App Review: Citypal - Restaurant offers

The Mobile Indian,Mumbai

Nifty app that will keep your taste buds interested and also help you save some good bucks by showing the offers, deals available around you.

PROS

• Prompt, useful offer notifications
• Simple presentation

CONS

• User interface could be better

EDITORS’ RATING

8

Variety in foods is a part of Indian culture and that is the reason for so many restaurants across the country. Quite often when people go to have a lunch or dine at restaurants, then look for the discounts. Of course, there are number of apps that will show you the details of the restaurants close by but the deals on offer.

Citypal for Android and iOS platform is one such app that is providing location based offers from Restaurants in five cities so far - Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. The app boasts of providing over 2000 different offers and discounts for the restaurants.

The Citypal app requires simple sign-up to get started. One can register using email or Facebook account and then getting started is simple. However, one needs to turn on the GPS option in the smartphone in order to use the app wisely. The app provides a basic looking user interface showing the Feed of the places closeby with offers.

The list gets populated based on the distance and the most recent offer. By default, the Citypal is the buddy that will show up on your list and you can always add friends to your list. The app's interface is divided into two sections - Friends and Places.

The app provides offers such as credit card offers, deals, coupons, group booking discounts and more. The app also shows if there are any performances happening at the bars or restaurants closeby. While the restaurant and bar owners can post their offers through the app, consumers get notification about offers within 2km radius of their location.

The app is not just about notifications on location based offers, but it also prompts for deals and interesting experiences promised by the restaurants.

The app's design needs to be tweaked a bit and stay in harmony with the new Holo user interface design guidelines. Also some dashboard showing repetitive offers or deals from user's favorite places would be amazing. Citypal has promised new features under development. We are putting some high hopes on this service driven app to provide a gateway for the users to make the best of their money and also enjoy the food.

Citypal app is still in beta phase and can be downloaded from the Google Play Store

Microsoft offering $100,000 for Windows Phone 8 apps

While there are around 145,000 applications and games on Windows Phone 8, the number pales in comparison to that of Android and iOS which have more than 7 lakh apps and games.

In a bid to increase the number of applications for its Windows Phone 8, Microsoft is offering as much as $100,000 to developers, according to a report of Bloomberg.

Windows Phone 8 operating system has been loved by many for its clean and simple user interface and notification in the tile (app tile) itself. However one of the biggest problems that the OS faces is lack of applications, which are currently the main driving force for smartphone adoption.

While there are around 145,000 applications and games on Windows Phone 8, the number pales in comparison to that of Android and iOS which have more than 7 lakh apps and games. What is more worrying is that some of the popular apps like Instagram, Pinterest and Flipboard are still not available on the platform.

Officially, though Microsoft is offering $100 for each app that has been approved for inclusion in the store, but a developer has to submit at least 10 apps and can get up to $2000 on a single developer ID.

Movies Review: Ghanchakkar

By Rummana Ahmed | Movie Reviews 

Ghanchakkar trailerCast: Emraan Hashmi, Vidya Balan, Namit Das and Rajesh Sharma

Direction: Raj Kumar Gupta

Rating: ***

‘Ghanchakkar’ is an unusual film and needs a little patience because the pace is quite slow. In fact, it’s a little too long for a thriller and considering it hardly has any songs to break the monotony, it starts too feel a bit tedious in parts.

The director Raj Kumar Gupta and the lead cast Vidya Balan and Emraan Hashmi have a very flattering filmography at the moment. Raj Kumar Gupta’s previous films were ‘Aamir’ (2008) and ‘No One Killed Jessica’ (2011) and both received huge critical acclaim.  After ‘The Dirty Picture’ and the ‘Kahaani’, it’s as if Vidya can do no wrong. And Emraan has had some of his career’s best roles in recent times, experimenting with unconventional characters in ‘Shanghai’ and ‘Ek Thi Daayan’.  Needless to say the anticipation was quite high in ‘Ghanchakkar’.

‘Ghanchakkar’ is a comic suspense thriller and while the film has an interesting premise, it falters on the execution. The promos have made it abundantly clear that the film is about a heist after which Sanju (Emraan Hashmi), who has been entrusted with all the money, has an accident and subsequent memory loss means he has forgotten where he has kept the money. The other two accomplices obviously think that he is faking the amnesia and move in till they have reclaimed their share of the booty. Is Emraan feigning ignorance? If so, where can the money possibly go?

Emraan essays an understated performance that is commendable. His portrayal is well nuanced and while you might suspect his motives at times, you still feel for him and the ordeal he is going through. It’s a pleasant surprise to see the once over-the-top Emraan Hashmi to experiment with characters like this one.

Vidya is his feisty Punjaban wife, who has a super flashy sense of fashion that at most times hinges on the bizarre. While Vidya is totally sincere in her portrayal, we are so used to being overwhelmed by Vidya’s recent performances that this one just falls a little short of expectations.

There is no doubt that the film has some very strong performances and the suspense and subsequent payoff is worth the wait. The comic track however, isn’t as engaging. While the masked robbery is definitely the high point, the lovemaking scene and the scene with Idris (Namit Das) talking to a call girl come out as forced gags.

If you can overlook the minor flaws and the labored pace, ‘Ghanchakkar’ is definitely an interesting watch.

Apps for faster typing in Tablet

Special keyboard apps has been developed by the Swiftkey and Thumb Keyboard for users for their ease in typing in a Tablet.

Typing in a Tablet is a difficult task in itself. As typing has to be done on the screen and there is no physical keypad, so the users need to constantly look at it. Despite doing their best to learn this new way, most of the users would not be able to break speed typing records.

The problem is we have all been comfortable with physical keyboards for too long.

Apple brought different solutions, such as taps, pinches, swipes and slides, to facilitate the transition from pointing devices to the virtual one of Tablets.

But then, touchscreen keypads also face problems, which are present even on physical Qwerty keypads, such as fat fingers, misspellings, autocorrect issues.

The future, however, looks bright as all the developers start working as part of a team, rather than different warring factions.

For example, Swype brought out a solution by which users just need to write on the touchscreen with their finger and the software figures out the next likely word, and most of the time it is very accurate in predicting.

Special keyboard apps has also been developed by the Swiftkey and Thumb Keyboard for users who want to type on the device using their thumbs only.

Both the keyboards place the letter keys on two sides of the Tablet, nearer to the thumb. The letters are easily accessible in both landscape and portrait modes. Some letters are repeated on two sides, which makes it a little more convenient for the users.

Top 5 common security mistakes people make on mobile devices

 The Mobile Indian, New Delh

Be safe; be secure; spend some time beefing up your security.

In the age of internet and connected devices we lead a virtual life parallel to our natural lives, and similar to our natural lives we have to save ourselves from various security related treats that lurk in the virtual world as well. While we can blame the numerous services and connected devices that we use for their security holes; much of the problem is caused by mistakes that many of us make.

But same as everything else, these mistakes can also be rectified quite easily if we pay a little more attention to detail. So here we have the top 5 common security related mistakes that users make while using smart devices and the internet, and these issues all have quick remedies as well

Password is the key

Be it a smartphone device or internet account or even your social media account, everything relies on a password system. These systems have evolved enough to allow users to opt for any phrase, alphabet and special character combination as their password. But even though the option is available, some of us have a password that is easy to remember and is common to words that we use in or day to day lives, which is one of the biggest security risks that we create ourselves.

Whenever opting for a password always make sure that the password should include a special character and it should be a combination or alphabets and numbers. For instance 'jack123' might be a good password but just by adding a special character to it like 'jack*123' increases its strength and makes it difficult to guess, and therefore reduces the security risk. Also suggested is the use of uppercase and lowercase letters for increasing the strength of the password even more, so a password like 'Jack*123' world be very strong.

While usually a secure password with an uncommon word generally provides good protection, Google services now come with a two-step verification system for most devices as well. It makes sure that whichever computer or device the user wants to link to their Google account goes through two levels of security just to make doubly sure. Here's how to get it.

Don't have similar passwords for different accounts

Many of us commit the mistake that if we have a password that we remember easily and it works well for us we tend to use it across different services to access them in order to reduce the burden on our gray cells. But just imagine if somebody is able to crack one of the passwords the whole gamut of services being used by the user can be at risk and is available to the person with access to just one password. In one such similar incident a user's email ID was compromised as the person used a simple password across different services, and the hacker was also able to access his services on Facebook as well.

To avoid this mistake always make sure that the passwords used in different services are different and are strong as well. For smartphones such as Android the pattern lock is considered to be one of the safest forms of security for users as it's difficult to guess and there can be any combination that users can choose to secure their device.

Try remembering your passwords

To be honest many mobile phone and smartphone users alike think they are extra smart and can save all their passwords secretly in their smartphone or mobile phone address book. But at times they tend to forget that anybody who has an intention to steal their data will be able to guess with just one look that there would be no person named 'Ajay ICICI Account' or some other weird combination that stays in highlights with a 14 digit account number and password combination in the number field.

Storing passwords in your phone book or in the organizer on the smartphone is like waiting for calamity to strike. Passwords are secret words and phrases meant to be remembered in your mind or kept in something like a safe at home.

Or users can also have a specialized application on devices such as BlackBerry to safely store passwords. Here's how.

eeing is believing

With the rise of smartphones there has been a considerable rise in the number of device related malware and malicious applications that are easily disguised as popular applications and left on application stores such as Google and mostly on third party stores waiting for their prey. So for instance if the pro version of a popular application is available free of cost many of us would simply go ahead and get that application, believing that we have got the best possible deal. But in the process we forget to read about the various system related permissions that the application has asked for.

These applications target unaware users, get installed on their devices and then either access the data on the device, or send out premium SMSs causing loss of money to users. They can even track banking and finance related data on devices.

So whenever there is a doubt in your mind you need to be sure of everything that is being installed on your device. While installing any application from any source make sure you read the permissions and make sure you remember this age old saying that 'if anything looks too good to be true, it is'. Android smartphone users need to take some simple steps and be careful while using their smartphone. They especially need to think before clipping unknown links to ensure their devices remain safe all the time. More about app security

void using financial apps on multiple devices

Financial transactions on mobile devices have become easy as devices can be easily connected to the internet and offer the required security to allow finance related apps such as banking apps to run on them. But even though these applications are high on security, if we use applications and web apps on multiple devices we tend to create security risks for ourselves.

Mobile banking and finance related applications identify one device as their registered device and offer seamless services on it. But users with two or more devices try utilizing the service on whichever device they have access to, which in turn leads the application to block the service on one device and enable it on another. But in this process the application triggers an emergency response from the bank that can be in the form of an email or SMS message that is delivered to the registered email address or mobile number containing sensitive information.

If this information leaks out or is accessed by someone who has the device with them at that point they could use the information to reset the password and gain access to your banking account. Therefore, simple as it is if your device is registered with some or other banking or finance related service refrain from giving it to anyone and even more so try not to link the two devices with the same account. If at all the need arises try using a computer to access your financial data and be safe.

Micromax Canvas 4 pre booking: Daring or dumb move?

If rumours and sources are to be believed Micromax Canvas 4 may be priced at around Rs 18,000.

At around 12 pm today, Micromax started the pre booking process of it latest flagship Canvas 4, which the company will be launching on July 8.

Most of the device makers usually start pre-booking process before the official launch to create hype or get a sense on interest among users about their soon to be launched offering. But, that's where the similarity ends between Micromax and other players.

Micromax has done what no other player including Apple, Samsung or HTC has done till date - they have the started the pre-booking process of Micromax Canvas 4, for an amount of Rs 5,000, without revealing the specification of the smartphone. They have also not revealed the price but that is a normal practice.

Only time will tell whether it is a daring or a dumb move on the part of Micromax. If the specification and the performance of Micromax Canvas 4 don't impress the consumers after its official launch, it may lead to a negative publicity about the company. Comments like, "Micromax has become overconfident and wanted to take consumers for a ride,” could become the talk of the town. It could become one of the dumbest selling strategies adopted by a handset player.

On the other hand, if consumers give Micromax Canvas 4 thumbs up, it would be termed as the most daring move by any handset player across the globe. Comments like "Micromax understands the pulse of a mobile consumer in India and was quite confident of what it is doing," will be shared and discussed in social media.

Also, if rumours and sources are to be believed Micromax Canvas 4 may be priced at around Rs 18,000 and in that price bracket it will be competing against handsets like LG Optimus Vu, Samsung Win, Sony Xperia P, HTC Desire SV, Sony Xperia SL, and Xolo X1000.

Now it's upto the customers whether they would like to go for pre-booking or not as they have nothing to lose because if you don't like the smartphone Micromax will refund the booking amount after the official launch.

Micromax Canvas 4 pre booking commences for Rs 5,000

Micromax will announce the price of Canvas 4 on July 8 and according to sources it is expected to be around Rs 18,000.

Micromax has commenced the pre booking of its latest Android based flagship smartphone Canvas 4. People who are interested in buying Micromax Canvas 4 need to pay Rs 5,000 as a booking amount and the rest they have to pay within 15 days of launch of the smartphone on July 8.

To make the things interesting, 10 lucky customers who pre-book Micromax Canvas 4 before July 6 will get a chance to attend the launch of the Canvas 4 in Delhi on July 8 and will also get their booked unit by paying the balance amount. But there is a catch, Micromax will not pay for the travel or stay for selected customers who will be shortlisted for attending the launch event.

Micromax will announce the price of Canvas 4 on July 8 and according to sources it is expected to be around Rs 18,000.

Micromax will start shipment of Canvas 4 from July 10 onwards and the product will be delivered within 7 business days thereafter.

Micromax Canvas 4 is the successor to the popular Micromax A116 Canvas HD.

Not much is known about the specifications but if rumors are to be believed Micromax Canvas 4 will be based on Android 4.2 operating system and will have an octa core processor and a 13-megapixel rear camera as the Samsung Galaxy S4.

However, it is likely to use Mediatek MTK 6599 octa core chipset with clock speed of 1.4 GHzspeed unlike the 1.6 GHz Exynos 5 processor of Galaxy S4.

Also if look at the tag line that is coming in the teaser video - "Can life be endless?" - it may come with a humongous battery.

Beauty products you can make yourself At Home

By Mdhil | Mdhil 

•  

If you’re concerned about the chemicals in your beauty products, then this is a must read!

Beauty products you can make yourselfA recent report by the World Health Organisation issued a warning against many skin-lightening products that have mercury as an ingredient. Mercury, a popular ingredient in such cosmetics, the WHO warned, can cause health hazards ranging from kidney damage to skin rashes.

Commercially produced products are typically loaded with chemicals, and many unfairly withhold full information about what goes into their creams and shampoos. If you’re concerned about it, why not make your own beauty products at home. They are cheap, trustworthy and easy to make.

Easy-to-make beauty products

Homemade antiperspirants

BAKING POWDER

Add a teaspoon of water (enough to get it wet) to a teaspoon of baking soda. Put this in a bottle and store inrefrigerator, and it will last you for a week. Beforeuse, if required add a few drops of water and apply underarms. You’ll find that it acts as an effective antiperspirant agent, and keeps foul body odour away. Alternatively, you could also dust off baking like powder.

However, the flipside to using baking soda is that you can’t use it if you’re wearing a sleeveless shirt or dress, as it is likely to leave a white residue.

ROSEWATER

Pour some rosewater onto a cotton wool and apply underarms. This one works wonders to keep you sweat free and also lets out a mellow fragrance. Try it today!

Natural skincare

Homemade facial cleanser

HONEY+LIME

Brighten your skin naturally with this. Mix four teaspoons of honey and a teaspoon of lime juice. Pour this mixture into an airtight jar and store in the refrigerator. Pour some onto your palm and apply evenly onto your face, arms or any other part of your body you want to brighten. Leave for 10 minutes and wash off with warm water. This also works as a good facial cleanser.

GRAM FLOUR

Say goodbye to that expensive face-wash. Mix a teaspoon of gram flour and a teaspoon of milk or curd. Apply on face, rub gently and wash off with warm water. Voila, soft, clean skin is yours.

Home-made face scrub 

GREEN-GRAM POWDER

Dry roast four teaspoons of green-gram dal and coarsely grind it in a mixer grinder. Store in jar. Before use, add a few drops of milk and lime and use as a facial scrub. This one gently exfoliates your skin, removing dirt, grime and dead cells. Use it twice a week before going to bed. Follow it up with one of our do-it-yourself facemasks (Coming up soon).

OATMEAL

Coarsely grind oatmeal, mix milk and honey and use it to exfoliate your skin. This works well for dry, damaged skin. Try it today!

Natural Wonders: Tomato

hey are sweet, juicy, delicious, and considered to be one of world’s healthiest foods! Umm, wondering what we are talking about? Yes, you are right, we are talking about tomatoes!

By Mdhil | Mdhil 

Natural Wonders - TomatoDid you know that tomatoes are also called ‘love apples’? It was a name that the French adoringly gave this lovely fruit in the 16^th century!

Well, what’s not to adore about tomatoes – they are fat-free, low in calories and packed with vitamins C. However, there’s more to these tomatoes. Today, let’s take a look at why this fruit is considered so amazingly healthy.

Health benefits of tomatoes

Tomatoes are loaded with vitamin A, C, K, folate and potassium. They also provide magnesium, copper, vitamin B6 and thiamin. As tomatoes are high in water content, they are quite filling and protect you against heart disease, strokes, blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Tomatoes are great for your skin. The beta-carotene found in tomatoes protect your skin from sun damage. Also, lycopene, the anti-oxidant which givestomato its colour stops the occurrence of fine lines and wrinkles.

This fruit/vegetable is also good for your bones. The vitamin K and calcium in tomatoes are excellent for strengthening and repairing your bones. And so, eating tomatoes is a great way to keeposteoporosis at bay!

Tomatoes are cancer fighters, thanks to the lycopene in it! It helps reduce the risk of cancers such as throat, esophagus, stomach, colon, prostate and ovarian cancer.

Tomatoes also keep your blood sugar under control as it is an excellent source of chromium. It is the chromium that helps regulate the blood sugar level.

Did you know that this humble fruit helps a great deal in improving your vision? Studies have shown that making tomatoes a part of your daily diet can help reduce the risk of macular degeneration, which is an irreversible eye condition.

Tomatoes can give your hair a shine as they are packed with Vitamin A which help make your hair really strong. However, let’s warn you that tomatoes might not be of great help if your hair is thinning. It only helps in strengthening your hair and make it look shinier.

Research has shown that eating tomatoes without seeds can help prevent kidney stones and gallstones.

Tomatoes are full of bioflavonoids and carotenoids, which are in fact anti-inflammatory agents. So, if you are suffering from arthritis or back pain, make sure you eat tomatoes every day as they can help in reducing mild or moderate chronic pain.

Last but not the least, if you are planning to lose weight, just add tomatoes to your bag of balanced diet and workout plan! Tomatoes have a lot of water and fiber, which means you feel full for a long time. It can be a snack by itself, or you can add it to your sandwiches and salads.

Tomatoes are so versatile, that you can add them to your curries, sandwiches, soup, omelets and stews. You can also make tomato juice or make a vegetable juice with tomatoes in it – a nutritious, filling mid-day snack! And, don’t forget the ever-present tomato sauce on your table which goes with just about any dish from chapatis to bread to pasta! So, go tomatoes and get healthy!

Pietersen tips Cook for greatness

Says the England captain can overhaul Tendulkar's Test runs tally.

Yahoo! Cricket 

Alastair Cook: Huge expectations to live up to.

LONDON: England captain Alastair Cook has been tipped by star batsman Kevin Pietersen to overtake Sachin Tendulkar’s mind-boggling runs tally in Test cricket.

“For me he's the right man to lead England, he's doing a great job for us and he will continue to get better and better and break every record anyone's ever set, certainly in the English game.

“He's on target to go for Tendulkar's numbers, if you look at the numbers and look at his age," Pietersen was quoted as saying in an interview with Darren Gough.

Huge record

Cook, 28, is 8,313 runs behind the 40-year-old Tendulkar’s awe-inspiring tally of 15837 Test runs, which is 2000 more than the second-placed and retired Ricky Ponting.

“His first series was against India away and we beat India. He's done exceptionally well, his cricket just keeps getting better and better," Pietersen added.

Young Joe Root, debuted against India last year, also came in for praise.

Root impresses

“I never knew of him, I never heard of him, because when you're on the scene and young players come you just don't. But I knew that he was going to be good when he walked out to bat in Nagpur in his first Test match,” Pietersen said.

"I was batting and we just didn't want to let India back into it at all and he walked out and - just his face walking towards me for 20 metres - I thought this kid's going to be a flipping superstar.

"It was just the confidence that he walked out to bat with in his debut Test match in India, two spinners bowling, from each end, we'd just lost a wicket or a couple of wickets and he walked out with a smile on his face, and went 'All right lad, you ok, you're playing well there'," he recalled.

Look sharp

Pietersen backed the youngster, who recently hit the headlines for getting into a bar-room scuffle with Australian David Warner during the Champions Trophy.

"He knew the media were going to be on him all day and he'd had a haircut - he looked sharp! I think he knows how to deal with it. I saw him that day and he couldn't believe what was being made of it, but welcome to English cricket and welcome to how the media works.”

Pietersen then dwelled on his own volatile relationship with the British media.

“I've been burnt too many times and it's just a case of me now concentrating on my cricket and playing my cricket as best I can because that whole situation hurt my family too much. I get it all day every day."

"Somebody asked me yesterday, 'Can you take some constructive criticism?' I said, 'Excuse me? You're talking to somebody who has it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.' So it doesn't affect me, it's water off a duck's back now. I have absolutely no interest in it but it hurt my family and my best mates."

Beckham style

The dashing batsman said he wanted to emulate star footballer David Beckham into the fashion industry.

“These last three months that I've been injured I've had quite a bit of time on my hands to sort the business side of life out.

“I am heavily involved in a clothing company and a footwear company in India. I've got some different stuff, other things on the horizon that I'm negotiating, talking about and signing off," he concluded.

Bravo uses C-word ahead of must-win South Africa game

Friday's game is effectively an eliminator and the West Indies captain reminded South Africa of their 'chokers' tag.

AFP

Bravo

West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo hopes that South Africa's habit of 'choking' at major tournaments will work in his side's favour when they meet in a winner-takes-all Champions Trophy clash on Friday.

Whichever team comes out on top in Cardiff will join already qualified India as one of the two semi-finalists out of Group B in a competition featuring the world's top eight one-day nations.

Despite having had several fine limited overs sides since re-admission, the Proteas haven't lifted a major one-day trophy since winning the 1998 edition of this tournament.

Especially at World Cups, they've found some remarkable ways to bow out, be it a dramatic 1999 tie with Australia at Edgbaston when they had the match all but won or failing to read correctly the Duckworth/Lewis sheet for rain-affected fixtures on home soil four years later.

Hence the tag of "chokers", one Bravo had no hesitation in using despite the fact the West Indies have not beaten South Africa in a one-day international since 2006.

"I think in tournaments, it doesn't really matter whether you win previous games against opposition or not," Bravo told reporters in Cardiff on Thursday.

"I think the South Africans will feel the pressure also. They know if they lose, they are going back home. They have a tag of being chokers that do not do well in big tournaments, so that would be added pressure on them.

"For us, we're going to enjoy the occasion and forget about what happens in previous games," added Bravo of a West Indies side who won last year's World Twenty20 event.

"It's a tournament. It's a knockout game. We've been in this situation before, do well and go beyond. So, no pressure is on us," the all-rounder added.

"I'm really excited and looking forward to this game tomorrow (Friday)."

South Africa, however, are set to field Dale Steyn for the first time this tournament on Friday.

Widely regarded as the best fast bowler currently in world cricket, Steyn has yet to feature in thisChampions Trophy after suffering a side-strain in a warm-up defeat by Pakistan.

However, Proteas captain AB de Villuers was confident of unleashing Steyn against the West Indies.

"He bowled at a 100 percent intensity yesterday (Wednesday), and it was sort of the first part of his fitness assessment and today he's doing a bit more," de Villiers said.

"He's 99.9 percent ready, but we're just going to make sure this (Thursday) afternoon that he'll be ready to go.

"Both teams have won one and lost one of their two pool matches thus far.

If the forecast rain does descend on Sophia Gardens to such an extent no result is possible, South Africa would go through to the last four courtesy of their superior net run-rate.

However, a reduced overs match could favour the West Indies, given their status as World Twenty20 champions.

But de Villiers said South Africa would have no problems adapting, if required, to a shortened fixture.

"Whether we play a shortened game or a normal game, it's all about focus and team intensity off the field," he said.

"I mention this so often, but it's really true, the guys that can adapt the quickest can really walk on the field and switch on straight away.

"We still rate ourselves as a serious cricket team in whatever format we play and however many overs we play in," said wicketkeeper-batsman de Villiers, also a key figure in the South Africa side now on top of the world Test rankings.

"Whatever happens tomorrow we'll go out and make sure we play better than the opposition."

Top 5 must have apps for Android tablets

By Rahul Gupta, The Mobile Indian

Got the big screen advantage? Get these apps to enjoy its full glory.

Android tablets are fast replacing personal and mobile computers or notebooks as they offer similar functionality and a much more portable form factor. But that's not the only reason for its popularity; these tablets definitely get the big screen advantage over smartphones and are preferred for multimedia gaming and creativity-based applications as well.

Today tablets are competing shoulder to shoulder with smartphones. Here we have picked five applications that can be beneficial for a tablet user although they are not limited to tablets. Read on about the top 5 applications for your Android tablet.

Grand Theft Auto III (Rs 270)

Big screens need bigger and better games, and what can be better than good old Grand Theft Auto. No one can ever get enough of Grand Theft Auto because of its open world game play where the player can spend hours exploring a city and messing around. Being the player you can behave like a regular citizen or if need be bash up a few on lookers, fight the law and even steal any number of cars. The City works just like any other city with its own law and order system and a peaceful life.

The game involves finishing missions to get some cash and spending the cash on having fun. Although there is no need to buy cars and you can just steal one, the buying option would certainly have been better.

There are two versions of the games available for Android devices the GTA vice City and the GTA III. With tweaked graphics, a custom layout for controls, and several new features, Grand Theft Auto will give you a better time in the fictional Vice City and Liberty City. Both GTA games cost about Rs 270 but certainly throw in countless hours of fun riding, driving and running around to finish tasks.

Adobe Photoshop Touch (Rs 540)

Adobe has announced the tablet version of the much-appreciated Photoshop image editing application for Google Android devices. Photoshop Touch app comes with similar functionality as the desktop application but this one has been optimized to work with a variety of Android tablets while working only on touch inputs.

The Photoshop Touch app features Layers, advanced selection tools, adjustments and filters similar to the desktop version for advanced image editing. Adobe has packed the Scribble Selection for high-precision selections using one finger. Indeed, it would be difficult to select different things in an image without this feature. There is also a Camera Fill feature that blends different layers to the camera feed in real-time. Creative filters such as Color Drops, Acrylic Paint and Ripple Filter are also there.

Apart from these options, Photoshop Touch also includes standard Photoshop tools for editing and compositing on an image. The finished images can be saved on the device or directly uploaded to the Adobe Creative Cloud account to keep the projects in sync with the desktop program and the app.

Photoshop Touch is a paid app while there is a free version as well with the name Adobe Photoshop Express, which comes with the basic features free of cost.

Evernote

Evernote is a powerful three-in-one solution that allows you to take notes, capture images, and also record sound to make quick voice notes. Quick note-taking and saving business cards as images is one of the several features of this app. On registration, the user gets 40 MB storage free on Evernote cloud and one can always purchase more storage through the Evernote Premium option.

Evernote is available on multiple platforms and all the data stored on them can be accessed even via the web. More importantly, the inter OS operability makes things even better for users who have different devices. The application offers a great deal of functionality and features, and the type of utility the premium version of the application offers is absolutely justified.

Evernote app can be used for saving web articles or links you wish to check out later, instead of clogging up your phone cache. Loaded with features and options, Evernote obviously remains the most popular, versatile and handy app for all kinds of users.

VLC Media Player - Beta

A beta version of the world popular Video LAN Client, which is popularly known as the VLC Media Player, is now on Android. Currently, the Google Play Store offers several video playback apps that are stand-alone or depend on certain codec packages for video playback. VLC Player application, on the other hand, comes with integrated support for codecs, and therefore provides better video playback than most video players, without the need for downloading codecs for different video formats.

Along with that the VLC Player also supports a large number of audio and video formats as well and is very light on system resources, thus enabling even faster playback than default audio/video applications.

The VLC Player supports gesture based controls and supports screen lock functionality so that accidental touches do not disturb the video experience. The application also supports most streaming protocols so it can easily be used to stream content on the device.

The VLC Player application supports Android devices running version 2.1 and up till Android 4.0, providing support for most devices. This app is in beta phase and might have a few bugs.

Flipboard

Flipboard, the social magazine application, has now been optimized for Android tablets as well. But the application is not just an enlarged version of the smartphone application; it's an optimized version of the app that by default brings four pages of tiles, so they can quickly flip through more of their favorite content without much effort.

The Flipboard application provides news and web feeds in the form of an easy to read web magazine like interface. The Flipboard can take feeds for local or web based RSS reader feeds as well as other news sources.

Also, one can share news items directly from the Flipboard to social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Users can also save the content for reading offline, using popular applications like Pocket and Instapaper because of their deep integration with applications.