Must Have Android Apps and Games? (Part II)

Gooey Looey

Any former Swype users here? What keyboard app are you now using? I'm using gboard, but would prefer not to have Google sniffing all my keystrokes.

I've tried SwiftKey but it lacks the abilities I need to easily edit the errors after swiping a full sentence (change wrong predictions and capitalise) which makes swiping pointless if I have to edit as I go.

S.M.B.

I used swift key after using Swype for years and was surprised to see a recent update from Microsoft Swift Key on my phone last night. Hadn't real that they were acquired.

Gooey Looey

S.M.B. wrote: »

I used swift key after using Swype for years and was surprised to see a recent update from Microsoft Swift Key on my phone last night. Hadn't real that they were acquired.

I hadn't heard that either, they acquired them in 2016.

Do you swipe using SwiftKey? If so do you have any tips? I just found swiping on SwiftKey very awkward

S.M.B.

Gooey Looey wrote: »

I hadn't heard that either, they acquired them in 2016.

Do you swipe using SwiftKey? If so do you have any tips? I just found swiping on SwiftKey very awkward

I probably don't as much as I used to.
Possibly because I found it too awkward myself.

marcbrophy

Gboard's where it at lads, you give google every other piece of information you own, what's one more?

mossie

I used to love SwiftKey in the past but it's become a very frustrating experience for me over time. It's swipe typing is weird like it deliberately picks an obscure word just because it's close to what you swiped instead of the obvious word. gboard is better in that way and overall more accurate for me.

Gooey Looey

mossie wrote: »

I used to love SwiftKey in the past but it's become a very frustrating experience for me over time. It's swipe typing is weird like it deliberately picks an obscure word just because it's close to what you swiped instead of the obvious word. gboard is better in that way and overall more accurate for me.

Yeah I've not found one as good as gboard but it's nowhere near as good as Swype was. I also miss the ctrl + c and ctrl + v shortcuts Swype had. It's a pity they didn't open source it

marcbrophy

Not sure where else this might be newsworthy or if it needs a separate thread, but I noticed in the play store that Google Play Pass is now available in Ireland!

€4.99 for the month or €29.99 for the year!

https://play.google.com/about/play-pass/

In the play store app, hit the hamburger menu, then it's the 3rd option down (for me, at least).

Also, looks like carrier billing is supported too

Skerries

free scanner app

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stoik.mdscan

donspeekinglesh

marcbrophy wrote: »

Not sure where else this might be newsworthy or if it needs a separate thread, but I noticed in the play store that Google Play Pass is now available in Ireland!

€4.99 for the month or €29.99 for the year!

https://play.google.com/about/play-pass/

In the play store app, hit the hamburger menu, then it's the 3rd option down (for me, at least).

Also, looks like carrier billing is supported too

I had to delete data on my Play Store app to get the option to appear.
Couldn't use carrier billing for the monthly sub, but could for the annual one.

Mr E

I've signed up for the trial, and set a reminder on my phone to maybe cancel in 4 weeks.
I'll give it a good go I think. Some great games on there.

marcbrophy

donspeekinglesh wrote: »

I had to delete data on my Play Store app to get the option to appear.
Couldn't use carrier billing for the monthly sub, but could for the annual one.

Yeah, I just tried it on the yearly one to test.
I assumed it'd work for the monthly one too!

Discodog

Has anyone found a replacement for Dark Sky that gives 15 or 30 min rain notifications ?

R11

Discodog wrote: »

Has anyone found a replacement for Dark Sky that gives 15 or 30 min rain notifications ?

Yeh, I had Dark Sky but deleted it as it wasn't accurate. I use Arcus which is more accurate but would like an alternative.....

S.M.B.

Curious to know what is the best weather app when it comes to android. The two I've used over the years are now both radically different or no longer available.

Silent Running

I use Weather Underground. I find it fairly accurate.

Gooey Looey

Silent Running wrote: »

I use Weather Underground. I find it fairly accurate.

The Weather underground data is all crowd sourced therefore it'll be more up to date and localised. I have my own weather station out the back and contribute to it myself.

The new version of the Weather underground app is horrible though. I wish they'd bring back the old version

Silent Running

Gooey Looey wrote: »

The Weather underground data is all crowd sourced therefore it'll be more up to date and localised. I have my own weather station out the back and contribute to it myself.

The new version of the Weather underground app is horrible though. I wish they'd bring back the old version

Agreed about the latest version, but I'm slowly getting used to it.

Discodog

R11 wrote: »

Yeh, I had Dark Sky but deleted it as it wasn't accurate. I use Arcus which is more accurate but would like an alternative.....

I used to run both & they always agreed. Arcus used the Dark Sky API so that's now gone. It's the rainfall notifications that I need. I used them on my watch & so handy not having to check the radar.

Lots of apps say they are the new Dark Sky, some even use the name, but none seem to offer the 15 minute rain warning of DS or Arcus.

To clarify this is hyperlocal nowcasting rather than weather forecasting

seligehgit

Anybody able to point me in the direction of a free photo splitting app?

Tom Mann Centuria

Anyone have any suggestions for a Trusted Contacts replacement? Just found it handy for getting my teenagers to check in with me.

DopeTech

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

Anyone have any suggestions for a Trusted Contacts replacement? Just found it handy for getting my teenagers to check in with me.

What did it do exactly? If they are teenagers they will outsmart any app you put in their phone to be honest.

Tom Mann Centuria

DopeTech wrote: »

What did it do exactly? If they are teenagers they will outsmart any app you put in their phone to be honest.

They can send you location or you can request location. Not looking to spy, they could just turn off allow location settings if they didn't want to respond.

Gooey Looey

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

They can send you location or you can request location. Not looking to spy, they could just turn off allow location settings if they didn't want to respond.

Have you tried Google family link?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.kids.familylinkhelper

Tom Mann Centuria

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

They can send you location or you can request location. Not looking to spy, they could just turn off allow location settings if they didn't want to respond.

Can't you do ask them to send their location through Whatsapp? Or do they not have Whatsapp?

DopeTech

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Can't you do ask them to send their location through Whatsapp? Or do they not have Whatsapp?

This would definitely be the least intrusive way. Teenagers wont like a tracking app on their phone.

Tom Mann Centuria

Gooey Looey wrote: »

Have you tried Google family link?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.kids.familylinkhelper

Thanks for the suggestion but not what I need.

Tom Mann Centuria

DopeTech wrote: »

This would definitely be the least intrusive way. Teenagers wont like a tracking app on their phone.

My daughter showed me the app so she was happy to have it on her phone, I'd never heard of it prior to then. I don't have WhatsApp but if that has a button you can press if you're feeling unsafe and want to alert someone to your location I'll have to get it.

DopeTech

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

My daughter showed me the app so she was happy to have it on her phone, I'd never heard of it prior to then. I don't have WhatsApp but if that has a button you can press if you're feeling unsafe and want to alert someone to your location I'll have to get it.

Whatsapp messenger has 6+ Billion downloads from the google play store!

I used Glympse years ago for something like that but I don’t know if it costs now or anything, might be worth a search.

Whatsapp can share location but doesn’t have a quick button to do it to a certain contact.

DopeTech

DopeTech wrote: »

Whatsapp messenger has 6+ Billion downloads from the google play store!

I think they were referring to not knowing what Trusted Contacts was prior to being shown.

DopeTech

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

I think they were referring to not knowing what Trusted Contacts was prior to being shown.

That makes more sense!

Tom Mann Centuria

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

I think they were referring to not knowing what Trusted Contacts was prior to being shown.

I was indeed, thanks for being clearer than I was!

Something like this any good?


https://www.redpanicbutton.com/

Tom Mann Centuria

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

I used Glympse years ago for something like that but I don’t know if it costs now or anything, might be worth a search.

Whatsapp can share location but doesn’t have a quick button to do it to a certain contact.

Yeah thanks, might have a look at that see what she thinks, but she might be happy enough with WhatsApp if that's quick/easy enough to just send location. I have had WhatsApp before but didn't know it was more than just an annoying messaging app!

Tom Mann Centuria

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

Yeah thanks, might have a look at that see what she thinks, but she might be happy enough with WhatsApp if that's quick/easy enough to just send location. I have had WhatsApp before but didn't know it was more than just an annoying messaging app!

It would just be a matter opening the right message thread, attach location, and send.

Could even shortcut the message thread (the one to yourself presumably) on the home screen for quick access.

Tom Mann Centuria

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

It would just be a matter opening the right message thread, attach location, and send.

Could even shortcut the message thread (the one to yourself presumably) on the home screen for quick access.

Sounds easy enough. It's only really for when she's walking home from friends or whatever, she had an uncomfortable incident last year, nothing major, just some smack head hassling her for a couple of minutes, and wanted a way to instantly say where she was.

The panic button thing looks good, although recent reviews suggest it's a bit flakey, I'd imagine the WhatsApp route would be more reliable?

gar

Set a widget on the home screen to share location with a contract from Google maps? Stats active for an hour normally

Tom Mann Centuria

gar wrote: »

Set a widget on the home screen to share location with a contract from Google maps? Stats active for an hour normally

Looks ideal. Thanks, we're going to test it out.

Didn’t know that could be done. Definitely sounds the best way.

Tom Mann Centuria

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Didn’t know that could be done. Definitely sounds the best way.

Yeah I had no idea either, it's actually pretty much what trusted contacts used to do I think.

killbillvol2

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

Sounds easy enough. It's only really for when she's walking home from friends or whatever, she had an uncomfortable incident last year, nothing major, just some smack head hassling her for a couple of minutes, and wanted a way to instantly say where she was.

The panic button thing looks good, although recent reviews suggest it's a bit flakey, I'd imagine the WhatsApp route would be more reliable?

Messenger allows you to share location. You can track someone's progress to meet you in real time. Handy when you're meeting someone in an unfamiliar city but could just as easily be used for what you need.

seligehgit

Anybody recommend a wireless mouse?

Discodog

seligehgit wrote: »

Anybody recommend a wireless mouse?

I bought a super cheap Logitech from Currys. It's worked perfectly for years.

marcbrophy

seligehgit wrote: »

Anybody recommend a wireless mouse?

Last one I bought was this in Oct 2016 and it's still going strong

It was only €19 when I bought it back then though, seems to have gone up since

https://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/8667737.htm

seligehgit

Discodog wrote: »

I bought a super cheap Logitech from Currys. It's worked perfectly for years.

Thanks very much.

I've found same very unreliable.

Sorry I phrased my original post incorrectly.

Seeking a wifi mouse app.

Suckit

seligehgit wrote: »

Thanks very much.

I've found same very unreliable.

Sorry I phrased my original post incorrectly.

Seeking a wifi mouse app.

Remote mouse is the only one I have really seen mentioned for windows.
There are others, and for linux and android boxes etc.

Mr E

Zynga have a Harry Potter match 3 game out at the moment and it's very slick. I've been playing for about 3 or 4 weeks now and I'm up around level 415.
It's officially licensed and has audio clips and music from the movies.

They do a good job of introducing new mechanics regularly (every 40 levels or so) and there are great extras like multiplayer leagues, daily challenges, card deck building and more.

Very well made game. It has IAP obviously, but it's fair and all levels are beatable without spending a cent.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zynga.pottermatch

Mr E

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is €0.50

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.konami.epjCastlevania2

Best played with a controller on a tablet I'd say, but bloody great game.

Mr E

The Sequence 2 is free at the moment. Clever puzzle game.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onemanband.thesequence2