Samsung Galaxy S2 Apps [Guide]

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Samsung Galaxy S2 has started reaching countries like UK and South Korea and will soon be available in over 120 countries by the end of June. This Samsung Flagship smartphone is the recent Android superphone to reach market, with 1.2 GHz processor, 1GB RAM combined with Android 2.3.
But no phone is complete without Apps, especially an Android smartphone. Chances are that your telecom operator or Samsung will factory-install a number of most useful apps including the likes of Facebook, Twitter, e-book reader or more. But these aren’t all, with over 170,000 apps available in Android Market; you can always download more useful apps from Android Market.
We have compiled a list of some of the coolest and most useful apps for your phone available in Android Market right now. These are just 16 apps, so if you think we have missed some cool apps, which will be useful for others too, simply list them in the comments below or share your Appbrain lists.

1. Adobe Reader: Best PDF Reader for your Galaxy S II.
2. Google Docs: Access your Google Docs on the go with this official Android app. You can even open new documents/spreadsheets and more. Only downside is the requirement for data connection.
3. Read It later: View or add to your reading list from any computer or mobile device. You can save articles from practically anywhere: your computer, browser, phone, mobile device and within over 130 applications that have Read It Later Support. Must have for anyone who spends time reading news/articles and other stuff on the web.
4. Kindle/Nook for Android: No need for any introduction for these two.  Read e-books directly on your Samsung Galaxy S II from your Kindle library or Nook library respectively. Both are official apps, so you can also track your accounts or buy new books.
5. How Stuff Works: The HowStuffWorks Android app not only gives you instant access to a massive collection of articles and podcasts right on your Android device, but also gives you direct access to our famous podcasters and HowStuffWorks experts.
6. RunKeeper: Track, measure, and improve your fitness. RunKeeper uses GPS to track your fitness activities, including distance, time, pace, calories, heart rate, and path traveled on a map.
7. Al Jazeera Live/ CNN App for Phones: News Junkies, what else can be better than the live feed coming directly from Al Jazeera. Or if you want news in text/multimedia format, then CNN’s official app for Android Phones is your best bet.
8. Twitter: Official Twitter App is available in Market, but you are not satisfied with this one, you can always opt for Plume or TweetDeck.
9. Ebay for Android/Amazon.com: Shopping or the go with the official eBay and Amazon.com apps. Check product prices, track your bids[only ebay] or simple buy stuff.
10. Google Shopper: Another app for shopaholics, compare prices, find products using barcodes or voice/text search. Downside – Currently U.S. and U.K. prices only.
11. PicSay/Photoshop: Your 8MP camera pics are of no use, if you don’t have a decent image editing tools right on your SGS2. Edited your pics and share them on social networks.
12. SkyFire/Firefox/Dolphin HD: Not satisfied with stock browser. There are scores of alternatives in the Android Market, but these three are the best of those.
13. Google Chrome to Phone: Google Chrome to Phone lets you easily share links, maps, and currently selected phone numbers and text between your computer running Chrome and your phone.
14. EverNote: Evernote lets you take notes, capture photos, create to-do lists, record voice reminders–and makes these notes completely searchable, whether you are at home, at work, or on the go.
15. ES File Explorer: A nice and sleek file explorer for all your needs.
16. SoundHound/Shazam: Find songs with instant music recognition, and lyrics and artist info right no your phone with either of these apps.

 

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Android App: Pool Break Pro

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Pool Break Pro
by Kinetic Bytes(68)

Buy new: $2.99

Latest Updates

What's new in version 1.7.8

• Moved to a new hosting server--as a result, if you have an earlier version, please update Pool Break to this latest version
• Online audible alert fixed (only sounds once)
• Shoot button sensitivity fixed
• Orientation issues with alert dialogs fixed

Product Details Download restrictions: • AT&T is working on enabling purchases from the Amazon Appstore in the near future (Learn more) • Amazon Appstore is only available to customers located in the United States ASIN: B004SEVPWQ Original Release Date: April 9, 2010 Date first available at Amazon.com: December 31, 2010 Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews) 68 Reviews 5 star:  (44) 4 star:  (10) 3 star:  (5) 2 star:  (3) 1 star:  (6) › See all 68 customer reviews... Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #3 Paid in Appstore for Android

  [Source: Amazon]

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Download: Google Talk With Video/Audio Calling For Rooted Android 2.3 Devices (Ported From The Nexus S)

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One of Android 2.3.4′s main new features, which was officially released to the Nexus S late last week, was video and audio calling in Google Talk. While having this feature on the Nexus S is great for its owners, Android users of other devices were left behind. If there is one thing Android users don’t like to do, it’s wait, which is why britoso from xda managed to rip out the app from his Nexus S and modify it to be compatible with most devices running Android 2.3.
Unfortunately, because he had to modify the apk, he needed to sign it with a different key, which means you need root to install this version (you won’t be able to install it over the original Google Talk app as an update due to mismatched signatures, which means you need to uninstall the original app first, and that’s not possible unless you’re rooted – Google Talk is a system app).

This article deals with a couple of advanced topics. If you’re unfamiliar with some of the terms, hit up our primers here:

• Rooting Explained + Top 5 Benefits Of Rooting
• Top Android Apps Every Rooted User Should Know About: Part 1 (Apps 1-8), Part 2 (Apps 9-16), Part 3 (Apps 17-25)

While most people are reporting at least partial successes, some are experiencing installation errors or force closes, so your mileage definitely may vary. Those who install successfully are also split between a fully working app and one that is missing video in one direction – they can see the other person, but that person can’t see them. The only way to know for sure is to try it yourself. Don’t worry – if you make a backup as per instructions, you can always go back to the original as if nothing happened.

Installation Instructions

1. Make sure you have a rooted device with write access to /system. You will also need adb, which is part of the Android SDK.
2. Download Talk_with_AV.zip from our direct mirror or the xda thread (xda registration required).
3. Unzip it somewhere on your computer.
4. Connect your device running Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" or above and make sure it shows up in the list by running adb devices.
5. Execute:
   adb remount adb shell mv /system/app/Talk.apk /system/app/Talk.apk1 adb uninstall com.google.android.talk adb push libtalk_jni.so /system/lib/ adb push Talk2.apk /system/app
6. You should now have the newest Google Talk installed – go ahead, try it out.

If for some reason you can’t write to /system and would like to use a flashable zip instead, it’s available in the xda thread as well.
To revert, execute:
adb remount adb uninstall com.google.android.talk adb shell mv /system/app/Talk.apk1 /system/app/Talk.apk
Now get to installing! If you post your successes or failures below, please include your Android version, exact ROM you’re using, and your device’s model.
 [Source: AndroidCentral]

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Android 2.3.3 Allegedly Previewed on T-Mobile G2x [Video]

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T-Mobile confirmed that their newest phone – the T-Mobile G2X – would be getting Gingerbread “very soon”. If this preview build acquired by This Is My Next is anything to go by then it would appear T-Mobile wasn’t the least bit bluffing. They bring us 7 minutes of footage but it really isn’t anything we haven’t seen on other Gingerbread devices. Just know that it’s pretty damn stable and expect T-Mobile to roll it out sometime this month (hopefully within the next two weeks).
PS: I say “allegedly” in the article title because of how easy it is to theme deodexed Android ROMs and change build.prop files. We trust the folks at This Is My Next (some very trusted names in technology media), though, and we’re fairly certain they wouldn’t go through the trouble of faking this just for content’s sake.
 

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Take Screen Shots With Your T-Mobile G2X Without Rooting Your Phone

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Some of you may already know this, especially if you have recently purchased T-Mobile’s G2X and have researched the device beforehand.  However, I figured it can’t hurt to cover the feature again for those who might have missed it.  One of the most sought out and coveted pieces of functionality iPhone users have benefited from for years has now made its way to Android and could possibly be here to stay for future devices.  That’s right, screenshots!  To take a quick screen shot with your T-Mobile G2X all you have to do is simply hold down the power button + home button and wallah!  A full screen shot of your Angry Birds high score has been saved to your photo gallery.  As a blogger and one who performs app reviews, I can’t tell you how convenient this feature will be.  Previously, one had to root their device to obtain the feature and frankly, it just seemed a little redundant for such a small and single feature.  So, there you have it.  It doesn’t get any easier than that.  Let us know what you think of the feature in the comments below.  Do you think it’s a highly coveted function or could you care less?  We want to know.
 

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AT&T & T-Mobile, Want To Add Your 2 Cents Worth? FCC Says Ok

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As you’re already aware, not everyone is happy with the AT&T&T-Mobile buy-out.  It appears that the FCC wants to know what you think about the whole acquisition, which is looking to be finalized about this time next year.  Have you had an opinion or thought on the matter?  The FCC has provided a place on their electronic comment filing page for you to chime in.  Now is the time to take advantage if you’ve been looking to get something off of your chest.  Head on over to their site via the source link and look for file number 147, proceeding number 11-65 and feel free to fire away in the comment box.  While you’re at it, paste that rant or blessing in our comments section first before pasting it over at their site.  We’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.  Dan Hesse, there’s even a spot for you too my friend!  As a T-Mobile employee myself, I have much to say on the matter, but I think I’ll save that jazz for another post.  I’ll just suffice it to say this, I shiver at the thought of Android being solely left in the hands of AT&T.
I think our friend Zak Stinson, over at Android Police sums it up well as to what we should be worried about:

• A lack of competition resulting from fewer, larger carriers may result in less innovation and increased prices.
• Both carriers’ 4G HSPA+ bands are incompatible, risking loss of coverage for T-Mobile handsets once AT&T LTE starts rolling out
• Only one major carrier will be buying GSM handsets, meaning they will have the lion’s share of control over the GSM devices that make it to the U.S. market

 

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HTC Thunderbolt update coming soon?

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Earlier this month we reported that the HTC ThunderBolt was dropping the 4G connection to the Verizon network frequently. Verizon had said that an update was coming soon to fix the issue, and then we heard nothing more for a week or more. Apparently, that update is coming soon if a leaked ROM that turned up last week is any indication. The change log for the ROM shows a number of changes that are being made to the smartphone.

Among the changes are enhanced data connectivity to the 3G network. I would hope that enhanced connectivity also means that the dropping of 4G LTE signals is fixed too. However, nothing about 4G is mentioned in the change log. Other changes include SMS and MMS messages are now stored properly in the Messaging area, and tweaks were made to email.
The update also improves the timing for the device activation, and the Backup Assistant is displayed correctly in the Application menu now. Stability improvements to applications like Facebook, Kayak, Yahoo mail and more were made. The weather widget was also fixed to add an accurate location and GPS update loading was tweaked.
[via Android Central]
 

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Motorola says more Atrix-style laptop docks will be offered in future

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The Motorola Atrix smartphone is a very cool device and one of the better Android smartphones on the market today. One of the things that makes the Atrix so cool is that the smartphone has that awesome laptop dock accessory that turns the smartphone into a fully fledged netbook that you can use for all sorts of work or play. If you want to know more about the Motorola Atrix, you can check out our full review of the smartphone and its accessories here.

That cool laptop dock for the Atrix is one of the compelling reasons for some people to buy the smartphone. That said we had mixed feelings about the dock and its functionality in some areas. Motorola has announced that it will be offering more of the laptop docks like the one for the Atrix in the future. We hope that it can make things work a bit better when the future docks finally come to market.
Often when companies like Motorola talk about “the future” they are looking far down the road. In this case, Motorola will be launching additional laptop docks in the second half of 2011 according to CEO Sanjay Jha. Jha also noted that the docks would cover an expanded range of devices and price points. Reading between the lines, I would expect a dock that works for just about all the high-end smartphones that is cheaper than the Atrix dock.
[via Engadget]
 

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Samsung's Galaxy S WiFi 4.0 and 5.0 now rolling out to countries far away from you

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While Samsung has yet to announce an actual date for its new Galaxy Players in the US, their international counterparts are already heading towards other parts of the world for a head start. The Galaxy S WiFi 4.0 is said to be debuting in Russia followed by other countries, whereas its 5.0 sibling will be launched in Switzerland. In terms of specs, not much has changed since we last saw these 1GHz, DivX-friendly Android PMPs, and yes, they'll still be shipped with Froyo "with a possibility to upgrade to 2.3 Gingerbread." As always, we'll let you folks know when we eventually find out about the US launch (if ever), though to be frank, we'd rather just go for the beefier Galaxy S II instead.

 

 

Samsung Launches GALAXY S WiFi 4.0 and 5.0:Smart Mobile Entertainment
- Two different sizes combine greater entertainment opportunities with smartphone-like innovation and app experiences

SEOUL--(Korea Newswire) May 2, 2011 -- Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a leading provider of Smart Mobile Devices, today launched GALAXY S WiFi 4.0 and a fresh addition to its smart player portfolio, the GALAXY S WiFi 5.0.

Each featuring 4" and 5" screen-sizes and delivering the powerful application experiences as the original GALAXY S, the two versions give users an unrivalled entertainment experience through a clear display, a swift 1GHz processor and the Android™ 2.2 "Froyo" platform. The GALAXY S WiFi 4.0 will be first available in Russia and will be gradually rolled out in other countries. The GALAXY S WiFi 5.0 will be first available in Switzerland.

"With the GALAXY S WiFi 4.0 and 5.0 we're delivering a rich, immersive experience for multimedia enthusiasts." said JK Shin, President and Head of Samsung's Mobile Communications Business. "A large, high-quality screen, a world of fun and useful applications and great communications services make this a powerhouse device at an affordable price.

The GALAXY S WiFi 4.0 and 5.0 will deliver all the rich smartphone experiences of the GALAXY S smartphone. With video communications via VoIP services and rich video and music entertainment with multi-codec support, the Samsung GALAXY S WiFi 4.0 and 5.0 will keep you constantly entertained.

Stunning Performance, Powerful Features

Key Features of the GALAXY S WiFi 4.0 and 5.0 include:

- Display: The clear display makes web surfing and multimedia viewing a joy. Keep your lifestyle mobile - enjoy movies, your favourite TV shows, photos and web-browsing anywhere. Samsung's latest mDNIe image engine technology ensures that video and images look stunning.

- Android™ 2.2 "Froyo": The GALAXY S WiFi 4.0 and 5.0 feature the Froyo operating system, with a possibility to upgrade to 2.3 Gingerbread.

- Application Customization: With access to over 150,000 apps available on Android Market™, the Samsung GALAXY S WiFi 4.0 and 5.0 are fully customizable smart devices. Integrated GPS support further expands the capabilities of the device, letting you benefit from Google's map services and directory applications.

- Google Mobile Services: Enjoy premium Google™ services such as Gmail™, Google Talk™ and YouTube™. Utilize voice recognition technology to search with Google faster than ever on the Internet. Stay plugged into the world with premier Google applications.

- Samsung Social Hub: Your entire social life in your hand. Simultaneously post messages and pictures on Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter using Samsung's Social Hub. The integrated address book provides the ultimate command & control station for the most popular SNS services. Synchronize your personal calendar with friends, family, and the latest events.

- VoIP Voice & Video Calls: The GALAXY S WiFi 4.0 and 5.0 utilize cost-effective video and voice communications services. The Qik application allows video chat which can be shared over social network services.

- HD Video & Images: A camera lets you shoot and share your life, capturing high-quality video or still images. The Samsung GALAXY S WiFi 4.0 and 5.0 support DivX HD, allowing high-definition video playback; Support for various codec standards including MPEG4, H264, DivX, XviD, WMV codecs ensures you can enjoy huge catalogues of content from all over the web.

- Audio excellence: The Samsung GALAXY S WiFi 4.0 and 5.0 "Smart Player" put entertainment at its core, designed to deliver the best possible audio and video experience. Samsung SoundAlive™ technology provides unrivalled sound quality, with deeper bass and greater tone articulation.

- Enhanced Memory Capability: Packed with generous 8/16 GB memory, plus mircoSD slot and powered by a powerful 1GHz for an industry leading performance, the GALAXY S WiFi 4.0 and 5.0 are equipped to handle any user demand.

 

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