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Extending Xamarin Forms

XamerinFormsPart2

This is Keith’s second part to his earlier session on Introduction to XAML Forms.

Below are my in-session notes:

  • JetBrains dotPeek is a Windows app to help with XAML.  Extremely valuable according to Keith.
  • Demo was in Xamarin Studio (on Mac).  A little more stable than Visual Studio 2015 right now.
  • When starting new project, you have check boxes for target platforms (iOS & Android).
  • UITests projected created for you, by default.
  • Be sure to get latest packages because they’re updated frequently.
  • Creating a new XAML form creates a XAML file and a C# code behind file.
  • Inside XAML <ContentPage>, type in your new controls.
  • He created an Audio Recorder class to record some audio.
  • He’ll be targeting iPhone for this demo.
  • Data binding with BindableProperty type:
    • public static BindableProperty fileNMeProperty = BindableProperty.Create(“FileName”, typeof(string));
    • public string FileName{ get{ return (string)this.GetValue(FileNameProperty);} set{this.SetValue(FileNameProperty, value);}
  • MessagingCenter class lets you communicate between the layers (I presume he means between the code behind layer and the XAML layer).
  • C# code that’s native to the target platform is auto-generated (I think).
  • He built and deployed his demo to his iPhone and recorded his voice.  We didn’t hear the playback, but he swears it played back.  Don’t worry, we trust you Keith. 🙂
  • He created a “renderer” for a platform specific feature (>> on list items on iOS).  It will not fail on other platforms, it just won’t show it.
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Introduction to Xamarin

CodeStock 2015 is the biggest CodeStock, by almost double this years hosted at the Knoxville World’s Fair park Convention Center.  It’s our first year having it at this convention center.  Below are my notes on the intro to Xamarin Forms session.

Xamarin is a cross platform development tool to let you write mobile apps once and deploy to Android, iOS, or Windows Phone.  It’s not from Microsoft, but it’s a .Net platform that allows you to write  your code in C# (and now supports F#).  Below are my in-session notes.

IMG_20150711_105821

 

  • Xamarin FORMS adds shared UI Code (this is new) – No more platform specific.
  • Xamerin has been around since 2000, so not a new or fly by night company.
  • They negotiate on pricing.
  • You have to pay TWICE if you want BOTH iOS And Android. UGH!
  • Xamerin forms is only for Enterprise. DOUBLE UGH!
  • Mac is required for iOS. TRIPPLE UGH!
  • Cloud testing available
    • Automatically test your app on hundreds of mobile devices. Select what to test on. They have a room in Europ filled with hundreds of phones and tablets.
    • Captures screen shots, etc…
  • Xamarin University – $1,995 per developer – Instructor live training. Free for a month right now – but there’s a catch. Only 2 of the courses are available
    • intro – what we’re about
    • and very first one (how to use it)
  • Paid gives you 3 months access to business tier – because you need it to go through the training.
  • Not only can you use C#, but you can also use F#.
  • You HAVE to know the specifics of each platform (iOS & Android)
  • Tools
    • Xamarin Studio (PC or Mac)
    • Visual Studio plugin for VS 2010 and higher (requires biz or enterprise or starter, just not indie)
  • If you want to build for Windows Phone, you have to have Visual Studio.
  • Xamarin Studio doesn’t support iOS
  • VS supports both iOS and Android
  • Xamarin Android Player (emulator) faster than Google’s. Runs on Windows & OSX
  • They have a few images (Lollipop image is available)
  • Doesn’t work well with Windows Phone emulator.
  • Xamarin supports Android Wear, Apple Watch, & Microsoft Band
  • about 90% of code can be shared across platforms
  • PCL = Portable Class Libraries used for the “core” code in multi-platform applications.
  • About 80% of a Xamarin Forms app will be located here.
  • Rosylin compiler already supported in Xamarin.
  • Xamarin Forms
    • Xamarin UI controls are an abstraction above each platform’s native controls, but compile down to platform specific controls. Provides a native experience on each platform.
    • Layouts are common screen layouts that you can choose from.
    • Yes, you can nest layouts in them.
    • Forms made with XAML. — MVVM as a result.
    • Can also do it with code.
    • Extensibility
      • Can embed custom views anywhere.
      • Call platform APIs via shared services.
      • You can go full native API if you want (kind of defeats the purpose of using Xamarin though)
  • Custom Renderers
    • You can override a renderer for a specific platform.
  • Xamarin Forms
    • Reflection will be a problem on iOS because there’s no runtime on iOS.
    • App Quality control
    • Xamarin Insights
      • Real time monitoring, track crashes, know of user problems before they report, get user’s e-mail address, etc…

 

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Cyanogenmod 12 Lollipop initial review

image

I just installed CM12 last night on my T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S4.  Here are my thoughts and experiences so far.  Keep in mind, this is only after a few hours of use.  Also, I’m commenting on both Cyanogenmod 12 and Lollipop.

[GARD]

The Good

  • Battery performance seems to be better.  The jury is still out, but so far, it seems like it’s taking longer for it to drain.
  • New stuff… Just… It’s new, and that gets my jollies.
  • Multiple users – You can now have multiple user accounts, just like on Windows.
  • Super SU is no longer needed.  That functionality is now built in (Settings/Developer Options/Root Access
  • More settings options
  • Uses the more efficient and faster DART instead of the old DALVIK.
  • Lock screen can be set to randomly change where the numbers are on the number pad when you enter your PIN.  This prevents people from determining what your PIN is by looking at smudges on your screen (this is a REALISTIC hacking method that actually works… well, it DID until now).
  • Battery screen shows how much estimated time you have remaining and when charging, tells you estimated time to a full charge.

The Bad

  • Gallery app is gone
  • XPosed framework doesn’t work (that’s not CM’s fault… but still, it’s worth noting because that is so very important to many of us).
  • FolderMount doesn’t work.  Again, not CM’s fault, but holy cow!  A power user can’t really use a 16GB phone without it + an external SD card.
  • Bright backgrounds everywhere cause unnecessary drain on the battery on screen types that are more efficient with fewer white pixels.
  • Bright backgrounds hurt my eyes when I wake up and use my phone or have been in a dark room for a while, like watching TV at night.
  • Lots of things still don’t work on Lollipop that did on Kit-Kat.  Again, not the fault of CM… just an issue you have to consider before upgrading.
  • On the battery screen, the most used item is “Miscellaneous”, which doesn’t help me diagnose what’s using the most battery.
  • Lots of apps crashing… many are Google apps.  And yes!  I did, in fact, flash the latest GAPPS for Lollipop!

The Ugly

This is all opinion, of course, so like or dislike whatever you like or dislike.  Don’t get mad… Seriously!  Don’t get mad!  Here are the things I dislike, visually.

  • Flat… flatness EVERYWHERE!  I know!  The people that LIKE it are VERY VERY VERY vocal about it, so much so that people that do NOT like it feel intimidated to mention that they don’t care for the latest craze in flatness that’s not really new anymore.
  • More white backgrounds… Looking more and more like that other phone platform.  I personally prefer dark backgrounds on most things on my phone for aesthetics, less strain on my eyes, and improved battery performance.
  • When I tap a link to bring up a web page, it prompts me for which browser I want to use, which is fine, but that prompt MUST be broken, because it just looks so wrong.  It’s not a card, like most things on Lollipop.  It’s not a popup window.  It’s a half-window that appears to have failed to scroll up all the way.  The 3rd option in the list is only halfway drawn and is cut off at the bottom of the screen.  This is one of the ugliest UI design element I’ve ever seen.  I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt and call this a bug.  [Update: A reader pointed out that this must be a bug since this doesn’t happen on their CM12 install on their phone]
  • image

[GARD]

My overall impression?

While there are many improvements, the things lacking and the crashing, I’ve already decided I need to go back to CM11 KitKat until Xposed framework and FolderMount are working again and fewer things are crashing.

CM12 is still in nightly builds and has not yet released a stable build, so some bugs and missing features are to be expected and CM12 was only made available for my particular phone in the last few days, so it’s still hot off the alpha press, so to speak.

I shouldn’t have to say this, because it’s so abundantly, blatantly obvious, but…

Your mileage may vary depending on how you use your device and which device you have.  Not everyone uses their phone the same way and not everyone has the SAME phone and not everyone uses the SAME APPS.  So, if it works for you, and my overall impression gets you mad… CHILL!  It’s just an OS, dude!  Smile

See these images?

image

You’ll find actual working versions of them at the top and bottom of this article. Please click the appropriate buttons in it to let your friends know about this article.

Check back later for updates too!

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Is Samsung really cloning all the Google Apps?

Last year, there was an image floating around the net, supposedly showing all the cloned apps that Samsung has made of the Google apps.  Today, there’s an updated one for 2014 with even MORE apps in it.  The claim is that Samsung is cloning existing Google apps and making their own.  Then the people passing this around are espousing some kind of evil intent on the part of Samsung.

[GARD]

Let’s examine each one.  First, here’s a listing of all the apps in the popular meme going around:

SamsungGoogleApps

Now, on each line, let’s highlight which app came out first in green… the Samsung app or the Google app:

SamsungGoogleAppsGreen

As you can see, the vast majority of these apps came from Samsung first, NOT Google!  So, now that you know that, you can help the proliferation of the actual truth by:

  1. Not spreading the false information.
  2. Correcting people when THEY spread the false information.

Additionally, not all of these apps are direct comparisons and in many of them, the Samsung version has minor or major advantages.

Some apps that need special mention…

[GARD]

Camera vs. Camera

The Samsung camera app was not only out YEARS before the Google camera was released to the play store for all phones, but the Samsung camera is actually quite good.  In fact, it’s superior to the Google camera app in functionality.  It was won much praise.  Now, it’s not better on ALL accounts, but it WAS first.  The Google camera has the much coveted PhotoSphere feature though.

Chrome vs. “Internet”

Chrome was only recently released.  Before that, Samsung HAD to provide a browser and they could NOT provide Chrome… because it didn’t exist!  Also, Samsung’s browser has a few features that Chrome doesn’t like the ability to scroll pages by simply nodding your head without touching the screen.

Chromecast vs. Samsung Link

Again, Samsung Link was out YEARS before Chromecast.  Additionally, the two are not directly comparable.  Chromecast is intended for use with additional hardware.  Samsung Link was designed to communicate with multiple devices.

Google “Device Policy” vs. Samsung “Knox”

Aside from being first (not a clone), Samsung Knox and Google “Device Policy” are not exactly the same thing, though there IS some overlap.  Samsung Knox has two primary features:

  1. Divide the user’s phone into two, untouching environments (work vs. personal) so apps and settings in one don’t affect the other.
  2. Provide very strong security to give Samsung devices the OK from corporate I.T. departments, giving them the ability to control the “work” side of the user’s phone without interfering with the user’s personal side.

Google’s “Google Apps Device Policy” is intended for admins and users of Google Apps.  It does not divide a phone into a work area and a personal area AND it arrived AFTER Samsung Knox.

NOTE:  Android L will be incorporating Samsung’s Knox security.  Not only did Samsung NOT copy Google, not only was Samsung FIRST, but Google is now taking actual parts of Samsung Knox and embedding it into the base Android OS.

GMail vs. Samsung “EMail”

Yet again, Samsung was first with their EMail client (as was every other Android device maker).  GMail is a relatively newcomer to the Android E-Mail client scene.

Also, the GMail app works ONLY with GMail.  It does NOT work with any other E-Mail service.  Samsung’s E-Mail app is a general purpose E-Mail client app.  it works with ALL POP3 and IMAP email (including GMail).  It also works with Microsoft Exchange.  In addition to that, it also enforces Exchange’s security policies.

These apps are only barely comparable, but, as stated above, Samsung’s E-Mail client was out YEARS before GMail.

Google vs. S-Voice

[GARD]

Do I need to say this?  OK, I’ll do it just to be complete:  S-Voice was out long before Google’s app.  S-Voice was available as far back as AT LEAST the Galaxy S2 (as of this writing, the S5 is the current Galaxy phone).  That’s several years ago.  “Google Now” came out YEARS later.

Additionally, S-Voice has more local features than Google’s app does for integrating with the phone.  “Google Now” is slowly catching up though on the local features, but is still not there yet.   They overlap in many areas and each has features the other doesn’t.  S-Voice is also FASTER than “Google Now” in search test results.

Hangouts vs. Chat-On

Google Hangouts is another relatively NEW comer to the game.  Chat-On has been around longer AND it integrates with more chat services.  Hangouts uses ONLY Google chat services.

Keep Vs. S-Note

Not only has S-Note been out since AT LEAST the Galaxy S2 and Google Keep only recently came out, but S-Note’s functionality is vastly superior to Google Keep.  S-Note is a highly functional and very mature note taking app.  Google Keep is like notepad in comparison.

Google Photos vs. Samsung Gallery

Google Photos only came out in very recent history.  Samsung Gallery has been out almost since the beginning of Android time.

Google Play Games vs. Samsung S-Console

Once again, Samsung’s was out first.  It may be confusing to some people because S-Console went by another name in prior version.

Google “Play Movies & TV” vs. Samsung “Watch On”

[GARD]

As with everything else, Samsung was first.  BUT, these two apps shouldn’t really be compared.  Samsung’s “Watch On” is an app that turns a Samsung Galaxy S4 or S5 (and I think some of the Samsung Note models) into a universal remote control for your TVs, DVD players, and other set top devices using the IR blaster built into certain Android devices.  Google “Play Movies & TV” is essentially digital media online store.

Google “Remote Control” vs. Samsung “Smart remote”

Yet again, Samsung was first, but again, these two apps shouldn’t be compared.  The Google app is really called, “Remote Control for Google TV”.  It’s an app that lets you control your Google TV device (which is so new, it’s umbilical cord hasn’t even been cut yet.  Samsung Smart Remote is essentially a scaled down version of “Watch On”.

There’s a growing, vocal community of people that really really hate Samsung.  Some of it is justified and some of it is not.  One of the memes that just won’t stop is that Samsung is going in a direction away from Google.  That may or may not be true, but the evidence provided to support that claim is the false list above.

In fact, almost all Android phone makers provide many NON Google versions of these apps, especially a browser and e-mail client, because until recently, Google provided no browser and they STILL don’t provide a general use e-mail client.  Other apps that ARE overlaps of Google apps are so, with both Samsung and others, because there WERE NO Google equivalents when those apps were made.

Editorial

All of the above was just historical facts.  The following is a bit of opinion…

Even if Samsung were or is intentionally making an ecosystem that doesn’t rely on Google, can you blame them?  Well, sure, you CAN.  But SHOULD you?  Does it make sense for ANY company to have so much of their business rely upon another company that’s not under their control?  of course not.  Every company wants to be in control of their own destiny.  So, I personally do not blame Samsung IF that is what they’re doing.

Now, what about the CUSTOMERS?  What’s best for THEM?  Is it a GOOD or a BAD thing for customers IF Samsung is actually INTENTIONALLY positioning themselves to survive WITHOUT relying on Google?

Of course.  Why?  Because if you’ve read this far, you are clearly an Android supporter and if you support Android, you almost certainly support it for many reasons, one of the big ones being that Android provides CHOICE.  Not just choice for something other than Apple, but choice WITHIN the Android platform.  If Google Maps is the ONLY mapping program out there, then you have no choice but to use it.  BUT, if there is competition, even IF you choose to continue to use ONLY the Google version, the mere existence of the competition will keep Google on their toes and incorporate features sooner than they would have had the competition not done it AND will cause Google to add features they may not have thought of to start with.

[GARD]

Competition and choice are GOOD things and THAT’S why you love Android.  NO ONE IS FORCING YOU USE THE SAMSUNG APPS NOR EVEN TO BUY A SAMSUNG PHONE!  Even if you want the Samsung hardware, but not the apps, YOU CAN DO THAT!  (if you root it, of course).

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Dragon Touch Tablet–High End Hardware–Low End Price

DragonTouchTablet

This is going to be a quick and short review.  The Dragon Touch 9.7” Android tablet by TabletExpress (as U.S. company) has fairly high hardware specs considering its low price of $179.99.  Most tablets that size are much more expensive.  But, it’s not just a 9.7” screen tablet, it also has a ridiculously high resolution of 2048×1536 (again, hi res for that price).  It also sports a Rockchips RK3188 Quad Core Cortex A9 CPU at 1.8Ghz per core.

[GARD]

Here are the specs:

  • 9.7” screen
  • 2,048×1,536 pixels “Retina” display
  • Rockchips RK3188 Quad Core Cortex A9 CPU at 1.8Ghz per core
  • Front and rear cameras
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • MicroUSB port (data only, not for charging)
  • HDMI port
  • Headphone jack
  • SD card slot, up to 64GB
  • 12v DC proprietary adapter
  • Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
  • 16GB internal storage
  • 2GB RAM
  • Wifi

Here’s an unboxing of it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xZP8B3V46k

The Good:

  • 9.7” screen
  • 2,048×1,536 pixels “Retina” display
  • Rockchips RK3188 Quad Core Cortex A9 CPU at 1.8Ghz per core
  • MicroUSB port (data only, not for charging)
  • HDMI port
  • SD card slot, up to 64GB
  • Screen Protector

Remember, this “goodness” is all based on getting this for $179.99.

You almost never see a screen larger than 7 inches for this price.  Remember, the Nexus 7 is only 7 inches, only has a resolution of 1920×1200, same amount of RAM and internal storage, and is only 1.5Ghz and NO SD card slot for expandability and IT costs $229.  Hardware wise, this thing kicks butt, especially for the price.

That screen resolution of 2,048 x 1,536 is insanely high for such a cheap tablet.  Even many more expensive tablets don’t even have that resolution.

The processor is a fairly fast Quad Core with a higher clock speed than what you get with the much more expensive (and small) Nexus 7.

It has an HDMI port so you can view it directly on your computer monitor or HDTV.  That can turn it into a game console or a cheap way to show the family photos and videos while on the go or to give presentations.

The Micro USB port is both a pro and a con.  Since we’re in the “Good” section, let’s focus on the good.  This is pretty standard on Android devices and any device without a MicroUSB port would be a joke.

It comes with 2GB of RAM and 8, 16, or 32GB of storage.  I’m reviewing the 16GB version here.  It also has a Micro SD card slot so you can add up to 64GB of more storage.  “Officially” it supports up to 32GB, but reviews on Amazon.com say that 64GB cards do indeed work.

The build quality is pretty robust too.  It doesn’t feel like a light piece of plastic.  This thing is solid.

It also comes with a screen protector already installed for you!

Google Play:

Yes!  This tablet has all the Google Goodness, including the Google Play store.  I do have to mention this because many tablets in this price range do NOT have any of the Google software and lack the Google Play store.

The Bad:

  • Front and rear cameras
  • MicroUSB port (data only, not for charging)
  • 12v DC proprietary adapter
  • Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

Let me first say that the good outweighs the bad.  I highly recommend this tablet.

BUT!  It’s not perfect.  For example, the front and rear cameras are both only 2 megapixels and the quality is not that great.  So, you’re not going to use this for keepsake photos and videos, but it’s good enough for scanning barcodes and doing video chats.

The MicroUSB port does NOT charge the device!  This is a pretty important thing to note because to charge it, you have to use their supplied, proprietary charger with a  very short 2 foot cord.

Also, the OS is not the latest.  It comes preinstalled with Android 4.2 Jellybean.  Today’s version of Android is 4.4.4 Kit Kat and the next major release, code named “Android L” is just around the corner.  I can’t confirm this, but rumors are that there will be no updates for this.  BUT, Jelly Bean 4.2 is a robust and powerful version of Android and as long as you update Google Play Services from the Google Play store, you’re going to get most of the important updates from Google.

In spite of the powerful hardware, it’s quite laggy and choppy.  My wife hasn’t complained, but my son noticed and I noticed and the reviewers on Amazon noticed.  Read below on “Make it better” for a fix.

The Box Contents:

There’s absolutely no paperwork or manuals in the box.  You get the tablet, the charger, a Micro USB to standard USB (PC to tablet) cable, and a USB PC female adapter cable.  I mean, one end plugs into the MicroUSB data port on your tablet and the other end is an open USB female port so you can plug in things like PC mice, keyboards, and external hard drives.

Make it Better:

For the technically capable… You can root this tablet with TPSparkyRoot.  Once rooted, you can then flash an alternative firmware (more commonly mislabeled as a “ROM”) and reports are that it makes this thing liquid smooth, like butter.

Conclusion:

For the money, you’ll have a really hard time finding this much bang for the buck.  With the screen resolution so high, and a decent enough size screen, you can even remote control your high-end desktop PCs with it.   –>Get it here<–

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Best Android Apps to Start Off 2014 (SHOPPING)

All these apps are free.  This article is one of a series of articles about the best Android apps available as of the beginning of 2014.  Click here for the main article that includes links to this article and links to all the other categories of “The Best Of” apps for beginning 2014.  This article is for the shopping apps category available at the beginning of 2014.

Amazon

2014-02-03 00.47.08The Amazon app [phones] [tablets] (not to be confused with the Amazon App Store, also reviewed below) is a native front end to the Amazon online store (not the app store).  This provides most of the features in the web site (if not all of them… I’ve, by no means, researched each and every feature of this massive web site).

This app is useful for obvious reasons in addition to the fact that you can be browsing in a brick and mortar store, like Wal-Mart, pick up an actual item off the shelf and scan its barcode into this app and it’ll tell you what you can get it for on Amazon.

I won’t go into extreme detail of what this app does.  If you’re familiar with Amazon.com, you already have a good idea.  You can, of course, track your Amazon.com orders with this app too.  Not much has changed from my review of it last year.  It’s still a good, solid app and I highly recommend it, even if you don’t purchase anything from them, at least you can do some comparison price shopping while walking around inside other stores.

 

2014-02-03 00.52.30Amazon App Store

Download Here.  One of the great things about Android is that you’re NOT locked into just ONE app store, like you are with iOS and Windows Phone.  You don’t have to root or “jail brake” your Android phone to install another app store.  It’s perfectly legitimate to do so on Android and is activated with just a simple settings change on any Android phone or tablet.

The Amazon Android App Store is a direct competitor to the Google Play app store that’s pre-installed on almost every Android device made (with the exception of the really cheap and crappy Chinese Android products).

This app has been improved significantly from this time last year.  It still has some issues though.  For example, it still doesn’t have a “What’s New” section for each app.  Apps are not updated nearly as often here as they are in the Google Play Store.  Installing an app seems to take significantly longer and they do NOT install in the background.  You HAVE to wait until the app finishes installing before leaving the App Store, or next time you come back to the App Store, you’ll find (even days or weeks later), that it hasn’t finished installing your app yet.

One thing I really like about the Amazon Android App Store is their Free App Of The Day.  Every day, they GIVE AWAY a PAID app.  In other words, it’s an app that’s NOT free on any other day, but on THAT day, you get it for free!

To Install It:

On your phone, go to Settings –> Security –> Unknown Sources

and make sure it’s checked.

Then go to this URL to download it to your phone (or Google search for “Amazon App Store”).

image

Amazon Price Check

2014-02-03 00.59.01This app [Amazon App Store] [Google Play] lets you scan barcodes while in a real store and compare the prices to Amazon… Not sure why this is a different app from the Amazon app, which provides the same functionality.

Ebay

2012-12-31 18.42.002014-02-03 01.04.41

This is a nicer and more responsive native app [Amazon App Store] [Google Play] than trying to use the ebay website from your mobile browser.  If you’re familiar with ebay, you already know what you can do with this app.  If not, just look at these screen shots and those should pretty much tell you what you need to know.  On the left is my screen shot from last year (logged in).  On the right, from this year (not logged in).

Best Buy2012-12-31 18.43.472012-12-31 18.44.45

[Google Play] This is a front end to the Best Buy web site and is very useful when you’re in a physical Best Buy store.  If you’ll notice, most products have a ticket on the shelf with a price, a small description, and a 2D QR bar code.  Scan it with this app and you’ll get the full details of the product.  No significant changes from last year’s review, though I’ll point out that I now seem to lose my logon and have to continuously log on.  Since my passwords are long and complex and stored in LastPass, this is very frustrating.

You can also check the balance of your Best Buy gift cards by simply taking a picture of the back of your gift card.

If you’re a RewardsZone member (and if not, WHY NOT?), you can check on your RewardZone points and even display your RewardZone points on your phone to the cashier at checkout to redeem your points, instead of printing them out at home and bringing them in.  You’ll save ink, paper, time, frustration, and money… an the “green” Nazis will sprinkle their happy happy fairy dust on you.

 

2012-12-31 18.45.502012-12-31 18.45.20Game Stop

I no longer recommend this app.  It tracks too much of your information.  I’ve uninstalled it.

2014-02-03 01.14.42FedEx

[Amazon App Store] [Google Play] The FedEx app is highly useful when you’re tracking a packing you’ve either sent or are expecting to receive (such as one you ordered with say, the Amazon app).  The screen shot to the right pretty much sums up what this app does.  It’s short and simple… It does the things you expect and nothing fancy.

 

2014-02-03 01.16.432014-02-03 01.17.35UPS

[Amazon App Store] [Google Play] The UPS app is similar to the FedEx app.  It does the same thing, except for UPS shipments.  No surprises here.  New this year (since my review last year) is the “UPS My Choice” feature.

QR Droid & Barcode Scanner

2014-02-03 01.24.382014-02-03 01.25.23[Amazon App Store] [Google Play] Both apps “QR Droid” and “Barcode Scanner” let you scan those 2D barcodes you’re seeing everywhere.  They usually represent a URL and it’s extremely convenient to scan them in places like BestBuy on product tags on the shelves or on movie posters or even on web sites on your desktop computer to load up the URL on your phone.  Installing QR Droid also gives you the ability to create your OWN QR Codes.  For example, you can send a contact from your contacts to it and it’ll display as a QR code on your screen.  Someone else can scan your screen with their phone and receive your contact.  If you’re on a web page, you can share the web page to the app and it’ll produce a QR Code with the URL encoded in it.  You can save it and e-mail it or publish it on your website, or show it on your screen to let someone else scan it.  But, since we’re in the “Shopping” apps category here, you can use it to scan 2D QR Codes in stores to get more information on the products and to even compare prices.

 

2012-12-31 19.07.39Kroger

[Google Play] The Kroger app is a master app for all the stores shown in the screen shot:

  • Kroger
  • Baker’s
  • CityMarket
  • Dillons
  • Food4Less
  • Food4Less Fremont
  • Foods Co
  • Fred Meyer
  • Fry’s
  • Gerbes
  • JayC Food Stores
  • King Suupers
  • Owen’s
  • Pay Less Super Markets
  • QFC Quality Food Centers
  • Ralphs
  • Smith’s

2014-02-03 01.28.25Kroger is the parent company for all these grocery stores.  This app works with all of them.  If you have a customer loyalty card at any of these stores (and if you don’t, WHY NOT?) they all work at all those stores.  This app will let you browse coupons and add them to your card.  When you check out, if you’ve put any of those products in your cart, when you swipe your card at the register, all those coupons are applied.  You can check your fuel points too and see the weekly ads.  This is a MUST HAVE app if you shop at any of these grocery stores.

CraigsNotifica

That’s not a typo.  That’s actually what it’s called.  This app is dropped from last year’s recommendation because it appears it’s no longer available.

Google Shopper2012-12-31 20.37.39

Google went on a rampage last year, axing many apps.  Google Shopper was one of them.  So, this is no longer available.  But see “Google Offers” below.  But, here’s my review from last year:  Google Shopper integrates with “Barcode Scanner” (reviewed above).  Scan any barcode and this app will find multiple sources for that product.  This is probably the best way to find the best price on anything.  Use this when shopping in any physical store to decide whether or not it’s worth buying that product in your hands now, or somewhere else.

Google Offers

image2014-02-03 01.33.05

New on this year’s list, Google Offers, I believe, is somewhat of a replacement for Google Shopper.  I have chosen to NOT install it because you have to enable both GPS location services AND location history.  That’s too much for my personal taste, but if you don’t mind your personal location being tracked and recorded, then this app can provide you some savings.  From their description:

“Now with Google Offers, you don’t have to pay to get offers. No need to buy them, just save offers to your account and redeem with your phone when you shop.

The app helps you discover relevant offers from local businesses and big brands, and keeps track of offers you find on Google Search, Maps, and more.

You can use them straight away, or the app will remind you next time you’re near the store. Then, all you do is open the app to show your offer at checkout—no printing needed.”

Gift Shopper Pro ($0.99)

image

[Google Play] [Amazon App Store] New on this year’s list.  This was a free app of the Day on the Amazon App Store, so I got it free.  This is a great app for keeping track of gifts you’re buying for loved ones for any holiday or occasion you need to track.  It is tablet friendly as well.

 

T-Mobile MobileLife

2014-02-03 01.41.452014-02-03 01.41.32Available for free [Amazon App Store] (and likely pre-installed) for T-Mobile customers, this app does many things, but my family uses it for a shared and immediately live shopping list.  Whenever I discover I’m out or running low on something, I’ll pull my phone out and enter it onto our shopping list.  When my wife or I are getting groceries, we’ll pull out this list on our phones and check off the items as we put them in our buggy.  What’s great is if I remember something after my wife has already left for the store, I just add it to the list, and she’ll see it while she’s shopping.  A non-carrier specific shared shopping list app that’s very popular is  “Out Of Milk” [Amazon App Store] [Google Play]

 

You Chime In

What are some of YOUR favorite apps in this category?  Let us know in the comments below.

Conclusion

This completes my list of “Best” shopping apps available to start off 2014.  There are, of course, other shopping of apps and this is, by no means, a comprehensive list.  Some of these are the apps in this category that I use on a daily basis and install on a new phone or tablet as soon as I get it.

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BEST ANDROID APPS TO START OFF 2014 (Financial Apps)

This article is one of a series of articles about the best Android apps available as of the beginning of 2014.  Click here for the main article that includes links to this article and links to all the other categories of “The Best Of” apps for beginning 2014.  This article is for the Financial apps category, which lists the best banking, debt, and financial apps available at the beginning of 2014.  Most of these apps are free or very cheap.

Google Wallet

imageNOTICE!  Google Wallet used to be just for phones with NFC, and was also blocked by many carriers and wouldn’t install on many phones.  Google has significantly changed what Google Wallet is now.  Now, it is your Google money account.  With it you have access to transactions from the Google Play store (apps, music, movies, books, etc…).  You can also send money to friend through it, as well as make NFC payments at your local retailers (even make local purchases WITHOUT NFC!).  Google Wallet now works on just about any phone on just about any carrier.

If you enable location services (let it see your GPS), then it can notify you of nearby deals.

 

Debt Payoff Planner ($0.99)

imageDebt Payoff Planner lets you enter all of your debts, their interest rates, minimum payments due on each, what you can afford each month towards paying off debt, and it will show you the best way to pay down those debts to get it paid off the earliest, paying the least amount in interest.

It will produce payoff tables, showing you each debut, how much to apply to it, on what days.  It’s very simple to use and doesn’t require you to understand the complexities of compound interest or anything like that.  All you need to know is how much you owe on each, what their interest rates are, their minimum payments, and how much you can afford to apply towards your debts each month.  It does all the complex work for you and shows you simple payment plans.

 

aCar (free & paid)

imageaCar keeps track of your auto expenses, including fuel costs, repair and service records and costs, and can show you where you’re spending the most and will even calculate your mileage that you’re getting.  There’s both a free version and a paid version that gives you some nice graphs and reports.

Each time you fill up, enter the number of gallons you purchased, your total price (or price/gallon) and your current mileage.  It’ll figure out the rest.

This does take due diligence on your part to stay current and enter it every time.

 

adSense Dashboard (free)

imageDo you use Google ads for a side income on your websites and blogs (or perhaps your own apps)?  adSense Dashboard shows you your earnings in a nice, clean dashboard UI.

 

 

 

 

You can also choose views for:

  • Overview (the dashboard)
  • Sites
  • Custom Channels
  • URL channels
  • Ad units
  • Graphs
  • Reports

Google AdSense (Free)

imageMuch like adSense Dashboard, Google’s AdSense provides you a different kind of view of your Google ad income.  Of course, it looks more like the Google Now Cards interface.

Google’s version also has notifications, much like the notification drop down in their Google+ mobile app, so if there are any notifications on your account, you can see them from the bell menu.

Quicken 2013 and Quicken 2014

image

If you use Quicken on your desktop, then you have access to the free, mobile app.  Though the mobile app is free, the desktop app (required) is not free.  There’s a version for Quicken 2013 and one for Quicken 2014.  From inside your desktop application, you have it sync with your Quicken Cloud account, then on your mobile device, you log into your cloud account and you can view all your accounts from your mobile.  Additionally, you can finally enter transactions directly from your mobile device.  This has created a new level of convenience in the Quicken software.  You can enter your transactions at the time you write your checks, rather than downloading them and going through your checkbook register to validate.

Just be aware of the MANY bugs in Quicken software!

 

Financial Calculators (Free)

image

Financial Calculators is a free app, and despite the pluralness of the name, it’s a single app, but it does have multiple calculators in it.

Most (if not all) of the many calculators in this app provide multiple fields for you to enter.  You can leave some out and it will auto-calculate the values of the others (provided you gave it enough information).

Rather than explain each calculator in this app (there are MANY), here’s a screen shot of the top of the list (there are more):

2014-02-03 00.06.19

 

Your Bank’s mobile apps

imageimageimageimageimageimageimageimageimage

Of course, I can’t provide a review of every single bank’s and credit card company’s apps.  Instead, I’ll explain what you can expect from most of them in 2014:  For bank apps, you should have access to your checking transactions.  You should also have the ability to make deposits from home (or anywhere) via your mobile app.  You simply sign the back of the check you received, then use your bank’s app to take photos of the front and the back, then tell the mobile app how much the check is.  The app will do OCR on the routing number and account number of the check, then make those funds immediately available to you.  No more rushing to the bank during their highly useless hours (openning an hour or to after you go to work, and closing an hour before you leave work).

 

Conclusion:

This is just a small fraction of what’s available as far as financial apps are concerned.  Search the Google Play store for your own bank’s or credit card’s apps.  They can be quite convenient.

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BEST ANDROID APPS TO START OFF 2014 (PHONE/COMMUNICATION APPS)

This article is one of a series of articles about the best Android apps available as of the beginning of 2014.  Click here for the main article that includes links to this article and links to all the other categories of “The Best Of” apps for beginning 2014.  Let’s get started with the Phone/Communication category, which lists the best phone and communication apps available at the beginning of 2014.  For last year’s list, click here:

Groove IP and Talk-A-Tone (Free VOIP)

imageimage

If you have a Google Voice Account (and if you don’t… WHY NOT???), you can install Groove IP (free version or paid version $4.99) or Talk-A-Tone to make and receive calls over your data plan with your Google voice number.  As far as your mobile carrier is concerned, no call took place, so NO MINUTES ARE USED!

Groove IP is one of the few apps I’ve actually purchased.

I don’t know how many times I’ve explained this to people… they just DO NOT get it, so hopefully you WILL (pay attention!):  The official Google Voice app DOES NOT MAKE VOIP CALLS!!!!  The official Google Voice app does everything EXCEPT make VOIP calls.  Yes, you CAN change your GV settings to forward calls placed to your GV# to your real cell phone number, but when you answer, you’re USING MINUTES because you’re actually using your mobile carrier’s phone connection.  But if you use Groove IP or Talk-A-Tone, you can send and receive calls ON DATA ONLY.  As far as your mobile carrier is concerned, nothing is happening except “stuff on the internet”.  I’m hoping you can see the difference.  Making “real” phone calls with your carrier USES YOUR MINUTES.  Using Groove IP or Talk-A-Tone, you have UNLIMITED minutes.  (note: it DOES use your data, so if you have a data cap, be mindful of that).

[GARD]

So, eat my shorts Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and everyone else!

Sadly, Google is turning off 3rd party APIs for VOIP in May, so these apps will ONLY work until then.  Then it’s lights out. Sad smile  ALL 3rd party VOIP apps that use Google Voice will cease to function.  This is a huge downer for me as my home phone is actually a 100% free Google Voice phone.

Both Groove IP and Talk-A-Tone have both free and paid versions.  The free versions work only on your Wi-Fi connection.  The paid versions will use your mobile data connection too.  But, if you do pay for them, remember, they stop working in May 2014.

Red Phone (Encrypted Phone Calls)

image

New in my list this year:  With Red Phone installed, your cell number is registered with them.  Then, when anyone else with Red Phone calls you, Red Phone notifies them that you have it to and they can place a secure call with you.  This bypasses making a real phone call and instead makes a VOIP call and it’s encrypted.  This not only encrypts your call, but it does NOT use minutes from your cell phone provider because you’re not really making a “real” phone call.  As far as your carrier is concerned, it’s just “stuff on the internet”.

Eat my shorts, NSA!

TextSecure (Encrypted Text SMS)

image

New in my list this year:  Make by the same people that gave us Red Phone, is TextSecure.  this is a texting app, but with a special feature:  Anyone you text that’s also using it will receive your text messages securely.  Both of your messages are encrypted locally, before sent out.  Just like RedPhone, when you install TextSecure, it registers your phone number with their servers so that your contacts who also use it will automatically detect that you have it and will encrypt your text messages.  You can use this app as your standard SMS app too.  If you text someone that does NOT have TextSecure, it just sends the text messages in the normal way any other SMS app does.  If your text messages ARE encrypted, it’ll show a lock icon by them so you always know whether you have a secure or unsecure connection.

Eat my shorts, again, NSA!

Chomp (SMS)

image

New in my list this year:  Chomp SMS is my favorite SMS app (aside from the encryption provided by TextSecure.  You have a LOT of customizations of the look and feel of your text messages.

Of course, if you want encrypted messaging, this is not the app for you.  But if you want a great looking messaging app, this is one of the best.  You can even make it look like the bubbly iOS texting app, if you like.

One thing to note about encrypted messages:  If you are running CyanogenMod 11 (if you’re not sure, then you most certainly are NOT), it has TextSecure’s encrypted technology built directly INTO the Operating System so ALL your SMS apps can send and receive encrypted messages!  So, since I am running CM11, I continue to use Chomp SMS and I also get the benefit of encrypted messages without the need of the stand-alone TextSecure app.  Yes, I have the best of both worlds!

Yes, it’s supports EMOJI and themes as well.

Thanks CyanogenMod!

Google Hangouts

image

New in my list this year:  Google Hangouts is Google’s latest offering for messaging.  They are integrating all of their various messaging apps into one.  This app does SMS, Google Chat, some of Google Voice, and Video and Audio chatting all in ONE app.  If you like the Google card like interfaces (I personally do NOT for this type of app), then you’ll love this.  It can even be your default SMS app.  This is almost an all-in-one messaging app.

Google Voice

image

Staying on the list this year:  Not to be confused with the Google Voice SERVICE, this is the Google Voice Android App.  Yes, it sounds like I’m splitting hairs, but the Google Voice SERVICE is much bigger than this lonely, single, Android App.  Of course, this app gives you a user interface into the Google Voice service.  This app does SMS (only via your Google Voice #, not your real cell #) and provides you a great UI for your Google Voice voice messages.  BTW, you can make Google Voice your REAL voice-mail provider for your REAL cell phone number, instead of your cell phone providers very limited voicemail service.  If you use GV as your standard VM provider, then you get everything you had before PLUS you can get your v-mail sent to you in e-mail.  You get automatic voice to text transcriptions (which are searchable!), can access your v-mail from any web browser, from the GV app, from your e-mail.  You can play them on your phone or in a web browser.  You can SEE them as if they’re e-mail with a GMail like UI.  Once you try it, I promise you, you’ll NEVER go back to that crappy old v-mail service your cell provider has for you, wasting all that time listening to messages with just your audio and phone pad interface.

[GARD]

Note that if you have CyanogenMod 11 or higher (again, if you’re not sure, then you definitely do NOT), then you have Google Voice support DIRECTLY in your phone’s operating system.  You PHONE can use the free, unlimited texting service from your Google Voice number.  ANY SMS app on your CM11 phone can use your Google Voice # for sending and receiving SMS messages.  If you do NOT have CM11 (or Sprint), then Google’s free SMS via your Google Voice number has utility ONLY in the Google Voice app.

But, with your Google Voice service and this app (or any SMS app on a Sprint phone or a CM11 phone), you can cancel your expensive texting plan and use ONLY your Google Voice service.  It’s free and it’s unlimited.

Oh!  And calls to your GV# can be filtered for telemarketing spam.  So can SMS messages.  It’s an optional (and free) feature.  Of course, you want this feature turned on!

See my 2013 “Best Android Apps to Start off 2013 (Phone/Communication Apps)” for a more, in-depth description of this service.

Eat my shorts, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, Virgin, etc…

Mr. Number (Spam Blocking)

image

Still on my list this year:  This is an oldie, but a goodie.  Install Mr. Number and it will instantly lookup any incoming call and compare the caller ID information to a known list of telemarketers.  It will actually WARN you with a popup notification that the caller is a suspected spammer.  At which point you can choose to answer, hang-up, or block it.  If you block it, it gets added to your block list and you’ll never receive a call from them again.  If you get a call from a telemarketer that Mr. Number didn’t recognize, you can then tell Mr. Number that this number is a telemarketer and block it.  The great thing about that is it registers that number with the Mr. Number servers as a spammer so OTHER users get notified too.

This service is a crowd sourced service.  All of you are helping each other out.  You can even leave a description of the telemarketing call.  Even iOS users have a version of this app, so they too are contributing to the crowd sourced information.

Eat my shorts, telemarketers!

YP Mobile

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Same as last year:  YP Mobile (available here in the Google Play store) provides your basic yellow pages phone book, plus the familiar stuff you find in other “local services” apps for finding restaurants, gas prices, etc…  Not much more to say about it.  This app is no more or less special than others of its type, but I’m including it as one in that type of category.  Others are Yahoo!, Yelp, and Where.

[GARD]

Personally, I find Google Maps a superior tool for finding local businesses and their phone numbers as it shows a map of your results, so you can see, visually, immediately, what’s close by, then just tap whichever one you want on the map to get the details and phone numbers.

Google Maps

imageNew on my list this year:  Why Google Maps in a list of PHONE apps?  Because, I’ve found this is the most convenient way to find local numbers by business name OR by category (such as “Pizza”).  The search results are pins on a map, showing me WHERE these places are, which is almost always important to me for local places.  Touching a pin shows you that company’s contact information, INCLUDING their phone number, which you can tap and call immediately.  It is UBER useful!  I actually use Google Maps more than anything else for finding phone numbers.  To be honest, I don’t even have YP Mobile installed anymore.  I do want to leave it on my list, because it is useful and I just can’t bring myself to not recommending it, even though I honestly do NOT use it myself, anymore.  Google Maps is just awesome for finding local (and even non-local) businesses.

Dropped from this year’s list

imageNot all apps from last year made this year’s list.  Among them is Call Master.  Now, this is actually a GREAT app and works even better than Mr. Number, but it has one terminal flaw:  It sometimes pops up a nag screen in front of an incoming call, making it impossible to answer the phone.  I’ve missed a couple of very important phone calls.  For that reason, I’ve removed it from this year’s list.  BUT, if you’re wanting to pay for the full version, I’m sure this nag screen problem would go away.

What was better about it than Mr. Number was that it embeds itself DEEP into the OS so it would actually PREVENT the telemarketing call from making its way into the phone’s notification system.  The phone won’t ring.  You’ll have no call log.  Not even Mr. Number will be aware of it.  With Mr. Number, when a blocked caller calls, you hear a short ring before Mr. Number shuts them down.

You Chime In

What are some of YOUR favorite apps in this category?  Let us know in the comments below.

Conclusion

This completes my list of “Best” phone-specific apps available to start off 2014.  There are, of course, other communication types of apps and this is, by no means, a comprehensive list.  These are the apps in this category that I use on a daily basis and install on a new phone or tablet as soon as I get it.

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Best Android Apps to start Off 2014

Here are my “Best of” Android apps to start off with in 2014.

I’ll list them by category and explain the purpose of each one and why I’m choosing it.  Each category will be a separate post because, as you can see of the length of the list, it would be quite long if it were all in one post.  Each bulleted category below is a LINK to the article about the apps in that category.  The list of categories below will only have hotlinks to articles for which I’ve completed.  Note that when I did this for 2013, I did NOT get a chance to make articles for all of these.  I will attempt it again this year.

Keep checking back as I post more articles… one for each category below

•    Phone/Communication Apps
•    Finance
•    Shopping (Everything here is FREE)
•    Imaging
•    Utilities
•    Audio
•    Games
•    Calculators
•    File Management
•    Security
•    Geo Location
•    Launchers
•    Productivity
•    Social
•    News & Reference
•    Time (Clocks/Alarms/Calendars, etc…)
•    Networking
•    Weather

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Sick of the NSA Spying on you?

imageSetting aside the tin foil hat and paranoia jokes, no one likes being tracked or their private text messages being scraped up by the U.S. government’s massive computers, nor their phone metadata being logged, nor even the possibility of someone being able to listen in or record your phone calls (the NSA denies they listen to calls, but others with even FEWER ethics CAN).

 

Here’s what you can do to protect yourself on your Android SmartPhone

  • Encrypt your text messages.  There are 2 good options:

Install the TextSecure app.  This app will automatically detect which of your contacts also has this app installed and will automatically encrypt your SMS text messages with those individuals.  TextSecure is available on iOS too!  This means you can have encrypted texting sessions with both iOS and Android users!

Root your phone and install CyanogenMod 11 (or higher).  CM 11 has built-in support for TextSecure encryption, coded directly INTO the Operating System.  This means, you don’t have to install the TextSecure app.  Automatically, ALL SMS apps on your phone suddenly support TextSecure encryption.  But, you have to turn it on.  The feature is called “WhisperPush”.  Simply find the WhisperPush app on your phone, run it, and follow the instructions.  It’s the simplest setup you’ll ever experience.

  • Encrypt your voice phone calls (yes, you can do that)

This used to be stuff of only fiction in spy movies, but it’s a reality today and YOU can do it within minutes of reading this article.  First, install the app RedPhone from the Google Play Store.  This app is made by the same people that make TextSecure.  Both you and the person you’re calling (or receiving a call from) have to be using this in order to have a secure, encrypted phone call.  When you install the app, the first time you run it, it’ll ask you to register your phone number.  Now, anyone else with the app, when they call you’re number, the app knows you have it and will offer the caller the option to make the phone call encrypted.  Note that this uses your DATA connection and NOT your phone connection.  You’re not actually making an actual phone call.  It’s more of an internet audio chat.  But you don’t need to know that other than if you have a data cap, this will use your data.  As far as you and the other caller are concerned, for all practical purposes, it’s a phone call.  But your carrier will have no record of it AND anyone trying to listen in will only see a stream of random bytes streaming.  It’s totally encrypted… just like in the spy movies! Smile

  • Encrypt your E-Mail

This is a bit more difficult.  I’ll provide another article on how to do this.  The short version is you need to install djigzo from the Google Play store to manage your keys.  Then you’ll need an e-mail client that can use those keys to encrypt and decrypt your e-mail.  K-9 Mail is supposedly one of those apps.  For the record, I’ve NEVER gotten this to work.

  • Encrypt your phone

Android can encrypt your entire phone.  Don’t confuse yourself.  This does NOT encrypt ANY internet traffic to or from your phone.  It encrypts the files on the phone itself.

Go to Seetings –> Security –> Encrypt Phone

Warning!  This can take an hour or so!  Make sure your phone is plugged in AND has at least an 80% charge.  You do NOT want this failing in the middle of  it.  It will also require you to set a lock screen PIN or password, if you don’t already have one.  Once you do this, you CANNOT flash anymore ROMs on your phone (if you’re rooted).  So, make sure you’re good to go with the ROM you have.

  • Add a PIN or password to your phone

This one is obvious.  You need to set a PIN or a Password on your lock screen, otherwise, anyone can use your phone and see your data.

  • Add extra PIN for individual apps

Install the app AppLock from the Google Play store.  Open it up and set your settings.  You’ll set a PIN and you’ll select the apps you want to have an extra layer of protection.  Hint:  DO NOT use the SAME PIN here that you’re using for your phone lock screen.

This app will pop up a PIN prompt whenever someone tries to open one of your extra protected apps.  For example, you may want to enable your backing apps and credit card apps via AppLock so that you have to know that extra PIN in order to lauch them.  This way, if you let someone borrow your phone, they can’t go snooping into your financial data.

  • Hide apps and/or files on your phone

Maybe you have some apps that you don’t want other people to know or use.  Go to the Google Play store and download an app called Hide It Pro.  When you install it, it’ll show up on your phone as “Audio Manager”.  It’s deliberately deceptive.  The purpose of this app is to hide apps and/or files on your phone.  You protect them with a password of your choosing.  If someone’s snooping around on your phone, all they’ll see for this app is a music icon with a label, “Audio Manager”.  And if they launch it, it’ll even have working audio controls.  Those controls are totally for faking out people snooping on your phone.  Long press on the app title at the top of the screen (inside the app) and you’ll be prompted for a password, which then takes you into the real app where you can select apps and files to hide.  They won’t even show up anywhere on the phone with the regular phone interface.

  • Hide your browsing and internet traffic

Your ISP can see all the sites you go to, and so can the NSA, and so can anyone else snooping on your wireless connection (or even your wired connection).  And websites know what IP address you’re using, which means they can ask the ISP that own’s that IP address who is using it, and they’ll give them your name, address, and phone number.  What you need is something that bounces your web page requests to random computers all over the world.  Yes, this is exactly what you see “hackers” doing in hi-tech spy movies and YOU can do it too… VERY EASILY.  Install the app Orbot on your phone.  Follow the directions.   It’s super simple.  If your phone is rooted, it can obfuscate ALL of your internet traffic.  If your phone is NOT rooted, it can work with a few apps on your phone (web browser and e-mail, in particular) and bounce all your traffic from those supported apps all around the world.  It’ll slow down your connection a little, but it’ll also protect you against nosy, 3 letter acronyms including ISPs.

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