5 Best Free Apps To Hide Pictures And Data On Android Devcie

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So today we’re talking about the top applications to hide pictures and videos on an Android device. Obviously no body wants their personal stuff to be seen by any other person. Now a day’s many users use a hiding app to for such purpose. There are many free applications available in the Android market which allows us to hide our personal stuff like pictures and videos. And there are some which are capable of hiding not only pictures and videos but also messages, contacts etc.

I looked up in market to find top 5 best app to hide pictures, videos and some other stuff like messages, calls etc. I installed many apps on my phone to find out which one is the best. After my experience with different apps I’ve listed below the 5 best apps to hide pictures downwards.

5 Best Free Android Apps to Hide Personal Data:

KeepSafe Vault:

KeepSafe Vault gives you the power to control the access to the pictures and videos. It is mainly the photo and video locker which hides the pictures and videos in a secret gallery without any storage limits. There are Pro feature which you’ll be using for free. The only problem is that this app will hide only galley content. No messages, calls etc. This app Is rated 4.8 out of 5 in Android market and we rate it 4.4 because KeepSafe cannot hide messages and contacts.

KeepSafe

Highlighting Features:

  • Hide Pictures and Videos
  • Pin Pad access
  • UN-hide pictures from KeepSafe
  • Add pictures from Facebook app to KeepSafe
  • Share Picture from KeepSafe
  • Safe Send: Show Picture to friends for a limited time
  • Rotate and Zoom features
  • Free Slideshow feature
  • Disappears from the “Recent Apps” list
  • Multi-select feature for fast hiding, un-hiding and sharing
  • Fake Pin: Choose another Pin as Fake Pin, in case your friends force you to open KeepSafe Vault. The Fake Pin will show pictures with which you have no problem in showing to your friends.

Download “KeepSafe”:

Hide! A Secret Vault:

This app is new in the Android market. I thought to give it a try and find it really useful. A secret Vault to guard pictures, videos, messages and contacts. Just like KeepSafe this app too hides our personal stuff in a secret galley without any storage limits. And Pro features for free. The only reason behind a better rank than KeepSafe is that Secret Vault is capable of hiding messages, contacts and call logs too. But as it’s a new app, still need some time to improve more and get better. The Average rating of Secret Vault on Android market is 4.4 out of 5 and we rate it the same 4.4.

Hide! A secret vault

Highlighting Features:

  • Hide pictures, audios, videos and other format files
  • Pin Pad access
  • Disguise Pin for times when you get caught
  • Disappear from the “Recent Apps” list
  • UN-hide pictures, videos from Secret Vault
  • Vault to hide messages and contacts
  • Hid Call logs
  • Option to hide app to keep away from the eyes of others.

Download “Hide! A Secret Vault”:

Super Vault:

Super Vault was firs a Picture hiding software but the developers have added the option to hide messages, contacts and apps too. Super Vault has an integrated fast image gallery, fast video gallery and a file explorer to browse the pictures, videos, and other files. The hide files section has image hide, video hide and other file hide modes. This app is rated 4.5 out of 5 in Android market. We rate it 4.6.

Super Vault

Highlighting Features:

  • Conceal pictures
  • Hide videos
  • Hide files of any type
  • Hide messages
  • Hide call log and history
  • Multiple file hide
  • Save Password recover via emails
  • Fast galleries to hide pictures and videos
  • Folders in vault mode
  • AES encryption

Download “Super Vault”:

Vault-Hide SMS, Pics & Videos:

Vault-Hide makes it easy for to have fully control over your privacy. Just like Secret Vault and Super Vault, this app allows you to hide not only pictures and images, but also messages, Facebook messages, contacts etc. There are some interesting features like Vault camera which will automatically hide the pictures and videos. This app is rated 4.5 out of 5 in the Android market and we rate it 4.8 due its some interesting features.

NQ Vault-Hide

Highlighting Features:

  • Hide Pictures and videos
  • Hide contacts and call logs
  • Hide messages
  • Vault Camera
  • Hide Facebook messages
  • Dashboard

Download “Vault Hide”:

Hide It Pro:

Hide It Pro occupying the top spot in our list is really the best app out there. Hide all your personal data like pictures, videos, messages, calls, apps etc. You can also browse privately. This app cleverly disguised as “Audio Manager” in the app drawer. The Audio Manager is fully functional and can be used to manage audio of the device. There’s a secret way to access the actual Hide It Pro which is by long pressing the on the Audio Manager Title. This app is rated 4.8 out of 5 in the Android market and we rate it the same 4.8.Hide It Pro

Highlighting Features:

  • App disguised behind a fully functional Audio Manager
  • Media Categorized into folders of your choice
  • Multi-select hiding and un-hiding
  • Delete, share, un-hide and move pictures between albums
  • Sort files by date, size or name and sort folders by count or name
  • Gallery features: Pinch to zoom, double tap to zoom, one finger hold and move zoom.
  • Slideshow with effects
  • Disappears from “Recent Apps” list
  • Lock Screen options: Pin and Password
  • Built in Encryption tool
  • Plug-ins for messages, calls, browsing and locking apps
  • Special optimization for low end phones.

Download “Hide It Pro”:

So this was the list of top 5 free apps to hide pictures and other stuff on an Android device. Readers are welcomed to comment below their precious advices and comments below.

Top 5 Best New Android Apps of March 2013

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Best Android Apps

It’s time for a roundup of the best new Android apps released in this month. Here we are going to post our top 5 Android apps of March but you can also share your favorites in the comments below.

Google Keep

top android apps march

Google is ready to compete against the likes of Evernote with its very own note-taking app, “Google Keep”. Keep is a very simple note-taking app that offers a slick and clean interface but limited features. You can add any type of note, images, voice and text notes. However, you won’t be able to sort, filter them or create different folders for them. A single note can only contain one type of data which is also a negative side of this note taking app.

If you are looking for a simple and fast note-taking app for your Android device, you can check out Google Keep.

Try

Sleep as Android

5 best android apps

Sleep as Android offers a combo of sleep cycle tracker and alarm clock to make sure you wake up in your light sleep phase. It’s like Swiss knife tool for your sleep as it comes with sleep cycle detection, smart wake up, time to bed notification, sleep tracking, deep sleep, gentle alarm and lullaby features. This app can track your sleep during night and can find the optimal moment to wake you up when you are in light sleep.

If you want to enjoy natural sleep and wake up like you wake up without alarm clocks, you should definitely try Sleep as Android. After the 14 days trial version, you have to buy the unlocker for $1.99.

Try

Ravensword: Shadowlands

top 5 android apps march

Ravensword: Shadowlands is like Skyrim for smartphones and tablets, a full-fledged 3D RPG game from the makers of Aralon: Sword and Shadow and Ravensword: The Fallen King. It’s the latest Role Playing Game in TegraZone and looks stunning with its high-quality graphics and ragdoll physics. It’s easy to understand how deep the storyline is after playing the first few minutes. You get to explore the Kingdom of Tyreas in this game with tons of mysteries to solve and realistic scenery to explore.

If you are a fan of RPG games and want to enjoy a PC game like RPG game in your smartphone or tablet, you should definitely try Ravensword: Shadowlands for $6.99.

Try

Nightsky

top 5 android apps

NightSky is a simple yet stunningly attractive 2D physics-based puzzle game that offers perfect touch control and nice sound effects. If you have played the PC version, you are going to find the touch version even more attractive.

You are going to control a ball in the game in dream-like, dark environments with a few options to avoid obstructions in your path. The beautiful worlds presented in this game are broken into different scenes and ambient soundtrack to offer a relaxing gameplay experience. It surely doesn’t offer something unique, but you are going to love this game if you love physics-based games. This game is available for $4.99.

Try

Ringya

top 5 android apps march

Ringya is a great phone book alternative that helps you to create smart mobile “rings” just by snapping pictures of any contact list or digital contact list. It’s really amazing how this app can transform paper contact lists into “Rings” without copying our address book. You can organize your contacts easily, share them or divide them into groups without putting much effort.

Try

What do you think of these apps? Is there any new app you tried in March and want to share it with us? Fee free to drop a comment.

How To Get Notification for Mails in Gmail Folders [Galaxy S3]

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New Email Gmail LogoBeing an ex-iPhone user and a present Galaxy S3 user, one of the things which I didn’t like was the fact that there was no notification for new emails which were skipped from my Inbox and directly sent to the folder using filters. But recently, while going through the official Android Gmail app on my Galaxy S3, I found that they provide a feature with which you can enable notification for new mails under specific folders/labels and it’s very simple to do that. Here is how to get notifications for mails in gmail folders:

Step 1:

Open the Setting Menu of Gmail app.

Setting menu of Gmail app.
Setting menu of Gmail app.

Step 2:

Select the account which has the folder/label for which you want to receive the notification.

Setting menu page 2 of Gmail app.
Setting menu page 2 of Gmail app.

Step 3:

Under “Data Usage”, select “Manage Label”. This will take you to the screen with list of labels you have on your account and you can customize the “Sync and Trigger Notification” setting.

Under "Data Usage", select "Manage Label".
Under “Data Usage”, select “Manage Labels”.

Step 4:

Under “Manage Labels” you’ll find the list of labels you have in your Gmail account. From this list you have to select the label for which you want to get the notification. In my case, it’s “Android”.

List of labels you have on your Gmail account.
List of labels you have on your Gmail account.

Step 5:

When you choose the label you want to customize (in my case “Android”), you come to this screen. Here you have to choose “Sync Messages”.

Choose Sync messages here.
Choose Sync messages here.

Step 6:

To start syncing the mails under this label, you have to choose one of the provided sync setting. By default it’s at “Sync None”. To save data usage of your mobile, choose “Sync last 30 days”. If you are on wifi, you can use ‘Sync All” to get all previous mails under this label.

Select sync setting.
Select sync setting.

Step 7:

After configuring the Sync setting you can configure the Notification setting which was previously disabled. Check the “Notifications” box and voila, that’s done.

Choose the notification setting.
Choose the notification setting.

Once you activate the notification setting for a particular label, every time when you receive a new mail you’ll get a notification like a normal mail in your Inbox. For now, there is nothing on the default Email app of the Samsung Galaxy S3 but I hope they introduce this kind of feature soon.

How To Get Rid Of Unknown Icons on Android Home Screen

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If you are reading this post you might be bugged by several unknown icons appearing on your Android phone. I was annoyed by such unwanted icons appearing on the home screen of my Samsung Galaxy S2. These icons are actually advertisements that are flushed on your home screen using “push notifications”  by some application(s) that are installed on your phone. The app developer earns a revenue each time you click on it.

Here is a screenshot of my home screen in Samsung Galaxy S2 which shows how these push notification ads look like:

Android-Unknown-icons-1

As I said before, you have installed some apps which use this push notifications to earn revenue. Our next step would be to find such (cr)apps and to do this we have this smart app . Download and install this app. It immediately tells you what apps are pushing those unwanted icons on your home screen:

As you can see in the pic above, I have got three apps that are annoying me with those crappy ads on my home screen.

Now when you have found the culprit apps, you have two options. Either you uninstall these apps or you find another way to stop these push notification ads. You can easily do the first one. But if you do not want to uninstall the app, you should go for the second option. Lets see how to do it.

How to stop push notification adds

Install .

Opt-out on the web at  . Just enter your IMEI and our tool will encrypt it using md5 and then permanently opt it out. We must encrypt it with md5 since we only store the encrypted version on our servers as an additional privacy layer.

If you are okay with providing the IMEI to a third party application, you should be happily using it. One more thing, it will stop the push notifications for the apps installed till now. If you install a new app which uses push notifications, you need to opt-out on the web again.

Hope it helps you in getting read of the unwanted icons on your home screen in Android. Cheers :)

Benefits of Mobile Apps in Healthcare Industry

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Mobile Apps in Health industryThe revolutionary developments in the field of mobile and smartphone technology have left no stone unturned! The healthcare industry in one such facet that is enormously benefitted by mobile apps that have caused increased efficiency in the various facets of medical workflow. Nearly 40% of mobile applications that are being developed is targeted towards the healthcare sector. These numbers are only bound to rise as the availability of technology becomes more widespread and as more and more people become aware of the benefits that it offers! Listed below are some of the most lucrative benefits that these mobile apps provide to the healthcare sector.

Saves Time

A key benefit provided by these mobile apps is that it helps to save tremendous amount of a doctor’s time as they are powerful tools which aid the physician in easily accessing patient information. They do not have to go through records and with a single touch on their device, they can get all the patient’s reports and results. This enables them to save time they spend with each patient and the apps provide all the information that they need to give the required medical advice for their health issues. Patients can avail prompt treatment form their physicians at their fingertips and round the clock as well. They do not have to waste time visiting the clinic every time to have their general queries cleared.

Increased Efficiency

The mobile apps pave the way for increase efficiency in all workflow related to the healthcare activities and tasks. There is better communication between patients and healthcare providers. The patients simply have to key in their information and the physicians will be able to access it and provide optimal and prompt treatment. Moreover, when lab reports and other test results are ready, patients will not have to come all the way to pick them up. It will available to them on their medical device itself.

Offers a Training Platform

The mobile apps can be used as a platform for imparting training and development activities for healthcare professionals. These apps are the ideal solution for professionals and students who face time constraints as the learning and training can be done anywhere and at anytime. There are projects which are being developed to aid midwives and other junior doctors in completing their mandatory training requirements. These apps are great training tools that impart real time training and development to healthcare professionals.

Multitude Of Functions

The mobile apps can be utilized for performing a broad range of tasks and activities. They can be used to procure billing information, locate pharmacies, store patient records and lab results, obtain list of healthcare organizations in the area etc.. There are also other apps which are beneficial to patients. These apps can be tuned to remind the patient about the timings and dosage of medication to be taken on a regular basis. The mobile apps are capable of performing activities that are simple yet very critical for the welfare of the patient.

Increased Savings & ROI

The healthcare apps improve the productivity and efficiency of healthcare providers which in turn has an impact on their expenses and savings. Increased productivity translates to reduced costs, increased savings and ROI. The apps make everyday jobs simpler by reducing the burden of administrative work. This enables physicians to devote their entire time towards patient care and handle more number of patients. All this translates to substantial improvement in ROI for healthcare business.

As the smartphone technology becomes more and more sophisticated, there are better chances for improvement in developing more innovative apps that are customized to suit the specific requirements of healthcare providers and patients. They have great potential to deliver simpler, inexpensive and effective solutions for all healthcare needs!

Author Bio: Keerthana Karthik is a blogger who writes tips on gadgets, personal finance, insurance and more. She at present blogs for health protected site, which helps in finding out the best private health insurance UK. High Quality Services are available for both family and individual health insurance.

How To Turn Your Android Smartphone Into A Home Improvement Tool

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Can you use your Android smartphone to hammer a nail into the wall? You can, I suppose, but you’ll be shopping for a new phone afterwards. Yet your Android can still help you with projects around the house. It won’t replace your hammer, wrenches, or screwdrivers any time soon, but it can make annoying projects just a little more palatable.

Thankfully, all it takes is a few apps and a little ingenuity. We all have those, right? Then it’s time to put our Android phones to work around the house.

1. Apps that assist

There are a few exceptions, but for the most part Android smartphones have straight edges. The advantage to this is obvious. While yes, you can draw straight lines with it, you can also use it to determine whether a picture frame or other surface is level. There are a few apps that make this easy for you.

Apps such as will let you know, with a decent degree of precision, whether any surface is level. It’s just one creative use for the accelerometer in your Android smartphone. There are also apps for and rulers, giving you some more uses for your Android around the house.

2. Reminders for maintenance

Want to avoid those big home improvement projects? Better yet, want to avoid calls to plumbers and electricians and other specialists that cost you plenty of money? There’s only one solution: regular maintenance. The problem with performing regular maintenance is that many of us simply forget about it. We say we’re going to do it, but then let it slip through the cracks. We can use our phones for this.

With simple reminder apps — even your free, pre-installed calendar app — you can remind yourself to perform certain maintenance tasks monthly. For instance, my calendar reminds me to tighten up the pipes under sinks on the first Saturday of every month. The second Saturday of the month involves cleaning or changing the various air filters around the house — air conditioner, furnace, etc. On the third Saturday I check the basement (you do not want one of these to break, or your basement will flood when it rains). You get the idea.

It sounds simple, but it’s a perfect use for your Android smartphone. Schedule your maintenance on your calendar or reminders app and ensure that the job gets done.

3. Portable consultant

The internet is full of useful information. When working on a home improvement project many people will consult how-to and DIY sites. That’s all find and good when you’re researching a project beforehand, but what about when you’re down on the ground, crouched and hammering away at something? You don’t really want to get up and pull up a web page on your computer. Again, your smartphone is your friend.

There’s no need to go across the house, or even across the room, to find the answers to your questions. You can pull them up right on your Android smartphone, which is probably in your pocket or attached to your belt. You can even get a so you can figure out everything right form your work station. There’s no need to hustle back and forth between your project and your computer when you have an Android smartphone.

So get out your toolbox and put those tools to use. Performing basic home maintenance is not only easy, but it can save you money as well. Keeping your Android at your side and using it to its fullest can only help.

Author Bio: Joe Pawlikowski writes, edits, and consults for several technology blogs across the web. He keeps a personal blog at JoePawl.com.

5 Best Remote Desktop Apps for Android

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We love our smartphones and our tablets, but right now we still need our regular computers. While smartphones and tablets have become much more powerful in recent years, there are still things that we need a PC to accomplish. But when we’re on our road we might not have a PC. Many people have replaced their laptops with tablets, and are even relying on smartphones for portable computing. But they’re not always enough.

If you’re carrying around a tablet or smartphone instead of a laptop, there is one bit of software you must install: a remote desktop app. These apps connect to your home computer and allow you to access them remotely. Best of all, there are remote desktop apps available for both smartphones and for tablets. Both versions will benefit you greatly.

Here are some of the best that Android has to offer.

1. Splashtop Remote Desktop

Splashtop is the big name in remote desktop apps for Android. They’ve continually updated the app to create the way to access your computer from wherever you are. It has won many awards, including multiple Best Of CES honors. It also frequently shows up near the top of the Google Play rankings, so you might have seen this app before.

Splashtop’s big feature is seamless streaming technology. Whether you have a video on your computer that you want to stream to your tablet, or you want to stream a Flash-based video (because Flash on Android is terrible), you can do it right from Splashtop.

It might be on the expensive side, but it’s worth the investment. You can for your Android tablet for just nine bucks. This is the one I’ve installed on my Lenovo Tablet PC, and I have to say that the combination is stunning.

2. GoToMyPC

While Splashtop leads the market, that doesn’t mean they’re the only player in the game. Citrix, the developer behind the invaluable GoTo line of business apps, has created its own remote desktop app. The title goes right in line with their other offerings: GoToMyPC. It’s a tablet-based remote desktop app that holds its own in a competitive niche.

In nearly every way, Splashtop is superior. It provides faster and more responsive access to your PC. It has better streaming capabilities. Even the zoom is a bit better on Splashtop. Then why would you choose GoToMyPC? Because it’s free. If you’re looking for a cheap, easy way to access your home computer every once in a while, this is the way to go.

You can if you want to.

3. RDP

Not everyone has a tablet, and those who do have tablets don’t carry them around everywhere. I know I don’t carry mine to many places, especially if there won’t be WiFi available. But I always have my smartphone, and I’m sure you do too. If you’re looking for a quality remote desktop app for your Android smartphone, RDP might be your answer.

In terms of functionality, RDP ranks up there with Splashtop. The streaming video capability isn’t quite as smooth, but it’s still watchable. The ability to connect to any PC at any time, and get excellent response speeds with any computer, make this a worthwhile app. The only problem: it’s very limited. You can only connect to Windows PCs, but you can’t connect to any Windows Home Edition versions.

If you’re inside the limits and need a quick and free remote desktop app (you’ll see two ads per day), you can .

4. PocketCloud Remote RDP/VNC

The remote desktop app market is competitive, because there is a great demand for remote desktop apps. But it’s even more competitive because there are different ways to connect to your PC from your Android device. That can be over a Remote Desktop Protocol (the most common method), via Virtual Network Computing, or through Auto Discovery. PocketCloud can connect on any of those three levels, meaning you can take advantage of the fastest, most responsive connection.

Not only that, but the less technically inclined can use the plug-and-play Auto Discovery connection method. It gives them all they need for a clean connection to a remote PC or Mac. More advanced users can use VNC and RDP, which gives them more options and a sturdier connection.

Smartphone users can get . There’s a more advanced version, for $15, that includes Enterprise support and multiple connection options. The free version can connect to only one computer.

5. Remote Web Desktop

This is actually the opposite of the above-reviewed apps. Instead of connecting you to your desktop via your Android device, Remote Web Desktop connects you to your Android device via your desktop computer. It works right through your web browser, too, so you don’t need any special PC software. Just install it on your Android and take control from anywhere.

Remote Web Desktop lets you perform basic phone functions, such as SMS and phone calls, from your computer. That’s convenient for those who don’t have a Skype Out account. It also lets you explore basically any element of the Android device, managing files and the whole nine. Most impressively, you can use the app to act as a spy cam. Mount your Android anywhere and you can check the video feed from your desktop. The app is worth it for that feature alone.

The app is also worth it, because it’s free. You can . It works with Mac, PC, and Linux machines.

Author Bio: Joe Pawlikowski writes, edits, and consults for several technology blogs across the web. When he’s not working on those, he’s keeping personal thoughts at A New Level.

Best Free Phone Locator (Anti Theft) Apps for Andorid

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Phone tracking software have become necessity these days. These apps let you easily track a cellphone almost anywhere in the world. For example if you have phone tracking app installed, you can track mobile phones in Mumbai while sitting in London. You just need to have an account with the app developer and you can use web or mobile interface to track the phones on which you have installed the app.

You can use the Phone Locator Apps to locate your family members and you can also use these phone tracking apps as anti-theft device to track down a stolen phones. Though most of the premium apps charges a fee, here are some of the best free Phone Locator Apps for Andorid (with their official description):

GPS Tracking Pro:

Track your family or friends real-time location using any Android phone. GPS Tracking keeps your family safe. Using GPS technology, the GPS Tracking app tracks the exact location of your family members and alerts you when they are in trouble, using the app’s innovative check in feature. GPS Tracking also lets you see sex offenders in your area.

Wheres My Droid

The first find your phone app on the Android Market continues to get better and better. Now with an online Commander and a more user friendly interface, it is easier then ever to track down your missing phone.

Where’s My Droid can turn the ringer volume up and make your phone ring. The app can also get the GPS coordinates with a link to Google maps if you’re not near enough to your phone to hear the ringer. You have the freedom to track your phone from anywhere, either with a text messaged attention word or with our online Commander.

avast! Mobile Security

This is a complete antvirus for your Android phone along with the phone-tracking capability. Sadly, it is not a stand alone product. You have to download and use the antivirus to use this facility. It has following features:

• protect personal data with infected-URL alerts and automatic virus scans;
• stop hackers with the firewall (works on rooted phones only);
• control your phone with anti-theft features via SMS: history wipe, phone lock, siren activation, GPS tracking and many other tools;
• make our security app ‘invisible’, making it extremely hard for thieves to find and disable.

Lookout Security & Antivirus

Like Avast this too is a complete antivirus package that has several other features including cell phone tracking and anti-theft. This boasts of some really good features that comes at no cost at all. Free features include:

Security:
* Antivirus: Block malware, spyware, and trojans
* Scan each app you download to make sure it is safe
* Schedule daily or weekly antivirus scans. Get automatic, over-the-air, protection against the latest threats
* File System Monitoring: Scans new files on your SD card to protect against malware

Find My Phone:
* Locate your lost or stolen phone on a Google map
* Activate a loud alarm, even if your phone or tablet is on silent
* Log into mylookout.com to locate your phone from any web browser, anywhere!

Backup & Restore:
* Securely backup your contacts to mylookout.com
* Restore them to an existing mobile device

Track a cell phone

Loosing your phone is not a good experience. But with Phone Locator you can find it for FREE. You can view and track the location of your lost phone on the map, even if the GPS is not connected. Its feature include:

– Find phone using GPS Location (GPS phone tracker technology)
– Find phone by cell phone tower signal
– Family Messenger
– Remotely wipe phone data (contacts, sms, photos, videos etc)
– Web control panel (send commands to phone)
– Geofence alerts
– Callbacks
– Full history phone location

Is there anything we missed out? Do let us know what is your favourite best free anti theft app for android.

20 Must Have Applications for Your Mobile Device

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The variety of apps coming out these days for mobile devices like Android phones, IPhones and smart phones in general is nearly mind boggling. Sometimes it almost seems as if there is an app for nearly everything you could possibly need to do under the sun and sky. Al though you probably won’t find an app that cleans your house or walks your dog any time soon, (at least not until Android phones can turn into real androids) there are plenty of excellent must have apps your mobile device could probably use. Install these and you’ll make your mobile experience and life easier, more entertaining and more useful in all sorts of ways. Some of the apps below are for all kinds of mobiles, others for Android or iPhone devices. Check which ones apply to you and keep in mind that if an app is available for any one model, it might soon also be available for many more; the market is growing all the time!

Navigation

Google Maps Mobile (free):

Never carry a map with you anywhere you go from now on with Google Maps for Mobile devices. This handy little application hardly needs much introducing. It’s basically the same ever useful Google maps online system plugged directly into your mobile phone, helping you make sure you’re never lost or lacking for directions on how to reach point A, B C, or your nearest decent bar & grill.

The Google Maps mobile app also includes features for finding places, compass navigation, indoor maps and even offline navigation if you’ve cached your location data for certain areas.

MapQuest 4 Mobile (free):

The MapQuest 4 Mobile app is free for download and incredibly useful as a GPS navigation tool. You can spend a wad of money on a state of the art navigation system for your car, or you could simply download this MapQuest app without forking over a penny. Get access to turn by turn instructions, spoken driving directions and rerouting advice for those occasions in which you miss a turn or take the wrong road. MapQuest 4 Mobile is great for either driving or walking. Like Google maps, it also has a location finder that will tell you where the nearest cafes, bars, hotels and other venues are.

Social Networking

Facebook Mobile (free):

It seems that almost everyone around these days has a Facebook page. It’s understandable, the instant communications, photo and information sharing abilities it gives you are always handy. With the Facebook mobile app, which you can download from Facebook’s homepage, you can stay in contact with all your friends and coworkers just about anywhere, at any time.

Twitter Mobile (Free):

Like Facebook, Twitter has become nearly ubiquitous as a social networking tool for everyone from teenagers to Major corporate executives and Political figures. The quote and link sharing site that allows you to spill your random thoughts a thousand times a day to your list of followers is the perfect networking tool for mobile phones.

Music

Shazam App (free, with premium version):

Ever had a song you like come up on the radio and wanted to know its name? The Shazam app lets you simply bring your phone close to the music, and it will immediately tell you the song’s name, artist’s name and even feed you streaming lyrics as the song plays. The premium app, called Encore, also gives you music recommendations, handing over the names of tracks similar to the stuff you already like.

Grooveshark Mobile (free with premium version):

The Grooveshark mobile app lets you play all your favorite music in streaming audio format on a continuous basis from your mobile phone. The internal search feature can help you browse through thousands of songs and artists without hassle and the app’s file organization system lets you make as many playlists as you want. Grooveshark Mobile also has built in radio stations for random music listening.

Entertainment and Fun

Angry Birds (free):

Fire your angry birds at dozens of pigs all day with the angry birds game on your mobile phone. Angry birds, the sensationally popular iPhone-based strategy puzzle game, is now also free for download to other smart phone platforms.

Tracking Your Finances

Mint Personal Finance App (free):

It seems that nothing beats the Mint.com personal finance app for simplicity, usefulness and total reliability. This little app is becoming very popular and rightfully so. Its clean, easy to use features let you track almost all the imaginable details of your financial life and organize them into interactive visual graphics and categories for easy understanding and dollar planning, all stored in one single interface.

E*trade Mobile Pro (free):

E*trade has become recognized and indispensable to investors everywhere for its online investing platforms. Now, they’ve brought this same technology to your mobile device and packed it with more features than could be easily listed here… Either way, some of the E*trade mobile app’s key tools let you track the market and all your investments, while also letting you buy or sell stocks directly from your mobile phone.

XE Currency App (free):

This neat little app from the currency trading people at XE.com is about as useful as something gets for those travelling occasions in which you want to change from one international currency to another and have no idea what the current rates are. With the XE currency App, you can track and calculate exchange rates live from nearly anywhere.

Keeping up with the News

Reeder (free):

This app from the folks at Apple gives your iPhone a sleek new Google Reader based RSS app. Take a few minutes to format the Reeder app for all your favorite news or commentary sites, and you’ll see just how fast and navigable the news feed that flows into your phone is.

Pulse (Free):

An Android based news feed that arranges all the latest that’s happening in the world into an easy to navigate series of miniature image tiles, Pulse is best used for a low quantity of RSS feeds and works great for those who don’t want to deal with information overload but do have a few key sites whose feeds they’d like to keep up with.

Google Reader (free):

Google Reader has been around for a while, but only in web form. Now, however, it’s finally available as a mobile app. Google Reader is a simple, no frills or flash solution to getting the news feeds you want.

Video and Photo Fun

Instagram (free):

Recently bought by Facebook for $1 billion dollars in cash and stock, the Instagram app grew from 0 to more than 30 million users in just a couple years, and with good reason. It’s simple, has a cool feature and its completely free. Just take whatever photos you want with your phone, use Instagram’s filtering system to change the picture’s look and color, and then send it off to your friends through Facebook, twitter or another social network.

Staying Productive

Evernote (free with premium upgrade option):

This unbeatable note taking and agenda making app is available for all your wireless devices. It lets you take photo, text and audio notes, clip pieces of web pages for later storage and do text searches within photos and images. Best of all, you can store these personal notes remotely and synchronize them across multiple devices for constant up-to-the-minute recorded organization of your thoughts, ideas and personal or business notes. A premium version is also available if you want greater upload capacity, better sharing options and improved search features.

Dropbox (Free with several premium upgrades):

The remote data storage platform Dropbox is available for several different smart phone models, and can be a lifesaver when it comes to protecting your data. The basic free version allows you up to 2 gigabytes of storage and an additional 500 megabytes per referral you make to the site. Upgrades are available for up to terabytes of storage space. The great thing about Dropbox is that it lets you store your files, documents, photos, etc for viewing and use anywhere while also letting you share them with whomever you like quickly and easily. It even has offline viewing options available with a special “favorites” folder.

Mobile Security

Prey (Free, open source with premium version):

Prey is an ideal open source solution for protecting your phone, tablet or computer. This ingenious little app can be installed invisibly, easily and without taking up much space. After that it does nothing but wait until the moment you most need it – when your phone is stolen. That’s when it works its magic. With a simple internet or text message remote activation code, you can suddenly track your phones activity, location, hardware status and other data. Best of all, you can also remotely trigger your phone into locking up, sending messages to a thief and causing all sorts of trouble.

McAfee Mobile Security (free, with premium version):

This tough little security app is designed to protect your phone against intrusions, viruses and spyware. It also offers unlimited cloud backup storage of data and a notification feature that sends a message to a friend you choose in advance if your SIM card is replaced.

Random Extras

Spool (free):

This handy little app lets you save videos and web pages that you’ve opened up for later viewing on your smart phone while offline. It’s a pretty handy and entertaining app feature for those occasions when you know you’ll soon be traveling through a connectivity dark zone for a while.

Swackett (free):

The Swackett app covers one of those situations people have been dealing with since clothes and going out were invented – how to dress for the weather. Swackett gives you up-to-date weather forecasts and, most important of all, tells you how you should dress with a cool little human body visual called a “peep”.

About the Author: when he is not writing about the best in class business TV, internet, and phone bundles, Steven Taylor is immersed in the blogosphere covering topics ranging from mobile devices to social media.