Computer literacy, help and repair

How to quickly turn on the camera on android. Quick Launch - quick application launch

Many users of smartphones running on operating system Android users are often disappointed in the quality of photos taken with the camera of their device, because in online reviews and other owners of similar devices, photos turned out much better. What could be the causes of this problem and how to improve the camera on Android?

Some of the possible reasons:

  1. Marriage of the camera;
  2. Errors in the program "Camera";
  3. Incorrect camera settings.

Let's take a closer look at each of them.

1 Camera failure. Multi-colored stripes in the photo, spots, strong blurring are, with a high probability, a marriage of the camera itself. That happens. And if your smartphone is still under warranty, you should take it to the store for an exchange or take it to a service center.

2 Errors in the program "Camera". Firmware manufacturers sometimes make “blunders” by launching unfinished software for sale. Typical symptoms of such a “hack” are: inverted colors in the photo, an inverted image, or the camera completely fails to start.

What to do in this case? Fortunately, there are many programs that are analogous to a standard camera, and if you wish, you can install any of them on your smartphone, or even all at once.

Applications - replacing the standard "Camera"

HD Camera

An excellent application, with a huge number of manual settings, thanks to which you can adjust the image size (number of megapixels) and photo compression quality, as well as white balance and select various shooting scenes. As a bonus, there is a tilt position of the smartphone, which will allow you to take photos without filling up the horizon and a QR code scanner.

Download the HD Camera app on your smartphone: link

DSLR Camera

An excellent application with many settings that will make you feel like a real photographer. Among the useful features, it is worth noting ISO selection, a visual histogram, a grid for easy frame building, tracking focus, white balance, and much more.

Download the DSLR Camera app on your smartphone: link

3 Incorrect camera settings. It would seem a trifle, but many do not know that despite the declared presence in the cell of five, eight, thirteen, etc. megapixels, this parameter can be set arbitrarily. And not always when buying a device, it is set to the maximum. Therefore, first of all, you should go to the settings of your camera and see what mode is set.

The higher the resolution of the image, the more likely it is that the photo will look better on a computer or TV screen. Also try to adjust the white balance (WB), it is possible that it gives unrealistic colors.

It is very important to set up the camera on your smartphone and enjoy high-quality pictures. And by the way, an important detail is the ability to turn off the sound when shooting. This greatly simplifies life in rooms where silence is required (for example: a library, a lecture room, etc.). To learn how to mute your camera, see the article:

Good pictures for you!

Quick Launch- a new, but gaining popularity application for android. Moreover, it recently received a place in the top on Google Play. Quick Launch for android allows you to launch applications using the hardware keys of your device, and in addition - and a few more useful features.

Quick Launch is a very simple yet powerful android application. Now with its help you can "teach" the hardware keys new tricks that will be a useful and time-saving highlight. Like a lock screen, the application speeds up the launch of the programs you need. Application Quick Launch can be configured by double-clicking the home button or long-pressing the search or camera buttons. In addition, there is another setting: you can place a quick launch icon in the notification window for easy access.

Given the wide variety of devices and proprietary shells on the market, conflicts with some of them are, of course, inevitable. Therefore, not all functions of the application may work on some devices. For example, some hardware buttons will refuse to do the "extra" work of launching applications. Luckily the developer Magouya Ware is not going to let the life of his offspring take its course, and is very actively working on fixing all the bugs encountered. That is why he asks very much to report all the noticed shortcomings of the application.


So, pros Quick Launch apps:

You can configure the launch of any application using the hardware buttons of the android device.

The speed of working with the device is noticeably increased.

The developer is actively working on solving problems, which promises the application a long and interesting life.

What is missing , is the ability to configure the launch of not only applications, but also device functions using the same buttons - for example, make a call to a frequently used number.

Quick Launch Price- $0.99. Works on devices with Android 1.5 and higher.

Known app issues:

MOTOROLA

Devices with MotoBlur can "please" with such shortcomings:

Launching via the search button only works on devices with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and above, in previous versions there is a bug that prevents this.

MotoBlur reserves the double-tap home button feature and may conflict with the proposed app.


HTC SENSE UI

The proprietary user interface on Taiwanese devices does not allow the launch function via the camera button to work on some devices. HTC is in no hurry to cooperate with the developer about this issue. But let's give him a big plus for at least trying.

Do you often shoot with a smartphone camera? Are you fond of selfies, do you like to apply various effects to your photos? This guide, first of all, will be of interest to Android users, for a number of reasons, dissatisfied with the Android system camera. By installing camera apps from Google Play (the best ones are here), you will definitely kill a few birds with one stone:

  • you can significantly improve the camera on your phone or smartphone
  • add dozens of colorful eye-catching photo effects, nice filters
  • add a number of functions useful when shooting on the phone and when manually controlling the camera
  • improve camera control by adding new gestures (by the way, monopod owners will be interested in specialized selfie cameras like Selfishop Camera)
  • if on Android - you can fix this common error on your smartphone and tablet

Review participants

How to improve the camera on your phone or smartphone?

Since a camera is installed on most android phones and smartphones, it’s a sin not to use it: actively take selfies, take pictures to capture information, take pictures of friends, family, etc. That's just often the power of a standard Android camera is not enough to fully appreciate all the possibilities: there are no effects, filters, flexible settings. Of course, you cannot improve the physical characteristics of the camera on an Android smartphone: to radically change the situation, it is better to find a phone/smartphone/tablet with good technical specifications cameras.

However, it is possible to make the camera on a smartphone noticeably better - programmatically. The user needs to download and install free applications that replace the usual Android camera with something more interesting. It is these applications that will be discussed in the review. We will first look at the top Android cameras according to Google Play statistics, as well as user favorites that deserve more than 4 stars in reviews.

Camera Zoom FX - spectacular camera for your smartphone

ZOOMFX is a paid camera, which, however, is worth the attention of Android users along with free applications. With high performance and exclusive customization options, Camera ZOOM FX reaches an audience of 400,000 users.

This smartphone camera app is one of the feature rich ones. As part of ZOOM FX - photography functions, an image editor for the Android platform. All this under a simple and clear interface. Judge for yourself: through the small panel of the ZOOM FX Camera, you can quickly switch the shooting mode, activate the stabilizer, the timer, turn on the sound activation of the shutter, HDR.

Camera Zoom FX app settings

While most of the program's functions can be attributed to the basic ones, there are a lot of free extension packs for decoration and customization. Particularly interesting is the possibility of vignetting photos and adding inscriptions.

The benefits of Camera Zoom FX, which have earned it a number of high marks in the media, include:

  • excellent camera performance on Android;
  • 90 > overlay effects, decoration and photo processing;
  • hardware control of "zoom", flash, front camera of the smartphone;
  • you can bind control to the device buttons by adjusting the zoom, for example, with the volume control;
  • automatic adjustment of white balance, lighting level;
  • shooting by sound, timer, motion, at intervals;
  • image stabilization when shooting;
  • creating collages;
  • placing photos in social networks at the touch of a button;
  • many effects and filters, including the possibilities of the Photoshop graphics editor.

ZOOM FX works in editor mode - you can easily make your photos truly unique. The price of the program is low, about 5 dollars, and the possibilities are very pleasing.

Summary. In general, Camera Zoom FX is the best camera for Android with the ability to take photos, quickly process the received images. The only thing that scares off Zoom FX is some limitations free version. If you have a fairly modern smartphone, then you will have to pay a modest $ 4 for the ability to work with photos of 0.8 megapixels +. If you are not ready to give $ 4, look at other similar applications that I have already written about - Camera360 or .

Camera FV 5 is the camera app for serious photographers

The Camera FV 5 app is designed for serious photographers in the sense that you can get the most out of your android camera by manually controlling the shooting settings. At the same time, fans of "vanilla photos", Instagram filters will not be interested in the FV 5 Camera due to the lack of such add-ons (for such purposes, we recommend installing ).

Shooting process with Camera FV 5

Camera controls are located on the main panel of the fv 5 application. These are white balance, focus mode, metering mode, ISO and exposure compensation. Additional tools in Camera FV 5 include an interval timer and exposure bracketing.

Another cool feature of the Camera app is that you can set camera settings to mimic those of a regular camera. The Camera FV 5 pro user can set the aperture, sensitivity and exposure time in order to prevent photo blur when shooting with a phone (which happens often even for experienced amateur photographers).

The FV 5 Camera application supports gestures, especially zoom in (zoom) when taking photos. Not to mention the fact that the shooting modes quickly switch in a few simple touches, and, accordingly, it is easier for the user to switch the FV 5 settings - say, change the focus mode, white balance, turn on the grid, focus, change the viewfinder and so on.

Summary. The Camera FV 5 program for Android noticeably surpasses the regular tablet camera, generously sharing all the options with the user and giving freedom of customization. The main advantage of FV 5 is the extreme flexibility of the program when shooting.

Camera & Video Camera B612 (Selfie from the Heart)

Camera B612 will give new pleasant sensations to lovers of selfie photos on the phone: it is not for nothing that it is referred to as "selfie from the heart." With the B612, taking photos of yourself will not only be fast. In this mobile application, you can literally take perfect photos with your smartphone or tablet camera:

  • The B612 camera supports not only the front but also the rear camera on Android, switching is done with one swipe of the finger across the screen. This option will be useful if one of the cameras on Android does not work.
  • shooting short selfie videos in the b612 is done by simply pressing a button;
  • giving a selfie surprise: a choice of effects in random mode is available;
  • Apply special effects for the Android camera effortlessly: the b612 application has vignettes, frames, blurring the edges is possible with the help of a filter;
  • b612 shift, tilt, easy defocus modes to give softness, liveliness to photos taken on the phone;
  • interval shooting, pre-pause to choose the best angle.
V612 camera interface: take video and photo

The v612 camera is free, but adds its own logo to the received photos. This trouble is not very annoying when shooting and processing photos, since there are more than a dozen options in the set, among which there is one that will not spoil the feeling of the photo, suits the style and location.

Summary. B612 is a good camera for Android that attracts attention with simple, casual settings, excellent opportunities for selfie shooting.

Camera MX is just a good camera for Android

Appendix Camera MX included in the top cameras for Android. It has already been installed on the phone by more than 9 million people around the world. The Camera MX program is distributed in more than 100 countries, is constantly being improved and allows you to place your photos and videos in online storages, share them with friends. Even work in editor mode is supported if there is no physical device for receiving images on a tablet or other gadget.

MX Camera interface on mobile smartphone

The functionality of the MX Camera program includes:

  • a rich set of effects, including displacement, tilt, texture mapping and artistic filters;
  • using the Camera MX functionality, you can process a photo or video after it has been saved to the smartphone’s memory;
  • pre-setting of effects or their set is provided, they are applied automatically when shooting;
  • posting to the Instagram application and placement in network storages;
  • automatic settings designed to create near-perfect shots in a specific genre or mode - for example, "selfie", "sunset", "landscape".

The interface of MX Camera is simple, intuitive. The developers managed not only to realize a lot of opportunities for a variety of image processing, but also to simplify the camera control as much as possible. In Camera MX, everything is done literally with one finger - choosing scenery, effects, a template for shooting, switching flash mode and other useful functions. The program is in beta testing, free and available for download on a smartphone.

Snap Camera is the best HDR camera for Android with effects

Snap Camera is one of the few hdr cameras that is constantly updated with interesting shooting features.

Briefly about what HDR is. This feature makes it possible to take photos in a dark and lighted space. Two photos are taken, after which they are mixed, at the output you get a full-fledged HDR photo. The final result (image in hdr format) can be edited in the built-in Snap Camera editor.

The Snap Camera HDR is arranged as simple as possible: all control is carried out thanks to two buttons and a wheel that allows you to quickly change photography modes. Naturally, gestures are supported: zoom, photo preview, photo settings. The volume buttons can be used to focus or zoom.

Other camera features:

Summary. Thus, if you are primarily interested in a good camera with effects on Android, then the Snap Camera app is the best choice among other mobile cameras. You can download the application through Google Play or w3bsit3-dns.com.

Candy Camera - camera for selfies and "instagram" photos

Already looking at the icon of this application, you can guess that girls will like it. Why? Candy Camera pleases with a whole bunch of vanilla effects that change the picture in real time, making the color gamut warmer.

Appearance and camera settings Candy for Android

Not surprisingly, Candy Camera greets its user with a front camera mode and showcases a panel with filters. Most photographic filters are nothing more than changing the color scheme so that the photos look vanilla (like on Instagram). Some people will like it, others will be put off by the relatively small number of Candy Camera settings that you can use to control the shooting process on your phone or smartphone. On the other hand, if your Android does not have a very good camera, this can be compensated by filters, effects - and, as already mentioned, there are more than enough of them in the Candy Camera application.

Thus, we advise you to download Candy Camera if you need a selfie program with nice filters. As the developers write, “your skin will look amazing” (even if you are a pimply teenager or a brutal and battered type).

Selfishop Camera - selfie app for Android

If you have a selfie stick, a tablet with a good camera and you need a camera for your phone with support for monopods, Selfishop Camera is a great solution for Android OS. The application is optimally suited for taking photos in the selfie genre on wired and wireless (bluetooth) monopods.

Selfishop Camera is a great app for taking selfies

In the mobile application "Selfishop" there are no embellishments (effects, presets) - everything is strict. On the other hand, most selfie apps have a different focus, the main focus is shifted towards control: you can significantly improve, expand the capabilities of the android camera, using the potential of monopods to the fullest. You can set up certain actions on the remote control buttons of the selfist (taking a picture, zooming in, changing the camera of the device), etc.

In addition to its selfie orientation, the Selfishop application is valuable for its flexible shooting settings, among them: autofocus, rotation photo, white balance lock, exposure, burst shooting, selfie button action settings.

Finally, two interesting selfie shooting modes should be noted: incognito (without attracting the attention of others) and the usual shooting mode, in which it is convenient to shoot Selfishop Camera without a monopod.

Thanks to all this, Selfishop Camera is considered one of the best selfie cameras for Android. We recommend this program to all happy owners of selfie sticks, tablets with a good camera.

VSCO Cam

shell VSCO Cam- not the most convenient Android camera on our list. Despite the minimal user interface, finding the right menu takes some time. But it's one of the best cameras for Android, thanks to the amount of customization it offers and the quality of the adjustments and other camera options when shooting.

The VSCO Cam app combines the actual camera with editing tools. Feature sharing delivers an Instagram-like experience, only more powerful. The option "beautify the photo in one click" is present here, you can also adjust the temperature, hue, contrast, sharpness of the image.

The application provides free integration into a kind of social environment, where many photographers are already registered. You can follow profiles, view images, enjoy top picks, and post your own collections. Benefits of the VSCO Cam program include:

  • many professional-level effects;
  • fine-tuning of work with photography;
  • careful use of tools that allows you to make minimal changes to the picture;
  • the ability to compare the original and the result;
  • corporate set of effects;
  • convenient library, with navigation, the ability to operate with vsco cam filters;
  • creation of own albums and collections;
  • connection with the VSCO community, access to the work of thousands of people; the ability to post images on other social networks.

The VSCO Cam will be the best choice for those who prefer to take meaningful, high-quality and interesting photos. Clear, precise and accurate work of tools, professional level of filters, high quality image processing - all this will help to make photos on Android perfect.

A Better Camera

Better Camera- in fact, exactly what is in the name of the application: an excellent photo camera for Android as an alternative to the standard built-in application "Camera" (Camera). Better Camera brings a number of interesting features, including the Bestshot function - taking a series of photos and then choosing the best shot - the most clear, sharp and high-quality overall. It's a simple idea but works very well.

A Better Camera app interface on Android

A Better Camera also includes immediate post-processing, something that is missing from the camera apps in Sony, Samsung. You can record HDR real-time video. Unfortunately, many of the app's best features are only available with an in-app purchase. This means that most of the features of the app will only be available in trial mode.

However, if you shoot a lot of photos, have a small investment, A Better Camera will certainly live up to its name as a decent camera for Android.

Camera 360 Ultimate

Camera360- a very popular application on Google Play, which will quite serve as a replacement for the standard camera when shooting for Android. Camera 360 Ultimate has been installed on devices by more than 400 million users.

Camera 360 app offers a complete set of android camera app tools. When taking a photo, a lens filter is applied, and these filters can be applied before the picture is taken. That is, you do not have to wait for the result to appear when applying the filter - it is available in the preview mode. In addition, the Camera 360 app offers a solid set of options, presets, useful in various shooting modes, including selfies. Even if not all functions are unambiguously useful, it is curious to “play around” with them.

Camera360 app installed on Android

Camera360 is easy to use, presents the most important shooting options on one screen, and you can adjust multiple settings at the same time. Actually, this is something that is clearly lacking in other cameras.

What other features does Camera 360 offer to an Android user:

Additional features of the Manual Camera mobile app:

  • Adding geo-tagging
  • Photo timer
  • Composition control guides
  • Sound control
  • Adjusting the screen brightness

Also, the Manual Camera on Android will allow you to save pictures in uncompressed RAW format, which gives new perspectives for further post-processing of the image.

If you are serious about taking pictures with your phone or smartphone camera, the Manual Camera mobile app is a great camera for Android OS. Please note that the camera for the phone is stable only starting with Android 5.0 Lollipop.

ICS Camera

Mobile app Camera ICS- an extended version of the official camera for Android, which is included with Ice Cream Sandwich. This camera will appeal to owners of both smartphones and tablets, since the interface here adapts to the size of the screen, however, and to the needs of the user.

The application has 3 modes of operation:

  1. Camera
  2. Panorama
  3. Video recording

It should be noted that Camera ICS is a free and ad-free application. You can download the distribution apk from the link below.

Google Camera

Appendix Google Camera offers a simple and straightforward interface with a few manual settings (no ISO, white balance or filters, for example). The camera from Google also has photosphere and panorama modes. Google Camera for Android has such a thing as Lens Blur, a filter that creates a depth effect. First, you take a photo, then slowly raise the device - the application creates a blurred background for the focus object, making it stand out in the frame.

The result of the photosphere ranges from interesting to very impressive. In fact, on the camera of an inexpensive tablet, you get a panoramic 360-degree interactive photo that can be freely rotated.

The Google camera on Android has some issues on various devices. However, we advise you to install the Google Camera on your mobile device - if this works, then everything will be OK and you can safely take interesting photos with excellent quality.

Paper Camera - "cartoon" camera for android

If you have never heard of “paper camera”, there is a chance to download the application paper camera from our site. This camera gives you the opportunity to see hand-drawn effects live. For example. you can place your subject in a piece of cardboard or a line drawn with a pencil. Even though Paper Camera can eat up some of the resources, the results justify the cost. In addition, this camera takes both photos and videos.

Paper Camera - paper camera for android Paper Camera app settings

Answers on questions

1. I press “take a photo”, and the phone not only does not save the photo, but also goes to the main menu. Samsung phone Galaxy A3. Please help, I'm nowhere without a camera on Android.

2. The camera on the phone is gone. It's not in the app. Can the camera be restored? When I turn on the application - only shows front camera in the settings (there is no “go to main” option). I tried to reboot - again it was the same as before. And the camera shows an inverted image.

Answer. It is likely that this is a software conflict. The easiest solution to the problem is to download an alternative camera for Android on Google Play: Google Camera, Manual Camera, Candy Camera and others. There are many options, choose according to your taste and color. Many applications give odds to the standard camera. What is not a way to improve the camera on the phone?

The second way to fix the camera (if you really need a standard one) is to change the Android firmware.

When I turn on the camera on my phone (Android OS), the system tells me that the “Camera” application is not available. What to do?

Answer. There are several options for fixing the error: radical and softer. The problem may be related to the firmware of your phone - it may be problematic. In such a case, it is best to flash the mobile device if you know how to do it.

A softer fix camera android(in the event that the “Camera” application does not start) – install one of the alternative cameras from the list. In addition to fixing the bug, you get an app with more interesting settings, effects, and photo modes.

Such a problem. From the phone, or rather to be from the memory card, the photos of the camera application for android disappeared from the Camera section. The size of the remaining memory on the flash drive has not changed, but the photo is not visible, the phone itself does not take pictures either, the sound of the camera and so on is heard, but there is no gallery. If you turn off the flash drive, internal memory everything goes.

Answer. In the settings of any software camera, you can specify the location where photos are saved. If this method does not work, instead of the standard one, try downloading the camera for Android from the list.

Check if there are problems with saving data to the memory card in other applications. If they are observed, format the sd card.

Everyone is used to the fact that a smartphone is not the most suitable photographic equipment for shooting something “quickly”. While you turn on the display, while you unlock the screen, you will find the "Camera" icon and click on it - there will be nothing to photograph. In fact, in almost all modern smartphones, the camera can be turned on instantly - with two presses of the volume down key (Huawei / Honor, LG), the Home key (Samsung) or two turns of the wrist (Motorola, Google Nexus). In some smartphones of other brands, the camera can be activated by double pressing the volume up key or by a separate “special key” (for example, the Boom key in Alcatel Idol 4/4S).

Don't neglect the tricks to quickly launch the camera (source: androidcentral.com)

Neither the password on the lock screen, nor the number of background tasks will prevent you from turning on the camera directly from standby mode as quickly as possible. Outlandish key combinations or gestures will take some getting used to, but it's worth it not to fall into confusion every time you need the camera "here and now."

Sign in to apps with your fingerprint

Unlocking with a fingerprint scanner is a useful feature, although not everyone needs it. Because for many people there is no need to hide information in a mobile phone under a password, and attackers will find a way to reset / reflash a smartphone after theft.

With the help of a fingerprint scanner, you can enter applications without a password and pay for purchases on the Internet

But even in this case, the fingerprint scanner comes in handy - not in order to put a password on everything in a row, but in order not to enter a password where it is impossible without it. For example, it is much nicer and faster to touch the fingerprint scanner than to type numbers and letters when entering a bank application or when paying for a game / program / music / video from your phone. However, fans of "hide, be shy and hide" information on a mobile phone can put a request "show fingers" for every sneeze in Android - proprietary Huawei and ZTE shells in new models, for example, provide such an opportunity.

Feel free to ask the smartphone - he will understand

But the programmers of Google/Yandex and other soft writing corporations eat their bread and butter and caviar for a reason, so voice search is getting smarter. And this means that in an unfamiliar city, you may well ask your mobile phone for “the nearest Sberbank ATM” or “Pyaterochka supermarket nearby” and get what you are looking for without entering the Google search box.

Google will always help. Or at least try

Google Now hints are less impressive so far and are associated only with weather information stuck to the notification bar, but Google remembers your GPS movements, tastes and preferences according to search queries and visited sites, information in your contact list, after which Now becomes smarter over time, automatically reminds you of the birthdays of your loved ones, the results of matches of your favorite teams, traffic jams on your way to work and changes in the weather in the morning. This is far from ideal in its ingenuity, but already now a largely useful system of artificial intelligence - why not use it, since it's free and not for the needs of special services?

There is an infrared port - there is a remote control

In the past, infrared could be used to share ringtones, funny videos, and pictures. Those great times are in the past, but the infrared port is still installed in new models. In budget Xiaomi Redmi Note 3/Redmi 4, LeEco, mid-range models like Honor 8, ASUS ZenFone 3, Meizu Pro 6, and even flagships, Huawei Mate 9, HTC One M9 and samsung galaxy S6 for example.

What for? To control household appliances - TVs, VCRs (and what else, to hell, tape recorders in 2017?), air conditioners, microwave ovens, something else very smart. Not a vital function, but turn down the volume when the doorbell rings, and your TV is yelling at the whole apartment, and the remote control is lost no one knows where, it will always come in handy.

Controlling appliances from a smartphone is not always necessary, but very often useful

As a rule, applications bundled with smartphones are designed to control equipment of a brand similar to a smartphone - Xiaomi, LeEco or Samsung, for example. But nothing prevents you from going to Google Play and using the words "IR Remote" or "IrDA" to find an alternative suitable for your home appliances. For gourmets, there are even applications that organize the transfer and reception of files via infrared - useful to those who have not yet died Siemens CX65 or Sony Ericsson K500i, but the cable to connect to the PC is already irretrievably lost.

File transfer via Wi-Fi

By the way, about the exchange of files between mobile phones - Bluetooth, which we all used to use for such needs, is also a rather poor and archaic option for exchanging videos and applications of the current size. It is much more reasonable to use Wi-Fi for this, which is about 5 times faster than Bluetooth of the same degree of relevance.

The problem is that there is no single standard for sending and receiving files using Wi-Fi for Android - Google either campaigns to put files in cloud storage"Disk", or advocates a hybrid version of data transfer "Android Beam" - when smartphones need to lean against each other, they will establish a connection via NFC, and then continue to transfer files using Bluetooth.

Instead of slow Bluetooth, you can transfer files between smartphones using Wi-Fi

Therefore, for our undertaking, auxiliary means will be needed. For example, known to every enthusiast ES Explorer. One smartphone, two smartphones, each with an app installed. Both actors select the “sender” item, one selects “receive”, the second “send”, the choice of files - and transfer at a speed of 30-50 Mbps (depending on smartphones). Everything! As a last resort, download to yourself and transfer to a friend via Bluetooth this same ES Explorer from the official site - 10 MB "weather won't do it", especially since placing a file of several hundred MB in the cloud instead of directly transferring it to a smartphone is a much more stupid idea, especially after the death of unlimited mobile tariffs in Russia.

We connect flash drives and hard drives to a smartphone / smartphone to a TV

“I'm away from my computer right now, I can't transfer the file to you” is a good excuse if you want to take a break, but in other cases, you should keep in mind such a smartphone feature as USB OTG (On-The-Go). This is when the connector, which, as we are accustomed to, is only suitable for recharging the phone or for connecting it to a computer, turns out to be able to work with flash drives, hard drives, card readers, keyboards and mice, game controllers and even printers! Through an adapter to a full-size USB connector, of course.

No drivers or other dances with tambourines are required - you plug it in and everything works. Thus, for example, you can immediately send photos from the camera to your relatives/employer “in the field”, download a pack of films from the HDD to your smartphone to watch them on a long journey, or vice versa, urgently free up a memory card on your mobile phone so that there is enough space for many hours of video recording .

Almost all new smartphones support connection via USB OTG, but we won’t speak “for the whole of Odessa”, so make sure that your model is able to master this type of connection by searching for the words “OTG smartphone_name”, or just buy a cable for 50-300 rubles and experiment !

USB OTG allows you to connect devices to your smartphone like a computer

When connecting smartphones to a TV, things are more complicated. In ancient times, mobile phones were equipped with a separate micro-HDMI output, which worked in a predictable way, and it was relatively easy to get a cable to it. Then, when smartphones began to get rid of "extra" connectors, the MHL standard replaced it. Connect one side of the cable to micro-USB / USB-C, and the other to HDMI - the smartphone displays the image on the TV and even recharges (if the connector on the TV also complies with the MHL standard. Does not comply - it does not recharge). For some time it was popular among smartphone manufacturers - the Sony Xperia guard stands out in the list of smartphones with support for this standard.

But then MHL was "blown away" due to licensing proceedings and was replaced by SlimPort - the same egg principles for connecting devices to TV, only free from patent royalties. Found in most new LG, BlackBerry smartphones, some HTC and ASUS models.

In most cases, Google and company recommend using Miracast wireless screen transmission. Connect the receiver to the TV, select "screen broadcast" (or something similar) in the smartphone - and with a delay of a second or two, the image begins to appear on the big screen. What-no, but "vidak".

Guest mode - when you can not refuse to "let you use" your smartphone

Proponents of radical methods of solving problems will not understand this, but there are situations in life when a smartphone needs to be put in the hands of a spouse / child for calls, games or something else, but flaunt a list of applications, photos, correspondence in instant messengers or bank accounts in a client software is not very desirable. A fingerprint request saves you from prying eyes, but in most smartphones you cannot additionally “close” painful information with a fingerprint. Once the smartphone was unlocked - and it is at the complete disposal of your child / soulmate / Petya, who came to visit your child.

Smartphones have long supported separate Accounts for the owner and strangers

But there is also a compromise option - to create a second smartphone user, just for cases when "I just need to call / play." We examined in detail the scheme of these (and many other) "sanctions" for curious mobile phone users in the corresponding article, so today we will not stop at the instructions. Just know - in any modern mobile phone, you can build an "empty" part of the system from which it will not be possible to access your personal data.

NFC - pass, bank card and travel card replenishment from a mobile phone

In addition to all kinds of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 4G modules, many modern smartphones support NFC technology. It is with its help that the owners of the new iPhone and Samsung pay for goods in stores from a smartphone instead of a bank card. Technically, such tricks can be implemented in a huge army of NFC-enabled smartphones, but only Apple and Samsung have taken care of the bureaucracy and agreements with banks, so in all other devices the technology will be “marinated” for payment until better times.

And here and now, NFC can be used as a short-range connection for short-range communication sessions. For residents of Moscow, a smartphone with NFC can already replace a travel card (it is applied to the turnstile instead of transport cards), it can work as a terminal for reading the validity period and the number of remaining trips (you need an application, enabled NFC and once attach the card to the rear panel of the smartphone).

In four years, Android has evolved from a small but ambitious project into one of the most complex and feature-packed mobile operating systems of our time. Android has support for a huge number of technologies and features, many of which are hidden from the user or hidden where you would not even think to look. This article is a collection of tips and tricks that can be applied to any Android device without the need to be rooted.

01. DISABLE AUTOMATIC CREATION OF DESKTOP ICONS

I think I'm not the only one who annoys how the market behaves when installing the application. For some reason, he thinks that for any little bit of software or another game, I definitely need an icon on the desktop, and successfully creates it. And I have to remove it. And then another. And so every time.

Fortunately, this behavior is easy to disable - just open the Google Play settings (in the left panel) and uncheck the box "Add icons". In the same place, you can turn off the forced password request every 30 minutes when purchasing applications, as well as the hated auto-update of applications.

02. DISABLE GOOGLE SEARCH AND OTHER USELESS SOFTWARE

The standard firmware of Android smartphones includes a huge amount of useless software, ranging from a bunch Google Apps(do you know that Google requires manufacturers to include almost all the software developed by it in the firmware of their devices?) and ending with all sorts of junk from the smartphone manufacturer. All of these (or at least most) can be turned off.

Go to "Settings → Applications → All", tap on the desired software and click "Disable" (of course, you will be warned how "dangerous" this is). By the way, when you turn off Google search, Google Now will also disappear, as well as the search bar from the desktop (after a reboot), instead of which there will be an empty area.

03. REBOOT INTO SAFE MODE

Few people know, but in Android, as in many other operating systems, there is a so-called Safe mode. This is a mode in which the OS is loaded with third-party applications disabled. Not too skillfully written malware (the one that does not register in the system partition) falls off, like any software that interferes with the normal operation of the system. Safe mode can be used to bypass screen blockers, applications that freeze the smartphone, or, alternatively, to identify who is actually eating the battery - the next firmware or software update.

The mode is turned on in a rather simple, but not at all obvious way: by holding down the power button and then holding your finger on the “Power off” item. After the reboot, the culprit of the problem can be removed through "Settings → Applications".

04. GET RID OF PURPOSE NOTIFICATIONS

"The construction of the castle is finished!" How did you get those notifications? Everyone who is not too lazy is trying to notify me of all possible and impossible events: "Vasya Dzhubga answered you on Twitter", "You have 100500 new messages", "You won the operation to increase your right leg." You swipe one notification, three new ones appear in its place.

How to get rid of all this slag: hold your finger on the notification for a long time and uncheck the box under the “Stop” button. This is a KitKat recipe. In Lollipop, everything is a little different, but the essence is the same: hold down, then the i button, in the window that opens, put a tick on “Block”. In the same place, you can force the notification to be a priority so that it is always at the very top.

05. DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE SERVICE MENU

Another completely non-obvious function is the service menu. It can be opened by dialing *#*#4636#*#*. Basically there are various technical information like IMEI number, signal strength, current location or network type. But there is also a very useful function for some situations to force the smartphone to switch to the desired network type (2G, 3G, LTE).

In conditions of poor 3G / LTE signal strength, the device tends to reset to 2G in order to conserve battery power and ensure subscriber availability. This behavior can be disabled. Open the service menu and select WCDMA only or LTE only in the "Set preferred network type" item. In the same way, you can switch your smartphone to 2G - GSM only. It will help if you need to save battery power and the Internet is rarely used. By the way, in the same place you can disable the radio module altogether (of course, until the next reboot).

Smartphones based on Chinese MTK chips have their own and much more sophisticated service menu. His number is *#*#3646633#*#*. There is various system information and a huge number of tests, among which you can find several useful settings, such as adjusting the volume level during a call or, for example, changing GPS / AGPS settings. The menu itself is terribly illogical and contains so much diverse information that I don’t even dare to describe it, but simply send the reader to three letters - XDA.

06. USE A STANDARD BROWSER

I don't know why users don't like the built-in Android browser so much. In my opinion, he is wonderful. Lightweight, fast, on the Chromium engine, can synchronize with Google account(that is, it immediately includes all the bookmarks and passwords from Chrome), but most importantly, it has a very convenient and almost ingenious navigation method. This is the so-called radial menu, which can be activated in the settings (only in Android 4.0-4.4).

07. MANAGE COMPANY CONTACTS

Google has web services not only for remote software installation, blocking and searching for a smartphone, but also for managing contacts. All contacts of people ever saved and synchronized when connecting a new smartphone can always be found at google.com/contacts. They can be viewed, edited, added and deleted. And, oddly enough, in fact it is part of Gmail.

08. MONITOR YOUR PROCESSOR LOAD

Android has a built-in feature to show the current CPU load and currently active processes on top of the screen. In theory, it is intended for application and firmware developers and is hidden from ordinary users, but no one bothers us to activate it. But first, you will have to reach the “For Developers” settings section, which does not exist by default at all.

We go to the settings, then "About phone", we find the line "Build number" and tap on it seven times in a row. The message “You have become a developer!” should appear on the screen. This means that the “For Developers” item is now open, and we are moving into it. We rewind almost to the very bottom of the screen and in the "Monitoring" section we find the switch "Show CPU usage".

We turn it on and see a list in the upper right part of the screen. The first line is the so-called loadavg, showing the number of processes that had to work or wait for their turn to execute in the last minute, five and ten minutes. To put it very bluntly: if these values ​​divided by the number of processor cores are higher than one, this means 100% processor load in the last minute, five or ten minutes, respectively. Below is a list of the most gluttonous processes (essentially similar to the Linux top command).

09. USE ADB TO BACKUP SOFTWARE TO COMP

We have already written more than once about a wonderful tool called ADB, which can greatly simplify device management from a computer for a person who is familiar with the console (here we are mainly talking about Linux, of course). In addition to the ability to install software, transfer files to a smartphone, view logs and other useful things, recently ADB allows you to backup all the settings and applications of a smartphone.

To use this functionality, install the universal ADB driver (goo.gl/AzZrjR), then download the ADB itself (goo.gl/3P7klM), install the driver, then expand the archive with ADB, connect the smartphone to the computer with a USB cable, run the command line and execute the command

$ adb devices

If no devices are found, it means that the ADB debugging mode is disabled on the smartphone. To enable it, go to "Settings → For Developers", turn on the "USB Debugging" switch. Now we execute the previous command again and agree with the warning that appears on the smartphone screen. Now you can make a backup:

$ adb -apk -shared -f backup.ab

A message will appear on the smartphone screen asking you to specify the encryption password for the backup - you can safely press "Next". The process of backing up applications will begin, which will affect both the APK packages themselves (the -apk flag in the command) and their settings. The backup will also include all applications from the memory card. You can restore a backup using the following command:

$ adb restore backup.ab

10. DISABLE BACKGROUND DATA IN APPS

Running in the background, apps can actively use the internet for a variety of purposes, from updating their content to leaking information about your location. In addition, such activity in any case leads to increased battery consumption.

Android has the ability to selectively restrict apps from background data, but it's in a place that most users would never look at. To prevent any application from using the Internet in the background, you need to go to the settings, then - "Data transfer", scroll down the screen to the list of applications actively using the network (for some it will be a surprise that it is there at all) and tap on the desired software. At the bottom there will be an option "Restrict background mode". It is worth bearing in mind that the option will disable data transfer only over the mobile network, so data will continue to flow over Wi-Fi.

11. USE THE SEARCH BAR

Often, Android smartphone owners neglect the search bar at the top of the home screen. This is really logical, given the ability to perform a search by typing a query into the address bar of any mobile browser.

Meanwhile, the search bar on the desktop can do much more than just redirect the request to google.com. It allows you to search contacts, applications, calendar events, bookmarks and web browser history automatically. In normal smartphone use, it may not be as useful, but when connecting an external keyboard, it is an indispensable tool. Just click and drive in the name of the application, contact or anything else, and it immediately appears on the screen.

12. USE SMART LOCK

Smart Lock is one of those features that you don't think about, but once you try it, you can't live without it. This is one of the most notable new additions to Android Lollipop and one of the most useful features added to Android in recent times. The idea of ​​Smart Lock is very simple - it disables the pin code or other lock screen protection in case there is a certain Bluetooth device or a place on the map nearby.

By default, Smart Lock "as if" is disabled. That is, it does not glow anywhere, but after pairing with a new Bluetooth device (of any type), it will definitely offer to add it to your white list. After that, you will forget about it again. But only until you turn on the lock screen protection in the "Security" section of the settings. Now it will work the way it should.

The Smart Lock settings themselves are in the same section, and in addition to adding new Bluetooth devices, you can specify "safe places" there, and right away with a list of options based on Google Now "observations". By the way, if you disable it, as described in the first tip, then this functionality will also be lost.

13. SAVE ENERGY RIGHT

Another notable innovation of Lollipop is the power saving mode. It migrated to standard Android from the firmware of smartphone manufacturers, who used to implement it on their own. Now there is a function in pure Android - you use your smartphone to the fullest, and when you reach 15% of the battery charge, the system offers to turn on the power saving mode, which disables background data transfer, reduces brightness to a minimum, disables some sensors and reduces the screen rendering FPS to a couple of dozen frames per give me a sec. For clarity, the status bar and on-screen buttons at the bottom of the screen turn red - so as not to forget.

To save battery on your AMOLED smartphone, you can set black wallpapers and use apps with black backgrounds.

The power saving mode is configurable. Go to "Settings → Battery → menu → Power saving mode". Here you can specify the condition for automatically enabling the mode (although the choice is poor: 5%, 15% or never) and, most importantly, enable the mode right now. It is very convenient if you have a long trip without the possibility of recharging.

14. MONITOR THE TRAFFIC

Most likely, smartphone manufacturers, as usual, will shovel the standard Android 5.0 interface and change everything (hello Samsung - the biggest fan of breaking interfaces), but in the standard Lollipop curtain, or rather, in the "second curtain" with book
The quick settings ops have one zest. The data transfer button in the center does not switch data transfer at all, but expands into an interface that allows you not only to view the current traffic consumption, but also turn off data transfer using the switch on top.

15. SHARE AN APP, NOT A PHONE

Especially for those who like to give their phone to other people, Lollipop has a Screen pinning feature that allows you to lock your smartphone on one application without the ability to close it or switch to another. Like many other usefulness, it is completely invisible and hidden quite deep in the settings. To activate, go to "Settings → Security", scroll almost to the very end and turn on the "App Lock" option.

Now, if you press the button for viewing running applications ("Overview"), a concession button will appear at the bottom of the thumbnail of the current application. After clicking on the icon, the screen will be locked on the selected application and you will need to hold the "Back" and "Browse" buttons at the same time to go back. In this case, you will have to enter a pin code if it is set for the lock screen.

XX. USE ACITIVITY LAUNCHER

Any graphic Android application includes one or more so-called "activities" (activity). Each of them is an application window (screen), for example, the main screen or settings screen, maybe even a file selection window. By default, you can open directly (from the desktop) only those activities that the application developer marks as main (main), the rest are available only through the application itself and only if the developer himself allows it.

However, with the right tool at hand, you can reach out to any other activity in any application and even create a desktop shortcut for it. The Activity Launcher does just that. Just install the application, select "All actions" in the menu above and find the software you need. All her activities will appear on the screen, and any of them can be opened with a simple tap or hung on the desktop with a long finger hold.

An example of useful “internal” activities is the Chrome bookmark window (Chrome → Bookmark), access to the hidden AppOps mechanism in Android< 4.4.2 (Настройки → AppOps), запуск поиска в TuneIn Radio (tunein.ui.activities.TuneInSearchActivity). Очень много активностей имеет в себе ES Проводник, включая редактор, музыкальный плеер, просмотрщик изображений и многое другое. Любую из них можно запустить напрямую с рабочего стола. Таким же образом можно открыть любой раздел настроек и получить доступ к некоторым функциям ОС, достучаться до которых проблематично. Это абсолютно легальная функцио нальность, и она не требует root.

Android has a large set of hotkeys for plug-in keyboards. Arrows, Tab and Enter can be used to navigate the desktop and various menus. In addition, the following keyboard shortcuts are available:

Esc - "Back" button;
Win + Esc - Home button;
Ctrl + Esc - "Menu" button;
Alt + Tab - switching between applications;
Ctrl + Space - switch layout;
Ctrl + P - open settings;
Ctrl + M - control installed applications;
Ctrl + W - change wallpaper;
Win + E - write a letter;
Win + P - music player;
Win + A - calculator;
Win + S - write SMS;
Win + L - calendar;
Win + C - contacts;
Win + B - browser;
Win+M- google maps;
Win + Space - search;

To find out your MAC and IP address, go to "Settings → Wi-Fi → menu → Advanced-
functions”. MAC and IP will be at the very bottom.

Lollipop has a built-in Flappy Bird style game. Go to "Settings → About phone",
several times tap on the item " Android version”, then hold your finger on the appeared “chupa-chups”. We play.

Google Now supports a large number of Russian-language voice commands. All of them can be divided into two groups: voice search and the actual voice commands themselves. Voice search allows you to perform smart searches on Google, where the system displays a specific answer instead of a list of links, and voice commands allow you to perform certain actions, such as sending SMS or setting an alarm. The list of commands is shown in the "Google Now Voice Commands" image. Voice search includes more than a dozen different types of questions:
Weather. What will the weather be like tomorrow morning?
Addresses. Where is the nearest pharmacy?
Flight information. When does Aeroflot flight number 2336 depart?
Time. What time is it in London?
Events. When is the sunset today?
Calculations. What is the square root of 2209?
Translation. What is the Spanish word for "cucumber"?
Sport. When is Spartak playing?
Finance. What is the S&P 500 index today?
Facts. What is the height of the tallest building in the world?
Exchange Rates. Convert 2600 rupees to US dollars.
Images. Show pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Interestingly, in English, Google Now understands a large number of and much less obvious questions. As an example, you can give:
Should I wear a jacket today?
How much tip from 420 rubles?
Where is my parcel?

This, of course, is not all that could be told, but it will not work to stretch the article, and many of the other possibilities are already known. Do not forget about these tricks, and the smartphone will become
a little more comfortable.

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