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Apps and services for web developers on Android

Developers and web designers, much like the rest of us, live fast paced lives. Due to the quickly changing landscape of web and app development, designers must stay on their collective toes or risk getting left behind the times. Most developers will tell you that having up to date gadgets (like the beautiful new Samsung Galaxy S8 or LG G6) with some essential apps make their lives much, much easier.

In years past, designers were stuck to a desk utilizing a desktop PC or at best, a portable laptop but with recent app releases, this is no longer the case. Cell phones and tablets increase the number of hours one can be working whether it be during a commute, during down time, or basic activities. While we may not all want to be working during those times, a few helpful applications can help web designers get work done in time that would normally be wasted. Who doesn’t like getting ahead on their work?

While researching Android web development information, it’s easy to see how you can make a site without much preparation, test it on a web server that you can have running on your Android device, move the files to a server via FTP, and SSH to an outside server to work with a live record. Just like that, you can devise a page right from your phone.

But, what apps do you need to get this done? Here are a few you may want to consider.

  1. Webmaster’s HTML Editor

This app is a very useful HTML editor which you can carry right in your pocket! Some have described it as the ultimate source code editor for web developers and designers. It has a ton of options and tools including an HTML editor, PHP editor, CSS editor, and JavaScript editor. In addition to those tools, it also has a text editor which supports Japan, Cyrillic, Chinese, Western, and Central European encodings, as well as code completion, syntax highlighting for HTML, PHP, CSS, and JavaScript files. Built in previews and virtual key tags for popular phrases are all included. Webmaster HTML Editor supports HTM, HTML, HTML5, DHTML, CSS, PHP, PHP3, PHP4, PHP5, Txt, and XML.

2. WordPress for Android

WordPress is one of the most powerful platforms on the internet and the Android app helps you control your website or blog. It’s incredibly easy to use the Android app for creation as it will allow you to write posts or edit pages from within the app. Write, edit, and publish posts as well as check stats and read other’s posts via the built-in reader. WordPress for Android supports not only WordPress.com sites, but also self-hosted WordPress sites running WordPress 3.5 or higher.

3. Evernote

Evernote is an incredibly well-known app, but in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, we’ll lay it out for you. Evernote is a scrapbook and archiving tool that you can store all manner of files and thoughts in. If you’re a web designer, you don’t want to be stuck without a place to store your genius ideas when they happen to strike. Evernote also has an AndroidWear app so you don’t even need your phone handy to store the information you need.

4. Flipboard

Flipboard takes your favorite feeds and converts them into a digital magazine. Flipboard is perfect for collecting everything into a manageable, well-presented app where you can filter out all of the nonsense and just get straight to the article you want to read. For this reason, Flipboard is very popular among designers to not only unwind by reading the news but also getting inspiration for new ideas for their sites. The newspaper-like presentation allows for easy skimming, but also allows you to dive deeper into a topic if you are interested in it.

5. Live View

Web designers and developers are often times creating projects that will be viewed mainly on mobile, but they’re not creating those projects on mobile devices. This produces a disconnect because what you see on your computer’s display won’t necessarily equate to what you see on a mobile browser. Live View will give you instant feedback on how things look when designing graphics for mobile apps and sites.

6. Nebulous Notes

For our iOS friends, Nebulous Notes offers markdown previewing and macro shortcuts. You can edit files from any Dropbox folder unlike may other apps which tie you into just one. It also provides local file storage with synchronization to make sure you’re always working on the most up-to-date files. There’s also an option to change the app’s theme and fullscreen support! Nebulous Notes has been described as the closest thing to Notational Veolocity/nvALT in your pocket.

7. Opera Mini

Webkit is incredibly popular right now. It powers both iOS’s Safari and Google Chrome, but it’s not the only game in town. Designers and developers for both the iPhone and Android devices should be “playing the field” and Opera Mini is a perfect example of a browser they should be developing for and testing on.

8. Fontest

Fontest, as its name would indicate is a very useful typography app. You can quickly preview how your favorite fonts look on websites or blogs when rendered on Android devices. Fotest includes six free fonts and also supports adding your own TTF and OTF fonts. It also includes support for smooth font resizing and custom display text. Pretty nifty.

9. 920 Text Editоr

There are a ton of text editors in the Play Store but after some testing, some devs report that 920 Text Editor is quick and clean which is extremely useful when writing and editing code on a small device like a phone or tablet.

Meet Jelly, quite possibly the world’s smallest Android 7.0 Nougat smartphone

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Phones and getting bigger and bigger these days, but what are you to do if your preference lies with smaller devices?

There are a few options out there, but if your needs for portability are extreme you might want to take a look at Jelly. The product – currently gathering funds on Kickstarter – is touted as the world’s smallest 4G smartphone. It’s also probably the smallest Android 7.0 Nougat mobile telephone currently available on the market. How minuscule is it? Well it measures 92.3 x 43 x 13.3 mm (3.6 x 1.7 x 0.5 inches).

The small cute smartphone that can fit in your coin pocket features an itsy bitsy 2.45-inch display with 240 x 432 resolution. It draws power from a 1.1GHz processor (probably of MediaTek origin) and is available in two options, one with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage or 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage for more “demanding” users.

Jelly enjoys the presence of two cameras, one of 8-megapixel variety and the other of 2-megapixels. The phone also brings dual SIM support, GPS, Wi-F, Bluetooth 4.0, a 950 mAh battery plus 4G LTE (it won’t work with CDMA networks like Verizon and Sprint).

Jelly is manufactured by Chinese company Unihertz, but will ship worldwide to interested parties for $59 a pop in three colors.

The good news is that Jelly already managed to surpass its funding goal, so we can expect the mini phone to start shipping out to backers in August.

So what do you think about this intriguing device?

Nokia 6 clears the FCC, will land in the US soon

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The Nokia 6 was unveiled at MWC 2017 in late February and but the phone is yet to be available on other markets other than China. But this is clearly about to change.

The Nokia 6 has been spotted going through the FCC, which can only mean the device will soon land on the US market soon.

In case you don’t remember, the Nokia 6 comes with a 5.5-inch LCD display with 1920 x 1080 resolution and a Snapdragon 430 tucked under the bonnet. It’s an an octa-core chipset clocked at 1.4GHz with an Adreno 505 GPU.

The handset includes 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The Nokia 6 can make for a great photography companion too, as it offers the services of a 16-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, PDAF (phase detection autofocus) and laser auto focus, as well as an 8-megapixel snapper for taking selfies.

At launch, Nokia put an emphasis on how their new droids will offer a pure Android experience onboard. They have also pledged to deliver fast software updates. Case in point, the Nokia 6 got updated to Android 7.1.1 Nougat even before making its global debut.

We don’t know the exact pricing specifications on the Nokia 6 in the US, but given that UK pricing for the Nokia 6 is approximately $297, we’ll have to guess the phone will sell for around $250 stateside.

Nokia 6’s less advanced brothers, the Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 have also cleared the FCC, so they will also be available for purchase in the country.

Google Home available with $15 off for Mother’s Day

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We included Google Home in our Mother’s Day 2017 gift guide, so if you too, think Google’s connected speaker would be a good match for that special lady in your life, now it’s a great time to purchase it.

How so? Well a few retailers are listing the Google Assistant-powered device with $15 off, which means you’ll only have to pay $114 to grab it. You can purchase it from the following online locations:

Best Buy

Verizon

Newegg

Google Store

Newegg is also throwing in an additional $20 gift card to sweeten the deal even more. Mother’s Day is on May 14, so you have plenty of time to order one for your mom. Or if you don’t think your mother would appreciate it, then you can just check out our guide (linked above) for more ideas.

The discount might even compel you to get a Google Home yourself.

While Google is offering the Home with a discount, rumors of a next-gen Amazon Echo have appeared online once more. The device is tipped to make an entrance on the market with a built-in display and could arrive as soon as this month. As for a Google Home 2 product, we have not heard anything in this respect.

Digital Depth’s new ALL Controller is an universal gamepad

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I know what you are thinking…..

Yet another fly by night idea landing on Kickstarter looking to entice us into parting with our hard earned cash, when the product hasn’t even been made yet. The past few years have shown us two things, a publicly funded project has the ability to be both a outrageously successful failure just as much as it can be a glorious success.

In this instance, may I urge you to read on. What if I was to tell you that it was possible to play all of your games on all of your consoles, all of your tablets and all of your desktops with just one universal controller? well, this is exactly what the Digital Depth “ALL Controller” is stating to be able to do.

The “ALL Controller” is said to be compatible with just about every modern device that you could wish for: PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Windows PC, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, Raspberry Pi – Nintendo Switch has even got compatibility on the horizon.

It Features an LCD screen, the ability to program macros, due to this the controller can pair with a variety of older PC devices and is said to have a battery life of around 40 hours.

Everything is managed via the built-in LCD display, so there’s no messing about with set up or installation. The ability button map is available, if you’re moving from console to console and you want certain buttons mapped for certain layouts,it won’t be a problem. Mapping can be done Straight from the controller. As well as this, you can also change sensitivity on the triggers and the joysticks, you can even swap the joysticks around to give you more control, should you so wish.

For now, I am going to remain on the fence with this one. I am a gamer, my friends are all gamers and as fantastic and exciting this prospect can be, I do feel one thing that is important to not be underestimated is gamer’s attachments to their controllers. I know people who refuse to play Xbox and refuse to play PS4 purely down to the dimensions of each consoles controllers. For the every day Joe I feel this will be a fantastic all rounder but it does feel geared towards the more hardcore of us.

Only time is going to tell with this one. I am excited yet skeptical, with no price and no date as of yet set for the Kickstarer to begin, we will just have to watch and wait.

Five key factors in building a successful business website

The fact that there are innumerable websites that sell different products and services makes it even more important for your website to stand out from the rest and earn a tag of uniqueness. Regardless of whether you have just started out as an online entrepreneur or have been in the business for quite some time now, the ones that have just started ought to have a well planned website designed and the one that already has one ought to revamp the website from time to time to keep it attractive for the target audience and prospective leads.

How to design a business website for optimum result?

You will come across many website builders but zeroing-in on the right one oftentimes becomes a challenge and it can be quite tricky indeed. But this write up can be of some help to you in selecting the right and the most reliable one operating in the field. The website builder SITE123 urges clients to take into account the following factors that make it easier for both the client and service provider to work in better coordination.

Given below are few aspects that you ought to keep in mind prior to taking the plunge-

Why do you need the website

First and foremost, one of the most crucial aspects that you have to find an answer to is the reason for building the website. What do you expect to gain by building the website? It is very important to have clarity of thought. Will your website be able to convey information about your products and services better? Also, if you choose to build a blog, how effective will it be for your business? So, you have to identify the reason for hiring the services of a web designing company.

Selecting the web host

Once you have identified the reason why you want to launch a website, next is to settle for a web host. It is a vital parameter because remember unless the web host is capable and reliable enough, the visibility of your website might be compromised. Basically, it is the location that will harbor your website along with the software that will be made available to your prospective clients, leads, and visitors. While deciding upon this aspect, you have to take into account few points that include the volume of visitors you are expecting to hit your website and the speed with which you want to make your website available to your visitors. You can choose from a number of web hosting options available like dedicated hosting and shared hosting.

Plan the layout and appearance

This is perhaps one aspect that you cannot decide completely on your own. You need to discuss with your in-house team or the service provider that you have hired as mentioned above. This is because building a website means aside from front-end designing, you also have to pay heed to back-end designing which will include coding and programming, extensive information of which you may not be familiar with. In fact, discussing your requirements with your web designing company and including them in discussing all of these points are bound to yield better results.

SEE: Pay What You Want: Learn to Web Design 2017

Content planning

Planning your content that includes not just the text based information but also pictures, videos, and infographics is crucial. It has to be done strategically to get the most visibility online aside from representing your products and services in an accurate and appropriate manner.

Maintaining the website

The points that have been mentioned above are just few of the important ones. You definitely cannot float a website with just the above aspects in mind as there are more facets to be considered like SEO, link building, organic and inorganic web traffic, content management software, ranking and so on. However, in order to stay on the top regular maintenance of your website is equally important, which again will be taken care of by the website designing company that you sign up with.

OnePlus 5 teased by company CEO

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The OnePlus CEO took to Weibo to offer a teaser of the upcoming OnePlus 5 device, or at least hint at how hard the company are working on it.

Before you say it, yes – the next device should be the OnePlus 4, but the company will reportedly skip this generation as 4 is often considered as associated with bad luck in China. This leaves the next generation of device to be offered by the company to be labelled as the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus CEO Pete Lau reshared a message the company posted on Weibo saying it is working without a break, “just to make a big surprise.”

The message was naturally appended by the OnePlus moto of #neversettle suggesting that OnePlus may have something a little different up its sleeve for the next generation device.

Exactly what this entails remains to be seen, but you can expect high end specs in a lowcost package to continue what the company does best. Estimated arrival of the OnePlus 5 still remains a mystery but judging by the tone of the message, it seems the device is still very much in the development and early production phase.

Marshall Monitor Bluetooth Headphones review, the best money can buy?

Marshall is a name that you’ve more than likely heard before. It’s been well regarded for the better part of the 55 years the company has existed for the quality of it’s products. The English outfit has been best known for amplifiers and speaker cabinets but recently made a strong push into the personal Bluetooth headphone space.

We recently took a look at the Marshall Mid On-Ear Bluetooth Headphones and came away extremely impressed with the quality of not only the build but the sound too. Today we’re taking a look at its sibling, the Monitor Over-the-Ear Bluetooth Headphones. We’ve got high hopes for this pair of headphones based on Marshall’s reputation and how much we loved the on-ear headphones.

Build and Fit

If you’ve ever seen a Marshall amp, you’ll agree that the Monitor Bluetooth headphones are unmistakably Marshall. The hard, almost cracked, black vinyl that Marshall places on the outside of its equipment is prominent on these headphones too. Both the outside of the ear cups and the headband feature the vinyl and it looks absolutely fabulous. In a world where soft leather or hard plastic are the norms, the vinyl stands out in the crowd.

The ear cups are connected by a strong metal band that has stood up to some abuse since I’ve had it. Each side has 13 separate satisfying clicks to extend or retract to find the perfect size for your head.

When the headphones are just sitting by themselves, they look very small and I was initially worried about them fitting comfortably on my decently-sized (okay, big) head. The fit was a bit tight for the first few hours but the headphones have since broken in a bit and now I find the pressure very comfortable. That small size, in addition to the earcups folding up, make for a small package during transport. If you’re pressed for space in your bag or purse, these are a nice option for a full feature set of headphones that don’t take up a ton of space.

What I don’t necessarily find comfortable is how the cups fit around my ears. Marshall did well by selecting a nice soft leather for the ear cups, but they’re just a bit small. I don’t have big ears at all, but my ear lobe routinely gets pressed down by the cups and forces me to wiggle them around until my ear fully fits into the cup. If the cups were just a little bit bigger or a little more rounded instead of the oval that they are, this could be avoided.

I do love the finishes on these headphones, even if they aren’t the most comfortable in the world. The headband is vinyl on top, but a nice soft leather on the bottom which makes for a comfortable fit and the stitching that binds the two looks great. You’ll find brass accents on the inside of the headband indicating the left and right side of the headset as well as a brass button on the left earcup for power, volume, and the ability to skip tracks.

All-in-all, the Marshall Monitor Bluetooth Headphones are extremely well made and mostly comfortable. I like a lot of the design choices Marshall made and I believe that due to using materials like vinyl and metal it’ll stand up better to abuse and last longer than other headphones that have gone with plastics and cheap leather substitutes instead.

Function and Audio

These headphones are simple. You get one button and that’s all you really need. The brass button that sits on the left earcup is responsible for all of the functionality of the headset. Pressing it in will turn on the headset (indicated by a white light) and a long press from an off state puts it into pairing mode (blue light). And yep, you guessed it, holding the button while the headphones are on turns it off too (red light).

While the headset is on, you can raise and lower the volume by moving the knob up and down. Skipping tracks is as easy as moving the knob front toward your face (skip backward) or back toward your head (skip forward). A quick press down will pause or play your track while a double press will open up Google Assistant. If you’re using the headset while you get a call, a press down of the button answers and ends the call. The microphone in the headset sounds pretty good too, according to those I spoke to while testing the headset.

I like how Marshall set up the headset with a single button, my only complaint is that it can be a bit mushy to press and you don’t quite know when you’ve pressed it far enough. It’s a minor complaint, but it still could be improved upon in the next hardware revision.

Running low on battery? You can use them wired too.

As for the audio quality, you’re going to get top-notch performance here. The “Monitor” in the name of the headset indicates that it’s tuned to give you the most accurate representation of the audio you’re listening to possible.

All headsets have their own signature, the two most popular probably being Beats’ bass heavy signature and Sennheiser’s balanced signature. Marshall has done an excellent job staying true to the “monitor” signature here and I couldn’t be any more impressed with the sound I’m getting out of these Bluetooth headphones.

Bluetooth headphones generally don’t fair as well as wired headphones but these Marshall cans are just simply awesome. Bass isn’t lacking at all, but it’s not emphasized. If you’re a basshead, maybe pick another pair that will artificially enhance your bass. The mids and highs are well represented and make classical and vocal driven tracks sound fabulous. Spoken word is another standout with high-quality podcasts sounding excellent.

I’m not an audiophile. I do, however, love high-quality audio. Music is my escape and it takes me to places that I’ll never be able to visit in person. The fields of Woodstock in 1969, the recording studio at Abbey Road, the front row at Wembley watching Freddy Mercury transfix 150,000 people, or Sun Studios in Memphis where Johnny Cash got his start…

Music is the most powerful thing on earth and I feel like I’m a part of it with the Marshall Monitor Bluetooth Headphones on.

If you’re interested in picking up a pair, you can find them at Marshall’s website, Amazon B&H Photo, and Jet.com.

Google Pixel 2 codename Walleye may be on the horizon

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With Google I/O 2017 approaching, attention turns to the next iteration of the Pixel hardware despite not actually likely to appear at the actual Google event.

The Pixel 2 is expected to be released this year as the successor to the popular Pixel range Google released in 2016. It seems that this device already exists, at least internally, as references to the codename, Walleye, have begun appearing in Android AOSP code commits.

Looking through the history of a code commit, comments are made in relation to testing a particular set of commands but not having a real device to test on. Later these comments are clarified as having to finally gotten hold of said device to test. The device in question is the Pixel 2 laying evidence that a physical unit that is to be the next Pixel device already exists.

Further evidence has been found in other low-level code that specifically refer to the unreleased Pixel 2 showing that the device must be, if not already, finished development.

While there are many possibilities that could mean a Pixel 2 doesn’t already exist, the more likely situation is Google already has an early build of the next-gen Pixel for testing. With a device already in physical availability, it does suggest that very little must have changed to have exited the design phase so quickly.

While we’re unlikely to see the Pixel 2 at Google I/O 2017 in a few weeks, we may begin to see some further hints of the device surface.

Three ways to shield your smartphone and private data from hackers

The smartphone has become a tool most people can’t live without. Think about it, you probably spend more time with your smartphone than your family, friends, and co-workers combined. It’s always either in your pocket, purse, or in your hand.

You bring it everywhere with you, and that’s exactly why it’s more important than ever to ensure it is protected from cyber threats.

Hacking has grown in popularity over the past decade, and smartphones have become a goldmine for sensitive information. If a hacker gains access to someone’s smartphone, they can potentially download their contacts, banking information, and a whole slew of other life-ruining data.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking this couldn’t happen to you, because it can, and at some point, it most likely will. Are you protected enough to defend against one of these attacks?
Below are 3 ways to shield your smartphone and private data from hackers.

Lock and Password Protect Your Phone

Many people think of hacking as someone sitting at a computer, fumbling through code and digging a backdoor into your system. Sometimes it’s much easier than that. Sometimes, hackers gain direct access via the device itself.

If you lost your phone and a stranger picked it up, what sort of information would they be able to access? For many, once someone gets onto the home screen of a smartphone, they can access any number of apps and sensitive data, including banking information.

You don’t want this to be the case if your phone ever goes missing. The best way to protect your phone and information is to always lock and require a password to access the home screen. This prevents anyone from accessing anything of value. You can even set it so that after a fairly large number of wrong attempts, it wipes the data of selected apps and/or contacts.

Don’t Download Sketchy Apps

Hackers love finding unique and easy ways to gain control of a device. Since everybody uses apps on a regular basis, it only makes sense that they’ve developed a way to use this to their advantage.

Your best defense against this is to only download apps from verified and trusted sources. Obviously, Google and Apple are companies you can probably feel safe downloading from. But even then, you’ll want to double – and sometimes triple – check that the apps are actually made by those companies and not some disguised knock-off.

Pay special attention to things like user reviews and number of downloads to better judge what exactly you are planning to download onto your smartphone.

Consider Security Software

What, really?

Yes, this is a real thing, and it actually may be beneficial to have on your phone. Typical cybersecurity software for your business or laptop includes features like an internet usage monitor, patch updating, and network scanning. Cybersecurity software for your phone works like that, but a little different.

Instead of focusing on the types of vulnerabilities a laptop or network would be susceptible to, it caters more towards the types of breaches most likely to affect a smartphone.
This sort of technology is fairly new, so it’s still improving, but it could prove very useful if you use your smartphone for business-related work that you can’t afford to have compromised.

Conclusion

Smartphones, much like almost any technology developed these days, need to be protected from the growing number of cyber threats that exist today. This type of stuff is usually last on peoples’ minds, especially since smartphones are something we’re so used to using without hiccups, but it needs to start being taken more seriously. The tips above are as good a place as any to begin protecting you and your data.