by Fadia, Ankit
Smart Tools and the Smart Tools app are registered trademarks of Smart Tools, used with permission.
To measure the height of the object (the piece of furniture to which we recorded the distance in the previous example), press the height button on the left.
Smart Tools and the Smart Tools app are registered trademarks of Smart Tools, used with permission.
Starting at the bottom of the object, move the mobile phone to point where the crosshair icon reaches the top of the object. Press the Shutter button on the bottom right corner of the screen to record the height of the object. For example, in this case the height of the furniture is 0.6 metres.
Smart Tools and the Smart Tools app are registered trademarks of Smart Tools, used with permission.
For more accurate measurements, you can change the height of the mobile phone from the ground from the default value of 1.5 metres. Basic understanding of trigonometry will also be helpful in ensuring that your measurements are accurate. To calculate the width and area of a particular object or place, press the Settings button on your phone and change what you wish to measure.
Smart Tools and the Smart Tools app are registered trademarks of Smart Tools, used with permission.
3. Compass
The Compass tool will convert your Android phone into a conventional magnetic compass. It displays your current GPS location coordinates and a compass so that you know in which direction you are going.
Smart Tools and the Smart Tools app are registered trademarks of Smart Tools, used with permission.
4. Metal Detector
Most smartphones come with a magnetic sensor built in. The Metal Detector feature of the Smart Tools app converts your mobile phone into a metal detector (like the ones found at the security queue at airports) and allows you to find any metalic object around you. Once you start the Metal Detector feature, the measured magnetic field is displayed on the screen. Whenever the magnetic field is within normal levels, you will see the green bar. If the magnetic field value exceeds normal levels, the red bar will be displayed on the screen and it means that you have detected metal.
Smart Tools and the Smart Tools app are registered trademarks of Smart Tools, used with permission.
5. Sound and Vibration Meters
This feature allows you to record the sound and vibration levels around you!
48. How to take professional photos with your mobile phone
< 120 Seconds
If you have ever wished you could take professional-looking photos directly from your mobile phone, you will love the Camera Zoom FX app.
It is available for only Rs 150 from the Google Play App Store and is my favourite photo app for the Android platform. Once you have installed the Camera Zoom FX app on your Android phone, you can make use of a variety of shooting modes that include:
1. Stable Shot
This feature will wait until your phone is stable and only then will it take the picture; you can say goodbye to blurry pictures. There is also an on-screen meter that tells you how stable the phone is at present.
2. Voice Activated
Allows you to take a picture by making a loud noise or clap. This feature is perfect for group photos!
3. Burst Mode
Takes up to 10 shots per second, allowing you to take fantastic shots of moving objects, people and things.
4. Time Lapse
Allows you to take multiple pictures with a time lapse in between.
Camera Zoom FX and the Camera Zoom FX logo are registered trademarks of Camera Zoom FX 2012, used with permission.
In addition to all of this, Camera Zoom FX comes with all the special effects and editing tools that are normally found in a professional photo-editing software—standard photo-editing, special effects, mirror effects, distortion, tilting, cropping, collage and many others.
For iOS users, a good alternate app that I would like to recommend is the SnapSeed app.
49. How to send an SMS text message in the future
< 60 Seconds
We have already seen how useful it can be to be able to schedule an email, tweet or Facebook status update to be sent in the future. Wouldn’t it be great if it were possible for you to even send an SMS text message from your mobile phone in the future? SMS Scheduler is a free app available from the Google Play App Store for Android devices that allows you to do exactly that.
Start the SMS Scheduler app on your Android phone and click on the Add button to schedule an SMS text message to be sent at a predefined date and time in the future.
SMS Scheduler and the SMS Scheduler logo are registered trademarks of SMS Scheduler, used with permission.
Enter the recipient’s number, actual text message and select the date and time in the future at which you wish to send the SMS text message.
It is also possible for you to choose the frequency at which you wish to send the SMS text message. You can either send it just once or repeatedly send it at periodic intervals.
SMS Scheduler and the SMS Scheduler logo are registered trademarks of SMS Scheduler, used with permission.
Press the Add button and the SMS text message will automatically be sent at the defined date and time without any intervention from you.
Unfortunately there is no similar app available for iOS devices, since iOS does not allow third-party apps to be able to automatically send messages without any intervention from the user.
SMS Scheduler and the SMS Scheduler logo are registered trademarks of SMS Scheduler, used with permission.
50. How to remember where you parked your car
< 60 Seconds
Have you ever walked around in circles inside the parking lot at the shopping mall or airport trying to find where you parked your car? Not being able to remember where you have parked your car is a very common problem. In fact, it is so common that they have even made an entire Seinfeld episode about it. However, with the Car Locator app on your phone, you will never to worry about forgetting when you parked your car.
Car Locator can be downloaded from the Google Play App Store. The free version allows you to try out the app a few times, after which you will need to buy the app to be able to continue to use it.
Once you have parked your car, you can save its exact GPS location on your phone by launching the Car Locator app and pressing the button where a man is holding a flag. As soon as you save the location of your car, it will show up on the screen in the form of a red dot. You can also tap on the camera button on the bottom left corner of the app to take a photo of the location where you have parked your car.
Car Locator and the Car Locator logo are registered trademarks of Lindy Labs, used with permission.
Car Locator and the Car Locator logo are registered trademarks of Lindy Labs, used with permission.
Once you are done with your work and want to locate your car, simply start the app again. You will notice that the screen is split into two views—a radar view and a map view. The red dot that you see on both the screens indicates where your car is parked and the centre of the radar (in the radar view) and green dot in the map view indicates your present location. Just keep looking at the app and keep moving towards the car. You can even tap the Details button to get more information about your car’s location.
The only limitation of this app is that it will not work as effectively if you are in an area where the GPS signal is not very strong. In case the GPS signals are weak, the Car Locator app allows you to manually set the location of the car on the map. Moreover, if you have parked your car in a multi-level parking lot, then this app won’t be able to tell you on which level you parked your car. In such a case, taking a photo using the Camera feature in the Car Locator app can still help you locate your car.
With Car Locator on your phone, you no longer need to worry about not being able to find your car in a parking lot. On the other hand, if you are using an iPhone, then Parkbud (www.parkbud.com) and Automatic (www.automatic.com) are fantastic car-finding apps that I would like to reco
mmend.
51. How to catch a cheating partner red-handed
< 120 Seconds
Are you worried that your partner or spouse may be cheating on you? Do you wish there was a way you could spy upon everything on their mobile phone and catch them red-handed? If someone is cheating on you, chances are that you will be able to find some kind of evidence about it on their mobile phone. Your partner’s mobile phone would normally contain information about almost everything they do in their lives including who they talk to, where they go, who they message, what websites they visit, photos and videos they take and just about everything else. It is very easy for you to use a spying app to remotely monitor someone else’s activities on their mobile phone, including:
1. Call history
2. Intercepting and listen to phone calls
3. Text messages
4. GPS tracking of physical location
5. BBM, WhatsApp and email messages
6. Pictures
7. Videos
8. Recording conversation in their room using the microphone on their phone.
9. SIM card change notification
FlexiSpy (www.flexispy.com), MobileSpy (www.mobile-spy.com) and SpyPhoneGold (www.spyphonegold.com) are some of the most popular spying apps available on the Internet that allow you to remotely record, monitor and spy upon all activities on someone else’s mobile phone. These spying tools work on all popular smartphone platforms like iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, Android, Windows and others.
To start spying on your partner’s mobile phone, simply register an account on any of the above-mentioned spying app websites. It is important to note that since spying apps are hugely popular, all the above-mentioned tools will charge you a registration fee.
Now you need to gain physical access to your partner’s mobile phone for a few minutes. You can do this when they are not looking, or pretend to borrow their phone to make a quick phone call.
Using their phone, connect to the spying app website, log in to your account, download and install it on their mobile phone. Once successfully installed, return the phone to your partner.
You can now log in to your online account on the spying app website from anywhere in the world and spy upon everything on your partner’s mobile phone!
You can also use these spying apps to keep an eye on what your kids are doing on their mobile phones. Just keep in mind that the usage of such apps may be considered violation of privacy, so check with your local legal authorities before you go ahead with them.
52. How to block calls from annoying people
< 120 Seconds
Do you receive annoying phone calls from miscreants who simply want to trouble you at odd hours of the day and night? Does your jilted ex-lover refuse to move on and call you incessantly? If you are constantly getting phone calls from annoying people, it can be a drain on not only the battery charge on your phone, but also on your mental peace and well-being. Moreover, asking your mobile phone network provider to block calls from a particular number can be quite a cumbersome process.
Call Control and the Call Control logo are registered trademarks of Kedlin Inc., used with permission.
Fret not—with the Call Control app on your Android phone, you can easily control which calls you want to receive and which calls you want to automatically block. Think of it as your very own digital personal assistant who screens all your calls for you and keeps the annoying ones away!
Start the Call Control app, tap the Black List option and tap the + button to add a new phone number from which you wish to automatically block all incoming phone calls.
Call Control and the Call Control logo are registered trademarks of Kedlin Inc., used with permission.
Enter the number that you wish to block and press the Save button to add it to the Black List. Once a number has been added to the Black List of the Call Control app, any calls from it will automatically be rejected.
Call Control and the Call Control logo are registered trademarks of Kedlin Inc., used with permission.
To manage the settings of how the Call Control app manages call blocks, you can go into the Settings option.
With the Call Control app on your phone, you no longer need to worry about dealing with annoying phone calls.
Call Control and the Call Control logo are registered trademarks of Kedlin Inc., used with permission.
53. How to sleep better using your Android phone
< 240 Seconds
Do you often wake up feeling groggy and tired even though you have had a full night’s sleep? Wouldn’t it be great if there was an app on your phone that allows you to track your sleep cycles, get better sleep and wake up feeling more refreshed? Sleep as Android is a very interesting app for Android devices that allows you to transform how you sleep.
Sleep as Android and the Sleep as Android logo are registered trademarks of Sleep as Android, used with permission.
Sleep as Android and the Sleep as Android logo are registered trademarks of Sleep as Android, used with permission.
The Sleep as Android app allows you to track how well and how much you are sleeping every night. While sleeping, people usually have two types of alternating phases—light sleep and deep sleep. Using the accelerometer on your phone, the Sleep as Android app is able to monitor your sleep cycles and lets you keep a track of them. Whenever you are going to sleep, simply press the Sleep Tracking button in the app to start the tracking. Not only that, you can also go into the Statistics page and see how many hours you are sleeping every night and between what times.
This app not only allows you to monitor your sleep cycles to make sure that you are getting enough sleep, but it also has a Smart Wake Up option that helps you wake up at the optimal time so that you do not feel groggy and tired. Regular alarm clocks will normally wake you up at the time you set them for, irrespective of whether you are in the middle of light sleep or deep sleep. If you are woken up while you are in deep sleep, chances are you are going to feel groggy, tired and sleepy for the rest of the day. Instead, being woken up while you are in light sleep is more natural and will make you feel relaxed and refreshed from the good night’s sleep.
All you need to do for this is specify a time range in which you want to be woken up. Using the accelerometer on your phone, the Sleep as Android app will monitor your sleep cycle throughout the night and will wake you up at an optimal time, keeping in the mind the time range in which you want to be woken up and your deep and light sleep cycles. Simply set the alarm clock to the latest time you wish to be woken up and then go into Settings > Smart Wake Up > Smart Period and specify how much time before your alarm clock time you want the app to start looking for an optimal time to wake you up.
Sleep as Android and the Sleep as Android logo are registered trademarks of Sleep as Android, used with permission.
If you are the type of person who finds it difficult to wake up on time with conventional alarm clocks, this app comes up with tougher-to-ignore alarm clocks known as CAPTCHA alarms. For example, you can set an alarm in such a way that to turn the alarm off you will be either required to solve a puzzle or mathematical question or required to vigorously shake your phone. To enable CAPTCHA alarm, go into Settings in the Alarm tab of the Sleep as Android app > Enable the CAPTCHA option and then choose the type of CAPTCHA alarm you want to use.
Sleep as Android and the Sleep as Android logo are registered trademarks of Sleep as Android, used with permission.
Sleep as Android and the Sleep as Android logo are registered trademarks of Sleep as Android, used with permission.
There is also a feature in this app that allows you to record your sleep-talking and snoring noises. This feature is especially useful if you have a partner who refuses to believe that they were snoring or sleep-talking!
Sleep as Android and the Sleep as Android logo are registered trademarks of Sleep as Android, used with permission.
If you have trouble getting to sleep at night, the Sleep as Android app also allows you to choo
se to play lullaby background sounds like Whales Diving, Thunderstorm, Mountain Stream, Fireplace, Old Clock and many others which will relax you and allow you to fall asleep faster.
Sleep as Android and the Sleep as Android logo are registered trademarks of Sleep as Android, used with permission.
54. How to quickly switch between apps
< 120 Seconds
Usually when you are using an app in Android, to switch to another app, you need to first go to the home screen. This can be quite a time-consuming and inefficient process. There is a much faster and cooler way. SwipePad is a free app that can be downloaded from the Google Play App Store. Once installed on your Android device, it allows you to switch between apps on your phone very quickly and easily with a simple swipe of your finger.
SwipePad and the SwipePad logo are the registered trademarks of SwipePad, used with permission.
Once installed on your phone, SwipePad allows you to choose the regions on your screen you want to convert into hotspot regions which, once swiped, will activate a custom-designed quick launch shortcut menu. Simply start SwipePad and go to the Hotspots tab and then configure all the hotspots regions you want to activate on your phone screen. SwipePad supports a total of nine different predefined regions on the screen, each of which can be activated to open a different launch pad containing different shortcuts of your choice.
