Do you need an android task killer?

Posted by Karan , , Tuesday, 3 September 2013 08:47

Play store is full of task killers. Exclusive apps bundled with whole lot of cache cleaners and task killers junk the play store. But the question arises- Do you really need a task killer for your android smart phone. The answer is a clear cut NO. YOU DON'T NEED IT. Now the question arises- Why? Continue reading to find out.



Android task management is very different from windows. In windows we need to close the programs that you feel are misbehaving by actually clicking the x button. But Android is different. Android task management is designed in such a manner that it can handle tasks on its own. You don't need an extra bunch of apps to manually kill the apps every time you run short of RAM. Android manages it on its own. So if the task management module recognizes that an app is misbehaving or it is consuming unnecessary resources it kills the task or process on its own. An app which is not being used stays inactive in the memory and does not consume your devices' resources. Android resumes the app directly from where you left it, when needed. Thus this also forces us to conclude that the Android task management and these task killers work opposite to each other. That means you are killing an app which is not harming you at all. And when you need it, it has to be re-initiated. And this takes much more time. So next time you consider downloading a task killer, please reconsider.

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Automate Your Droid

Posted by Karan , Labels: , Saturday, 9 March 2013 07:47

21st Century- The century of automation- Where everything seems to be good as long as it operates on its own. So why don't we automate the tasks on our android which we do manually almost everyday.
In this post I will be reviewing one of the most innovative apps I have come across in PLAY STORE- AutomateIt.

                                                   


We have to perform certain tasks on our Android daily. For instance, we have to put our phone to silent mode when we attend our classes, We have to sms the person whose call we reject call. There are times when you usually forget to do these such as putting your phone to silent in the class. How would you feel when there is an app sitting out there to control all these tasks by itself? It would be absolutely mind boggling. So we review here a brilliant innovation which sits beside there to notice all your activities and triggers automatically according to your needs. This app is called AUTOMATEIT.

What does this app does for me? I use AUTOMATEIT for the following automatons:

  • Turns my phone to silent mode at 11 pm in the night.
  • Brings it to normal mode at 7 am.
  • If I lose my phone and it's on silent, I can unmute it just by sending an sms.
  • Speaks "Charger connected" and "Charger Disconnected" when I plug or unplug my charger.
  • Notifies me when my phone charges to full by speaking "Your phone is fully charged"
  • Turns screen rotation on when I enter the media GALLERY and turns off the rotation when I exit the GALLERY.
  • I can locate the position and battery level of my phone just by sending an sms.
  • Automatically turns off the Bluetooth after its use is over.
  • Turns off WIFI and GPS automatically when the battery level reaches less than 10%.
These is just a little bunch of features. And there a lot more to choose from.

   How to use the app?


  • Download the app from here or the link provided at the bottom of the post and install it on your phone and open it.
  • You can now download rules from the market or create your own rules.

  • AutomateIt works on trigger-action rules. Trigger is an event on occurrence of which a task is to be performed. Action is the task which is to be performed. So you have to design a trigger-action couple for any automation you want. I will be taking an example of creating a rule that puts your phone to flight mode automatically at 11 pm.
  • Click on Add Rule option.
  • Now Select a trigger. For the above task required trigger is TIME TRIGGER. Click on it.

  • Now select the time of the day at which you want to switch on the AIRPLANE MODE. Click on next.

  • Now we need to select the action. Action required here is SET AIRPLANE MODE. Click on it.
                                                       


  • Now click next. Give a name to this rule and click on SAVE. You are now done. 





Similarly you can create a number of other rules with the following trigger-actions currently supported.:


Currently supports the following triggers:

• Any SMS Trigger - Triggers on SMS received

• SMS With Text Trigger - Triggers on receipt of SMS Message with a specific text

• Battery Level Trigger - Triggers on a defined battery level

• Bluetooth State Enabled/Disabled

• Bluetooth Device Connected - Any device or specific device

• Incoming/Hang Call - Any call or from a specific contact

• Headset Plugged/Unplugged Trigger

• Location Trigger - Arriving/Exiting a defined region

• External Power Connected/Disconnected

• Screen On/Off

• Wi-Fi Enabled/Disabled

• Connected to Wi-Fi network - Any network or a specific network

• Time Trigger - recurring time events

• Background data settings changed - enabling or disabling the background data setting

• GPS Enabled Changed - GPS Activated/Deactivated and started/stopped looking for current location

• SMS from contact

• USB Connected/Disconnected Trigger

• Airplane Mode Activated/Deactivated

• Dock State Trigger - Docked to Car/Desk

• Application Status Trigger - Triggers when selected application activated or deactivated

• Outgoing call - all calls or calling specific contact

• Sound Mode Changed to Silent/Vibrate/Normal

• Boot Trigger - triggers on device startup (assuming service starts on boot)

• Manual Trigger - Requires user explicit execution of this trigger

• Cell ID Trigger - Trigger when connecting or disconnecting from defined cellular cells (Limited functionality - only allows saving a single set of cells as pre-defined location)

• NFC Trigger - use NFC tags to launch rules


Currently supports the following actions:

• Notification - Shows notification on notification bar

• Play Sound - Plays selected sound

• Set Bluetooth State - Enabled/Disabled

• Set Sound Mode - Silent / Vibrate / Normal(With/Without Vibrate)

• Set Speakerphone State - Turn on/off

• Set Volume - Sets volume of all streams or a specific stream

• Set Wi-Fi Adapter State - Enabled/Disabled

• Start Application

• Enable/Disable other rules

• Vibrate action

• Enable/Disable Data Connectivity action - [NOT supported on some devices - see why on developer website]

• Kill Application [Requires Root - see why on developer website]

• Launch Home Screen

• Activate/Deactivate Airplane mode

• Enable/Disable GPS [Supported for Android version prior to 2.3 and MOST rooted devices. Not supported for ICS]

• Enable/Disable Sync Data [Supported for Android version prior to 2.3 and MOST rooted devices. Not supported for ICS]

• Set Mobile Data - Enable/Disable Mobile Data

• Set Screen Brightness - Automatic or specific value

• Enable/Disable screen automatic rotation

• Dial Phone Number

• Send SMS to phone number

• Set screen timeout (Including "Never" turn off)

• Shutdown device [Requires Root]

• Text-to-Speech - Say defined text

• Reboot [Requires Root]

• Set Wallpaper - set your home screen wallpaper.


Automate it has certain limitations in the free version. For example, you need to have points to download rules from market. Anyways you can create your same own rules or can opt for the PRO version if you want. Enjoy this fabulous app.


Download link: Free Version





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Streaming your Droid's music on your Computers

Posted by Karan , Labels: , Saturday, 12 January 2013 09:37

Want to boost up the volume of your smartphone? DO you want to listen to the music present on your phone through your computer speakers. We have something cool for such music lovers.
The connection methodology used by the Bluetooth devices to connect to other Bluetooth devices are known as Bluetooth profiles. Different profiles are assigned different tasks and a  Bluetooth device automatically chooses the appropriate methodology for connecting to other Bluetooth devices. For e.g when we transfer a file over Bluetooth  it gets transferred though FTP profile; when we listen to music using bluetooth headsets, the music is transferred through A2DP profile.

What is "A2DP"?


The Advanced Audio Distribution Profile is a Bluetooth profile that allows for the wireless transmission of stereo audio from an A2DP source (typically a phone or computer) to an A2DP receiver (a set of Bluetooth headphones or stereo system). So whenever we connect to bluetooth headsets from our phone it is done through A2DP profile. So why not to connect to our computers through this profile.

So Now stream the music of your android phone through the ultimate app called A2DP SWITCHER. Just install this app on your android device, pair up your phone on which streaming is to be done and connect to it. Now whatever audio you play would be played on the connected device. Please note that the device to be connected can be any Bluetooth device supporting A2DP profile (Even another mobile phone). Also 
please note that this can be also be done by normally connecting to your computer using the inbuilt bluetooth settings but we do not assure that your device would be recognized as a stereo device. So its better to use this app. Enjoy :)

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Jalandhar, Punjab, India
Basically a student and quite interested in technology............ Hoping a bright future in computing.........
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