Posts Tagged ‘Apps’

More and more people are using mobile devices to process digital documents since they always seem to have their smartphone and tablet on them all the time. However, having many different file formats means requiring a lot of different apps to open these documents.

If we can bank on just one file format, however, PDF is probably the best choice as it is a stable file format that allows you to read text and images as they are.

There are already plenty of apps you can use to view PDF on your mobile devices but what about converting these files into PDF on the device itself? Well, that’s what this post is for! Check out these 10 free apps to convert PDF on your smartphone or tablet, be it iOS or Android. If you have more, do share them with us in the comments section.

Recommended Reading: Mastering PDF: 80 Free Tools, Tips And Resources

1. Able2Extract PDF Converter

Able2Extract PDF Converter is a free cross-platform app which allows you to create PDF documents from MS Office documents. It also lets you convert PDF documents to PowerPoint, Word, and Excel in just two simple taps. Converted files can be stored on your local phone storage so you can easily use or share them via other apps.

Platform: iOS | Android

2. File Converter

Convert most of your files on your smartphone and tablet with this app. The conversion will be done in a secure Cloud and converted files can be downloaded back to the app. Supported file formats include video, documents, audio, ebooks, images and archives, and over 100 source formats are supported.

Platform: iOS | Android | BlackBerry

3. To PDF

To PDF is a free iPad app that convert iWorks and MS Office documents, web pages, emails, images, contacts, SMS, clipboard content and even Dropbox content to PDF format. Besides that you can also use its extra features to annotate, organize and share PDF files.

Platform: iOS

4. iFiles Converter Lite

iFiles Converter Lite lets you convert documents to PDF right on your iPhone. You can easily import files from online storage like Dropbox, Google Drive or other cloud storage applications. Supported file formats include MS Office documents, iWorks documents, HTML pages, pictures and text files.

Platform: iOS

5. DocAS Lite

DocAS Lite is an all-in-one PDF app which allows you to read, convert, annotate and manage PDF documents right on your iPad. It has a built-in PDF converter that converts MS Office documents, iWorks document, HTML and text format to PDF.

Platform: iOS

6. Doc Scan

Here’s one that turns your hard copy into PDF. Doc Scan turns your hard copy documents into PDF format with your iPhone or iPad. Simply take a picture of your hard copy documents, scan it with the app, and convert the image into a high-resolution PDF on the fly.

Platform: iOS

7. DocToPDF

DocToPDF is an Android app that converts doc, docx, xls, xlsx, rtf and txt file formats to PDF. You can then share the converted PDF documents via email or bluetooth. There’s also a built-in PDF viewer that lets you to view and check the converted PDF file.

Platform: Android

8. Office Converter

Want to convert MS Office documents on your Android phone? Try Office Converter. It converts Word, Excel and PowerPoint file formats to PDF documents. However, conversion will be done online so an Internet connection is required. You can also add password protection to your converted PDF files.

Platform: Android

9. Web to PDF

Web to PDF is an add-on for the Dolphin browser that allows users to convert a webpage to PDF file, view or share it anytime.

Platform: Android

10. PDF Converter

PDF Converter is a lightweight app that converts any document into a PDF file. Conversion is done on a server and converted PDF documents will be saved on your SD Card storage in the "Download" folder.

Platform: Android

More

1. URL to PDF – URL to PDF app converts a webpage to PDF file easily. All you need to do is just copy the URL and paste into the app. [iOS]
2. PDF2Office – PDF2Office converts PDF documents to Text files and makes them editable on the iPad. [iOS]
3. Excel to PDF Converter – Convert all your Excel files to high-res PDF format easily with Excel to PDF Converter. [Android]
4. Doc to PDF Converter – Doc to PDF Converter supports .doc and .jpg format to convert into PDF format. [Android]
5. Open Office to PDF Converter – Want to convert OpenOffice file formats into high-quality PDF format? Try this app. [Android]
6. Mobile Doc Scanner – MDScan scans your documents and transform them into PDF format, right with your Android phone. [Android]
7. Text to PDF Converter – This app is specifically made to convert Text files to PDF format in offline mode. [Android]
8. Word To PDF – This apps converts .doc, .docx, .odt, .ott and .rtf to PDF. [Android]

Rooting your Android phone is the first path towards customizing your phone for optimum use. Once you have your device rooted, you will not only be able to use certain apps, you can also remove bloatware, boost battery life, make your Android work snappier and faster plus further customize the internal systems for better performance you won’t be able to get from a non-rooted phone.

While you may enjoy exploring your Android device, rooted, please remember to always have a backup of your Android device before you begin any attempts to install these 30 must-try apps for rooted Android phones in this list.

Recommended Reading: 20 Essentials App For Your Android Phone

Orange Backup

A full Android backup that allows your phone to revert to its most recent stable state is known as NAndroid backup. With Orange backup, you will be able to create a full Android backup right from within the app itself and even upload backups to the Cloud.

It also supports scheduled backups and popular Android recovery like ClockWorkMod and TWRP.

Greenify

Overtime your Android will be filled with apps that consume a lot of your battery life, or worse make your device slow down. Greenify will help to identify and hibernate your battery-sucking apps when you are not using them.

This is different from freezing the app (which renders the program useless), a method other similar root apps use. Greenify merely puts those apps to sleep while not disabling their function entirely.

Screen Standby

The frequent display timeout that is causing your device to lose connection when the screen is off can be rather annoying. To retain that connection whenver your screen is turned off you can use Screen Standby for that.

It will also prevent your device from overheating especially if you are connecting it via MHL/HDMI for a long gaming or movie streaming session.

Chainfire 3D

Stil stuck with Froyo or Gingerbread, unable to run a high-end game? Chainfire 3D serves as the ‘middle man’ between your apps and graphic driver, allowing users to disable or enable graphics to run newer games, even on older devices.

DataSync

This awesomely crafted app works perfectly especially for users with more than one Android device. Sync your data between multiple devices with 3 quick options: over Wi-Fi, Dropbox or FTP.

Titanium Backup

Here is another popular backup app. With this app you can set a schedule backup so that you will always will have that important data saved in your phone. You can easily transfer the backups to your desktop via a USB cable and restore it at anytime with Titanium Backup.

BusyBox Installer

BusyBox is an app that combines many common UNIX utilities into a single, small executable. Android is based on Linux which is also capable of running complex UNIX commands. BusyBox simplifies this type of process.

Many rooted apps and custom roms depend on BusyBox to run their script and make them work, hence some custom roms would have this automatically installed.

Samba FileSharing For Android

Samba FileSharing enables you to project your SD Card storage in your Android and broadcast it all over your network for you to access its files. The settings are similar to what you setup on your desktop and you can even access the shared folder through another Android device too.

Pimp My Rom (Alpha)

Here’s a one-in-all tweaking app. There are just so many features and tweaks that you can enable and patch to improve your Android experience.

It also includes init.d scripts that are full of tweaks and a simplified version of buildprop to make it easier time to decide on the perfect settings for your device.

OTA RootKeeper

A very straightforward app where you can keep your ‘Root’ access by saving it as a backup. Once you have the backup, flash over your Android device OTA updates and restore your root permission through this app. Simple!

Trickster MOD Kernel Settings

A tweaking tool for your Android device that supports many kernels. One of the fewer apps that allows you to overclock your GPU while having the combined functionality of many other apps in one convenient application.

CatLog

A logcat app where you can find details on what is going on in your Android device. While scanning your logs, Catlog make it easier for you to do stacktraces to debug your apps. A neat tool for developers or testers.

LBE Privacy Guard

Akin to an interactive desktop firewall, this will scan and list all the permissions required by every app you install. Through this list you will be able to customize your own permission settings to decide what kind of data the app can take from you.

Don’t worry about losing your settings, because this very thoughtful app will remember them.

Root Uninstaller

Not happy with the bloatware your Android phone takes with it? Freeze, uninstall or hide any unsightly or useless app with Root Uninstaller and free up some space for apps that matter.

Warning: Removing system app carelessly might lead to a system crash. Know wha you are doing before you do it.

GMD GestureControl Lite

Want to breeze through your phone with gestures? Here’s an app that can help you setup multi-touch gestures to run special action commands for your phone or tablet.

Market Helper

Certain apps are optimized only for phone, or only for tablet. Market Helper helps you to transform your phone or tablet into the (popular) Android device of your choice, allowing you to download that device-specific app you want from the Play Store.

DiskDigger

If you ever lost a photo before, DiskDigger is a nifty little app that allows you to dig back all your deleted photos easily. This free app include an experimental feature where you can retrieve even your deleted videos too. Visit this link for the instruction on how to use it.

TopNTP

The objective of this app is to force your GPS to lock onto your location as fast as possible. It includes many different customized gps.conf file for you to test, to get the best possible results. You can use your own custom config and apply it via this app too.

AFWall+ (Android Firewall)

AFWall+ helps you restrict access to the data networks (2G, 3G or Wi-Fi) to cater to the needs of your apps. This can help you save battery juice and data usage while roaming.

full!screen

Wish you can hide the navigation bar at the bottom of your device to have a real full view of your application? This app lets you hide the entire system bar in fullscreen mode while still keeping two configurable softbuttons which can be changed in position, size, color and transparency (or completely disabled).

Font Installer

This app comes with hundreds of custom fonts ready for you to install. Use any custom fonts just by saving it into your device and install it from your device storage.

Link2Sd

A useful app for users who are dealing with limited storage on their device. This app will help you to move your installed app to the SD card on your device so you can free up more space in your phone memory.

Battery Calibration

Android batteries after long usage may need to recalibrate due to an effect called SOC mismatch. There are many battery calibration apps but this one has a simple UI and a notification that tells you when you have hit a full charge.

To start using it, tap on the ‘Battery Calibration’ button when your battery hits 100%.

StickMount

Through the use of OTG cable and by using this app you will be able to automatically mount and dismount USB device that is plugged into your Android.

Rescan Media ROOT

For users you keep a lot of songs in their Android, media scanning is going to take a while to complete. Rescan Media allows you to skip a media scan upon booting and will only run if you started any media app on your device.

Wireless Tether for Root Users

Tethering is a feature that allows you to turn your smartphone into a mobile hotspot. This app will allow the phone to connect using their respective data network and setup a WiFi hotspot while distributing bandwidth to connected clients.

Wifi Protector

Use Wifi Protector to protect your device from outside attack, especially on public wifi. This app will protect and inform you if there is any live attack on your device including options to enable vibrations or ringtone so you could react to it immediately.

Push Notifications Fixer

Do you have delayed push notifications on your Android device? Get this app which fixes the infamous late notifications from apps like Facebook, Gmail, Twitter and others. You can even set the heartbeat interval to 1 minute to make sure you never late in getting notifications.

Root Browser Lite

Root Browser Lite will provide you with all the necessary features on top of root access permission that you need to make changes in your system files. You can view and edit any file or even search for files and folders all within this app easily. For a Lite version this app is pretty thorough.

DriveDroid

Its ideal to have a rescue system without having to burn your Linux into a DVD or USB pendrives. Host your Linux operating system on your Android and connect it to your PC to have it booted to Linux whenever you need it.

DriveDroid also includes some downloadable Linux images in the app for your convenience.

Many people use PDF files on a daily basis. Office workers use it as a digital manual or to fill forms; tutors and students use it to easily distribute reference materials or ebooks. In an effort to reduce the use of paper, PDF documents became the ultimate lightweight alternative that lets you go green with every paper you do not print.

In this article, we’ll show you the best free apps for your smartphones or tablets to make the use of PDF a breeze.

Free apps has its limits, but more often than not, we need more than one app to get the job done. Having a few different apps allows you to tap into the many different strengths provided by each of the apps. So, we’ve gone and done the dirty job for you and collected here are the best free apps to you could find on the Web to let you manage, split, merge, and create PDF files right on your iOS or Android devices.

Recommended Reading: 20 Free Tools To Annotate PDF Documents

PDF Splicer Free

This is an app to easily split, merge, duplicate, delete and create PDF files/pages on your iOS device. Access a PDF file from storage app like Dropbox or from Mail and open it with this app. The file will be stored on the main page of the app.

You can select pages from a PDF and tap the Copy button then the Insert button to create a new PDF or merge an existing, separate PDF. The insert button also works when you Copy images on your iDevice’s photo gallery. To open your newly merged PDF, tap on All then the Export button. You can also attach it to an email.

However, there’s a slight drawback to this app. Because it’s free, it will insert an advert on the first page when you export the PDF file. If the advert does not bother you, it’s not a big deal as it does not remove or restrict the amount of pages.

Platform: iOS

Foxit Mobile PDF Reader

Foxit Mobile PDF reader is a free app that can manage, encrypt, decrypt and open PDF files with passwords. The PDF file you’ve opened from your Mail or Dropbox app will be instantly saved on the app. On the reader, you can annotate a document with lines, shapes, highlights, underlining, or draw on the document. There is also the option to add signatures or add text.

The PDF files can be managed in folders or turned favorites for faster access. When you’re on a desktop web browser, you can also upload files to the app through its Wi-Fi file transfer by just typing in the given IP address.

The key feature in this app (only found on iOS at the time of this writing) is the ability to enable and disable passwords on a PDF file. You can enable or disable file encryption when opening, printing or copying a document. A pretty handy tool for managing sensitive documents.

Platform: iOS | Android | Windows | Symbian

PDF Utility – Lite

This Free PDF tool found only on Android has a bunch of functions found in the two previously mentioned apps. The Lite version of PDF Utility allows you to split, merge, duplicate, delete and create PDF files/pages with password protection.

However, this app does not have the functionality of a reader, like annotation or searching through text. Still, its tools are very useful for someone who needs to work with multiple PDF files.

Platform: Android

SignEasy

If you use PDF that require your important signature on multiple documents everyday, then SignEasy is an awesome-looking, free app that you should use. Registering for a free account would give you more functionality, such as adding checkboxes and images to the documents.

The app lets you save your signature so that you can just ‘paste’ it in future PDF documents. Other features include adding text, date and initials.

Platform: iOS | Android | BlackBerry

Alternatives

If you only want an easy way to manage and read PDF documents on your smartphone and can do away with extra features to create, annotate or merge documents, here are some cloud storage apps you should try.

Read Also: Cloud Storage Face-Off: Dropbox Vs Google Drive Vs SkyDrive

Dropbox

We love Dropbox. You can do a lot of things with it, including managing your PDF files. With the Dropbox app you can read PDF files with extra features like table of contents for easy navigation, as well as text search within the document. You can also mark documents as favorite to download and read PDF documents offline.

Platform: iOS | Android | BlackBerry

Google Drive

You can also use Google Drive to make documents available offline with easier sharing options within the app itself. It has simple functions to view PDF files although you don’t get the table of contents like you do in Dropbox.

Platform: iOS | Android

Evernote

Besides being a great productivity tool, the Evernote app is also a good app to open PDF files on the desktop application. Its features are similar to Dropbox, you can navigate your pages through table of contents or searching for text within the document.

It also has a powerful search feature to look for a term over multiple documents. Lastly, you can create a note and attach the PDF to it.

Platform: iOS | Android

Playing games is one of the ways to relax, to hone reaction time, critical thinking, improve our creativity and of course, to have fun. Brain teasers test us with a series of questions and puzzles to check where our problem-solving skills lie. Sometimes you need to think out of the box to find the right answers.

We have here 10 free brain teasers you can play on your iPhone. Swap texting, social networking or mindless repeatable games for these mind-sharpening puzzles instead. It will make that wait or queue a lot bearable and now, you get one (or maybe ten) more options to better spend your time with.

Recommended Reading: 20 Retro Video Games You Can Play on iPhone

1. Clockwork Brain

In Clockwork Brain, players will be tested through a mini series of games with time limits. It’s a great app to have for those Sudoku lovers who want to play with more than just numbers.

You’ll need some memory work, logical reasoning, a good eye and a love for puzzles. There is a good range of games in this free version but if you want more, go premium for .99.

2. Move The Box

Move The Box is a puzzle game where you need to move the boxes into groups of three, either horizontally or vertically. The catch is, there is a limited number of moves. Gameplay allows for swapping, moving and dropping of the box and if you have made a wrong move, just click the undo button.

There are over 600 levels for you to beat and hints are actually available for purchase.

3. What’s My IQ

What’s My IQ is a game that will ask a series of questions which may seem straightforward or silly at first but most actually have pretty creative answers. The graphics are family-friendly and parents and kids will probably have a blast trying to outsmart each other (we adults do have a tendency to overthink things).

4. Stupidness 2

Stupidness 2 is a puzzle game that will make you think out of the box. Some of the solutions or answers to the puzzles are funny and unique, like this one you see below. The progress bar near the top will deplete the longer you take to get the question right. The bar reflects your IQ level as seen on the left. And if things get too hard, just use a hint (points will be deducted).

5. The Room Pocket

The Room Pocket is a first-person POV quiz/puzzle adventure game where you’re presented with series of boxes you need to crack open to move on to the next level. It is a mystery puzzle game and you will be swiping around, tapping, zooming in and out and clicking on items to solve the puzzle.

If you’re stuck on certain levels, there is this tool called ‘eyeglass’ that you can use to help you reveal the way to the next level.

6. 77 Logic Games

77 logic games deals with boxes and putting the right things in the right box. Play by the rules and trump the puzzle to get to the next stage. There are hints in the game if you get stuck or you can just restart the game. With 77 different types of puzzles you have more than 2000 levels to keep you occupied.

7. 100 Doors 2013

You’ll either love it or hate it. That’s 100 Doors for you. This one is the 2013 version and the idea of the game is to figure out how to open the door based on clues you see around the door. In some levels, you have to even tilt or turn your smartphone upside down. Open a door, and advance to the next level. Living up to its name, there are 100 doors for you to unlock, so start guessing!

8. Knowledge Trainer

Knowledge trainer is like your personal Jeopardy show. It challenges you on various topics such as history, sports, science, film, arts and much more. When you answered correctly and your performance is good, the questions will get tougher. Players can view their statistics to see the category they are weaker in. Fun for the know-it-all in class.

9. 7 Little Words

7 Little Words is a puzzle word game where you’re given 7 different clues. Based on the clues you need to find the right word to describe them. If you get stuck you can use hints to help you reveal the first letter or tile of the correct answer, but the hints are limited, so you need to use it wisely.

10. 4 Pics 1 Word

4 Pics 1 Word is a game where you are given 4 different pictures with one common theme, guess that theme in a word and you win! If you’re stuck you can always ask for help from your friends over in Facebook or you could use the hint given at 60 points a pop.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you need to write down a thought or an idea just to find that you do not have a pen and paper with you? While it isn’t convenient to bring a pen and paper out, a majority of us now own a smartphone, so there lies the perfect note-taking device that can follow you everywhere you go.

There are many note-taking apps out in the market for smartphones. Most of them have plenty of great features to better organize your notes and a lot of them work on multiple platforms allowing you to sync and take your notes wherever you go.

Here are 10 more note-taking apps for both iOS and Android you can try out for free.

Recommended Reading: 20 Free Tools To Annotate PDF Documents

1. Evernote

Evernote is one of the first (and best) app people will think about when it comes to note-taking. It is available on multiple platforms: Web, desktop, iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. You can sync your notes across different platforms, allowing you to have access to all your notes no matter what device you own or work from.

It also allows notes in the form of pictures and you can share your notes with anyone through email or via Facebook. You can learn more about Evernote tips here.

Platform: Android | iOS | BlackBerry | Windows

2. Catch Notes

If you are tired of registering for accounts just to take notes, try Catch Note. You can sign in using your Facebook or Google account then create voice notes, photo notes and text notes. You can also set reminders so that you won’t miss out on something important.

Catch Notes also lets you set a 4-digit passcode for sensitive notes you want to keep private. You can also create shared spaces, and the notes created within will be synched and backed up in everyone’s device.

Platform: Android | iOS

3. Fetchnotes

Love hastags? Then, rejoice because you can use hashtags to organize your notes with Fetchnotes. As a to-do and note-taking app, Fetchnotes lets you put several hashtags to each note you make. You pull the notes up by the tapping on the hashtag you want.

If your smartphone runs out of juice and you have a basic phone with you, you can send notes to your Fetchnotes account by sending a text message; normal rates apply.

Platform: Android | iOS

4. SomNote

SomNote is a user-friendly note-taking web app where you can create multiple notes with the option to attach media files or documents. Store them up in multi-colored folders, and if you are going to store a lot of notes, SomNote offers 100MB of free cloud storage for every account.

Plus, with a registered account you can sync all your notes on any device you run SomNote on. SomNote allows you to access different multiples of saved notes in case you mess up the most recent ones. You can also secure your notes by encrypting it with a 4-digit password.

Platform: Android | iOS

5. Spring Pad

Spring Pad is a note-taking and bookmarking app. Sign up with your Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo or Google account to get started. You can create a few notebooks (folders) to differentiate and organize your notes. Customize your folder with tags, different colors, categories, set it privacy options and more.

There are different types of notes you can add such as product, movies, checklist, recipes and many other kinds of notes. Furthermore, you can search or explore interesting notes within the Spring Pad community, and leave comments to interact with the owner of the notes.

Platform: Android | iOS

6. Any.DO

Any.Do is a reminder (to-do) comes note taking app. It has alarm reminder, and for Android you can pin your notes/to-do on your home screen. You can set the alarm to ring only once or you can set it to recurring. Any.Do allows you to use the speak feature if you do not want to type.

You can arranged your notes according to dates or you can store it in folders. When you don’t need the notes or you have completed all the tasks, you can delete all the completed note and task by shaking your phone.

Platform: Android | iOS

7. Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote is one for Microsoft office fans. With Microsoft OneNote you can view your excel files, powerpoint slides and graphs on your phone. To edit the files, open Office Web Apps on your phone browser and you can change text, create tables, make slides and many other functions that Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint has all in one program.

You can access all your notes on your mobile devices if you sync them to your Skydrive account. The Microsoft OneNote app is free for both iOS and Android but you’re limited to only 500 notes, after 500 notes you need to purchase the unlimited version for .99.

Platform: Android | iOS | Windows

8. Google Keep

Google Keep is a note taking app from Google with a very simple interface. You only need to insert the title and the note to create a new note. You can also add an image to the note and a color to differentiate your notes. So far, there is no dedicated Google Keep app for iOS yet, just for Android via a handy widget.

With the widget you can have a faster access to create notes or to look at your notes. There’s also speech-to-text feature where you just need to tap on the microphone and dictate your notes for safekeeping.

Platform: Android

9. AudioNote

AudioNote is handy note-taking app that synchronizes audio recording with your note taking. In other words, the notes you type in by hand match up with the time stamps in the audio recording. For example, if you insert the note at minute 2:21, when you press to view the note it will play the recording at that second.

You can add images too in place of text. You can sync AudioNote to Dropbox or iCloud. The free version of AudioNote offers you a maximum of 5 minutes of recording. To record longer than 5 minutes you can upgrade AudioNote for .99.

Platform: Android | iOS

10. Awesome Note

Awesome Note doubles as a task management app. Create folders and change the color, icon and privacy setting for each folder as required. For those who like to personalize their notes, they can choose from 48 different fonts to create their notes in as wel as add images or add map locations in the note.

Attach alarms with your notes to remind you about the tasks you’ve set. The alarm can be set to ring only once or on repeat. Sync your notes via Google or your Evernote account, and if you are a user of Samsung Galaxy Note, the app is already pre-installed in your device. Outside of that, it is supported only on iOS.

Platform: iOS