Stuff for mobile devices
One of the things we don’t appreciate about carrying around our life in a portable device like a smartphone, is how easy it is for people to snoop into your affairs just by peering over your shoulder while you’re reading stuff. It may not be so bad on a street, but on a plane ride or in a bus, things can get a little dodgy if you’re not careful.
Word just in says that Google has bought Word Lens, the ultra clever app for Apple and Android, which lets you point your camera at a foreign language sign and read an instant translation. We first covered it back in 2010, when it only offered a couple of languages, but it’s now grown to six, ranging from Russian to German, Italian and Portuguese.
![Word Lens – awesome translation app for iOS and Android is now free, and part of Google [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/wordlens2.jpg)
There’s no shortage of budget Android tablets on the market, but for the most part they’re pretty middle of the road in terms of specifications and performance. That’s why it’s always nice to see a tablet which seems to have a little more thought and care put into design, especially when it looks nice as well.
![Ceros Vision 16 GB Android Tablet – budget retina tablet offers great quality at an attractive price [Review]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/cerosvision16.jpg)
We went to a small digital demo show last night and tucked away in the corner of the room was a little stand showing off these tiny gizmos. The PAWA Card is an ultra thin credit card sized charge block which comes with an integrated Lithium Polymer battery, and a very clever triple format connector.
![PAWA Card – probably the coolest little credit card charger on the planet [Review]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/pawachargeblock3.jpg)
According to this recent research project analyzing 6.3 million social media messages, London and New York are the world’s most popular selfie photo locations. London just edges out the Big Apple, with people queuing up to picture themselves in front of Big Ben, the London Eye and Buck House (yeah the palace), which all seems like jolly good fun.
In an ideal world we’d all be able to afford the maximum unlimited data accounts with our shiny new smartphones, but it’s not an ideal world and we mostly have to settle for some sort of data cap each month. The real problem comes when we exceed the limits though, because that can get expensive, fast. Now there’s a way to track and avoid over-charges on your Android handset.
![3G Watchdog – keep track of your 3G mobile data and avoid nasty invoice surprises at the end of the month [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/3gwatchdog.jpg)
There’s a seemingly never ending supply of cheap Android smartphones coming out of China at the moment, some of them great, others not so impressive. We thought we’d take a look at a generic offering to see whether the overall quality of these phones has improved over the past couple of years. And the answer is…a qualified yes.
![Doogee Android Smartphone – budget quad core smartphone [Review]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/doogeesmartphone.jpg)
Once upon a time there was an amazing mobile phone company, which led the world in the quality, technology and robustness of its products. Then along came a nasty man with a black polo neck shirt and took it all away from them.
The security camera market is about as large as our fears of being robbed, cheated and broken into, so it’s not surprising that there’s a lot of apps available for smartphones which will offer a new way of tackling the problem. There’s a new product, however, which seems to be getting a lot of friends because of its ease of use and low cost.
![AtHome Camera – instantly turn your old smartphone or tablet into a security camera [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/athomecamera.jpg)
There seems to something of a revolution going on in the microscope market, what with the new low cost technologies coming on stream to let people do the job of magnifying very small stuff. Only last month we reported on the Foldscope, which is a sub $1 standalone microscope which is made from paper. And now we have another entry.
Firechat got some hot press last month when it debuted on Apple’s iPhone platform. In case you didn’t hear, it’s a free mesh communications app which means you can chat with nearby people without needing an Internet connection or mobile data service active. We’ve talked about this stuff before, notably with TinCan, but this new service offers a lot more functionality.
![Firechat hits Android…mesh chat without Internet takes a big step forward [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/firechat3.jpg)
There’s a lot of anxiety about nowadays unfortunately, symptomatic of our fast paced lifestyles we guess. Hence the rise of tools, tablets (the popping kind), and therapists who offer various solutions to make it all better.
![S.A.M. – this Self Help Anxiety Management App helps you cope [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/sam.jpg)
Boring grey is all well and good at the office, but what happens when you want to kick out a bit at the weekends? We’re talking of course, about your mobile accessories, which have to be safe and sedate in front of your boss, but actually don’t reflect the crazy inner you.
Oh we know we shouldn’t be so trivial, but we couldn’t resist. This Real Candle app for Android gives you a real live candle inside your phone. Yes it does. Look don’t argue, OK?
![Real Candle – impress (some) folk with the flame in a phone [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/realcandle.jpg)
Ladies, just how addicted to your smartphone are you? A little? A lot? Not sure? Well here’s a quick way to find out. If the thought of sticking a false fingernail onto your index finger to act as a touchscreen stylus excites you, then you’re probably a digital addict of some kind.
 folk with the flame in a phone [Freeware]){kind=link}
