Google rolls out Play Store v6.7 update, geared towards beta apps

Google Play Store v6.7 has started rolling out and it should be hitting your Android device any time now. This update is by no means an overhaul design. Instead this is a pretty light update which will makes it easy to join or leave a beta test from the app listing.

play store

On this latest update, you can now see the beta status at the top of the app listing if you are enrolled in the beta program of a particular app. Also, you are now able to join or leave beta test from app listing at the bottom.  You can even leave a feedback directly for the developer of the beta app. One really welcome feature is that it will also notify you if an app is unreleased or it has only ever been a private beta with no public version.

While this Play Store app update won’t mean much to folks that aren’t in any beta tests, for those that are, it’s a huge deal. If you want to grab the latest version of the Play Store, download and install the apk file here.

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25 Most Useful Apps You Need to Download

Smartphones undeniably have been a very integral part of our lives for the past few years, and apps are one of the reasons why we can never put our handsets down. Here’s a look at some of our apps we love to use everyday for fun and productivity, and you might like them too.

mostusefulapps

There are tons of apps to choose from, and what we present here are just a few of the awesome ones that you can easily download from your respective app stores. Apps are mentioned in this article in no particular order. Icons are from the Google Play Store and are arranged in order of mention on each section. Apps might be exclusive only to the Android platform, to which the writer has more familiarity due to his current smartphone.

Music

apps-music

How about an app that can stream music? Spotify is one music app you shouldn’t miss. Easily listen to any of your favorite local or international artists anywhere on any platform, including PC. An affordable monthly premium is also available, allowing you to download your favorite tracks for offline use and get uninterrupted streams, eliminating advertisements in-between songs. Soundcloud is also a great online app if you like to listen to covers of your favorite songs, or record one yourself.

If you like your songs on your memory card, music players like the stock Google Play Music for fancy Material design and animation, Shuttle Music Player as an alternative, or PlayerPro for the ultimate music player can save the day.

Heard that tune before but can’t recall the title or the artist who sang it? Shazam‘s got you covered with music and TV information in seconds. Soundhound is a great alternative as well.

Photography

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We might all agree on this one: VSCO Cam is probably one of the best, if not the best, photography apps around. Its community of curators give life and new meaning to photography through the app’s powerful set of photo-editing tools that never fail to bring out the best in each shot you take.

Productivity and Lifestyle

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To wake up early in the morning for many is quite challenging, and there are no words to describe the beauty that is of Timely, an alarm app. The in-app music that wakes you up in the morning is far more pleasant than the default alarm ringtones on my phone. It is also a challenge to stop the app from ringing, as various methods and puzzles can be implemented to stop the alarm. A good alternative is Alarm Clock Plus, and it can really wake you up with all the math equations configured to the difficulty of your choice.

Our team is a bit torn between the Google Inbox and the GMail app: While a few consider Inbox to be very useful as all emails marked done and cleaned out ends their day, I personally prefer the traditional columns and streams of email lines in GMail. Dropbox’s Mailbox is also a great alternative email app if you don’t want yourself to bother with all the Material Design and stick to a clean, minimal interface.

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Note-taking apps are very handy in times of need and Evernote is one app that’s never leaving my phone. Cross-platform syncing and easy notetaking simply made me fall in love with this app. Google Keep is also worth a try if you are for simpler notetaking apps that still sync. When we’re not typing small notes, we often leave the task to document editors such as Microsoft Office Mobile, and put them in online storage apps such as Dropbox so we can share them to more people in an instant.

Need a separate to-do list? Wunderlist might just do the trick for you. It keeps your reminders and lists so you can organize everything you need to do. If you need a new calendar, SolCalendar‘s support for stickers on calendar dates makes planning and organizing fun and enjoyable.

Travel and Navigation

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The MMDA Android App is very useful if you want to check and avoid traffic along EDSA or C5 during the rush hour. Couple that with Waze, a crowdsourced navigation app, and you’ve got yourself a pretty good tool to detour the metro and avoid the hassle of getting stuck along a major highway. If you don’t feel like driving and want a cozy ride home, a taxi-grabbing service such as Uber can help.

If you’re up for a travel, why not spend some time with a few apps as well? Skyscanner is a great app to compare flight, hotel, and car rental prices to places you plan to spend your vacation time with. Discover thousands of places to stay in — Whether paid homes by checking the Airbnb app, or receive and experience warm local hospitality through Couchsurfing.

We know that not everyone uses these partly due to having a different OS ecosystem, or has better apps and alternatives in mind. You can jump in the conversation and recommend your favorite apps at the comments section below. We’d love to know the apps you’re using, and we might try them out too!

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Cider makes iOS apps run on Android devices

Ever wanted to try out apps that are iOS exclusive? With Project Cider, it’s not that far off. There’s a possibility of seeing a future where app exclusivity no longer exists. More about it after the jump.

cider-android-ios

Cider is developed and designed by the Department of Computer Science at Columbia University and is basically “an operating system compatibility architecture that can run applications built for different mobile ecosystems, iOS or Android, together on the same smartphone or tablet.” It means that running Android apps on an iOS device is also possible. The goal of Cider is to tear down the walls of exclusivity with different apps and let everyone have access to them, regardless of what operating system they’re running.

Watch the demo below to see a Google Nexus 7 run apps from the two long-competing companies like they’re close partners now.

Making use of the apps’ entire functions, however, might be where it gets complicated since one of the reasons why some are exclusive is because of their patented hardware or unique software features. In short, a lot of legalities will be involved but it’s still feasible.

Although that may be the case, we’re convinced that the point of this project is to simply show that programs could work and are possible to function even across platforms. It leads us to the question: If you were to be granted to have an app that’s exclusive to a different OS, what are the top softwares would you want to try?

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Android Games, Apps & Updates You Should Try #3

It’s halfway through June, and a lot of people are already attending classes. To keep your eyes and hands entertained, we have another list of Android apps and games for your downloading.

Timetable (for students)

Ever since, I always preferred writing down due homeworks, exams and other schoolworks in notebooks over any other method. That was the case until Timetable.

Basically, what it does is create a schedule inside your device. It can silence your phones on exams, and your subjects, teachers & venues will be displayed the way you want it to be displayed as great widgets are also available. You can also add in your due activities and holidays as well.

TIMETABLE

It goes on for free at the Google Play Store; you can download it here. There are many more alternatives to this app, such as My Class Schedule, so feel free to check those out too.

Minecraft Pocket Edition gets version 0.7.1 update 

If you haven’t heard of Minecraft yet, well, it’s a very creative sandbox game with tons of features. Originally for the PC, it now has a Pocket Edition, available on both iOS & Android.

Version 0.7.1 brings in the ability for you to cast lava and water all over the world, plus Realms is also added (paid public servers). Before that, version 0.7.0 already brought in a lot of updates as you can spawn chickens, cows, sheep and pigs and a lot more.

MINECRAFT SC

Minecraft PE is available in the Google Play Store for Php257.02 here.

Battle Cats 

This game easily becomes fun regardless of your age. It’s a tower defense game, and the idea has been pretty much repeated on so many games, but with Battle Cats, the experience feels polished. Besides, who doesn’t enjoy an army of cats taking down enemy fortresses?

Battle Cats is available for free on the Play Store (download here).

Battle CATS

3D Image Live Wallpaper

One of the things that look cool on iOS 7 is that parallax effect on the wallpaper. Apparently, Android already has that in the form of 3D Image Live Wallpaper.

3D IMAGE

We’ve tried it, and it does what it is supposed to do very well. This one can be downloaded for Php67.24 here.

That’s our list for now. If you have any more suggestions that fit with these, feel free to tell us about it in the comments section down below.

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BlackBerry Z10: P29,990

Blackberry Z10 launch

Had my first glance of the new BlackBerry Z10 the other day which BB fans can now reserve at www.buybb10.com before its availability on March 19.Announced retail price is at a high-end P29,990 although this is expected to be bundled up with plans by Smart, Globe & Sun. What can I say … ’twas my first time to see a Blackberry without the physical QWERTY keyboard that the brand is known for. This one is all multi-touch!

Features to watch out for in this smartphone:

Lotsa power under the hood with Qualcomm S4 Plus dual core processor

2 GB of Random Access Memory (RAM) and 16GB of internal storage

LTE-ready

8 MP rear camera with a TimeShift feature that lets you choose the best out of the many frames taken in a single shot

4.2 inches screen display with 355 pixels per inch for extra vivid colors

Weight: 137.5 grams

Dimensions: 66 mm (width), 130 mm (height), 9mm (thinness)

The Z10 is powered by Blackberry 10, the “re-designed and re-engineered” BB platform that is supposed to be faster, smoother and more responsive.New features include the all-new browser, a cool predictive keyboard, the Blackberry Balance technology separating work applications from personal content, and the BB Safeguard technology for enhanced security, among others.

Of course, there’s also BlackBerry World with 70,000 apps but we think this is way, way behind Google and Apple with more than half a million apps in the market, thus providing a vast ocean of selection for its users.

We wish BlackBerry good luck for this product. Seen at the launch (from left): BB endorser Borgy Manotoc, BB Country Director for the Philippines Cameron Vernest, and Kristian Salvo, BlackBerry Philippines Business Manager.

Blackberry Z10 launch