Techy freaks

A lmost every Android user I know actively uses Truecaller (or Truedialer ). Almost every iPhone user I know… doesn’t. Truecaller on Android can do crazy helpful things like identifying who’s calling  while they’re calling you, popup contact details when you copy a number and more. The iOS app , though, is heavily limited by comparison (and, of course, Truemessenger can’t even exist on iOS). Truecaller can’t really scan calls or actively look at your call log. But if you’re using iOS 8 and up, there is one simple way for looking up any unknown number from your call log. Or any contact that you copy to your clipboard. This is nowhere near as helpful as Truecaller just flashing all the details while you get the call, but it’s something. For this, you’ll need to enable the Truecaller Notification Center widget . Make sure you’re signed into the app. Then pull down the Notification Center, tap on “Today”, swipe down and tap on “Edit” and tap the “+” button beside Tru

T he iPhone doesn’t have a download manager or a user exposed file system. If you’ve come from Android or you’re used to directly downloading files to your PC, or you live in India where people exchange a bazillion files every 30 seconds, this might just be a problem. While Safari will let you download files, there are some problems with it. Firstly, Safari won’t show a progress bar, so if you’re downloading a 200 MB file on a slow connection, you’re basically praying to the ghost of Steve Jobs that the download doesn’t time out. Plus, once the file is downloaded, you’ll be asked to open it in an app, and then the file belongs to that app’s storage. There’s no centralize download/file management system. Which is why you really need a fully featured download manager (or rather, a file manager) with you, at all times. A central place where you download all the things – documents, videos, songs – whatever. And a central place to store and manage all those things.

W hat has been the most annoying problem that smartphones users had to deal with ever since the introduction of such gadgets? Battery problem. Every single avid user of smartphones will tell you that. The power drainage results due to the fact that Internet surfing or app use is excessively demanding on the battery, so you are lucky if you get a full day of nonstop working on your smartphone. Extend Your Smartphone’s Battery by 2 Weeks! So what do you do if you are on a move? Pray to find an outlet and if not be stuck without the functionalities you signed up for. From now on, an alternative will be available. After more than 11 years of working on the project and spending $90 millions in the process, Lilliputian Systems is finally ready to release to the public its butane-driven portable battery charger. The portable battery charger is said to keep your smartphone charged for up to 2 weeks! We know how frustrating are the issues with battery life, be it an

T he world today is all about smartphones. But what would happen if you would get stranded in a deserted place, let’s say? First off, you would want to reach a place where you could get signal so you could call for help, but what good would that do, if you finally manage to get there and found yourself with a dead phone on your hands. Smartphones are about connectivity in the modern world, but if things get though, you better forget about them. In times of need you would need something more sustainable. Spare One Phone With Almost Eternal Battery What would be the best option when going on a thrill inducing risky trip? Well, how about the Spare One Phone . This very simple device runs on a single AA battery you can buy almost everywhere and can last up to almost 15 years of use. It won’t provide you with the latest pictures updates from Facebook or Twitter but it sure could save your life one day. That was the concept the company behind the Spare One ha

A s with Android devices, iPhones and other iOS devices have the same problem: the battery . This aspect of mobile devices has haunted manufacturers even since the early days. And now with all the tech that goes in a smartphone, the problem is bigger than ever. Future advances in battery technologies will make these problems go away ( Liliputian’s battery promises to deliver 2 weeks of charging! ). A solution might be a wireless charger , such as the one found in the Samsung Galaxy S III , or solar cells powering the devices when subjected to direct sunlight. These could greatly enhance the battery efficiency of these devices, but until such technologies are implemented, we will just have to make due with what we have at our disposal. Tips to Make iPhone’s Battery Last Longer Of course, the same tips apply to the iPhone as to the Android devices: Turn off Wi-Fi , or use 3G networks when possible. And if you don’t need an internet connection, stick only to 2G

recently switched to an iPhone as my daily driver. This is my second switch across the pond, after close to a year in the land of the droid. I’m settling in, slowly. I’m enjoying the thoughtfully designed reading apps, and the indie puzzle games that only seem to exist on iOS. But I’ve been constantly frustrated by one simple thing over the past week. That’s turning on 3G when I step out. I’m not one of those people who keeps 3G turned on all the time ( battery anxiety ). So I have to do it manually. In Android, it’s as easy as swiping down the notification drawer and tapping the “Data” button. On iOS, though, I never got used to searching for the Settings app, and navigating two more menus. This morning, however, I saw a light. In the form of Notification Center widgets . Like most great discoveries of our time, this too was accidental. I wanted to add a calendar to the Today view in Notification Center and discovered something awesome. Wdgts , my app of choice fo

“ You can get whatever you have on the iPhone from another device that costs a fraction of its price ” has been an argument that makes the rounds every time an iPhone is announced. And this time is no different, with many claiming even a basic Android device can deliver pretty much everything that an iPhone 6s can. They are right. And wrong. For it is not about Android and iOS, but about economics and that elusive, non-definable bird – perceived value. “ What’s so special about it? ” T hat has been the call that goes out pretty much every year a new iPhone is released in the Indian market at a premium price. This year has been no different. With the iPhone 6s starting at Rs 62,000 and the iPhone 6s Plus at Rs 10,000 more, there has been a storm of outrage that almost borders on the moral from a number of people, ranging from mainstream users to tech experts and pundits. This has been inevitably been accompanied by mathematical equations showing how many very good

S ecurity wise, the Mac OS is considered more secure than Windows will ever be, and that’s something that has to do with the mode in which the platform itself has been written, and maintained . For instance, both platforms offer software updates that fix loop-holes and cracks into the surface, but those delivered onto the Mac OS platform are more comprehensive, and more taken into consideration. As the title itself hints, today we’re going to present a small collection of the best anti-malware tools for Mac . The majority of Mac OS X users should know that starting with version 10.6.8, Apple has integrated a company-baked anti-malware tool which offers a first level of protection. While many report that installing a third-party antivirus or a specialized anti-malware software will cause issues with software updates, we highly recommending adding another layer of protection – just in case. Anti-Malware Tools for Mac OS MalwareBytes I will start by highly recommen

ndroid was always criticized for not having a great photo management app , the default ones were slow and didn’t really synced with the cloud. Third party developers jumped in quickly with some really good alternatives like “QuickPic” but those too were lame when it came to the UI itself. Google at their I/O event this year unveiled the completely redesigned “Photos” app, a one stop solution for all your photos. With unlimited photo backups , beautiful materialized applications across platforms and a web interface, this app is just perfect. Google Photos does two things exceptionally well – Organizing and Searching. Backing up to the cloud can be done easily by any other app but managing them can be a tedious task, exactly where this service shines. It will arrange your uploaded pictures by location and by date taken automatically. Being able to search with the context “ Show me my mom’s photos in Aurangabad ” is just breathtaking. Google also solved storage problems a lo