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Get Google Now with GNow Handlebars

Google Now shocked a lot of people when it was released. The super cool personal assistant ran circles around Apple's Siri and had all sorts of amazing features. The only catch was that it was only available with Jelly Bean, which is on a small number of gadgets. GNow Handlebars can help you get it on an Ice Cream Sandwich phone, which opens up more options. However, you'll have to know a bit about third-party apps to make it work.

Since you can't get this app through Google Play, you'll have to install the .apk file … Read more

Optimize performance of your Android device with ES Task Manager

Having a mind of their own, the apps on your Android may drain your battery and choke your phone's RAM. If a wonky app is draining your power or memory, ES Task Manager can shut it down for a big performance boost. This task manager app has detailed statistics for power users, but it's easy enough to figure out for the everyday Android owner.

ES Task Manager features four different menus you can swipe through, but only one actually boosts memory. The task killer menu lets you kill all of the tasks that are running at once or … Read more

Get your photos with Facebook Album Downloader

Most Facebook users feature a ton of photos on their profile. Downloading them one by one to your gadget is time-consuming and difficult. Facebook Album Downloader will do it for you, but it takes almost as long to make it work.

Obviously, the app requires you to log in through Facebook to work properly. However, Facebook Album Downloader crashes and freezes almost every time you try to log in. Once you finally get it working, you can download all of your albums and tagged photos with the touch of a button. You can even download all of a friend's … Read more

Blast your music with Bass Booster - Beta

As smartphones replace portable media players, it only makes sense that their sound quality improves. Since phone manufacturers haven't stepped up to put awesome audio quality in every phone, Bass Booster - Beta app will be able to help. It gives your phone a powerful blast of bass and great equalizers, but it's best used by serious audiophiles. It's so strong that it could do serious damage to a rookie user's phone.

Finding the happy medium with this software isn't easy. Audiophiles who know what they're doing will be able to perfect their sound … Read more

Add captions, names and other text to your digital images with the easy-to-use InstaFonts

If you like to take pictures but really love to tell a story, you'll appreciate the easy to use InstaFonts, which lets you add customizable text to your images. You can insert a caption, create a short description, or just let others know who's in the picture.

With its clean, intuitive interface (and limited options), there shouldn't be much of a learning curve with this app, even for those who've never done any image editing. InstaFont's main window displays the image you want to add the text to over a short menu that lets you … Read more

Skin your gadget with Windows 8 for Android

With Windows 8 mobile gadgets lagging far behind Android and Apple, it's tough to imagine why anyone would want to look at Windows 8's layout. However, if you've bought a Windows 8 computer or tablet and fallen in love with the tile interface, try Windows 8 for Android. It brings that interface to your Android gadget, but is missing many of the features that make people love custom launchers.

One of the reasons Windows 8's user interface is turning heads is "Live Tiles." The always-updating blocks aren't here, which is a glaring error … Read more

Turn your mobile device into a Webcam with IP Webcam app

If you truly want to expand the functionality of your Android device, then this app is worth your attention. With IP Webcam your mobile device can easily turn into a useful Webcam for online Skype sessions or even a video baby monitor. This app delivers exactly what it promises, it's easy to use, and it functions without much hassle.

IP Webcam offers a pretty straightforward and functional layout. The setup is very easy and there are a few options in the main menu, such as which camera to use, and whether sound will be streaming or not. To stream … Read more

Social media notes on the 12-12-12 Concert

12-12-12 was a day tailor-made for social media. Here are some notes on the day from the serious to the ridiculous:

12-12-12, THE DATE: Millions of people spent the days talking about the rare confluence of numbers (won't happen again till 01/01/01 in 2101), starting with 12:12:12 a.m. local time, on Facebook and Twitter and continued around the world, hitting a peak at 12:12:12 pm local time. I, too, gave into the hype and posted a screen grab of the official US atomic clock at Time.gov turning 12:12:12 pm. … Read more

Put a powerful browser in your pocket with Opera Portable

Take one of the fastest, most modifiable browsers on a portable drive and use it on any computer. With Opera Portable Edition you'll never have to settle for using onboard options like Internet Explorer on any public computer again.

Opera Portable Edition behaves like most modern browsers and its sleek interface is a delight to look at. It works with practically no setup and pages load incredibly quickly. This portable browser can be personalized through various add-ons and apps. One thing you don't need to download is a pop-up blocker, as Opera has one already installed for you. … Read more

Visit Web sites freely and protect your privacy online with Ultrasurf

This small program provides strong privacy protection with none of the confusing setups of other proxy tools. In seconds, you'll be ready to surf privately and securely with Ultrasurf's fast, private proxies.

When you launch this program for the first time, it loads Internet Explorer automatically. This can be changed in the options menu as this tool works well with other browsers, too. Ultrasurf has a very simple interface with Home, Retry, Option, Help, and Exit buttons. One thing we found to be a bit awkward was the golden lock icon, which showed up on our Windows Taskbar … Read more