No matter how much you hate your smartphone right now because it lags or keeps on crashing, or that software update is taking too long to roll out, we know you can’t live without it. Even if you’ve been drooling over that new Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 edge, LG G5, or even the more affordable flagships from the top Chinese OEMs, your good ol’ Android phone still does many things for you.
Your Android phone is your lifeline. Some people can do away with tablets or laptops totally but certainly not their smartphones. We don’t think that the smartphone age will be over—it will continue to live on.
We’re not discouraging you to buy a new phone but while your contract is not yet over or that you’re waiting for a good deal, just make the most of your gadget right now. It’s been your bestfriend the past months or years and it’s not giving up on you either.
Take advantage of what you have to communicate with your loved ones or simply be in-the-know. With the technology today and Internet connection getting faster and faster by the day, there’s no reason now you can’t be informed with what’s happening with the world. Or even if you don’t care about global and current events, just keep yourself updated on what’s going on with your family and friends, community, or whatever industry you’re in.
There are hundreds of apps that can help you maximize your Android phone and there are apps that can help you keep informed while on-the-go. With only your phone and WiFi/mobile Internet (and maybe a charger or power bank), you can survive a day of boredom and still know what’s going on. It’s okay to hibernate and go away for some time on vacation but don’t lose touch with the world.
Here are five apps we’ve used recently that we know won’t give you any reason to be not updated:
Alien Companion
If you’re an active Redditor, you’ll find that a native app reader for Reddit is a more convenient way to browse through stories, photos, and other items on the app offline. This reader can load images, posts, and comments offline after they are synced. Features include offline images with GIF support, offline profiles, and a GIF viewer.
By syncing the items on the reader, browsing can be faster, no need to wait for data loading. Photos are also displayed in an album grid which is a nice-looking interface. Alien Companion may have an unusual name but the app will never make you “alienated” from the world you live in.
Download Alien Companion
Acrobat Reader
The Acrobat Reader app has been around for a while now but a recent update makes it one powerful tool to getting work done properly even when you are on-the-go. A recent deal between Adobe and Dropbox resulted to the integration of the two services.
The PDF reader app syncs with a user’s Dropbox account so files being read and edited are updated directly. When you access a PDF document, you can highlight, annotate, and add comments. All changes are immediately saved in Dropbox. Because of this update, millions of people already connected their Acrobat Reader to the Dropbox and millions of PDF files have been opened, edited, and synced directly the past few months since the integration was launched.
Download Acrobat Reader
Slide for Reddit
Reddit is becoming more than just a fun place to be online. The community has become a reliable source and area of discussion the past months as more geeks, developers, and even employees are sharing legit information on the website. Slide for Reddit is another reader that was released in beta but after over a year, it’s now ready for pubic launch.
The app features Data saving & History settings, Comment Pane sub view type, and a smaller content tag option. The sub view type also features the parent comment in the comment section for easier viewing, editing, reporting links, back and restore file option, tagging, and additional mod tools. Other view modes include the side-by-side layout and one sub layout (No subreddit tabs and Subreddit overview).
Download Slide for Reddit
CNN Breaking
Reading the news and current events are improved by easy app readers but CNN wants to start a trend by coming up with an app that provides a VR experience. We’ve been saying that virtual reality will expand this year and the news channel has introduced an app that lets you view 360 degree videos. It’s not a complete VR app but videos posted can be rotated in any direction so you can view more. Videos are recorded using 360-degree cameras in an effort to finally "virtual reality across CNN Digital platforms”.
The CNN Breaking US & World News app is actually not a new app but the update brings in a total change to news viewing. Chromecast support has also been added so you can stream the videos to a bigger screen. Support for Live TV and Android TV will be added in the new future.
Download CNN Breaking
Booyah
Keeping up-to-date with what’s happening with the world should not just stop with reading the news and joining forums and communities in the web. You can round up the people you know to communicate with them and start meaningful discussions so you’ll know more about a certain topic. Delve deeper into a subject and talk about the latest news with family, friend, and colleagues with Booyah.
The video group chat app which was made available on WhatsApp recently is also now ready for other instant messaging and social media apps. Booyah now offers support for the basic SMS, Twitter, Facebook Messenger,and Kik. Making this a convenient app is the fact that you don’t have to log in a separate app to start a video chat. If your contact uses a different app that is supported by Booyah, you can now enjoy chatting with them online.
Invite someone you know online and talk about the latest news or just about anything under the sun. There are too many IM and video apps available but most of them need you to register for a new account. With Booyah, you can keep using your profile and connect with other people even if they are using other platforms.
Download Booyah
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