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Android has over 450,000 apps. With so many apps out there, app discovery (aka finding new and useful apps) is extremely difficult. With our Android Apps of the Day initiative, dotTech aims to change that. Everyday we post three apps, allowing our readers to discover new apps, daily. Enjoy! [Subscribe to our Android section to never miss an article: RSS Feed | E-mail]
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Apps for March 24, 2012
Permission Friendly Apps
Permissions Friendly Apps is an app that aims to help you analyze what system access permissions apps on your device have.
Permission Friendly Apps scans your Android device for all installed apps and analyzes the system access permissions these apps request; it then rates apps into three categories: Apps with blue hearts require no permissions, apps with black hearts require only “normal” permissions and no “dangerous” permissions, and apps with an exclamation mark triangle contain one or more “dangerous” permissions. Clicking on an app in Permission Friendly Apps’ list breaks down the permissions asked by that specific app and marks each individual permission using black hearts (for “normal” permissions) and exclamation mark triangles (for “dangerous” permissions).
What permissions does Permission Friendly Apps consider to be dangerous? Permissions such as Internet access, ability to send SMS, ability to access SD card contents, etc. — the types of permissions a malicious app would abuse.
That said, however, Permissions Friendly Apps isn’t a security software. Just because an app is marked with an exclamation mark triangle or has a permission that is considered to be “dangerous” does not mean the app is necessarily bad or malicious. Many apps legitimately require permissions that Permissions Friendly Apps considers to be “dangerous”, such as Internet access, sending SMS, accessing SD card contents, etc. The point of Permissions Friendly Apps isn’t to flag malicious apps but rather to bring your attention to what permissions apps are asking for. If you see an app with the exclamation mark triangle, you shouldn’t instantly uninstall that app; instead, you should review that app’s permissions and determine if the permissions required by that app are reasonable and if you trust the developer of that app. If you determine the app is trustworthy, you can mark the app as “trusted”; if you determine the app isn’t trustworthy, you can uninstall the app directly from within Permissions Friendly Apps.
Price: Free
Version discovered: v1.3.3
Requires: Android 2.0 and up
Download size: 301 KB
Permission Friendly Apps on Play Store
Warrantify
Warrantify is the Android app for Warrantify.com, the service that helps you keep track of your product warranties. With Warrantify you scan in a receipt (you take a picture of the receipt with your camera), input the date of purchase, shop the product was purchased at, product name, manufacturer name, product model, length of warranty, and price of product. Warrantify then starts tracking that product warranty, giving you alerts when the warranty is about to expire. You can input as many receipts as you desire.
Once you have a warranty inputted into Warrantify, the data is stored in your Warrantify account; and you have the ability to view information about the product that you inputted, view the original receipt that you scanned, claim the warranty (works only for electronic warranty partners of Warrantify), extend the warranty (works only for electronic warranty partners of Warrantify), and look at accessories for the product.
To use Warrantify you need to register an account (which is free) and need an active Internet connection.
Take note all data you input into Warrantify is uploaded onto their servers.
Price: Free
Version discovered: v1.1.4
Requires: Android 2.1 and up
Download size: 1.8 MB
Voxer Walkie-Talkie PTT
Voxer is a push-to-talk walkie-talkie app that provides more than just walkie-talkie functionality. With Voxer users can have live walkie-talkie like conversations, yes, but users also have the ability to send voice messages, text messages, photos, and location to other Voxer users. The best part is Voxer works on all types of Internet connections (2G/EDGE, 3G, 4G, WiFi, etc.) and is cross platform — iOS can talk to Android and Android can talk to iOS.
Voxer is free and ad-free but you need to register an account with Voxer (registration is free) before you can use it.
Price: Free
Version discovered: v0.9.6.0394
Requires: Android 2.2 and up
Download size: 3.2 MB
Voxer Walkie-Talkie PTT on Play Store
dotTechies: We have tested all the apps listed above. However, Android Apps of the Day articles are not intended as “reviews” but rather as “heads-up” to help you discover new apps. Always use your best judgement when downloading apps, such as trying trial/free versions before purchasing paid apps, if applicable.
