Android Apps
Are you looking for android apps to help your business? Perhaps you’re interested in apps to secure your device and, more importantly, the data on it because it’s important to you. Maybe you want to communicate freely (and privately) with colleagues, family or friends because it’s integral to your lives; wherever in the world you or they are. Or you just want to access your photos and music from wherever, whenever, and know everything’s safely backed up because who doesn’t enjoy being entertained? Read on to find out more.
Business Productivity
If you’re looking for apps to run your business, you’ll want solutions you can use on any device. Zoho CRM, Mail, Invoice, Vault & Campaigns manage core aspects of a business (read Zoho Productivity Suite). Smartphone apps complement the desktop apps, and sync with your account to let you manage your business from anywhere. We use the Mail and Vault apps daily because they make it easy to send emails and securely access online accounts from a smartphone.
If you utilise Microsoft Office, you’re probably familiar with the improved functionality of Outlook, Excel, and Word over recent years; however, Office Lens (read Paperless Office) is a less well-known app which effortlessly turns your phone into a scanner.
Cloud storage allows businesses to automatically backup, read & edit documents across devices, meaning your important documents are safe and easy to access. Apps to consider (and free storage provided) include: Google Drive (15GB), Dropbox (2GB), Sync (5GB), OneDrive (5GB) & MEGA (15GB).
Evernote is great for taking notes and making lists, which can include photos. Pocket is ideal for saving web pages & articles to read later on any device at a convenient time and place. And Remote Mouse is perfect for controlling presentations with your phone.
Security
If you want to surf anonymously, you should consider a VPN (read What is a VPN?). Boxcryptor will encrypt your cloud-storage files across devices but it does mean you can’t access your files directly from the cloud storage provider. This is only a problem if you need to access files remotely from a device you don’t normally use. Alternatively, Sync and MEGA offer encrypted cloud storage, which you can access from any device. We recommend protecting all cloud-storage accounts with two-step authentication (2FA); as such, Authy is an excellent 2FA code-generating app, which works on smartphones and desktops (read Data Security).
Business & Personal Communication
There are many video messaging apps, including: WhatsApp, Messenger, Skype, & Zoom. Whatsapp encrypts all messages and calls by default; however, the backup feature saves unencrypted messages to cloud storage. Messenger doesn’t offer encryption by default, so many won’t know it’s available or simply forget. Skype encrypts all forms of communication but, according to arsTECHNICA, the NSA has cracked the encryption. Zoom uses end-to-end encryption but there are limitations. If privacy is that important to you, consider using Signal (used by Edward Snowden) or Wickr.
Personal
A common complaint is a smartphone running out of memory. This means you can’t take more photos, download any more music or install more apps. Most of the time, a smartphone runs out of memory because of too many photos on the device. Luckily, there is a simple fix. Google Photos backs up your memories (which is reassuring should you lose your phone) and gives you 15GB of free storage (and 100GB is reasonably priced). The app has a simple ‘Free up space’ option, deleting photos from your phone storage (once backed up), which often solves the issue of low memory.
CloudPlayer streams your music directly from a cloud-storage account. You can save music offline but it will use your phone’s storage.
Journey is a journal and a great way to take a trip down memory lane: revisiting thoughts, photos, videos & maps of where you’ve been.
And a few android apps we love. WGT Golf: very playable golf game, which has all the world’s top courses; incredibly realistic graphics and easy-to-master game play. Google Cardboard: assemble a cardboard headset to explore the world like never before, using a growing number of fun VR apps.
We know there are thousands of android apps available and just wanted to bring your attention to those we find useful and fun. We asked our readers to suggest their favourites. Steve from Reading (a VW Campervan enthusiast) suggested Cozi Family Organiser as a great way to keep mum, dad, and the kids organised, without the need of a PA or Duck Tape. And Allan, flying the flag of Fife in Epsom, suggested Life Hacks & WikiHow. We’re now fans of the former, as it’s taught us how to deal with mosquito bites (relief!) and getting extra bacon using water (Jesus 2.0). WikiHow is an online wiki-style community consisting of an extensive database of how-to guides and animated images.
