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Which Messenger are you using?

Posted on October 12, 2015 by benardquek

Do people still use IM or internet messaging? Apparently they do.

I know text messages (SMS) is dead but try telling that to Twitter. The original idea was that you could talk to just anyone like in a text message by mentioning the @person handle. But before all this, let’s not forget the Hotmail, Yahoo, ICQ and even Skype for that matter. Those were the pioneers. I remember using ICQ fondly, where you could search out names of people and see if they were involved in the same IM platform.

Then came the mobile revolution, which ICQ, Y messenger and Microsoft Live transitioned itself to as well, having a GPRS connection on your smartphone was all that you needed. Everything else was optional.

With 3G, suddenly video calls were possible. That sort of changed the landscape once and for all. So what’s your messaging choice if you wanna hop on.

Viber Versus Whatsapp

Two are similar, both are Jewish founded but one of them got bought out for billions while the other got bought out for a measly 900 million. The problem I have with my messaging train of thought is this, I don’t want to pay to use your app and if you don’t have a commercial model to sustain yourself. You are not going to last. Viber only has just over 200 million active users, while Whatsapp has 700 million.

You download Whatsapp for free for the first year and have to ante up to pay to continue, at US$1 buck. Their motto is to stay free of advertising and promotions, and that is a huge problem because this business model isn’t going to earn your keep. When Facebook bought them out for a reported US$19 billion, versus US$900 million paid for Viber. You sort of knew that Facebook isn’t going to gain any further traction since they too have a messenger that rivals it. It was as if Facebook was called in to rescue Whatsapp before it went thermo nuclear. Both Viber and Whatsapp have similar functions (only the latter does not do commercial deals) so as long as Viber is commercialises enough to sustain its own operating expenses, it will continue. Whatsapp does not commercialise its own channels so that is a dead end as long as it sticks to its motto….”no ads, no games, no gimmicks’. Let’s see how long that holds out.

Facebook Messenger Versus Google Hangouts

This is actually the battle of the titans in the making. I remember that at one time, both apps were fighting to usurp your Text Messaging functions. Both wanted to dominate but in the end, it was up to Google Hangouts that won, allowing users to choose its app without intruding. Facebook Messenger gave up on fighting Google and came out with their own Unique Selling Point.

Facebook Messenger was given a leash to capture non-FB users using a direct sign up with phone number method. This was introduced in North America and global release is gradual and subject to their fine tuning.

Google on the other hand has video conferencing or recorded video streams which you can broadcast and save to YouTube. It proved to be a hit for those wanting to connect live with an audience, something that both Periscope and Meerkat was hoping to jump on as well.

KakaoTalk Versus Line

Twins that were separated by birth, Kakao and Line were Korean inventions which didn’t seem too different. Both sold you tonnes of stickers, both had chats and social profiles, and both are openly commercial about monetizing its services to brands.

Line is apparently more popular in Japan, while Kakao makes more money through games, adverts, and you guessed it, stickers.

In 2015, Line claims about 400 active users while Kakao has 145 million active users. So it really depends on where you stand because if you have more friends in Asia, then both Line and Kakao would seem like a good bet.

WeChat versus BBM

WeChat currently claims over 450 million active users while Blackberry’s Messenger has roughly 100 million but BBM has been around way longer than WeChat.

BBM was one of the reasons why people signed on with Blackberry. It was instant messaging done securely. That line has changed after Blackberry’s popularity fell from grace. And it’s not as secure as you think as recently in Brazil, a corruption scandal used BBM messages as evidence against those charged in court. This means crooks and terrorist aren’t safe from using this platform.

WeChat is very similar to both Line and Kakao Talk and in some ways even BBM. You have moments in WeChat that is social, just like what you find in both Line and Kakao talk, then you have groups/channels which is used by brands to reach out to customers. BBM on the other hand uses stickers and advertising to earn revenue. BBM also has voice calling over data with fellow users just like WeChat.

What sets them apart is that WeChat has more features, including the Walkie Talkie Push to talk which uses lower data bandwidth and a user discover tool based on location. This is called ‘People Nearby’ where you chat up strangers and ask them out for a date. It uses your location to probe the region for users of up to over 1km away. The other feature is the drift the bottle, where you can cast a voice message into the open waters of the Internet and see who reads it or responds to you.

The NEXT Wave is Here

For me, its always been the commercial viability of that particular platform. If it is going to be around for long, it better monetize itself as I surely will not foot the bill. Getting adverts on your app is just like getting SMS spam in the old days. I lived with it so no problem.

The second criteria is family and friends who are online. If they are on a handful of them, then use the common denominator. For me, it’s not about how many users the network has but more on the quality of that network.

There was a time Whatsapp was so bad in its quality, failing to deliver messages and not telling you, I gave up on it. BBM was an old favourite. The user experience is great even after the material design update but BBM is probably one of the most reliable so far. BBM pioneered the ‘delivered’ and ‘read’ status to each message. This is important as it tells you the person has read it.

Facebook Messenger and Hangouts are always there on my phone. I don’t use Facebook app as it is a storage space hog. WeChat is a huge success in Asia and so is Line, so those two are always there. The last IM for old time sake is Skype. Yes, Skype started with both voice and IM services before it was sold off from one owner to the next like some cheap furniture. Skype sort of lost its luster over the years but I find it useful for face to face video conference.

Apple’s Facetime has been a deplorable service since it started. It was created with the same mindset as BBM was in the 1990s. It never really improved and no one I know who uses an iPhone uses that anymore. iMessage is forced upon you by Apple but I clearly do not see it as a popular place to exchange greetings. So what is the next wave in social and instant messaging? Look no further than below:-

An app designed with Snapchat disappearing message capabilities, Telegram is a simple to use, no hassle and is rolled out to both desktop and mobile use. So far, its clean interface has won users over and it has an open API for developers to craft and graft features onto it.

Wire

Graphics, sounds and pictures are the highlight features of this app. Wire is visual and what’s more, you can write on the screen and doodle a message to send over to your contacts on Wire. This app is truly visual and even has a desktop version.

MimeChat

UK startup Mimechat is one weird and fun messaging app where you use an Avatar to display your emotions to the people you are chatting. You can key in text messages and instead of using emoji, you get to use an Avatar which you can design from the ground up to represent you.

These avatars can then animate themselves to display pleasure, displeasure, sadness or anything that is on your mind. The catch? Some of the animated sequences cost money to buy but once you buy them, you can use it forever.

Gnarbox hopes to change the way you edit Video on Mobile

Posted on August 11, 2015 by benardquek

Say goodbye to your laptop or notebook computer as the mobile device takes over to edit and share your videos. Gnarbox just got funded on Kickstarter and it’s a worthy gadget to have if you shoot bus loads of video and can’t edit it on the fly. One of the problems with video editing is that you need a device or gadget that will make the workflow workable. For this, people often download their raw video and edit them on a computer. The mobile device? Well, it’s less than desirable with a less than competent video processor found on an iPhone.

Juggling loads of clips with a limited amount of RAM is one of the biggest flaws for any mobile device and the iPhone is no exception.

So here comes Gnarbox, a set top video editing device which takes all the heavy lifting in stride.

What you have here is a durable and robust video editing tool in the form of a self contained video editing box. It is rugged, water proof and will take a fall better than your Macbook.

Pair with an app using WIFI, you are then able to view, edit, and later share your clips while away from the computer all with the use of just your mobile device. The controls on the app turns your mobile into a dumb terminal while all the editing and processing functions sit on the Gnarbox independently.

To use, you can download your video captured on any camera device, like a DSLR or GoPro into the Gnarbox. What happens next is truly a technological marvel.

The mobile device becomes just an app that connects to the Gnarbox and it take care of the editing and processing without having to strain your mobile device.

The Gnarbox can connect to multiple devices and once done, you can export those clips you edited to social media or the cloud.

Gnarbox will retail at US$250 a pop when released and is a good way to dump that notebook as part of your travel baggage. The only caveat is that the Gnarbox app may not have the same editing functions or experience as say, Final Cut Pro, since it is after all optimized for mobile use.

For that, you have no choice but to turn to a full notebook for a complete editing experience. However for social media vloggers, the Gnarbox is a god send.

The iPhone 6 is far from perfect, is this the cure?

Posted on June 12, 2015 by benardquek

The iPhone 6+ has poor battery life because Jony Ive thinks it should have a smaller battery to save on weight. Personally, I think he fibbed. A larger battery would have cost more and eat into Apple profits.

This is probably why these folks from China are thinking of improving it with an Evol iPhone 6+ camera case that does so much more. The pitch on Kickstarter sounds great. The concept explains it all.

Extended battery built as a Modular Add on
Extra SIM card access as a Modular Add on
Second camera for 3D Photo imaging as a Modular Add on
MagSafe Power recharging dock
External Storage of up to 64GB more with Modular Add on

These modular add ons can only be used on their Evol concept iPhone 6+ casing. Ok, they have the add on lenses but I never thought much about the external lenses since you can already get them from a host of other vendors.

The iPhone 6 is not supported, only the + model because it needs the extra real estate to mount this modular add ons.

What these folks are offering a consumer centric needs and not Apple needs. Remember the Apple Pay *BS about helping you pay more securely? Apple just wants to get into the banking business of managing your money that’s all.

Everything that Apple is introducing onto iOS only makes business sense and do not cater to consumer requirements for a more personal device as opposed to just another smartphone. Because that’s what the iPhone has devolved into, just another Smartphone.

Why did iOS 9 look so much like Android Lollipop? Didn’t they think they had a chance by doing better than that? Apparently not. Apple is so far behind in this. Remember the Xiaomi model of business, the older the technology, the bigger the hardware margins over time to create the device. Why is storage still so expensive on the iPhone? Why do you keep having apps that crash because of RAM availability even though they say it won’t happen? Nah, it cost too much to add that and Apple wants to milk more money from users with older tech.

Evol is probably jumping far ahead by offering a whole themepark of add ons which I think are great, but to Apple, that’s like stealing their business.

To be fair, Evol should be given a chance. Even four out of six features that make it to the Evol casing would make it infinitely more usable, and extending the product life of the iPhone 6+. Oh wait, Apple wants you to upgrade every year to a new device. Will this fly?

Showbox App Revisited

Posted on December 5, 2014 by benardquek

One of the beauties of the Android environment is that you don’t have to root your phone to use apps deemed illegal by Google. Try that with Apple too and you’ll be booted out faster than greased lightning. So with that in mind, I will like to dedicate this post to all those who are fans of illegal movie downloads, who probably need a daily fix before bed time.

Showbox Hosted on a burnt Wire

Previously, I could not put a link up because, there was no link to Showbox app. But today, it is gone again. It was originally hosted on a Chinese server, showbox.me, but you can get copies of the app from various places. The Aptoid link is still live so that is one place you must look. There are updates and I suspect that the whole deal about Showbox is that the media files are hosted on a dedicated server farm.

Each time Showbox goes online with an app download, it gets snuffed out like a burnt wire. Compared to Popcorn time, which is hosted in Europe, it has no server location since the media files are hosted by users as opposed to a centralized location for Showbox. The app has no assets whereas for Showbox, the assets are hosted on a physical server in Russia.

[update April 2015: You can download showbox Android app from here. But please ensure you have a malware protector to check the APK as the source of this app does not have an official source. Previous versions required very little permissions but this ones takes a lot more.]

What’s the Difference Between Popcorn Time and Showbox?

Plenty.Just so you know, I have made the distinction here.

Popcorn Time

Popcorn time is a torrent application. What it does is that it seeks out movie streams on torrent links and downloads them into the app. Popcorntime is available on desktops as well as mobile. But the downside of Popcorn time is very evident from the moment you hit the download to watch button. It just won’t stream instantly. It has to build up a buffer or download the entire movie first. The instant streaming fix you need is impossible. The app does not allow you download the files to your device either. For this, you need a dedicated torrent downloader.

If you see a torrent link, make sure you blast it!

Lastly, the movie selection is limited. You can only find the latest and most popular movies on torrent. Anything older than your dog would be a difficult find. One of the advantages of torrent files is that it can pick out a desire subtitle option.

Showbox

Instant gratification as long as you have a fast internet connection. The system protects itself from leeching by allowing only one download or streaming activity at a time. So the speed is consistent. The download option is fabulous. You can download the entire movie file in low, medium or high quality. High in this case often means up to 1020p. What I love about Showbox is its simple interface. You can have all your files downloaded to watch later.

Showbox link is live? Wow that is cool!

The choice of movies grows by the day and yes, it even supports TV series. So if you are looking for the latest season of Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown, you will find it here. Showbox also has a distinction for having the latest movies as well as favorites from 2 decades ago. They have some older movies from the 50s and 60s as well but these titles are limited.

VK the missing Movie Streaming Link

Vladimir Putin may have something to do with VK social network site but one thing is for sure, you can get plenty of the latest blockbusters for free as Russia does not recognize the DMCA take down. The best kept secret on the Internet is actually Vkontake or VK.com. Once you join, you can stream almost any movie known on the planet. I was asked to find a torrent on “To Kill a Mockingbird” and could not locate one until I searched on VK.com.

VK.com has a mobile app that allows you stream movies online, and yes, there is even porn if you know where to look. Thanks to this, VK has gotten a lot of flak from movie producers and studios but it is the best kept secret in town if you want to watch just about anything. What’s more, music can be streamed for free! Fuck yea! No more Spotify subscriptions to pay! Just add that into a playlist and you’re good to go.

VK.com is a social network and works in a similar way as Facebook except for the free music and movies you get to stream. There are even third party video downloaders which will rip the videos directly to your PC if you want to keep a copy. VK app is available on IOS, so for iPhone and iPad users, this is your only choice to enjoy streaming movies.

VK comes highly recommended for both Android and iOS. Not sure if is available on Blackberry or Windows Mobile but if it is, you better start using it.

Controlling the FC40 Camera from your mobile

Posted on June 7, 2014 by benardquek

The FC40 is a keychain type camera that is being sold with the Phantom 1 that can be controlled via a iPhone or Android app with FPV capability. Now FPV is nothing new, it means First Person View, so like the critter cam, you can strap it to your dog or pet Moose and have them wander around giving you an idea where they are going. Don’t expect this to be long distance though. It has a limited range of around the ballpark of 100m.

picture quality isn’t great but this is a cloudy day

In flight, you probably are able to get far more distance since you are down on the ground but put this camera around tall buildings and you will see it fail. As a GoPro competitor, the FC40 offers real value for money on the cheap. Think of it as a toy, which you can rough up but it is not waterproof or for that matter shielded from everyday grime and mud use since the ports, and buttons are totally exposed.

Edited image, warming it up with WB controls

The 720p output should not be an issue since the majority of you guys don’t even mind downloading 720p porn. So why should this be an issue? The quality of the video however isn’t great. The FC40 may have a 30 frame rate but that doesn’t quite translate to better video quality. It is smooth when you move around but when it goes too fast, the 30fps capture isn’t going to hold up. For high-speed recording, you need 60fps and that’s a GoPro device. There is a slight lag when you hit the capture controls on your smartphone or iDevice so it’s not really for fast action responses. the FPV video feed is low resolution so things don’t look as sharp or bright but the actual recorded footage stored on the microSD card is much better once you download it. Remember to use microSDs that are below Class 10, Apparently there are some problems when you insert a Class 10 card into it. When it gets a card it can’t access, the FC40 will freeze up on you, refusing to work and connect to any device for FPV. Even though the settings menu does allow you to format the card, it is hardly useful. Once the camera freezes up, you won’t get pass the WIFI connection phase so it’s totally useless.

The other thing with the FC40 camera is that it comes with its own holder which is very user unfriendly for the use. It also protects the camera from everyday exposure to use. Furthermore the FC40’s indicator lights are very dim (probably to save on battery life) so in bright light, you’re not sure if you have turned it on and running. For about US$80, you can’t expect too much from a camera like this. The GoPro Hero3 has a WIFI operating distance of 150 meters and for that price, I doubt it will be a huge draw unless of course you want better image quality. Trusted that the GoPro cameras offer far better overall imaging and video and is more robust than the FC40, I think you have to draw the line on what your imaging and video goals are before you decide on this. For home users on a budget, the FC40 is probably a fairly good compromise.

The FC40’s WIFI signals can’t be boosted. It is pretty much made that way but you have the option of investing in a GoPRO Hero 3 and with a optional signal booster for FPV and capture control. What’s more, you can get a stablizing gimbal for the GoPRO for less than US$100 for mounting on the Phantom but that’s another story. The FC40 is a compromise.

But in use, both the iOS and Android app suffer from the same problems, if you have too many applications opened in the background, chances are you won’t be able to run the FC40 app. All images are in JPG. There is no White Balance settings for the camera or for that matter, RAW file saving. This is after all, a 2 megapixel camera and images are at best, very subjective depending on the weather. WIFI transferring of photos and videos are supported within the app but the Android app only supports transfer to device storage and not external storage. Before you run off to record, please do remember to sync the time stamp on the camera with your smart device. That’s the only way to set the time on the FC40.

Importing the images from your FC40 camera to your iDevice or Android is simple, just tap o the image and it will be transferred via WIFI and you can connect the camera via a cable to your PC to do this as well. Generally speaking, the operations were smooth and the only time when the camera acts up is when you lose the line of sight of the device. Signals aren’t strong enough to penetrate through walls so even if you use this as a critter cam, you need to stay within the line of sight of the camera.

The image quality of the FC40 camera is probably idea for sharing on social media. Making that jump to selling stock video footage would be a tad too ambitious.

1) Image sensor: HD 720p/30fps
2) Resolution: 1280*720
3) Lens: Aperture f/2.2
4) FOV: 100 degree wide angle
5) Focal range: Minimum distance of 25cm
6) Wireless: IEEE 802.11 b/g compliance
7) Wireless mode: Direct mode
8) Mobile Wi-Fi video size: WQVGA
9) Storage: Micro SD/SDHC/SDXC up to 64GB
10) Battery: Built-in 700 mAh Li-ion battery

Keeping a Mobile Diary

Posted on March 18, 2014 by benardquek

The recent paranoia about the NSA going after your private information has left a bitter after taste for many of us. So what is private anymore? What about your diary or daily journal?

There are two schools of thought. The diary can be a private place, but some might prefer to show it off online. Some may just want to record their darkest days in writing and never share it with the world.

If you have a need to keep a daily journal of some sort, the last place you’d keep them would be Facebook or Instagram. turning your daily thoughts and feelings into words has consequences.

Then you have the problem of monetization. Cloud based diary platforms need to make money to fund their service. A cloud based service that is free is probably a good idea but you will find them shutting down if it proves to be unprofitable. Every diary platform startup is looking to social media as a means of monetization. Who knows? Mark Zuckerberg could just drop by your front door and buy you up. This was the case for DAYS for iOS where Yahoo snapped them up out of the blue.

Diary for Mobile for iOS and Android

This is actually the web app for the service Diary.com. It is not a bad site and addresses the simple issue of having both private and public pages. Public pages are for people to read your stuff, so don’t post porn.

Besides this, the site also supports pictures, which you are free to add at anytime but unfortunately, there isn’t any room for video.

For people looking for the most basic option of having to write and post pictures of their daily life, Diary Mobile is probably a good place to start. The short learning curve means you’d be posting in no time at all.

For users who want are aiming to have something more social, like a journal or blog. This fits the cake nicely but there are huge differences between the two mobile version. The iOS version is straight laced, no editing after posting, no task list. Whereas the Android version has this and more but the picture posting capabilities are non-functioning at the time of review.

DAYRE for iOS and Android

Public diary. It’s a good start but users are few at the moment and if you are looking for followers, it might not be the place as it has yet to gain much user traction. For writing, it is not the best option as there is a 500 character limit on your post. As a visual diary with a few words thrown in. It has its appeal.

The UI is clunky. You are given a choice of blogging using locations, words, video or with pictures. Location information is optional of course if you want to keep you blogging destination secret. The inclusion of cartoon stickers somehow seems to create the impression that it is more for the young and if you happen to be a hip brand for youngsters, it could be a good place to start.

Like most photo sharing apps, the app gives you a range of preset filters to color your world. Not the most imaginative option but it does the job. Images and topics can be hash tagged for easier searches but exploring the community is a bit of a hit or miss affair. There is no way around this. It is very similar to Instagram and limits your text post to under 500 characters. The chronological post platform isn’t conducive for marketing and you don’t automatically get a grid view of all your post.

Dayre doesn’t have a web browser interface and this means it only exist on mobile. It might give you web access eventually but it could be quite a while in waiting.

DAYS for iOS

Yahoo made quite a splash when they purchased this new startup which publishes a timeline diary that is more photo centric. The visual diary catalogs what you capture on a daily basis and arranges them as a daily post. You can only post items from a day ago rather than post as you go along.

Sharing is possible by connecting it to Facebook but that’s hardly a innovation these days. I like the concept of Days but its execution is flawed. The UI profile reminds me more of a photo sharing site than a visual diary. That said, there is nothing stopping you from doing the same with your current Instagram feed.

What’s more, you don’t get to enter much information. It does however recognize photos that are taken in a quick sequence and puts them together as an animated gif.

The time stamp of your photos are basically put up in bold before you upload them to your visual time line. Each of these represents the hours of the day and it up to you to add some captions to them.

There is no separate blogging feature where you can go “Dear Diary…yada yada yada yada….”. That said, it might suit those who have little to say or prefer to let their pictures speak for them.

Memoires: the Diary for Android

This is an app created by a Victor Nakonechny, and it is probably one of the best examples of an old world diary made current with the help of technology. There is no public post, no web platform for social discovery. Nada.

It is a private diary app that has everything you need to pen your journal and file it away in secret to the cloud. Even the NSA would have a hard time getting to it once you encrypt it. You can add voice notes, location information, pictures and weather information. Data then can be encrypted for safe keeping. This is probably the best way to keep a private journal, and by syncing it to cloud storage, it can be kept anywhere you choose. Full marks for it being a private journal of sorts.

Backkom Diary

Designed to work on with the Samsung Galaxy Note series of devices, this has gotta be the most whimsical of all diary apps. There is a non-pen version on the Samsung Store but haven’t seen it on the Google Playstore. It’s been around since the first Galaxy note and I don’t know if it was meant for kids or grown ups who want to be kids. The app is clunky to navigate. It even has a calendar function which you add birthdays, anniversaries, etc for good measure.

Backkom is really the name of a animated character named Bernard the Polar Bear, where in South Korea, he’s known as Backkom. Not sure if you’d swing with this but the whimsical tone and UI does turn people off. Again, this is not a social or cloud storage based diary. Your pictures and scribblings are saved to the device itself and there is no way of exporting. Personally, it functions better as a To-do list. There are alarms that you can set but beyond this, not much else.

Choosing a Platform that Suits You

I hate to say this but the free wheeling days of a the startup is over. After the consolidation of social media platforms, the big names in SNS are not buying up diary platforms to integrate to their existing social media properties. Facebook probably might buy one up eventually as this is the missing puzzle from their suite but Google already has the capability by integrating its blogging platform, blogspot.com, into G+. Mobile only access is probably one of the difficult justifications for a diary. What if you have no access to your mobile device, how would you put in an entry?

If you want to be publicly noticed by the NSA, then keep a journal or a blog online. Those diary apps are not going to win you a legion of followers unless you’re a porn star. The only advantage a mobile diary is that you have access to it as long as you are free to write or record plenty of pictures at the end of the day.

There are plenty of other diary apps out there which are competing for social interaction. I could review dozens on iOS and Android platforms so take your time to shop around for one that suits you best.

Suck it Up with Clean Master

Posted on January 9, 2014 by benardquek

“Massstarrr, the House is very Messy!”

“Well Igor, CLEAN it up!”

Android suffers from one major problem. Juggling files in RAM storage and leaving a ton of trash files behind. Those of you unlucky enough to own 1GB RAM devices, you’ll know what I mean. Apps that promised some form of house cleaning can be found all over the playstore, and many do NOT warn you that your RAM is dangerous close to being overstuffed…that is until Clean Master came along.

First, I normally do not spend much time testing utility types apps but this one has won me over. The app is one that tells me whenever I am near the limit of my RAM storage and this happens quite often.

Why Your RAM is Stuffed

I have mentioned this before and I will mention it again. One of the biggest culprit for junk files is Social Media. Each time you fetch a Facebook newsfeed or an Instagram post, the files are stored in RAM. Over the course of a day, you will have more and more junk files than you care to imagine. A single newsfeed refresh on Facebook can yield as much as 1MB of files and once you start browsing your newsfeed, it starts to fetch even MORE files. The breathing room for your device gets squeezed and that’s when you start to realize that it gets slow and turgid. This addiction to mass Social Media Consumption is what drives people nuts. They want their device to be quick all the time but they only have themselves to blame.

The other big users of RAM are games online or multiplayer. You may not know how this feels until you start to see glitches in speed. Your gaming starts to stall and lag. You know the deal here when you see it.

Clean Master Rocks

Flushing the toilet after use is probably the best way forward but mobile devices aren’t made for cache flushing on its own. Clean Master identifies the problem and alerts you about it. It’s up to you to take that notification seriously. The app can be used for both normal and rooted access. For rooted access, you can grant it Super user privileges.

But Clean Master does more than this. It also monitors your App usage, warning you that some apps haven’t been used and you should junk them. For instance you may have downloaded an app and totally forgotten about it. Clean Master makes a note of all those apps that don’t have much attention and suggest that you eject them from storage. It also tracks your internal storage files, allowing you to clean up that forgotten video porn you downloaded while waiting for your boss to get back from lunch.

Unlike other RAM cleaning apps, Clean Master monitors your RAM state constantly while leaving a very small footprint. For now, there is no banner advertising and from the looks of it, they could go PRO by asking for a fee later.

Android’s operating system can never be as efficient as iOS because of Google took the multi tasking route. iOS is more linear in its RAM usage and this is also the same reason why Apple never gives you much RAM to play with in the first place. By limiting the RAM on the iPhone 5s to just 1GB, you can see why iOS can never be truly multitasking. Apps that are in the background will stay stuck until you bring it up front. That is why so many side loading apps that promises background operation don’t work.

Android users have to contend with the constant house cleaning as part of the Android structure, but those background apps keep humming along without you having to do a thing. Files can be uploaded to cloud storage as a background process and two apps can be running and sharing the same resource and computing power.

There is no one perfect operation system and as long as you’re aware of this, you get to keep working the way you do on Android.