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It's a well-known fact that college textbook prices are pretty outrageous and can take up a large portion of an already-strained student budget. Recycleabook.com is a college textbook buyback and purchase site that claims to let you sell and buy books at fair prices. We've never used the site before, so we can't vouch for that, but we can at least vouch for the iPhone app. And, well, we didn't get very far with it.

Once installed, we launched the Recycleabook app. We were greeted with a main screen that asked us to supply a … Read more

It probably annoys you when people pick up your Android phone and fiddle with it; but beyond irritation, it's also a potential security risk. For one thing, your privacy could be compromised. For another, your phone's settings could be changed, accidentally or deliberately. A simple app has an equally simple solution: password protection for only those apps you want to protect. That's what Power Apps Tools' Applock Master does. You set a password or locking pattern, and Applock Master keeps protected apps from opening until you enter your password or remove them from the locked list. Applock … Read more

There are many alternative Web browsers you can use for Mac besides Safari. While easy to install and run, Mood Browser for Mac only offers the very basic features of a Web browser, and it feels like the app isn't completely ready for a full release.

Mood Browser for Mac can be run without an installation. Once you launch the browser you will immediately notice the lack of features. The browser looks very simple and part of the window is blocked by a gray area, reducing the browser's display size. This browser feels like it is a work … Read more

Users may want the ability to have their system automatically change settings after certain actions. ControlPlane for Mac performs certain automatic functions well, but its confusing interface will make it useful for only a few users.

Installation occurred quickly over a high-speed connection, and setup did not require any user interaction. No technical support is available and ControlPlane for Mac's interface appears dated. No instructions exist, which is a problem for most users due to its complexity. Neither the menu nor the program descriptions make it easy to figure out its purpose. A row of buttons along the top … Read more

Looking for a way to spice up your emails, SMS, or updates and statuses on your favorite messenger or social networks? Cool Styles, Emojis & Symbols might just be the app you need. It has hundreds of emoticons and symbols as well as many different fonts and styles that can be used.

Cool Styles, Emojis & Symbols installs effortlessly and functions perfectly. It is a very light and easy-to-use application. The user interface consists of an attractive blue background and high-contrast white lettering. It is easy to read and does not strain the eyes after prolonged use. The main menu … Read more

Most smartphone users tend to put their phone into "vibrate" mode often -- during meetings, yoga, movies, performances, and dinner, etc. That way when your phone "rings" no one is the wiser. The main downside to this function, however, is that there is no way to tell what that jiggling in your pocket means without looking directly at the phone. Vybe breaks ground in that regard because it not only allows users to assign custom vibrations for specific contacts, but it also allows users to design each of those custom patterns in whatever fashion works best … Read more

Some devices are set with their speaker volume at a conservative level, which prevents wear and tear on that particular component. Other devices do not play the sound very loud when playing videos from providers such as Netflix or Hulu. The only solution available is to download a volume enhancing application such as Volume Booster. This app claims to quickly and efficiently boost the volume on any device up to 30 percent. It does change the sound but it doesn't seem to boost it by that much.

As extremely light software, Volume Booster loads instantaneously. Once the application is … Read more

One of the best things about the App Store and the iOS devices it supports is that for nearly any issue you can imagine, there's an app designed to fix it. Simple Base Converter is such an app, a much-needed tool for programmers and engineers that is simple and straightforward to use.

Simple Base Converter uses the basic calculator interface on the iPhone but replaces the function buttons with base descriptions -- in this case, decimal, binary, base eight, and base six. To use the app, simply enter a string of numbers in any of the four sets and … Read more

QR codes have had an interesting role in technology culture in recent years. These small square codes allow you to encode anything from an e-mail address to a Web site address that users could scan with a mobile device's camera. QR Reader is an app designed to do just that, providing an intuitive interface that makes it easy to scan, save, and share those QR codes with anyone.

QR Reader is primarily designed for scanning QR codes as the name indicates. However, it works equally well to create your own QR codes. In fact, the QR code generation interface … Read more