Package contents:

1 – RAVPower 4-port USB Wall Charger
1 – Detachable Power Cord
1 – Instruction Manual

Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let’s get down to business.

Build quality :

The build of this unit is of a high strength plastic build. Yes plastic can be an ugly word, but I assure you it is a very solid little unit. There has been no flimsiness to its construction on any of the seams and all the ports are solid with no play to them.

Features:

It’s pretty straightforward as to what this unit is; it’s a wall charger unit that has 4 ports to it for USB charging of  cell phones and tablets. Two of the ports are  a DC 5V/1A (cell phones) and the other two ports are a               DC 5V/2.1A for tablets.

The unit has a blue light to signify that power is going into the unit and that it is ready for use. The light does not change color with charging status, it’s merely there for power on indication. It is however, a very bright little light. In my living room with all lights off, i could make my way around just by the glow of the light source from it.

Average use:

In the week that i have had this unit, I have used it to charge my S3, my wifes S4, and my Nexus 7 all at the same time. The phones charged from roughly 10-15% to 100% in about 2 hours or so and the tablet charged from 2% to 100% in around 3.5-4 hours. The micro USB connection on my tablet is a little loose so you results may vary.

Final verdict:

Great little unit. Very lightweight and very portable. The power cable detaches for easier storage. All the USB ports are a nice snug fit, no play to them that I came across. Very handy to have, especially for anyone that travels a lot and carries with them multiple devices.

Pros:

• Lightweight
• Very sturdy construction
• Charges all connected devices in sufficient time

Cons:

• Power indication light is VERY bright, can be a nuisance if you have this plugged in all the time and it is within your vision

Like what you read? Interested in buying this?

Have one of these? Let us know what you think of it and how it has worked out for you.

The post Review: RAV Power 4 Port USB Wall Charger appeared first on Android Fan Network.

Available in eleven colors, it is super thin and doesn’t add any bulk to an already large device. I like that the volume and power button areas are notched out instead of covered since it gives your finger and thumb a place to land without looking down. The bottom cutout for the charging port area is wide enough not to interfere with opening that stupid waterproof cover Samsung used. Something a little different, and a nice detail, is the teardrop shaped cutout around the IR blaster and ambient noise microphone.

The Bugdroid Circuit pattern remains similar to the previous year’s models, but with the addition of a CruzerLite “C” logo on the Bugdroid not seen on the Galaxy S4 case. Of the eleven colors available, red and blue are my favorites, especially on the pearl white Galaxy S5. As you can see in the video, this combination just really pops out at you.

You can find the BugDroid Circuit case on CruzerLite’s website for $13 or in their official Amazon store.

Image Credits: CruzerLite

The post Review – CruzerLite Bugdroid Circuit TPU Case for the Galaxy S5 appeared first on Android Fan Network.

Like many of us, I am pretty leery of all these new accessory brands popping up and if what I am spending hard earned cash on is worth it. Not having heard of TechMatte or their AmFilm screen protectors, I was not sure what I would receive when asked to take a look at these. Turns out their AmFilm Premium HD clear screen protectors are really good ones and I had no cause for concern.

The AmFilm Premium HD Clear is a plastic film screen protector, but of sufficient hardness and thickness that it has not picked up pocket scratches in the week of use. Installation was easy enough since AmFilm includes stickers you can use to align the screen protector and remove dust. The included wipe is a quality microfiber type and not one of the cheap paper wipes you find in the disposable 99 cent 5 packs. The adhesive AmFilm uses doesn’t have any rainbow effect and this really is crystal clear. The alignment of the cutouts is pretty tight and the flim covers edge to edge and around the camera and speaker, but they did leave the area under the home button open.

I would certainly recommend these if you are looking for a premium type screen protector that isn’t ridiculously overpriced like other offerings. You can find these at TechMatte’s Amazon store for $5-7 which includes a lifetime replacement warranty.

Image Credits: TechMatte

The post Review – TechMatte AmFilm Premium HD Clear for Galaxy S5 appeared first on Android Fan Network.

The AmCase Hybrid Bumper Case from TechMatte is a well made, lightweight, protection option for your Galaxy S5. The case’s construction is a flexible thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) outer bumper ring bonded to a transparent frosted polycarbonate back panel giving your phone a light drop protection while still letting the Samsung’s “Glam” show through. The case pops on easy and fits snug as to not add bulk to an already large device. Volume keys and the power button are covered by the TPU bumper, but the tactile feel and responsiveness are not lost. Cutouts around the microphones, speaker, camera and other sensors are tight, but without interfering which strikes a good balance between protection and usability.

TechMatte, maker of the AmCase and AmFilm brand of accessories, is a relative newcomer, but are quickly establishing themselves with quality products and customer service. Definitely check them out if you are in the market for a case. You can find their AmCase Hybrid Bumper on Amazon for $6 to $10 in black/frosted as shown here.

Image Credits: Techmatte

The post Review: TechMatte AmCase Hybrid Bumper for Galaxy S5 appeared first on Android Fan Network.

As you can see, nothing gaudy or obtrusive to the eye. Just pleasant color schemes and soft edges to ease your eyes.

This pack is compatible with lots of launchers, such as Nova, ADW, Trebuchet, Holo, Apex, and a slew of others. Please check out the Play Store link below, and confirm your launchers compatibility. The pack is available on the Play Store for a small fee, very little considering the time and effort put forth into bringing you such a great set of icons.

The post Icon pack review – KooGoo appeared first on Android Fan Network.

Google Voice – Gavin

This is an oldie, but a good one. It is rough on the eyes and does not adhere to Google’s own design requirements suggestions, but it is invaluable. It is a voice mail replacement, a free way to text and make calls over WiFi (3rd party app required), and a throw away number.

Even today, with multiple free alternatives out there, some carriers still charge for visual voicemail. Visual voicemail is simple, the ability to choose what message you listen to and in what order, all through the ability to see(hence the word visual) said messages. There are many benefits to this, such as not accidentally erasing a message, not having to listen to five old messages just to listen to the newest one, or simply not forgetting about an old message because you see it every time you open your voicemail app. Another added feature of Google Voice is transcribed messages. While wildly inaccurate, the ability to get an idea of what the voicemail is about without having to put the phone to your ear is priceless when you are unable to listen – like when you are in a meeting.

Another benefit of Google Voice is the ability to never give my primary phone number out. If my bank, a website, USPS, UPS, etc requires my phone number, they get my Google Voice number. Google Voice allows you to add people to a blocked list or set all calls to silent, helping maintain my sanity from the ever-increasing computer calls about my “free vacation” that I just won. While I would prefer to never give out my number, it is necessary for some companies that I deal with to have a way to contact me, but they also do not need my direct private number. I want my bank to be able to call me if they suspect fraudulent activity, but at the same time I do not want to have to worry about them selling my number to a third-party. With Google Voice, if they do, I can always just change the number or block them.

This is my favorite use for Google Voice: free WiFi calling or texting. The last time I was overseas, I had to place a two-minute phone call from Germany to Belgium due to a delayed flight, and AT&T thought this was worth $14. With Google Voice and a third-party app (such as Talkatone) you can place calls from anywhere in the world to the US for free when on Wi-Fi or using your cellular data. There is no set up, and it uses your free Google Voice number, and the call quality is great. Even if you get a SIM in the country you are visiting, you will have a phone number for that country and it will require a long distance call when you call the US. Save yourself money and use Google Voice.

Note: **Google Voice is discontinuing third-party app support May 15th. There are paid alternatives out there that provide you a similar service without Google Voice if you are currently using this method for free-calling and texting, so be prepared.**

Head to the link below to download Google Voice for free. Do you depend on Google Voice? Chime in and let me know how you rely on Google Voice and any other creative uses you have found for it.

APK Share & Backup – Dave

Ever have an app or an APK that you must share with your friends or family? Or you just want a simple way to back it up to you SD card or one of your cloud based services?

Let’s rewind to when that developer had that dopey game Flappy Bird on the Play Store and told us we had 24 hours to download before be took it down for good because the game and players were making him mental (lol). If you are (or were) a fan of Flappy Bird, this would have been the best time to have an app like APK Share & Backup installed. Those few silly people buying Galaxy S III’s for crazy amounts of money with Flappy Bird installed could have saved a lot of time and money if they did.

APK Share & Backup is pretty simple to use really. After installing it and opening APK Share & Backup, it will give you a list of all the apps you have downloaded on your device. Once you find the app you would like to share or back up, simply hit the check box for the app in the list and you’ll be presented a list of options to either share the APK to your favorite social media, cloud based storage, e-mail and other very simple ways to get that APK to your friends, or back it up (it backs up to your SD card).

So, keep this app handy. You never know when a developer goes completely bonkers, not wanting $50,000 a day in ad revenue, and pulls his app from the Play Store, or you found an app that you must simply keep a backup of or share it. Either way, APK Share & Backup is an extremely easy to use for beginners and seasoned Android users to accomplish this. Hit the link below to grab APK Share & Backup from Google Play.

Image Credits: Android Fan Network

The post Android Fan Network’s Weekly App Picks – May 11 appeared first on Android Fan Network.

School Driving 3D Simulator by developer Ovidiu Pop is exactly what it sounds like – a driving simulator. Don’t get all bored already. I’ve played my fair share of driving games on both Android and console, and let me tell you… this one is really tough.

Let us start off with the general idea. The game is simple in its function, teaching you how to drive, but this isn’t just apply turn signal and brake here, gas pedal there. In this game, you actually get points deducted if you don’t put on your seat belt. Cross the center line? Point deduction. Failure to stop at crosswalk for pedestrians? Points taken off again. You can see where this is going. Points rewarded for proper driving and points off for even the slightest infraction.

Now, there are two modes: Career Mode and Free Mode. Career Mode takes you though the actual basics of driving and teaches you how to watch your speed, use turn signals, when to yield and so forth. Free Mode is just that, start driving as you wish.

During career mode, as you progress through the levels and accrue points, and levels become longer and more challenging. The actual driving is controlled by a gas and brake pedal on the right side of the screen while the steering can be done by either tilting the device your using, or changing it to show a steering wheel on screen. Believe me when I tell you, using the wheel is much harder than tilting your phone or tablet.

As I said before, you even have to make sure to put your belt on before even starting. Crash into something- there’s no auto restart, you have to put the car in reverse and back it up. Screw up enough and you’ll fail the level completely and start over.

In order to pass a level, you must gain enough XP to unlock the test level in each stage before you can take the test to move on. Not enough points? Start replaying levels to get better.

Levels I’ve come across so far are a city landscape in daylight and night-time and the same goes for country roads- both day and night. Yes you have headlights, and no they don’t turn on for you, again- you have to do that for yourself.

You start off in driving a Mercedes what looks to be a CLK series- not bad choice of first car, or if unlocked- a BMW M3. There are options farther along for a Mustang, but my favorite part of this game is that you can choose to drive a big rig truck or large, coach-style bus.

Oh yes, try tearing around a city in something the size of a small town and see how hot you think you are at driving now.

Lines do appear on the road to tell you where to go, but they don’t show up until right before a turn, making the concentration levels go up even higher that’s needed instead a mindless screen-tapping game.

All in all, if my kids were starting to learn how to drive- aside from me taking them out and showing them how in practical terms, this game isn’t a bad primer to start off with. Learn the basics of what to do, then apply to real life. I have fully enjoyed playing this game and do really enjoy the challenge of how hard this actually is, even from the very start.

This app is supported by ads, which stay mostly to the top and bottom, aside from a random pop-up ad after each mission, and it does contain in-app-purchases, but they are really unobtrusive.

The post School Driving 3D Simulator appeared first on Android Fan Network.

Mixology – Sean

How many of you wish you knew how to make a certain drink or wanted to know what wine went with a certain food? Show of hands? Well the summer is fast approaching and a lot of you will be hosting parties and will surely want to know these answers. I work in a liquor store and I get asked these questions all the time.

Mixology is a great little app to help with these questions. It’s a nice little app that you can browse through a slew of recipes, search by drinks, liquors, wine and so on. You can lookup what kind of things you should have in your bar as far as tools are concerned, what alcohol you should have on hand and how to make the drinks you seek. There’s even a random setting where you can set what booze you want to mix and when you shake the device, it will give you a list of drinks you can make given the types you’ve chosen. I like it because this is straightforward and easy to use. There is an in app purchase that removes ads for $ .99 so as to not clutter your screen space up.

Lowe’s – Gavin

Being a homeowner in the middle of a remodel, I am familiar with the local hardware stores. Lowe’s is not only the closest to me, but they also have an app that other businesses should try to mimic. It of course has the prerequisite store finder and ability to purchase items, but what makes it stand apart is My Lowe’s.

My Lowe’s is a true digital assistant, saving all of your purchases and storing all of your frequently purchased items. Light bulb burn out? No longer do you have to pull out a ladder and climb up just to see the type and wattage, the Lowe’s app stores that info for you. I have three different sized air filters for my HVAC system, and I have all three written down at home, which does me no good when I am at Lowe’s trying to remember. You simply snap a picture of the item, assign it to a room in your house, and enter any info you want to remember. Now that info is stored in my phone, no more angry trips home because I forgot what wattage light bulb my refrigerator takes.

Another part I use is the storing of purchases. Not only does it attach any online purchases or purchases made through the app, but it will associate purchases made in the store with my account. It does this through your phone number. When you first set up the app and create a free account, you have the option to link your phone number. This allows you to give the cashier at Lowe’s your phone number at check out to link purchases to your account. No cards to scan, no need to open the app, no extra numbers to remember.

Head to the link below to set up your free account. The first time you are standing in the aisle looking at rows of water filters and can not remember the type you need, you will be happy to have this app.

Image Credits: Android Fan Network

The post Android Fan Network’s Weekly App Picks – May 4 appeared first on Android Fan Network.

Gerblins – Sean

Gerblins Free is quite the time killer from Butterscotch Shenanigans. Yes, I seem to review a lot of their games, but hey… they’re tons of fun!

The Blergs are being infected by an unknown virus and you have to help cure them and release them from the midst of the other Blergs without uncovering a Gerblins thus bringing down more Blergs and making quite a mess. By tapping on a Blerg, they will show a number as to how many of its neighbors are infected. 0 means none are and that Blerg is set free. Come across a number though, now you have to be careful. Once you think you have pinned down a possible location of a Gerblins, hit the potion button and tap on the Blerg you think is infected. Get it right and the Gerblin disease is cured for that one. Get it wrong, more Gerblins are released and more are stacked onto your current pile.

Addictive and annoying this game is, but for those who like strategy games, this may just fit the bill for you. Gerblins is free to play through 1 of 6 game levels. Buying the paid version unlocks all the levels.

Confide – Kenny

Confide is a new app available for Android users that lets you send self-destructing messages like you’re Inspector Gadget. iOS users have had this app available for a few months now. Confide works a bit like Snapchat, but it is aimed more towards the business world. Messages can be sent to any phone number or e-mail address, and you’re even told when a message has been read. All messages you send through Confide are encrypted and will erase themselves after being viewed. The clever thing about this app is its screenshot prevention system. To read a message, users must slide their fingers along the message to reveal the words. The words in the message reveal themselves as you swipe along the sentence and disappear once your finger slides on to the next word. The orange and white color palette looks a bit on the ugly side to me, but the app works well enough that I don’t really care.

On my Z1, trying to take a screenshot gets you an error about the storage device being in use. Of course there are ways around this for rooted users, but the app already has that covered with the swipe to read mechanic. Recording or photographing the device’s screen with another device is not out of the question, but that’s a bit extreme. I’m sure something simpler, such as an Xposed module or crack along those lines is going to pop up sooner or later, but right now, this is a solid app with an inventive developer behind it. I’m sure they will be monitoring hacks and updating Confide to compensate as needed. The one thing that detracts me from Confide is the fact that you have to sign up with your name, phone number, and e-mail address. You are also able to log in to Facebook to pull in contacts there as well. This makes the app feel a bit less secretive, but then again it isn’t designed to be SnapChat. It’s meant more for the professional world. I strongly recommend Confide for keeping your insults about Becky’s horrible hairdo a secret from her prying eyes!

AIR Remote – Gavin

If you are lucky enough to own a phone with an IR Blaster, this app is for you. Well, if it is a supported phone. Oh, and if you have an Apple TV. And you know, if you want to use said phone to control said Apple TV. Still with me? AIR Remote FREE for Apple TV lets you use your IR equipped phone to control your Apple TV. Simple. That is all it does, and it works well.

Why spend hundreds on a universal remote or have a basket of remotes when you can use something that you already have on you, your smartphone? There is no set up required, just download the app, open, and point it at your Apple TV, and you are up and running. Currently the app only supports newer HTC and Samsung devices, but it worked on my M8 and S5 even though they are not officially supported. There is a free version with a few ads or an ad-free version for $3.99. Head to the link below and enjoy.

Image Credits: Android Fan Network

The post Android Fan Network’s Weekly App Picks – April 27 appeared first on Android Fan Network.

Google Play Games – Gavin

A key advantage that Android has over iOS is Google Play Games. iOS’s Game Center is in desparate need of an update and does not work for most games when trying to save your progress and move to a new device. Google Play Games allows your progress to be synced across multiple devices and even has an Easter Egg for those of us that grew up playing Nintendo and Sega. Using the infamous Konami code, you are greeted with nod to Sega’s poorly translated Zero Wing. Here’s the steps:

1. Open Google Play Games
2. Swipe across the screen in sequence – up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right
3. A retro 8-bit controller will pop-up
4. Press B, A, and start in order
5. Your acheivement will be unlocked

Unlocking the achievement doesn’t do anything but unlock a smirk for those of us that remember, but still it’s a neat nod to the retro games we grew up on.

Ookla Speedtest – Kevin

With LTE rolled out to all the carriers, everyone wants to know just how fast their network really is and hit the share button for bragging rights. That said, the go to app for any Android fan is Ookla’s Speedtest app. To use, just open it up and hit start. The app will use your location to find the nearest server and start the download test followed by upload.

The fun is reading about Ookla, the company’s namesake and (slightly) evil cat. Long departed, Ookla continues to live on in their app. To read Ookla’s chilling tale, run a speed test and swipe down over the meter when done.

Image Credits: Android Fan Network

The post Easter Egg Edition – Android Fan Network’s Weekly App Picks – April 20 appeared first on Android Fan Network.