Stuff for mobile devices
Let’s imagine for a moment you’ve suddenly discovered your latent ability as a photographer, mostly taken with your phone at your family gatherings and other festive occasions. Now imagine you could make the snappy snap process more comfortable with the simple addition of a low cost accessory. Would you be interested? Of course you would.
One of the things that’s most frustrating about hanging out with Mr Android is the fact that it’s not easy to keep track of the stuff you buy on the Google Play store. Sure you can visit the store online and take a look at your purchased apps, but it’s very random, and it’s almost impossible to find everything without lots of very boring scrolling.
![My Paid Apps – keep track of all the Android app and in-app purchases you’ve ever made [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/mypaidapps.jpg)
Sometimes, no matter how great the screen resolution, your smartphone simply won’t cut it as a portable entertainment device. Because let’s face it, 4 inches is still just 4 inches. But fear not, intrepid traveler, because we have located a solution which will bring a tear to your eye.
By now most people know about sleep cycles, and how you can improve your sleep patterns by adjusting to them. But in case you didn’t, one of the reasons you can wake up cranky is if you haven’t optimized your sleep for these 90 minute cycles. Now a free app can help you do just that.
![90Night – cool free app helps you sleep better [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/90night2.jpg)
Apparently an Apple patent filing has just surfaced from September 2012 which describes how the company would like to help people avoid bumping into things while texting. They would like to do this by turning the background of the phone into a video feed taken from the rear camera. All rather nice. Except for one small point.
If you’ve ever had a need to map out your room layout, you’ll know it can be a bit of a pain to do. All that measuring tape stuff and moving furniture and getting the windows right. It can take forever to do. But of course that was before smartphones, because now there’s a different way to get it done.
![RoomScan – get a drawing of your room layout with your iPhone [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/roomscan1.jpg)
There’s a bunch of game console adapters on the market at the moment, all designed to make your phone into a full on gaming phenomenon. Of course one small damper on that vision is the fact that most phone games are designed with touchscreens in mind, which makes gamepad play rather redundant. But now at last a company has actually thought about that and come up with a solution.
The new HTC One M8 was released yesterday and we went along to have a look at what all the fuss is about. The Android smartphone is a replacement for the previous HTC One, and as you might expect is more of an evolution than a revolution. But there are a couple of surprises, as we found out.
![HTC One M8 first look – gorgeous looking Android ultra handset [Review]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/htconem8b.jpg)
How much did you pay for your first mobile phone? More or less than $200? More? Yep, us too. Well let’s face it, cell phone technology is pretty miraculous isn’t it? Beaming sound and vision and stuff from person to person anywhere in the world using a global network of antennas? Still science fiction peeps.
Everyone enjoys a good sing-a-long now and then, even if they often don’t admit it in public. The problem is, most times you need to find yourself a decent Karaoke bar and spend money to enjoy singing with your favorite tunes. But now there’s another option.
We love selfies, don’t we? All that preening and posturing. The problem is that most of the time it’s pretty tricky setting up a good shot because you’ve got to be cameraman (or girl) and subject all in one. Which clearly can cause issues.
![CamMe – free app delivers next generation of selfie perfection [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/camme.jpg)
We’re starting to get the feeling that the smartphone market is peaking. There have been no major advances in the technology for a while now, while prices continue to descend at a rapid rate. Of course the fact that most of the people who are interested have already bought one may have something to do with it.
It had to happen. Someone had to come up with the genius idea that a handheld games console which was also a full bore smartphone might be a cool idea. Actually we’re sure the idea is not that new, but what makes this notable is the fact that the phone part looks half decent.
If you’re a driver who constantly plays tag with the parking wardens on your beat, you’ll probably appreciate any tool which promises to help your life go easier. Which is clearly what the developers behind Fixed, a new smartphone app which offers to help ‘people beat unjust parking tickets‘.
You know the really scary bit about these things we call smartphones is they’re starting to morph into monsters of weird. Not content with giving us normal things to do, like calling, texting and taking cute pics of kittens, they’re now offering up all sorts of strange apps which you kind of figure are not right. Or maybe too right? Know what we mean?
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