Category: Self Help

GBoard – revisited

We had reviewed and recommended GBoard as our first choice for keyboards on Android. Since then, GBoard has gone on improving. As being one of the best keyboards, it now incorporates the following features:

  • Glide Typing – you can type faster by sliding your finger over the characters rather than tapping them individually
  • Voice Typing – You can easily dictate whatever you wish to type – whether it is a message or a mail or even a long essay / letter.
  • Multilingual Typing – You need not switch between languages manually – Gboard will autocorrect and suggest from any of your enabled languages
  • Translate – you can translate as you type on your keyboard
  • Inbuilt Clipboard Manager – this is one of the interesting recent additions to the keyboard – there is an inbuilt clipboard manager which stores upto 5 snippets in the Clipboard. Whatever you copy on your phone, is stored there for upto an hour. And you could re-use it any time within that time frame. If you wish to store a clip beyond the hour limitation, you can pin it and it will remain there forever!
    Truly a versatile keyboard, which includes Emojis, GIFs, Cursor Control and much more! A must have for your Android Device.
    Android : http://bit.ly/2VjjYKu

Envelope

Many people feel that they spend too much time on their phones and struggle to find a balance with technology. Envelope is an app which temporarily transforms your phone into a simpler, calmer device, helping you take a break away from your digital world.

Once you’ve printed and folded the special pdf into an envelope it will turn your phone into a very basic device which can only make and receive calls helping you focus on what’s in front of you.

Printed buttons which subtly light up allow you to dial and take photographs, creating a calm but magical “Envelope User Interface”.
Not a very popular app, as you may have guessed, since it converts your phone into…… a phone only! But if you are looking for a detox from heavy phone usage – Envelope is just what the doctor ordered!
Android: http://bit.ly/2GRy2SX

Applock

Applock is a simple lock which you can set for each of your apps. Many times, it so happens that you  hand over your phone to a friend or family member and he /she starts exploring your phone. Applock allows you to set a lock for each of your apps and allows that app to launch only when the requisite fingerprint or password is supplied. So you can lock your Facebook or Whatsapp or Gallery with Applock and each of these apps can now be launched only with a common password.

If you have enabled fingerprint recognition on your phone, your fingerprint can be used as your password to launch an app. In addition to perfect lock, AppLock can also catch intruders by taking a picture and even hide the fact that lock the app with fake error window!You can set a different password for each locked app and even lock the whole phone using lock screen of AppLock instead of lock screen of system. There is a provision to show a fake error message on the app which has been locked, so that the intruder is confused.

A very useful app for those who are sensitive to their privacy!

Android: http://bit.ly/2tNU2Ld

Tellows

Tellows is a Caller ID and Call Blocker for Android. In addition to its caller ID and blocking features, you can also make use of reverse phone number search, caller rating, personal blocklist and much more!

With Tellows, you can identify unknown callers immediately (Live Caller ID) in real-time as the phone rings, the tellows app shows you information about the caller. This includes the tellows score as well as caller name and location. The tellows score is an average community rating for the phone number on a scale of 1-9, with 9 indicating a very dangerous caller. You can use the reverse phone number lookup feature to find information shared by the Tellows community about thousands of callers.

Free users can manually block numbers using the local scorelist feature. Premium users have access to the community blocklist and can therefore benefit from automatic call blocking. Plus, the call blocking feature even works offline!

Android: http://bit.ly/2R9vIeD

ILovePdf.com

I Love PDF is the destination for all things PDF – whether you wish to convert from / to PDF, Merge or split PDFs or compress PDF files.
You can rotate PDF files, add page nos. or even add watermarks to PDF files. Advanced features like locking and unlocking of PDF files are also included.
You can work on the PDF files online, or download the desktop version of ILovePdf on your Windows computer. Apps for Android and iOS are also available to make it easy to use on your mobile.
So, if you have anything to do with PDF, on any platform, install ILovePdf – you will enjoy the ease of using it forever! It’s free for all the basic functions you will often need!
Android: http://bit.ly/2Mr8rmW     iOS : https://apple.co/39b0H26

Bridgefy – Offline messaging

In these days of uncertain net connectivity (you never know when the Government will clamp down!) this app is a welcome addition to communicate with friends and family. This app allows you to communicate with others (who have the same app installed) even when there is no internet connection. It communicates via Bluetooth (both your Bluetooth should on) upto a distance of 100 metres.it is ideal for music festivals, sports stadiums, rural communities, natural disasters, travelling abroad, and much more.
You can use Bridgefy as one to one communication directly, if you are within 100 metres of each other. If not, you could still communicate, if there are other Bridgefy users in between. In such cases a mesh mode is automatically created and the message can move through the intermediate users to reach the final recipient. The intemediate users cannot read the message but are used as part of the mesh for communication.
In case of natural calamities, you can also use the broadcast mode – i.e. send the message to all within the range at the same time, even if they are not in your contacts list.
It is always wise to be prepared – what do you think?
Android: http://bit.ly/2MoyrQ0     iOS : https://apple.co/2MnJR6H

Confidential eMails in GMail

Did you know that you can send confidential, self-destructive mails with Gmail? In the last line of your Compose window, you will find this icon to Turn Confidential Mode On / Off. Once you switch on the Confidential Mode, the recipients won’t have the option to forward, copy, print, or download this email.
You can now set the expiration date of this email, in days, weeks, months or years. Once you set this, the email will automatically vanish from the inbox of the recipient after the prescribed time.
There’s more. You can even send a password by SMS, so that only the recipient or person who has the password, can open the email.
How’s that for confidential mail?

National Consumer Helpline (NCH)

This Mobile App is an alternate way to register consumer related grievances on the portal https://consumerhelpline.gov.in. The website was launched by the Department of Consumer Affairs to create awareness, advise and redress consumer grievances and act as a central registry for lodging consumer grievances. As per the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, consumers can approach Consumer Fora at the District, State and National level for dispute resolution. Though all efforts will be made to address grievances made on the portal, if the grievance is not redressed to the full satisfaction, a consumer has choice to approach the appropriate Consumer Fora.

An aggrieved consumer can register grievance by either calling the toll free number 1800-11-4000 or 14404 to talk to an agent to register or register online on the portal or through the Mobile App in which case the consumer gets an userid and password to lodge a grievance.

The app also has consumer awareness material, addresses of various Consumer Fora and other related useful sites.

Android: http://bit.ly/31PlCUs

We Flip – A Digital Wellbeing Experiment

We Flip is a part of the Digital Wellbeing Experiments with a goal to improving your online and offline lives.

We have all faced the issue of lack of attention by members of a group, who invariably keep looking at their phones, while the fun is on. This app, can put some discipline into the group activity.

All the members of the group install the app, and flip a switch at the beginning of the group activity – it could be a party, a dinner, a picnic. The app then tracks who used their phone first and allows you to see how you did!  Maybe you could be innovative and get that person (who used the phone first) to pay for the dinner!

It’s a simple app which allows you to focus on the activity at hand and thus helps you achieve digital wellbeing effectively.

Android: http://bit.ly/344b5Wt

Pinterest

If you are looking for creative ideas for your travel, home design concepts, fashion & fitness or recipes, Pinterest should be your inspirational tool. You can discover billions of possibilities for every part of your life, from creating extra home storage space, finding your new favourite passion, or getting tattoo inspiration.

You can find lifestyle inspiration & explore articles on trending and recommended topics. Collaboration with friends for your next project is easy. Pinterest lets you see ideas & images out in the world that you like and snap a photo with Pinterest Lens to find out how to buy/make/do them!

Discover wedding tips, beauty inspiration and design concepts for your big day. Explore thousands of recommended or trending images and get creative food ideas for your next dinner party. With fitness tips, interesting projects to try out and tons of great fashion, style & beauty tips, Pinterest keeps all your lifestyle inspiration in one place.

Get inspired from anywhere on the internet. Save your ideas, organize them by topic and share with others – all from your pocket! 

Android: http://bit.ly/2IDlUVY   iOS: https://apple.co/2IEG961