Timely Is The Most Beautiful Android Alarm Clock App We’ve Seen So Far

Generally, nobody likes to be shocked out of their sleep by that violent morning alarm sound. Though for many of us, alarms have become the sole solution to help us get out of bed. Nowadays, almost all mobile devices come with a built-in alarm clock that works just just fine. However, for those who are looking a little more in their alarm app, Timely for Android is a gorgeous alternative worth giving a shot. Besides waking you up, the app is all about its crisp design and functionality, and a fantastic interface that also boasts beautiful clock widgets, stopwatch and timer. It carries a ton of themes with vibrant colors and designs that look simply gorgeous, and can make your device really stand out.

The most notable thing about Timely is how stunning it looks on your screen. The neat and elegant design has been crafted with perfection in mind. The handful of beautifully animated background themes are sure to appeal to everyone with an aesthetic sense. Developer Bitspin has optimized it fairly well for both phones and tablets. The main interface is divided into three sections: Alarm, Clock and Stopwatch / Timer, each of which can be navigated to via horizontal swipes.
 
The alarm clock is the obvious mainstay of this app. You can set your alarm time by dragging your finger up and down the display to the appropriate time slot. When setting an alarm, you can also tap the time and edit it manually for more precision. Almost every alarm app lets you set multiple alarms, and Timely is no exception. On the basic side of things, you’re given control over various aspects of the alarm including setting up alarms for multiple days in a week, selecting snooze times, fade-in length, alarm volume and alarm tone from a bunch of amazing options that the app comes with out of the box. There’s also an option for gradually waking you up using a melody that fades in,. When the alarm is triggered, you’re presented with a giant Snooze orb. Moving the device while the alarm is ringing slows down the sound volume, and swipe the orb all the way up sets it off.
Timely also lets you create an account in order to sync your alarms across all your devices. The Stopwatch and Timer are also a nice addition and can be switched between on the fly by taping the button on the bottom-left, or by swiping upward.
  
Another interesting bit about Timely is its deep customization options. It offers a bunch of themes and sounds, some of which are available for free while others can be unlocked with in-app purchases. The default ones are labeled as starter pack, and even premium ones can be used for free for up to three days before you’ll need to shell out money for them. You can specify individual background styles for all three sections of the app. There are also two additional clock widgets that are part of premium content.
  
All in all, Timely is undoubtedly one of the best looking Android apps out there. You can download it for free from Google Play Store.
Install Timely from Play Store

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Turn Any Image Into An Interactive, Wobbling Live Wallpaper On Android Using AndWobble

Getting bored of how your original photos look? How about adding some fun factor to them? AndWobble is a free and highly entertaining Android app that you can use to play around with photographs on your mobile device by adding interactive wobbling effects. On the basic level, wobbling lets you select any area of an image and then set it to move in a certain direction by tapping over it, which causes the selected portion to bounce randomly. You can play with effects by tapping, dragging or pinching over the wobble area, or by simply shaking the device. AndWobble even allows you to set these wobbling image as a live wallpaper. Not only can you pick your own images and add wobbling effects, but also choose from a number of user-generated content available in AndWobble’s online library.

The app sports a really simple design. The main screen is an amalgam of interactive tiles that gives you access to different sections of the app such as images, settings, downloads, tutorials etc. You can also take picture and add wobbles instantly without having to leave the interface via tapping Camera. When you open an image, you’re provided with an editing workspace where you can work with your wobbles in layers. Wobbles can be added or removed on the fly, and you can control them in a number of ways, such as rescaling their size, and tweaking the direction they should move in when tapped. The canvas carrying the current image can also be resized via pinch gestures. And you can always revert your last change by using Undo button at the top.
 
The current image can also be cropped and rotated according to your preferences. When ready, simply tap the play button to see how the final outcome looks.
 
As mentioned above, AndWobble not only lets you save the images in order to play with them later, but also set them as Live wallpapers on your home screen. This in turn creates really nice bouncing and shaking effects through the phone’s sensors when you move it around.
The last and definitely not the least interesting bit about this app is the user-generated content. That’s right, you can easily upload your Wobbles online and share them with other AndWobble users. The library comprises of hundreds, if not thousands, of wobbles categorized under different channels including popular, just in, recently popular and top rated. You can also add your own custom channels should you want. Downloading and using the wobbles is also a straightforward process.
 
AndWobble is available for free at Google Play and requires Android 2.3 and up. You can download the app via the link provided below.
Install AndWobble from Play Store

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WebSnap: Capture Selective Or Full Websites & View Them In A Live Widget [Android]

With the previously reviewed SnowDeer Web Scrapper, we have already seen how to effectively capture snapshots of an entire webpage on Android. Though quite helpful in its own respect, said tool was effective only in situations that demanded grabbing snapshots of the complete page. What if you were to capture a specific area or elements of the required website? New to the Play Store, WebSnap is a promising Android app that makes capturing select parts of any webpage as easy as one-two-three. Just like SnowDeer, WebSnap comes with a built-in browser that you can use to explore and capture virtually any part of the required website. It also supports UA String selection to help you quickly switch between mobile and desktop layout of the current website. In addition, it provides easy-to-use navigation controls, supports pinch-to-zoom gestures, and lets you natively manage, preview and share your snapshots. All aforementioned features aside, the mainstay of WebSnap remains its nifty little dynamic homescreen widget that not only sports the captured view of your preferred website, but can also be set to automatically update as per user-defined intervals.

The app’s homescreen is designed in a way to list your captured items. Tapping an image thumbnail lets you preview and share it, whereas long-pressing it triggers batch select mode so that you may remove unwanted items from the list.

To capture a new snapshot, hit the camera icon in the top-right corner. Next, feed in the required URL in the address bar at the top, navigate to the required webpage, and once the page loads completely, hit the camera icon at the bottom. To capture a specific part of the page, hit the Inc. Zoom button, zoom in to the required portion, and press the camera button. On the other hand, tapping the Select button triggers the auto-select mode. Once said mode is activated, all you need to do is tap the required segment of the website and capture it using the same technique as mentioned above. To include other elements of the page within the capture area, keep tapping the button in the top-right until the required area is selected. Preview of each captured image is automatically launched. To toggle the PC Mode (launches desktop variant of the website) or head over to the next opened webpage, hit the Menu button.

The live widget feature of WebSnap is surely going to please sports fans, businesspersons or any such users who want to keep an eye on the latest updates on their favorite websites right on their Android’s homescreen, without having to stick to the browser itself, and manually keep pressing the refresh button. Said feature works as follows:

• Install the WebSnap Widget on your homescreen in the preferred size (4×2, 4×3, 4×4)
• Provide the URL of the website that you wish to capture
• Once the page loads, hit the Select button to pick the required web region
• To expand the selected region, in order to include other necessary elements, hit the button in the top-right (optional)
• Once you’re certain of having selected all the required elements, tap the checkbox button to capture the webpage

The selected web clip should now be showing on your homescreen in the form of a widget. Next comes the configuration of the widget. Tapping the widget reveals a context menu that comprises several options. These include manually refreshing the widget content, loading the embedded URL via the app itself or though another browser of choice, sharing it via a compatible app, and view the time of creation of the widget.

In terms of customization, you have the option to toggle JavaScript loading, auto-update and update over Wi-Fi only. In addition, you can specify the wait time before loading the webpage, auto-update interval, preferred screen alignment (top, center, bottom) and scale type (fit width, fit height, center inside) for the snapshot.

WebSnap is available in the Google Play Store for free, and requires Android v2.3.3 (Gingerbread) or higher to run.

Download WebSnap For Android

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How To Root Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1

The Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, running Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich has been rooted, thanks to the efforts of XDA-Developers forum member weltwon. The rooting method has worked on the P5113, P5100 and P5110 models. The method involved is actually very simple and if you’ve owned Samsung devices running Android before, you might find the method quite familiar. Unfortunately this method would work through a Windows PC only, Mac or Linux are not supported. More so, you can also install a much needed custom recovery as well once the device is rooted. So if you own a Galaxy Tab 2 and are looking forward to some good old rooting, read on.

If you have no clue why you should root your device, click here to read top 10 reasons to root your Android device. So if you want to go through with this, let’s not waste much time.

Disclaimer: Please attempt this guide at your own risk. AddictiveTips won’t be responsible in case your device gets bricked or damaged in any other way due to this method.

Requirements:

• ODIN installed.
• Recovery.
• Root file. For GT-P5110 European model use this alternate root file: P5110 European root file.
• Samsung Kies installed.

Instructions:

1. To begin, download the recovery (kernel) and root file for your device.
2. Copy the root file to the root of the device’s external SD card.
3. Put the phone in download mode. Hold down the Volume Up key and Power key and when prompted, press Volume Down to enter download mode.
4. Run ODIN and click PDA to select the recovery TAR file you downloaded.
5. Now connect the device to the PC via USB and when you see the device connected in ODIN, hit the Start button in ODIN to begin the flashing.
6. Once the phone reboots, restart it again in recovery mode. Hold down the Volume Down key and the Power key.
7. Navigate to install zip from sdcard > choose zip from ext sdcard and select the root file (zip).
8. Once the file is flashed, simply reboot your device.

That’s it! Your device should now be rooted. Depending on your model, after you root, you might need to manually install SuperUser from the Market. For updates and further information, head over to the XDA forum thread.

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Symbaloo Brings Its Efficient Bookmark Management App To Android & iOS

Symbaloo is a simple-to-use and innovative bookmark management web app that lets you organize and share bookmarks favorite websites with utmost ease. Simply put, it’s a visual bookmarking web service that enhances your URL bookmarking experience by presenting you with a sleek interface, supplemented with dozens of visually attractive tiles and logos of your favorite URLs and RSS feeds. Using Symbaloo, you can group bookmarks relating to a specific topic under a tile-oriented interface, referred to aswebmixes. Here’s some good news – the service has just launched its official Android and iOS client to help mobile users explore their custom webmixes and underlying visual bookmarks on the go. Details to follow.

Bookmark management and sharing methods through various web browsers and standalone mobile apps are aplenty, but if you’re craving for a simple solution, Symbaloo is the way to go. The app requires a registration/account to work.

 

Just like its web interface, the mobile variant of Symbaloo also presents you with your favorite bookmarks in the form of various tiles. In fact, the mobile app serves as a personalized homepage (start page) that houses your favorite bookmarks, as is the case with most modern web browsers. To help you easily navigate to the URL of choice, the app also comes packaged with a simple web browser of its own.

Symbaloo comes preloaded with hundreds of frequently accessed bookmarks; however, it also lets you search for a URL of choice. The list of supported services is huge, and the below list is a mere preview:

• News: Google, Yahoo!, CNN, BBC, The Washington Post, abc News, Associated Press
• Social: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, tumblr, LinkedIn
• Shopping: Amazon, eBay, Buy, overstock, Wal-Mart, BestBuy, Netflix
• Email: Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, AOL, Windows Live
• Banks: Bank Of America, Wells Fargo, Chase, Bank Of The West, PNC, Citi
• Travel: Expedia, Booking.com, CheapTickets, Hotwire, Priceline, Kayak, Travelocity
• Music: Pandora, last.fm, iTunes, Borders, Music

 

Although configuration of bookmarks and webmixes on the mobile is quite easy, too, if you have this content set up through the web app itself, life becomes a lot more easier. This is particularly due to the fact that the web interface is a bit more intuitive and easier to use than its mobile counterpart. It simplifies the bookmarking process through the help of floating tiles, easier URL searching and adding mechanism, and more convenient navigation to the Symbaloo webmix presets that help you instantly find a bookmark of choice.

 

That said, the mobile app also makes searching for, adding, managing and accessing webmixes as well as bookmarks quite a breeze. The only annoyance is that, despite having a preferred bookmark available under a webmix preset, you cannot move it to a custom webmix. Having to manually search for a URL of choice can be made a lot easier, too, by integrating real-time search suggestions. Once you’ve found the required URL, just hold down its tile to get it added to the selected webmix. The same gesture can be used to remove a tile from a webmix.

From Android’s perspective, the lack of homescreen widget is also quite surprising, as most quality apps are expected to offer, at least, some sort of convenience in this regard. We hope to see this addressed in future revisions.

Download links to Symbaloo’s Android and iOS variant are provided below, but before hitting them, check out the app’s official demo video below.

Download Symbaloo for Android

Download Symbaloo for iPhone, iPad & iPod touch

Visit Symbaloo

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Official ESPNsoccernet Android App Released In The Google Play Store

With the UEFA Euro 2012 Soccer competition about to kickoff, one of the world leaders in sports news, ESPN, has decided to provide soccer-loving Android users with the official ESPNsoccernet app that vows to bring you all the latest proceedings from not just the playing fields of Ukraine and Poland, but from anywhere in the world. Unlike the official UEFA Euro 2012 app (read review), ESPNsoccernet is not about encompassing soccer news from just said event, but rather, from any club or international tournament, league, player and team. The app has been around in the iOS App Store for quite some time before its Android variant just recently launched in the Google Play Store. Providing users with ample control over customizing the app’s content to their own liking, the app touches almost every core aspect of the game, including live scores, latest news, fixtures, videos, tables, statistics, photos, Gamecasts(detailed game info), in-depth analysis and commentary etc. More to follow.

The app’s homescreen is split into three main segments. The top-most segment is dedicated to letting users access content from their favorite tournaments via various tabs, including UEFA Euro 2012, English Premiere League, UEFA Champions League, and the FA Cup etc. Tapping any tab lists the upcoming matches, along with its relevant news. The Gamecast section of the app is quite commendable, too, as it provides you with comprehensive information about each completed game, which comprises the post-match reports, detailed summary and an extensive breakdown of the stats from the game. Once the Euros get underway, the app will be keeping you informed of up-to-the-minute action regarding your favorite team(s) through push notifications.

Each news story is supplemented with photos and can be shared with others via mail or Facebook. To make reading more convenient, font sizes can be adjusted. Hitting Menu > Scores, you may start exploring only the scores and fixtures relevant to each aforementioned tab. This particular section of the app is not restricted to bringing you the scores from just the recently concluded games, but by hitting the calendar icon in the top, you can jump to virtually any date of choice to bring up the scores of all the completed games. The videos contained within the app (Menu > Video) are also updated hourly, and comprise a variety of content ranging from interviews to game previews and video highlights to post-match analysis.

To keep an eye on the detailed tournament tables and all the key stats pertaining to each event, tapMenu > Tables. The tables are full of plenty of updated content, including the latest team standings, tables, news, squads, fixtures and results. Head over to the Key Stats tab, and you’re ready to check out who’s the (selected tournament’s) top scorer, which goalkeeper has made the most number of saves, who has made the most assists towards creating goal opportunities etc.

Hitting the settings button in the top-right of the screen lets you bookmark your favorite international teams, clubs, leagues and tournaments. You may also make your choice among three different localized editions of ESPNsoccernet (English (UK), English (US) and Spanish).

The app is available in the Google Play Store for free, and can be downloaded via the link or QR code provided below.

Download ESPNsoccernet for Android

Download ESPNsoccernet for iPhone, iPad & iPod touch

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Sony Releases “α” CLOCK for Mobile: A Time-Lapse Photography Android App Powered By “Time-shift UI”

Seems like Sony has decided to leave Android users with plenty of visual goodness to savor over the weekend through a couple of great new apps. Just yesterday, we saw a beautifully-designed photo gallery app called ‘million moments’ released by the technology giant. Today, we’re going to present you with yet another fine-looking Android app from the company. “α” CLOCK for Mobile lets you experience Sony’s new Time-shift UI on your Android device. The app presents you with photos of several worldwide destinations (UNESCO World Heritage Sites) taken with cameras that use “α” Interchangeable lenses. From a single point, countless photos of each location are snapped at various times of day, and compiled into a single time-lapse photography package. Using the aforementioned Time-shift UI feature, users can enjoy breathtaking sights of the selected location from a preferred time of day. Though, that’s not all the app has to offer. More after the break.

Before proceeding further, we would like to inform our readers that “α” CLOCK for Mobile has been designed to run only on devices that sport the following two screen resolutions:

• 480 x 854
• 720 x 1280

 

If you own an Android device with a different screen resolution, you’re currently out of luck. Another thing to keep in mind is the app’s comparatively high storage requirements owing to the content that it downloads from its online servers for each selected location. According to the estimated requirement mentioned on the app’s Play Store page, 70MB of free storage space on your SD card should suffice.

As of now, the app lets you enjoy World Heritage Images of as many as five different gorgeous locations of the world. While the image of Mont Saint-Michel, France comes with the app, photos of the rest can be downloaded manually from within the app. These are:

• Mount Huangshan, China
• Historic Area Of Istanbul, Turkey
• Ogasawara Islands, Japan
• Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

 

Each photo can be viewed in full-screen landscape orientation, and scrolled vertically in both orientations (landscape and portrait). The Time-shift UI feature, however, works in portrait orientation only. As mentioned earlier, you can enjoy photos of the selected location from a different time of day by sliding the digital time clock in the top-right corner of the screen up and down. Various dots aligned vertically along the right edge of the screen indicate different points of the day for which a captured image is available.

 

Sliding this screen upwards reveals the app’s main menu that houses controls for finding Wikipediainformation regarding the chosen location, checking the current location on Map, viewing the photo in full-screen (landscape orientation), and sharing the location on Facebook/Twitter.

The social media sharing feature of the app is quite fascinating, too, since it helps users unlock images of various supported locations included within the app’s Collection Image Album. Locations included within said album are the same as the aforementioned ones, however, the angles used for snapping these (locked) photos are totally different, that let you enjoy the same location from an entirely different perspective. As you keep posting and commenting on images on said social networks, your chances of getting your hands on the unlocked goodies improve drastically.

 

Another fun feature of the app is that it lets you use photos of the selected (or random) location as your device’s default wallpaper, that will automatically update throughout the day for as many as 12 different times.

From within the app’s settings screen (Menu > Settings), you can switch the wallpaper option On/Off, select (and download) a different World Heritage image, view the Collection Image Album, manage your social accounts, and specify the default directory for downloaded content.

 

“α” CLOCK for Mobile is absolutely free in the Google Play Store, and requires Android v2.2 or higher to run. Grab the app via the link or QR code provided below.

Download “α” CLOCK for Mobile

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