Kalibo standards), extra-nice Accounting, or even Graphic Design office. Hardly would you call it a place where programmers do their thing.

Things like apps that made it to the top spots of the iOS weekly downloads, for instance.

Things like 52 apps for the iOS, 15 apps for the Android, and 13 apps for the Amazon Appstore and a self-sufficient business model that these guys are actually TURNING DOWN offers for coding projects.

Things like an ad-driven business model that has survived and thrived since 2008, too.

I envisioned a programming company to have a messy place, with computer peripherals and wiring snaking over and making a modern-day jungle of wire canopies mimicking a literal jungle's vines. If that's my stereotype of a software company, then I met the complete opposite.

Levitan Software was rather neat and cozy. Homey, yet cool, professional and, at some points, even dainty. 

Asked how he got the idea to start a software company in the heart of Kalibo, founder and CEO-in-denial Heinz Militar just simply and succinctly says, "Because there isn't one in the area yet."

I was beyond incredulity at that point.

Heinz Militar, head honcho of what I call the Google of the Visayas, has big dreams, but an ego that is inversely proportional to that: he refuses to say that he is the CEO of the firm. Rather, he tells me that his staff are the owners of Levitan Software.

And indeed, with a business model centered on sharing the ad profits from the sales and downloads of their apps, the Levitan Software staff ARE enjoying the fruit of their labor, more than Heinz himself.

Levitan Software shot up to profitability thanks to the dress-up apps they hosted on flash game websites and communities like Mochi Games. These websites will allow devs like the guys at Levitan Software to host their games and both website and the developers will get a share of ad revenue.

Heinz recounts, with equal incredulity at how mere dress-up games actually pulled in their money.

More than the dress-up games though, Marvin and Dexter shared with me the secret of how they continue to churn out app after app: They make games for the love of making games.

Given the fact that I feel, with equal intensity, the abhorrence for programming as much as these guys have the passion for it, I kept asking,

"So why do you do it?"

Marvin, with all the patience that a guy barely out of his teens can muster, after having been asked "Why do you do it," at least thrice, finally told me:

"You're a Blogger, right?"

[Err, correction, this is a Web Magazine by the way, but I tolerated that statement, after all, I do blog for my own websites.]

"Yeah? I am." [What's your point?]

"Well, why do you do the things that you do? It's because you LOVE what you do, right?"

"Yeah?" [Hmm. He DOES seem to have a point.]

"Then it's exactly why we do the things we do: we LOVE programming. We LOVE finishing making a game. We're excited to play the game after we finish it. We love having finished a game/app project. So it's exactly like why you blog: Because we love what we do."

And that, my Android Alliance Ph friends, is the essence of Valentine's. Love, in its fullest essence, and never more than in this story, isn't just limited to the huggy-kissy expression of it: it's the passion for what you do, and the commitment to what you're doing.

And with that, I picked my jaw off the floor, and left Levitan Software, feeling like Tinkerbell just poured a bucket of her pixie dust on me.

More on Levitan Software in the coming weeks!


P.S.

Congratulations to Heinz and Jocyl Militar for welcoming Baby Asaph Militar into their family!



***
Photo Credits: ProductDesignHub
Android Developers
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Things To Do With Your Photos


The Internet has allowed people to share more things with each other, even from a distance. Back in the 80's, the fastest way to get a message to friends and family would be via Telegram. Today, if it's just a message one wants to send, one already has a good array of choices, even just from one's Android:


  • Text Message via SMS
  • Email
  • Facebook Message
  • Viber Message


And if you use apps other than these, you could:


  • Tweet
  • Plurk 
  • YM (Yahoo Messenger)
  • GTalk
  • Trillian


And if you live in the Philippines, you could:


Among other Free Texting services.

But more than being able to send messages a whole variety of ways, the Internet Age also ushered in the instant sending of more meaningful messages: Multimedia Messages.

Disclaimer: No, I am not a fan of MMS. I hate having to set up my phone/s to be able to send MMS and I'm happy just sending my pictures through easier means.

That being said, I'm going to focus on Multimedia Messages sent via Email, Viber or Facebook.

Any of these modern methods will allow you to snap and send pictures in a jiffy.

Here are some of the ways you can use pictures, especially for Valentine's Day tomorrow (aside from showing your significant other how cute you could pose):


  • Get a screenshot app and send tutorials to your mom or some other loved one who's a little tech-challenged.
  • If you're like my mom, who always cooks up rewards systems to make me want to be a better person (i.e. keep my room clean for a month), snapping and sending pictures for monitoring purposes is another use of photos in this age. We have a deal in place: keep my room clean for a month and she's sending me a month's worth of cocoa, which is one of my daily staples. :) So I send her pictures of my room every day or every other day.
  • If you're married, then you and your spouse may be sharing expenses. If your spouse is an OFW, photos would be a great way to send receipts:


There are more ways to use photos and screenshots creatively. Photos are more than just snapshots to paint the world a better picture of your life. They are versatile instructional and communication tools which you can use to the fullest just by being creative. Enjoy!

***
Photo Credits: Flashopen Blog
Things to do with your Android
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2 in 1 Android App Review: screenshot by KastorSoft and Skitch by Evernote


Screenshot apps are among the toughest to find on Android Market. No thanks to the proliferation of paid Screenshot apps on the Android Market, most users who have not yet assigned a credit or debit card to their Android Market accounts may have trouble finding ways to add fully free screenshot apps.

But for those with rooted Androids, you may have better luck. And I found a good app in screenshot by Kastor Soft.

The app is pretty simple and straightforward to use. All you need to do is to fire it up, set the delay timer, press the red button, get to where you want to take a screenshot and wait for the sound of the camera taking a shot and the notification that the shot was successful, and you're done!

1. Set the delay timer.


Your Delay Timer Choices


3. Tap/Press the Red Record Button to capture screenshot.



4. Set your screen to show what you want to capture.
5. Wait for the shutter/camera sound.
6. Voila, screenshot!

And yes, thanks to screenshot and Skitch, I was able to make that tutorial for you.

Speaking of Skitch, Skitch is an Evernote app that allows you to make annotations and notes on your screenshots.

Take a look at this:


I snapped that screenshot of my Facebook widget, then blocked out my Facebook Friend whose status update was being displayed.

I just wanted to demo how Skitch worked, plus, I wanted to let you guys know that I totally love the Facebook widget just because it allows me to post statuses on the fly, using that tiny box saying "What's on your mind?"

But that's fodder for another article. So let's go back to screenshot and Skitch.

With Screenshot and Skitch, it would be easier to make tutorials for friends and fam who may need extra directions, right from your Android! And if you're a blogger like me, it'll definitely help with making the tutorials easier.

Skitch allows you to type, to make circles and boxes, and even freeform scribbles.

Click Here For Full Size


Click Here For Full Size

No more crude shots like this one:



Boy do I wish I rooted my Android earlier.

(screenshot by KastorSoft is only available for Rooted Androids.)

Enjoy!
Android App Reviews
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Social Experiment: 90 Days Without Facebook. Can YOU handle THAT?

We depart from the usual Android talk about gadgets and apps with this piece of news that caught my eye:


This is the story of a guy who had decided to forego the usual things that the modern human, especially us wired, techie folk, are accustomed to: Facebook, Twitter, Texting, and even Email. In this experiment, Jake Reilly lived without a mobile phone, no email, and did without all of his social networking accounts and profiles. Indeed, he lived just as an Amish person probably would have: disconnected.

Read more on the story HERE.

This certainly isn't the first time anyone tried to do a disconnect, and this may not be the last time. But it gives us wired folk reasons to rethink the way we live, don't you think?

I did try living with less Facebook and less online presence around the first weeks of 2012, and it was refreshing. In fact, I believe my life was made richer because I connected more, read more, and was able to enjoy life more, because of less connectivity.

So how about you? Will you be able to survive 90 Days without being connected to the rest of society?
Amish Project
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Android App Overview: SimSimi

If you ever get a bit bored and you want to kill time and manage to want to kill some cute thing too, read on.

Have you come across iGod before? Yup, that smart-talking Internet-based AI. If you're totally bored and have no better use for your hours, I'm sure you'd appreciate engaging the AI of iGod in a pseudo-intellectual conversation.

But what if you're mobile but want to at least burn a few brain cells as you wait for your appointment?

Try SimSimi for the Android.

SimSimi is better than iGod: it MAY talk in your language. And you may be able to teach it how to smart-a$$ itself through your day, and pat yourself on the back for creating a monster, as well.

SimSimi is a Korean creation, and it's available both for the iOS and the Android.

Soon, you may be able to share the inane things you and Simsimi talked about.

For more AI fun, try Cleverbot, available both for the iOS and the Android.

Here are more AI chat apps available online:

Have fun killing time! And no, you may not throw your Android in anger at Simsimi. :p

Thanks to Geekier Chick for the heads-up. ;)

***
Android App Overviews
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The Android Searcher Attends The PHAC Monthly Meeting

Last January 21, I, The Android Searcher, had the privilege of being invited to the monthly meeting of the Philippine Android Community or PHAC at The Coffee Beanery in EDSA Shangri-la Mall. PHAC meetings are scheduled every third Saturday of the month and I decided to attend their first one for 2012. I met the convenor, Ms. Charo Nuguid, last year in a coffee meeting with the Android Pub at a Starbucks branch in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Ms. Charo, other than being an avid Android user, is also an Android App Developer and has been to several crucial industry events featuring Android products. PHAC is her initiative, and the group has been meeting monthly for quite some time now. Joining them last month was a privilege.

The meeting started quite late since a lot of those who attended had come from their workplaces. Most had to put in overtime, thus the arrivals were later than scheduled. We completly understood, though, after all, work is a higher priority. We were treated to unlimited coffee and cake courtesy of a PHAC member. Most of those who came are Android App Developers and the conversations were really for techies. I didn't mind the geek talk, because I actually liked it. I had the impression that PHAC was a time for Android enthusiasts to update each other with the latest of Android technology. One even brought a test product of PLDT's TelPad made by Huawei while another one brought the Chinese-made Ainol Novo 7 Paladin which happens to be an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Tablet! This one comes at a very affordable price of less than P6,000 but it is not out yet for retail.

The PLDT TelPad, Live

If you expect PHAC to be a formal group of boring geeky people, you are blatantly wrong! The meeting had the flavor of random talks with friends or, in my case, random geek chit-chat with new friends. Folks I met from the Alcatel OneTouch Press Launch like Alexei Rivera and Ragde Falcis also arrived to heat up the conversation. Topics even reached my dreaded Android feature – the GPS.

A tidbit about GPS: more than something that must be dreaded, this GPS feature by Android is now being utilized by trucking and bus companies to track their buses passing by rebel-infested areas. Good to know that something awesome can actually come from a feature I (and even The Scribbler) dreaded!

There were just so many things an Android aficionado can learn from the PHAC meetings. The next scheduled one would be on Feb. 18 at the same venue so if you are an Android enthusiast, hop on along and join the club!
Android Alliance Philippines Joins Android Events
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The Hazards Of Multiple SIM Use On An Android


For almost a year, my life was in a bit of mad transition, so I thought it was unwise to get myself an ADSL Internet line. Thanks to the availability of 3G, I was able to live on only a prepaid 3G Internet connection.

Initially, I used SmartBro. But given that it was actually a pain to use in Boracay for some reason, I tried using Globe Tattoo. And that started me on my love affair with 3G Broadband connections.

I first used a Globe Tattoo dongle with my Edimax 3G Router. Then, when I got the Cherry Mobile Nova and discovered that I could upgrade it to 2.2 without a hitch then use it as a portable WiFi hotspot, I finally bought myself a Sun Broadband Wireless SIM. With access to all three networks, I was able to compare and decide which one has the best service.

Before Globe Tattoo rolled out its SuperSurf 999 for prepaid, possibly in December 2011 or January 2012, I was using Globe SuperSurf 220. Not soon after starting the use of the service, I figured out that 5 days of use at a time makes for a very erratic reloading schedule. Given too, the fact that I preferred to maintain being able to reload at least Php 200 a week so that I could qualify for Globe's Superfree Weekend, I started to use Globe SuperSurf during weekdays and then Sun Broadband Wireless' SBW100 or i100 during the weekends.

It was in this "shifting schedules" with the SIM cards that I noticed bugs in some apps and seeing my Google Account needing a re-login because of the changing networks I was using.

So, the bottom line of this post is, if you're using an Android but you have a multitude of SIM Cards, prepare for a bit of inconvenience such as I've mentioned. Else, if you prefer less irritations, use your Android with just one SIM Card.

***
 Photo Credits: Chip Hazard
Android Care
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Android Game Review: Zombie Dash

Guess what was the #1 Game on the Android Market? No, it's not Angry Birds.

Surprised, shocked, catapulted into disbelief?

Same here. But last week's screenshots (and actual site results) don't lie:


Last week, and for a few weeks before that, Zombie Dash was at #1 of the Top Free Apps on Android Market. Today, however, it's just at #3. But still, being part of the Top 3 Free Game Downloads on the Android Market means something, right?


But my question is, does Zombie Dash actually live up to its hype?

Zombie Dash, as we mentioned in the review for Fruit Roll, is also a sidescrolling platform game. Meaning, you will find your character dashing through the stages, while you get your upgrades, coins, and in the case of Zombie Dash, kill zombies.

Character:

Zombie Dash allows you to choose between a girl or a guy character. Both serve the same purpose: run and kill zombies.

Gameplay:

You don't need to press anything to make the character run. It runs, nay, DASHes on its own. All you need to do is to jump to avoid the ground spikes and the floating/moving/turning sharp things that are hanging in midair. If you don't want to shoot your enemies, your jumps will allow you to dodge them, too.

There are coins to be collected, and upgrades to be scored. You'll have to jump to get them, as well.

In order to earn more points, it's better to shoot your enemies than to avoid them. It's also helpful to gather the coins, so that you can buy upgraded weapons in the store. The points you earn from shooting your enemies will also be added towards the total coins for upgrade purchases.

You have three lives for every "run." You will lose 1 life whenever you bump into an enemy or a lethal object. When you lose all three lives, it's game over for you. When you fall into a ditch/gap in between platforms, it's instant game over for you, whether you still have 1 life left or 3.

Basic Functions/Powers:

There are two buttons for the player: the Jump button on the left, and the Fire button on the right. Just as it says, the Jump button allows you to jump in order to dodge the lethal objects and enemies, while the Fire button allows you to shoot a gun in order to kill your enemies and gain points.

Weapons And Upgrades:

You start out with only one weapon, a shotgun, and depending on whatever weapon you'll be able to get from the boxes with question marks: [?], you'll have 40 seconds to use each upgrade, every time you manage to touch the [?]-marked box.

You may also buy upgrades with your total "cash" on hand from the store. Weapons start at 2000 coins, with an M-16A1 rifle, and topping off at 9000 coins with either an MS-07A GYAN or a Jetpack.

Tips:

Try to gather as many coins as you can, and kill as many zombies as you can. This way, you can earn enough coins for your store upgrades.

Review:

Initially, I hated the game as it was too fast-paced for my taste (I kept falling into the ditches, haha!), and pointless. I prefer games that will build up to ultimate enemies, you see, and I like games that have a certain degree of continuity in its storyline.

But playing Zombie Dash for this review today allowed me to realize that it's pretty relaxing to keep shooting at zombies. And when I saw that I could actually buy weapon upgrades, I found another fun element to it. I'm a power hog, and as soon as my game characters earn all the powers and super powers they can earn, I'm at my happiest. So, upgrades in any game, are completely welcome.

The game also serves the purpose of annoying everyone around you. So if you hate your roommate or your housemate, turn up your media volume to the maximum and it'll achieve exactly that.

Rating: 3.5/5

***
Android Game Review
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Android Gadget Crush: Samsung Galaxy Fit


Even though Samsung became a market leader in mobile telephony thanks to the Android, I'm still not a big fan.

Save for four models:

I first saw the Samsung Galaxy Fit in Robinson's Pioneer in Metro Manila, and I'd have to say that the moment I laid eyes on it, I fell in-crush.

I found its "pregnant" profile very cute, and I felt like its hefty, fat looks suited me well.

I'm a fat person. And I'm proud of it.

This article is sounding so crazy-girly. But I digress.

However, what made me cross it off my wishlist are the specs:
  • 160 MB user-available Internal Storage
  • 280 MB RAM
  • 600MHz CPU speed

The Samsung Galaxy Y actually has better computing power at:
  • 180 MB user-available Internal Storage
  • 290 MB RAM
  • 830 MHz

However, the Galaxy Fit has these aces over the Samsung Galaxy Y:
  • 5MP Camera
  • DNSe sound enhancement
[Click HERE for the Comparison Table c/o GSM Arena]

Though all in all, the Samsung Galaxy Y is the better buy, if they'd slash the Php 9000 price tag to Php 5000, it'd become a more sensible buy.

Have a great Wednesday afternoon, Android Alliance Ph friends!

***
Photo Credits: BroadbandGenie
Android Gadget Overview
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Android App Review: Battery Indicator


A major weakness of the Froyo distro of the Android is that it lacks a proper battery indicator. The official Froyo OS that I upgraded my Cherry Mobile Nova to, and the stock Eclair OS that it came with, out of the box, both had battery indicators that didn't indicate how much of the battery was still left. All you saw was just this generic battery icon that leaves no clue as to how long you have till you need to connect your Android to the AC Power supply. And given that the Android is a power guzzler, this is an annoying feature, or lack of it.

Enter the Battery Indicator.

While there is a whole genre of apps dedicated to battery indicators alone, I didn't want to just randomly try and install a few apps then decide which to keep. After having my time with Battery Booster, I knew what I needed:

  • Light resource usage
  • "Thin" filesize footprint
  • Pretty, clean looks

I found it in Battery Indicator by Darshan Computing, LLC.

  • Its resource usage: I didn't even feel it.
  • Its (actual) filesize: 512kb
  • Its looks: simple, clean, "pretty"

It was the perfect indicator of how long I had until I needed to dig up my charger and plug my Cherry Mobile Nova back into the juice source.

Why was it perfect? Because it was simple, it didn't feel like it even ate any resource, and it was small enough to help keep my phone's internal storage at its happy 28MB to 35MB of late.

Though I deleted it today because I noticed that Firetrap Lollipop actually came with a battery indicator already. So no need for this one. Although the battery indicator on Firetrap Lollipop looks awful, just seeing the percentage of "juice" left right there is good enough for me.

All in all, if you're not going to root your Android and your battery indicator is the same generic useless non-indicating icon that I experienced, then this is the app to download.

Enjoy!

***

Photo Credits: Battery Indicator Android Market Page
Android App Reviews
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