Android User - Volume 12

INCREDIBLE TIPS & TRICKS FOR EVERY NEXUS TABLET & PHONE!

GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR TABLET OR PHONE

MASSIVE
NEXUS 5
SPECIAL!
 All the new features tested
Android 4.4 fully revealed
Why you need this phone

VOLUME 12

50

Essential free
apps & games
Power up your
Nexus now!

SOLID
SECURITY

How to make
any Nexus
bulletproof

KITKAT
UNVEILED

Your essential guide,
plus how to get
KitKat features on JB

+ MANY FULL REVIEWS INSIDE
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Letter from the editor

Welcome

EDITOR’S LETTER

The Nexus range is a fantastic concept. As someone
who likes to rend his tech asunder – and particularly
as someone who reacts to any bundled software
gimmick with disgust and fury – that clean, open,
stock Android environment is incredibly appealing.
There’s no need to go to the effort of removing, say,
the obnoxious Sense features of the HTC One, to coin
one relevant example from my own life.
Now, the Nexus philosophy isn’t for everyone. I’m sure there
are people out there who need the bells and whistles of a
Samsung Galaxy S4, but I feel those toys should be something

you choose to add. The Nexus range, particularly the lovely
Nexus 5, which we’ve only just had the pleasure of getting our
hands on, is the right base for whatever you want your device to
be. If you want your device to be a security powerhouse, keeping
your personal details personal and not shoving unwanted
adware into your face – and, let’s be honest, we all want that –
we’ve got the guides for you. If you want your older phone to run
some of the brand new features introduced by the latest OS but
you’re stuck in Jelly Bean limbo, we can help you there too. And if
you’re hyped about the new Nexus handset, we’ve got that
completely covered with guides to the N5, KitKat, the Nexus
range, and more besides.
With that in mind, I hope you enjoy this edition of Android
User, and I hope our advice will help make your Nexus device
even better than it was before. And if you haven’t yet picked up a
Nexus device, what are you waiting for? Just to give you a nudge
in the right direction we’ve included a stack of expert reviews to
help you decide on the best one for you, from the 5 all the way
up to the ten-inch tablet.
Cheers!
Alex Cox, Editor

3

Contents

Welcome

C O N T E N TS
Editor’s letter

3

Inside the Nexus
Nexus phones: a history
The evolution of Google’s smartphone
Android KitKat
Introducing Google’s brand new OS

Top 25 free-to-play games
48
We run through our favourite free games

8
25 essential Android apps
Our guide to what to download first

54

Antivirus round-up
Protect your Nexus with these apps

60

16

Inside the Nexus 5
22
A look at the hardware inside the Nexus 5

Rated
Nexus 5
64
Our first look at the new Google phone

Do more with
your Nexus
Get KitKat features
Don’t have KitKat? You don’t need to...

30

Nexus 7 2013
68
A brilliant bargain buy like the original?

Protect yourself for free
Locate, lock and wipe lost devices

34

Nexus 10
Does it still have what it takes?

Track stolen devices
36
Keep tabs on a lost device with Cerberus
Google’s 2-Step Verification
38
Keep your files safe with this new feature
Back up your smartphone
40
Automate your backups to avoid disaster
Install free antivirus
Comprehensively protect your device

42

Stop ads invading your phone
44
Discover how to banish AirPush adverts

4

Apped

72

Welcome

Contents

5

Inside the Nexus

6

Welcome

Welcome

Inside the Nexus

Inside the Nexus
Nexus phones: a history
8
A look back at the evolution of Google’s
stunning smartphone
Android KitKat
16
Introducing Google’s brand new OS –
could this be the sweetest iteration yet?
Inside the Nexus 5
An in-depth look at the hardware
powering the newest Nexus

22

7

Inside the Nexus

8

Nexus phones: a history

Nexus phones: a history

Inside the Nexus

Nexus
phones:
a history
Android wouldn’t be Android
without the Nexus – and it
changed the phone landscape
he Nexus range is a result of heavy
collaboration. Google has never
actually made a piece of Android
hardware, but through the Open
Handset Alliance – which joins
together worldwide mobile
operators, handset manufacturers,
software companies and
semiconductor creators – a number of important
partnerships have been formed in pursuit of making
Android the best OS it can be.
In the Nexus line, Google has partnered with HTC,
Samsung and LG to produce five generations of Nexus
phones, all of which serve as a showcase for the latest
and greatest version of Android, receive updates before
other handsets that are tied to particular mobile
operators, and which usually showcase improvements to
hardware as well as software.
What’s more, Nexus devices share the Android ethos of
freedom. They are always sold SIM-unlocked and
standalone, so anyone with a SIM can pick one up and
get experimenting. There also seems to be a drive to
produce Nexus phones at the lowest possible price, and
you’ll usually find the Nexus line to be the best value
handsets on the open market. So join us as we roll back
the years all the way to murky 2008, and see how the
Nexus story began…

T

9

Inside the Nexus

Nexus phones: a history

The specs
Released October 2008
Manufacturer HTC
Release OS Android 1.0
CPU 528MHz Qualcomm
MSM7201A
GPU Qualcomm Adreno 130
RAM 192MB
Storage 256MB
(with micro SD slot)
Battery 1,150mAh lithium-ion
Display 3.2-inch 320 x 480 TFT
Camera 3.15MP rear

HTC Dream
The first Android handset isn’t strictly Nexus…
y today’s standards, the HTC Dream
– also known as the T-Mobile G1
and Era G1 – is something of a
phone dinosaur, rocking a tiny HVGA
screen, a minuscule battery, and a
slide-out form factor with a full QWERTY
keyboard. And although it isn’t by rights
a Nexus, it is still very important in the
evolution of Android phones. It’s a relic of
the earliest days of Android, when Google
and the Open Handset Alliance had only
just taken charge of the mobile OS, and it
reflects its Linux operating system roots,
right down to the trackball.
The Dream was pitched as the ultimate
mobile web solution, and it coincided with

B

10

the 3G mobile signal becoming more
widespread in the United States. Yes, it wasn’t
the first Nexus device proper, but we feel it
belongs in the family, because it enabled
Google and HTC to trial a number of the
technologies which would later make their
way into the Nexus line, and it was the first
Android handset released.
In an odd bit of trivia, the capacitive screen
on the Dream supported multi-touch on a
hardware level, although its drivers were
actually disabled in software for reasons that
even now we’re still not sure about – in
contrast to the screen of the Nexus One
(opposite), which had to have multi-touch
simulated via software.

Nexus phones: a history

Inside the Nexus

The specs
Released January 2010
Manufacturer HTC
Release OS Android 2.1 Eclair
CPU 1GHz Qualcomm Scorpion
GPU Qualcomm Adreno 200
RAM 512MB
Storage 512MB
(with micro SDHC slot)
Battery 1,400mAh lithium-ion
Display 3.7-inch 480 x 800
AMOLED/SuperLCD
Camera 5MP rear

Nexus One
One small step for a phone. One giant leap for phonekind
TC’s Nexus One launched the
Nexus series in style, with a tight
package containing the sort of
features you’d expect on a high-end
smartphone of the time: a multi-touch
capacitive screen, a three-axis
accelerometer, and a… Trackball? More a
carry over from HTC’s days producing
own-brand Windows Phone handsets,
this is the last time a trackball appeared
on a Nexus device. Earlier Nexus models
like this one sported capacitive touch
buttons rather than the software buttons
in evidence on today’s range.
The Nexus One, initially known by its HTC
Passion codename, is also the only Nexus

H

phone to support external storage via a micro
SDHC card, although this can cause a problem
or two with apps that aren’t optimised to
support external storage, particularly as the
SD interface on the One is rather slow. The
screen also had minor issues because its
multi-touch facility was software rather than
hardware driven.
HTC went on to take the technology
developed for the One into its own line of
phones, releasing the HTC Desire which, apart
from switching out the trackball for a
trackpad, and the capacitive buttons for
physical clickers, was a nigh-on identical
device running HTC’s Sense skew of Android
rather than stock.

11

Inside the Nexus

Nexus phones: a history

The specs
Released October 2010
Manufacturer Samsung
Release OS Android 2.3
Gingerbread
CPU 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8
GPU PowerVR SGX 540 200MHz
RAM 512MB
Storage 16GB
Battery 1,500mAh lithium-ion
Display 4-inch 480 x 800
Super AMOLED
Cameras 5MP rear, 0.3MP front

Nexus S
S for Samsung? More like S for ‘this is a Galaxy S, isn’t it?’
amsung’s first foray into the Nexus
smartphone realm saw it make
some big changes in hardware,
not least of which was dropping the
Qualcomm chipsets, which had powered
previous phones, in favour of an ARM
cortex CPU of its own manufacture and
a PowerVR GPU – the same hardware it
had used on its Galaxy S handset. In fact,
this phone doesn’t stray far from the
Galaxy S model, bar the omission of
external SD card support and the
addition of NFC technology.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about
the Nexus S is its screen, an innovative, slightly
curved, Super AMOLED panel dubbed by

S

12

Google the ‘contour display’. Super AMOLED
deserves its superlative, given that it’s one of
the brightest and richest screen technologies
out there, and while we haven’t seen much of
the contour display recently, it was a worthy
gimmick of the Nexus range. GPS signal issues
that were present in the Galaxy S were also
corrected, making this one of the best
smartphones of its era.
Lucky Samsung Nexus S owners have
actually received the most distant operating
system upgrade support of any Android
device – while it started out on 2.3
Gingerbread, updates were pushed over the
air all the way up to Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2 in
November 2012.

Nexus phones: a history

Inside the Nexus

The specs
Released November 2011
Manufacturer Samsung
Release OS Android 4.0
Ice Cream Sandwich
CPU 1.2GHz dual-core
ARM Cortex-A9
GPU PowerVR SGX 540 384MHz
RAM 1GB
Storage 16/32GB
Battery 1,750-1,850mAh
lithium-ion
Display 4.65-inch 720 x 1,280 HD
Super AMOLED PenTile
Cameras 5MP rear, 1.3MP front

Galaxy Nexus
While Google and Apple squabbled, a leader emerged
arly press for the Galaxy Nexus,
which was Samsung’s second Nexus
handset, dubbed it the Nexus
Prime, and that name certainly seems
fitting when looking at its soft-edged
form factor, which has all but defined the
overall look and feel of the two Nexus
models since.
It’s almost a relaunch for the Nexus line;
while the Galaxy Nexus carries over the curved
glass of its predecessor and once again
plumps for the Cortex/PowerVR CPU/GPU
combo, it also cements features such as the
on-screen buttons, active noise cancellation
through dual microphones, and an internal
barometer and three-axis compass. That’s

E

quite the suite of features. If you can find it,
there’s even a US version of the Galaxy Nexus
that comes with an LTE module ready for early
4G connectivity.
One of the coolest features in this first Ice
Cream Sandwich smartphone is the camera,
which is a vast upgrade over the previous
model, not in terms of resolution but speed –
with zero shutter lag, auto focus, and good
low light sensitivity, it’s still considered one of
the best mobile cameras around. It also makes
good use of its front camera, because it’s the
first Android handset with face unlock – if you
can ignore the security implications of
someone having a photograph of you, that’s a
neat feature.

13

Inside the Nexus

Nexus phones: a history

The specs
Released November 2012
Manufacturer LG
Release OS Android 4.2 Jellybean
CPU 1.5GHz quad-core
Qualcomm Krait
GPU Qualcomm Adreno 320
RAM 2GB
Storage 8/16GB
Battery 2,100mAh
lithium polymer
Display 4.7-inch 768 x 1280 IPS
Cameras 8MP rear, 1.3MP front

Nexus 4
LG’s first entry into Nexus: fantastic but quickly eclipsed
TC has had its time. Samsung has
made a pair of awesome handsets
in the Nexus name. The Nexus 4
– designed primarily by Google’s
engineers rather than being a new
version of an existing smartphone – was
LG’s chance to step up to the plate. Given
the public’s interest in Google’s flagship
phones by this point, the fact that the
entire launch stock of the Nexus 4 sold
out within 30 minutes was not really a
great surprise.
Praised for both its build quality and
affordable price (launching at £239/$299
for the 8GB model), the Nexus 4 was not,
however, without its criticisms, including a

H

14

smooth glass back that caused the phone to
slide off many surfaces, and which proved
rather brittle on its subsequent impact with
the floor.
The Nexus 4 also shipped without LTE
support, which was a downgrade from the
previous model – although it actually
transpired that it simply had its Band 4 LTE
radio switched off, ostensibly to reduce the
phone’s battery consumption. If your carrier
supports Band 4 – most in the United States,
Canada and Central America do – and you
want to toggle this function on your own
Nexus 4, just input *#*#4636#*#* into the
phone function, and use the appropriate
drop-down menu.

Nexus phones: a history

Inside the Nexus

The specs
Released November 2013
Manufacturer LG
Release OS Android 4.4 KitKat
CPU 2.3GHz quad-core
Qualcomm Krait 400
GPU Qualcomm Adreno 330
RAM 2GB
Storage 16/32GB
Battery 2,300mAh
lithium polymer
Display 4.96-inch 1,080 x 1,920 IPS
Cameras 8MP rear, 1.2MP front

Nexus 5
It might not herald a new generation but it’s the best today
he latest Nexus smartphone apes
its tablet cousin, the Nexus 7, in
terms of looks. It also apes LG’s
G2 in terms of many of its specs. And,
realistically, it’s simply a step change
from the older Nexus 4 (opposite)
rather than a whole new horizon of
smartphone technology.
However, the Nexus 5 has brought the
Nexus line into the present with a whole
selection of top-notch components, meaning
that the latest handset isn’t just an Android
operating system showcase – it’s an Android
technology showcase.
For example, it’s packed with sensors and
the latest radio modules, it ups the RAM, and

T

yet it still keeps the price in the most
affordable of brackets.
The big question now is where the series
will go in the future. If we follow the pattern,
the next Nexus handset will probably be
made by a different manufacturer from the
Open Handset Alliance, following two each
from HTC, Samsung and LG. Does Asus get a
shot at transitioning from tablets to the
pocket? Or is it growing Chinese manufacturer
Huawei’s time to shine? Might Google even
use its recently acquired Motorola to knock
out the Nexus in-house? Whatever happens,
keep your eye on the Android handset market
in general and you’ll be able to predict where
the Nexus will end up…

15

Inside the Nexus

Android 4.4 KitKat

Taking
a break

All you’ll need to know about
Android 4.4 KitKat

16

Android 4.4 KitKat

sound like a big deal, but this really helps
Android phones make more use of the
screen estate without needing to reserve
space for key system tools. And when you’re
locked in a competition for users with a
company of Apple’s design powers,
elements like this can really help phones and
tablets look more attractive.
And Google hasn’t stopped there when it
comes to making more use of the screen,
because now you can get rid of the buttons
and notification bar completely when you
want to use the whole of the screen.
This is particularly useful when watching
movies or reading books; it has been offered
sporadically on other handsets in the past,

ur goal was to build one
version of the operating
system that runs across
all Android smartphones
in 2014,” said Sundar
Pichai, senior vice
president of Android, Chrome and Apps
at Google, when announcing Android 4.4,
or KitKat (thanks to a tie-in with Nestlé).
Google’s strategy isn’t going to surprise
many people – by getting itself on more
devices, it can get more eyeballs on its
adverts, as well as nab that all-important user
data that it craves.
With the launch of KitKat, the search giant
thinks it’s made a big step forward in making
sure as many people as possible can have
the latest version of its mobile OS.
But is it really a big jump ahead? There’s a
number of features offered with the new
update, so let’s find out what they entail and
how they can supercharge your smartphone
over the next 12 months – and further into
the future.

“O

“In KitKat, Google has
souped up the speed
with which you can
jump from one app
to another”

Speak up
Google’s been tinkering with voice control
for a couple of years on its Android phones
– but with the launch of the Motorola X
phone earlier this year, it took things a step
further, offering always-on voice recognition.
The trick has partly been repeated in the
Android 4.4 OS, in so far as when you’re on
the homescreen or in the Google Now app,
you merely have to say “OK Google” to do
anything from sending a message to starting
the music player – all without even pressing
a button.
Of course, this feature is going to be pretty
dependent on which phones will be
‘listening’ on the homescreen (it’s currently
only the Nexus 5) but always-on voice
recognition will come to many high-end
handsets in 2014 and probably a number of
the devices already launched this year, too.
The HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 are

Inside the Nexus

Google really wants you to talk to it,
and the feature works brilliantly well
leading contenders, thanks to the brands’
close ties with Google.
But there’s more to the Android update
than just being able to listen in on you; one
of the big issues that’s been irritating people
has been negated, too.
Google’s plan is to do away with physical
navigation buttons on phones and tablets,
moving to a more unified approach that
means developers will be able to rely on
hardware specs a little better and thus create
more polished and streamlined apps.
With KitKat, things are much improved
visually, because the notification bar at the
top of the screen and the pervasive buttons
at the bottom are now transparent, meaning
wallpapers are now full-screen. This may not

but this move from Google makes it a lot
simpler for developers to use it in their apps
going forward, which in turn will make
things easier for users.
Multi-tasking might have been a phrase
many have associated with smartphones for
years, but it’s never been particularly speedy
or slick on Android devices.
Google thinks it’s sorted that in KitKat,
souping up the speed with which you can
jump from one app to another. This is pivotal,
because many people like to check their
email while whizzing about the internet, and
having to wait a second to do so can irk.
This new trick has also extended to
touchscreen performance, enabling

17

Inside the Nexus

Android 4.4 KitKat

All locked up: KitKat’s
lock screen improvements
Most of us look at one display on our
smartphone more than any other –
with some people checking it almost
obsessively, as much as one hundred
times a day – and that’s the lock screen.
Most smartphone manufacturers have
made efforts to improve this area, but
Google believes that it’s managed to
crack this important part of your
phone better than most.
Google wants your smartphone or
tablet to be more than just a device with
which you can consume media – it
wants to see your Android device
become the hub of the connected
home, and enable you to control other

devices right from your pocket. To this
end, Google has been hard at work
improving the lock screen and making it
all about the content.
The first move is to draw information
from any music that’s being played and
movies being streamed from the
smartphone and present it as highresolution artwork whenever you unlock
your phone.
And you don’t even need to open the
handset to skip through tracks or shuttle
through the movie you’re watching,
because a long-press on the play button
will enable you to do just that with a
single tap.

To add widgets to your lock screen, turn
on the option in ‘Settings > Security’.

goal, it’s finally enabled Emoji use in its
keyboards. If you’re unfamiliar with Emoji, it’s
a Japanese system that enables you to send
pictures instead of letters within text, in a
similar way to emoticons.
However, Emoji is quickly taking on a
language of its own, with some teens
communicating almost exclusively in this
method, eschewing letters altogether as
parents realise there’s a new impenetrable
code on the block.
Apple has had Emoji support since last
year, and if Google wants to capture the
younger market, this is a key element for
Android to include.

Head in the clouds

Google Hangouts is the new
messaging centre and it works well

Create and edit complex documents
with the included QuickOffice package

handsets running KitKat to respond to
touches even more swiftly, and executing
commands with blistering speed. Giving this
option to manufacturers is really going to
help improve Android handsets in 2014,
and with physical touchscreen hardware
advancing massively, thinner and more
responsive smartphones are going to be
coming soon.

on a mobile phone than spending on each
SMS, but the text message is just too
entrenched into daily life to die.
Apple and BlackBerry both realised this
early on, with the likes of iMessage and BBM
(along with the popular WhatsApp) skipping
text charges altogether. Google wants a slice
of the pie, and with its similar Hangouts app,
it’s trying to do just that. With KitKat,
messages and Hangout chats are all
clumped together in one app, meaning a
seamless transition between both methods
of communication for users.
And with Hangouts available on other
platforms, too, Google is making a play for
becoming the ubiquitous form of mobile
text communication. To help it with that

Get the message
The days of paying 12p to send a text
message are over, and should have died
when the Millennium Bug failed to throw
planes out of the sky. Small nuggets of
information containing letters can be very
easily cast over data, which is a lot cheaper
18

Another big play for Google is getting us all
away from local storage, instead keeping all
our data on its servers. That’s the reason it
won’t put expandable memory card slots on
its Nexus phones, and why it’s pushing hard
with its Google Drive integration, offering
acres of online storage.
With KitKat, Google has opened up the
cloud to developers, so you can now interact
with files from Google Drive, Box or Dropbox
(where a number of people are storing
important files and photos), which has big
ramifications for future handsets.
It means the proliferation of 64GB
handsets is unlikely to continue – but more
importantly, those phones that ‘only’ come
with 16GB of space won’t be as much of a
problem as they are now if you can get
access to your photos and more through
your apps.
The cloud support is extended to
QuickOffice, too, which gets a redesign as
part of the Android experience and comes
pre-installed on the Nexus 5. It’s the go-to
app for Android document reading and
editing, and with both Microsoft and Apple
talking up their ability to offer collaborative
files through phones and tablets, this is a key
area Google needed to tighten up. Many

Android 4.4 KitKat

Now lock your phone by pressing the
power button twice.

businesses are moving towards complete
document management on the cloud,
meaning everyone can see instant changes
rather than having to email things around,
and by refining that process, Google is
making the Android phone and tablet a
more integrated part of it – which means
more sales for the search brand.
And even better for people who like to
take things offline – cloud printing is now
more fully integrated. HP’s ePrint system was
the first one named that can take advantage
of the system, but any printers connected to
Google Cloud Print in the future, as well as
other printers that gain compatible apps
from their manufacturers, will be accessible
from your phone wherever you are.
This is great news for grandparents;
imagine taking a picture of your newborn
baby and pressing a button to have it
appear on the other side of the world. Nan
will love that.

Witness the fitness
If you saw the recent launch of the iPhone
5S, you’ll have noticed that Apple has
popped an extra chip in there to monitor
your movement on the go without draining
the battery.
Add to that the explosion in wearable
fitness devices – Nike’s Fuelband, the
Jawbone Up and Fitbit to name a few – and
modern smartphones need to be able to be

“A lot of the areas
that are important to
you are going to be
made simpler to use
and more functional”

Swipe from left to right and you’ll see a
plus symbol in a box – just give it a tap.

part of the revolution. Google’s placed a
built-in step counter app in Android 4.4
KitKat, allowing data on day-to-day
movement to be collected – and what’s
more, without hurting the battery.
You need dedicated hardware, though,
and this means that many new Android
phones over the next couple of years are
going to have an even greater focus on
fitness. Samsung has been pushing this with
its S Fitness app in the S4, so it’s likely to play
more strongly in the fitness game in 2014.
It’s not just in the fitness space that
Google’s been busy improving the look and
feel of Android, though – with KitKat, a lot of
the areas that are important to you are
going to be made simpler to use as well as
more functional.
One of the big changes is making it easier
to switch your home launcher. The ability
to alter the look and feel of Android has
been around for a while, but adding it into
your handset hasn’t always been the most
simple task, meaning some people simply
stay away for fear of ruining their new
smartphone or tablet.
Now the ability to jump between
launchers is only a couple of clicks away in
the settings menu, meaning we’re going to
see some clever skins on top of Android
appearing soon to supercharge handsets, as
well as making you feel more comfortable
experimenting with new overlays.
Email, a key part of the user experience,
has been given a coat of paint to include
better folder management (anyone who’s
needed to find an invite to a party that
they’ve stuffed in a random folder will attest
to the fact this is a vital function), as well as
better contact photo integration to make it
feel as though your emails are more part of
the whole Android experience.
We’re also likely to see more infrared
blasters attached to phones and tablets in
the future, too – the likes of the HTC One,
Samsung Galaxy S4 and LG G2 all allow you

Inside the Nexus

You can now pick from all the widgets
eligible to be shown on the lock screen.

Feeding fitness
Despite needing an additional sensor,
(which manufacturers will be happy to
add into their hardware to improve
functionality), Google is supporting the
fitness fad – and without cost to your
battery. Essentially, it does this by
storing all the information from internal
sensors to track your movement and
then ships it to the CPU in bulk,
meaning the main engine of the phone
isn’t running all the time.
This will be critical for manufacturers
looking to take advantage of the trend
towards opening up daily movement
data, as well as helping Google Now
improve massively, with additional
information on your movements and
location available with the new process.

19

Inside the Nexus

Android 4.4 KitKat

You can get a detailed look at running
apps and the memory they’re sucking

KitKat is imbued with Google this and
Google that but you’re not tied into it

to control your TV or set-top box directly
from the phone, which is a nifty trick.
However, you can only do it through their
apps, meaning if you’re not a fan of the way
this works (or your DVD player isn’t
supported), there’s not a lot you can do.
Now, though, Google has opened up this
feature to developers, meaning that if you’ve
got a problem that you can’t fix, pretty soon
it’s going to be available from the app store,
making your phone a true all-in-one remote

control. And even the camera is learning
some new tricks, with the addition of HDR+
photography mode on the Nexus 5
highlighting the power Google is looking to
imbue future Android handsets with.
This option takes a number of photos at
different resolution settings and combines
them together to make one perfect image
of your memory – it’s a similar system found
on many other smartphone cameras at the
moment, but this takes things on a little
further to improve snaps through a variety
of scenarios.

“KitKat doesn’t
require a lot of power,
hence the ability to
launch on every
handset in 2014”

The trickle down
There’s clearly a number of enhancements
that will make Android smartphones that
much better than before, but the key
question on many people’s minds is: ‘Will this
be coming to my phone?’
Well, if you’re running a Google Nexus 4,
things are going to be fine for you, because
the update will be landing very soon on your
handset. If you’re also one of the very few

who managed to get their hands on an HTC
One or Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play
edition, shipping with stock software, then it
won’t be long before you’re running Android
4.4 either.
However, after that things get a little
trickier. If you’re running anything other than
the HTC One, or variants thereof, information
is scarce on whether the update will appear
on your handset.
The good news is that Android KitKat, by
its very nature, doesn’t require a lot of power
to run, hence the ability to launch on every
handset in 2014, helping Google reduce the
issue of fragmentation in the future, taking
the fight to iOS.
The problem is that while it might be
able to run on older smartphones, these
manufacturers still need to test the update
on their handsets, which takes a large
amount of time. HTC seems to have done
this faster than anyone else, because it’s
promised to bring out the Android 4.4
update to its phone within 90 days of
launch, which is incredibly fast.
The One Mini and One Max will follow
soon after, although no timeframe has been
given there. And all the Google Nexus
tablets are also set to run KitKat, thanks to
the optimised hardware contained within.
If you’re using a top-end smartphone from
this year, you needn’t worry too much,
because Android 4.4 is highly likely to land
on phones from Samsung, Sony and LG.
Sony, in particular, has been hard at work
improving its Android upgrade process, and
LG made the Nexus 5, meaning it has good
access to the software, so we expect the LG
G2 to be KitKat enabled in the future.
If you’re using anything older, well, things
aren’t completely grim. There will be a
number of custom ROMs available for the
slightly braver user – these are already
appearing for the sadly unloved Galaxy
Nexus, and will continue to emerge for other
older, but still popular, handsets.
So while Google has set its stall out firmly
to improve Android going forward and bring
an end to the fragmentation that’s plagued
phones running its software for years, if
you’re using a slightly older phone, you’re
unlikely to miss out on the next-gen
operating system. Q

Look who’s talking
Android’s phone app has
gone from a meagre list of
names at inception to
integration with a number of
major social networks and
photo repositories, which has
escalated it into a veritable
cornucopia of information
about your friends.
Visually, it’s been enhanced,
too, with the addition of
high-resolution photos from
Google+ and dedicating a

20

larger space to the photos of
your buddies.
Google has taken a slightly
radical approach with Android
KitKat, by promoting the
people you speak to most to
the head of the field when you
open the contacts app. It will
take a while for the phone to
be able to work out who your
most-contacted people will
be, but there’s an option to
remove them from the list,

too. However, this feature may
not come to other Android
handsets, because the likes of
HTC and Samsung have their
own methods of managing
favourite people on the go.
The new phone app will
have more powers to search
locally as well, meaning you’ll
be able to find numbers of
local businesses, and people
in your Google+ circles will
appear when you want them

to, making it a more dynamic
and useful tool rather than a
glorified scrap of paper with
some key contacts on.
The location-based trick will
appear when you receive a call
from an unknown number,
too, because Android 4.4 will
be able to search from local
nearby businesses to furnish
you with the right info before
you take the call from your
local takeaway emporium.

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Inside the Nexus

Inside the Nexus 5

Inside the
Nexus 5
Everything you need to know
about the guts of the latest
flagship phone

imply looking at a
smartphone doesn’t really
tell you very much. The
Nexus 5, for all its smart,
sleek curves, is just a black
rounded rectangle – it’s
pretty, but it doesn’t reveal anything
to you directly. Even a cursory glance
through the spec list won’t tell you
the whole story.
Our full review of the Nexus 5 on
page 122 will give you an objective
run-down of the package as a whole,
but we’ve decided that it was also worth

S

22

highlighting all the bits that make the
new phone what it is, and explain why
they’re so important.
Before you read on, know this: it’s not
just the hardware (as hefty as it is) that
makes the Nexus range rock. That clean,
unfettered Android operating system on
top does as much heavy lifting as the
chips that it’s driving. Check out our
in-depth guide to Android KitKat 4.4 on
page 16 of this issue to find out about
the new features that will shape the way
you use your smartphone over the next
year or two.

Inside the Nexus 5

Inside the Nexus

Price
Many people won’t care about the
internals. If it’s a phone, and it works,
they’ll be happy. Many people,
conversely, care only about the
power inside the case. Both parties
will be happy here. When the Nexus
4 touched down, its price tag really
made waves, offering up a
surprisingly well featured
smartphone for the cost of a lowto mid-end handset. The Nexus 5,

which could be the most powerful
phone on the market, continues in
the same vein: the 16GB model has
rocked up at £299/$349 SIM-free. If
you fancy getting hold of the 32GB
Nexus 5, then you’ll need to stump
up a still reasonable £339/$399 – a
much slimmer leap than many
phone manufacturers (cough,
Apple) charge for the same bump
in storage.

The large aperture
of the camera casts
an imposing shape
but it also gives it
amazing sensitivity
in low light
Rear camera
You might feel a little disappointed
with the camera on the back of the
Nexus 5. It’s an 8MP sensor, and
while it’s equipped with a large
aperture for extra sensitivity in low
light, it’s not as pixel-packed at
some cameras on the market; the
Moto X (10MP), Galaxy S (13MP),
and Nokia Lumia 1020 (41MP) can
all take pictures at a higher
resolutions. Our tests, though, show
that the quality of the Nexus 5’s
snaps are up there with the best
of them. This is probably down to
the optical image stabilisation
technology, which uses a small gyro
and motor to move the lens inside
the camera housing, counteracting
shaky hands with engineering
ingenuity. The shutter is fast enough
to take true HDR shots, too – KitKat’s
photo engine stitches together
three shots of differing exposure,
taken in sequence, to give you a
truly stunning shot.

Front camera
Selfies are catered for with a reasonable
1.3MP front camera of decent quality. You
wouldn’t want to take anything serious
with it, but it’s fine for video chat and the
bathroom mirror. The rear camera can
competently take 1080p videos at 30fps,
while the front camera can only manage
720p. It’s a case of balance – do you want a
more expensive phone running an inferior
OS, which has a few more pixels in its
camera, or are you happy with the best
overall package on the market, and pictures
that won’t disappoint?

23

Inside the Nexus

Inside the Nexus 5

Other radios

Screen
LG’s technical wizards have chosen a heck
of a panel for the new Nexus 5, coming in
at a smidgen under 5 inches, running a
full 1080p resolution at 445ppi, a density
that surpasses even the Samsung Galaxy
S4 (at 441ppi) and the iPhone 5S (at a
positively archaic 326ppi).
It uses IPS technology for the display,
which is comparable to many high-end
desktop monitors. IPS stands for in-plane
switching, and uses LCD crystals aligned in
several coloured layers, all but removing
the viewing angle problems of panels
from previous generations. It’s not really
surprising that IPS was used rather than,
say, Samsung’s fancy and similar PLS
technology, given that LG is the world’s
biggest manufacturer of IPS panels.

Of course, there’s a full complement
of other connectivity on board
beside cellular. The Bluetooth 4.0 LE
radio is right up to date; there’s the
still little-used but packed-withpotential NFC functionality; and a
dual-band a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi module.
Oh, and GPS. Amazing how we take
these once-fanciful technologies for
granted now, isn’t it?

LG is constantly
working on
thinner, brighter
panels, which
help phones such
as the Nexus 5
retain a
slim profile
Cellular radio
The Nexus 4 had an LTE radio in it, but it
only supported Band 4 – and, at least
officially, it didn’t even support that, being
locked down by default and requiring some
insider knowledge to fire up. The Nexus 5
comes LTE-enabled so you’ll be able to get
next-gen cellular data access wherever you
are in the world. There are slight differences
between international versions – buy it in
the States, and you’ll get CDMA support,
seven-band WCDMA and coverage over the
nine LTE bands used in the USA, while the
version sold elsewhere in the world has
six-band WCDMA and six-band LTE. The
international version isn’t hobbled – it’s just
that the extra connectivity isn’t required.

Screen power
There’s a slight power disadvantage with
IPS, given that it draws from the battery
slightly more than other competing
technologies, but the Nexus 5 has a huge
lithium polymer cell, which helps to
compensate for this.
24

Inside the Nexus 5

Inside the Nexus

Battery

Lithium bursts
into flames when
exposed to air,
so there’s some
serious science
involved in keeping
your battery in
one piece

The inclusion of the Snapdragon 800
processor means power efficiency will be
pretty good on the Nexus 5, and with a
2,300mAh battery, it should last a decent
length of time on a single charge. That’s a
slight upgrade from the 2,100mAh power
pack in the Nexus 4, and Google reckons
it’s good for up to 17 hours of talk time, 8.5
hours of Wi-Fi internet browsing, and
seven hours of high-speed 4G surfing. This
is, of course, at its initial state, but the
lithium polymer technology inside should
mean it maintains its muscle over many
hundreds of charges.

Processing package
Let’s not beat around the bush – the
Qualcomm chipset in this handset is
pretty much the best processing package
going. It’s the same as LG put in its G2 –
this is about as far removed from that
phone as you’re going to get, although a
bit of internal cross pollination is only to
be expected.

Essential chips
The main processor is a Qualcomm
Snapdragon 800, which breaks
down into several critical
components. The Krait 400 CPU
module is a quad-core beast
running at 2.26GHz, manufactured
with a 28nm process to ensure it
stays reasonably cool even under
pressure. There’s an Adreno 330
GPU, which supports all the latest
mobile graphics technologies. But
there are little, considered
components in there, too – for
example, a dedicated DSP, the
Hexagon, runs at 600MHz and
offloads tasks with low power
requirements, such as music
playback, to ensure your battery
lasts as long as it can. Finally, the
processing package is backed up by
2GB of RAM, a large amount for a
smartphone, which should ensure
that buttery smooth OS interface
stays greasy even once you’ve
installed a bunch of apps.

Charging
Of course, the really exciting development
is Qi wireless charging, previously seen on
Windows Phone handsets, which uses a
system of electromagnetic induction to
charge your phone without needing to
plug it in. This is significant for several
reasons, not least of which is that the
charging port of your Nexus 5 will take a lot
less wear and tear than it would without
using a charge pad. It’s slower than wired
charging, and you’ll need to buy a charge
pad to take advantage of it, and you can’t
really use your phone while it’s juicing up in
this way, but hey – this is properly cool tech.

25

Inside the Nexus

Inside the Nexus 5

Positioning

Dimensions
Thanks to its larger display, the Nexus 5 is
longer and wider than its predecessor, but
it has managed to shave off some depth.
Its vital statistics run at 137.84mm tall,
69.17mm wide, and a teeny 8.59mm thick.
There’s good news as well in terms of the
weight, with the Nexus 5 shedding 9g
from the fourth generation, tipping the
scales at 130g (4.59 oz) – making it lighter
than the HTC One, Sony Xperia Z1 and
Nokia Lumia 925.

Materials
The Nexus 5 echoes the new Nexus 7
tablet in terms of looks – and that’s not a
bad thing at all. Yes, we know there’s no
fancy premium metal case, and the
mesmerising glass back of the Nexus 4 has
fallen by the wayside, but the soft-touch
finish of the white or black rear of the
Nexus 5 doesn’t exactly feel cheap – we’d
put it a notch above the Samsung Galaxy
S4 in terms of the pleasure it gives us in
the hand.

26

Everything is nicely tucked away
and inconspicuous, particularly on
the front of the phone – the dinky
circular ear speaker grille and front
camera don’t jump out from the
Gorilla Glass 3 panel unless you look
for them. The camera and LED flash
make an impact on the back,
however. There’s a single mono
speaker mounted on the bottomleft of the phone, the microphone
sits bottom-right, and the micro USB
port sits in between. The power
button is on the right-hand side of
the case, while the single-button
volume keys are on the left. Each
uses a piece of ceramic material
that seems as though it will be
particularly hard wearing.

The Nexus 5 doesn’t
exactly feel cheap –
we’d put it a notch above
the Galaxy S4 in terms
of the pleasure it gives
us in the hand

Inside the Nexus 5

Edges
The sides of the phone are different
depending on the colour scheme you go
for. The white version has shiny sides, which
follow on nicely from the screen, while the
black one has matte edges, mirroring the
finish on the back. The white version also
feels slightly less rubbery on the back,
because the rear of the case is made from
moderately different material.

Inside the Nexus

It also includes a hall
effect sensor, which we
presume will be used
for smart covers and
fancy docks

Sensors
Given that the Nexus is the Android
showcase phone, it’s no surprise that LG
has managed to throw in a few decent
sensors. We expected the gyroscope,
accelerometer, compass, proximity/
ambient light sensor, and pressure sensor,
because all have been carried over from
the previous models and, in the case of
the pressure sensor, from the Samsung
Galaxy range. It also includes a hall effect
sensor – this analyses local magnetic
fields, so we presume it will be able to be
used for smart covers and fancy docks.

What’s missing?
A phone at this price point won’t have
absolutely every top feature going. It would
be a little unfair to judge its audio
capabilities against the HTC One, for
instance, or its stock Android performance
against the gimmick-heavy skills of the
Samsung Galaxy S4. So whatever we say
here is a little moot, but we’ll say it anyway:
there’s no IR blaster, which for some would
be a completely irrelevant feature, but
utterly crucial for others. The battery is
not as beefy as the 3,000mAh initially
rumoured, which is simply us being greedy
and nothing more – the equipped battery is
more than capable. Really, the Nexus 5 is a
fantastic phone. It doesn’t push as many
boundaries as it might, particularly as it
seems more like a step change from the
Nexus 4 than a brand new killer phone, but
there’s little that’s missing here. Q
27

Do more with your Nexus

28

Welcome

Welcome

Do more with your Nexus

Do more with
your Nexus
Get KitKat features
30
Don’t have KitKat? You don’t need to...
Protect yourself for free
Locate, lock and wipe lost devices

34

Track stolen devices
36
Keep tabs on a lost device with Cerberus
Google’s 2-Step Verification
38
Keep your files safe with this new feature
Back up your smartphone
40
Automate your backups to avoid disaster
Install free antivirus
42
Comprehensively protect your device
Stop ads invading your phone 44
Discover how to banish AirPush adverts

29

GET KITKAT
FEATURES
If your Android device is still stuck on Jelly Bean, these apps
can replicate some of KitKat’s best features

{ AT A GLANCE }
SKILL
Anyone can do it
TIME NEEDED
15 minutes
SUITABLE FOR
All Android phones and tablets

he Nexus 5 and Android KitKat go
together like, well, two fingers of a
KitKat. However, if you’re using an
older device running Android Jelly Bean, you
could be waiting weeks or even months for a
compatible version of KitKat.
But don’t despair, because many of KitKat’s
features can already be simulated by existing
apps. Google’s phone app, for instance, may
have been treated to a substantial redesign, as
has the Android media player, yet apps such as
Contacts+ and PlayerPro come close to offering
the same experience.
Fancy the benefits of KitKat’s efficient power
management, or mimicking the Nexus 5’s
HDR+ photography feature on your current
Android device? No problem. Then when it’s
time for some work, you don’t even need KitKat
to run Google’s Quickoffice app.
So what are you waiting for? Here’s how to
give Jelly Bean a more chocolatey flavour.

T

TUTORIAL 1: CONTROL CONTACTS AND CALLS

1 Communicate
with Contacts+
Contacts+ is an all-in-one phone,
contacts and messaging app, which
gives you a taste of what’s on offer in
KitKat. For instance, Google’s new
phone app can sort your contacts
according to how often you talk to
each of them, and Google Keyboard
enables you to express yourself
visually in messages using colourful
icons called Emoji.

30

your contacts
2 Sort
Sorting your contacts by
who you talk to most is easy with
Contacts+. Switch to the central
contacts tab, expand the basic menu
options using the button at the right
of the top bar, and select ‘Display
options’. Plump for the ‘Frequency’
setting and, while you’re here, it makes
sense to customise things such as icon
style and layout.

Get KitKat features

Do more with your Nexus

TUTORIAL 2: GET ALBUM ART ON YOUR LOCK SCREEN

1 Download
PlayerPro
With KitKat, you can play music and
still enjoy full-screen album art and
playback controls on your lock screen.
Pretty nifty, though the PlayerPro
music player app can give you almost
identical results on Jelly Bean. Not
only that, but it’s also one of the most
comprehensive music apps available
in the Play Store

your style
3 Set
Unfortunately, PlayerPro’s
album artwork doesn’t fill the whole
lock screen, but you can set the
background to feature a full-screen
image of the artist currently playing.
Set this by selecting ‘Background’
from the ‘Lock screen’ settings and
opt for ‘Artist picture’. The ‘Greyscale’
option is nice if you’d like the
background in black and white.

the new
3 Emoji:
emoticons
Spicing up your texts with some
emoji icons requires the free ‘Emoji
for Contacts+’ add-on app. Once
installed, start composing a text
message in Contacts+ and you’ll
notice a smiley face next to the text
input box. Tap this to reveal hundreds
of new emoji, from your average
smiley and sad faces to objects and
even flags.

a lock
2 Choose
screen widget
To set up your lock screen to emulate
that of KitKat, click on an album and
then open PlayerPro’s main menu
using the button in the top-right of
the screen. Select ‘Settings > Lock
screen > Widget’ and go for the
‘PlayerPro Large (4x4)’ option – this
gets you closest to the KitKat look.
Next, scroll down and ensure that ‘Full
screen’ is ticked.

missing
4 Find
album art
If an album is missing artwork,
PlayerPro can download it. Just go
back to the app’s main Albums tab,
press and hold on an album and then
select ‘Manage artwork’. The ‘Get it for
me’ option usually does the trick. You
can use the same method on the
Artists tab to download an artist
image, but this time pick ‘Manage
picture’ from the menu.

who’s calling
4 Know
Receiving a call from a number
you don’t recognise can catch you
off-guard, so KitKat’s phone app
automatically attempts to match an
unsaved number with a Google-listed
business. Truecaller does much the
same thing, but has a huge
crowd-sourced database of over a
billion numbers, and it also enables
you to block spam callers.

31

Do more with your Nexus

Get KitKat features

TUTORIAL 3: TAKE BETTER PHOTOS IN ANY LIGHT

dynamic
1 Highly
HDR – or High Dynamic Range
– technology gives your photos great
highlight and shadow detail, even
under harsh lighting. The Nexus 5’s
HDR+ mode snaps a series of shots
and combines the best bits into a
single photograph, but it’s a trick
many current Android phones and
tablets can also pull, without the
need for KitKat.

your shot
3 Take
Activating the app’s HDR
capability is as simple as tapping the
mode button located alongside the
main shutter icon, and selecting ‘HDR’
from the menu. The app now snaps
several consecutive photos to capture
as much highlight and shadow detail
as possible. It even cleverly re-aligns
each image to compensate for any
camera movement.

app?
2 Which
Your standard camera app
may already be packing an HDR
mode. Samsung hides it in the
‘Shooting Mode’ menu, HTC’s version
comes under the ‘Camera Scenes’
heading, while Sony often includes
something similar in the app’s main
settings. Alternatively, the excellent
A Better Camera app gives you this
HDR tech on any Jelly Bean device.

and tune
4 Tweak
Once you’ve got your HDR
image, four editing options control
the overall exposure, contrast, colour
saturation and detail intensity. If you
fancy a bit more control, drag down
the top bar, select ‘More settings >
Shooting modes settings > HDR’ and
you’ll discover extensive options to
fine-tune the image capture
sequence and HDR processing.

TUTORIAL 4: MAKE JELLY BEAN RUN SWEETER

32

resources
1 Restore
Google is keen to emphasise

optimisation
2 Auto
Satisfy your need for speed by

the speed and efficiency of KitKat,
which is certainly welcome news for
those of us with Android devices
starting to feel the strain. It’s not
difficult to give Jelly Bean a boost,
though, because apps such as Super
Optimize help free up system
resources, delete unnecessary clutter
and extend battery life.

first clicking the big ‘Optimize’ button
at the bottom of the app’s ‘System
management’ homescreen. This
automatically terminates memory and
battery-hogging apps and claws back
some storage space by deleting
temporary files. Switch to the Process
or Cache tabs to terminate apps on an
individual basis.

Get KitKat features

Do more with your Nexus

TUTORIAL 5: STAY PRODUCTIVE WITH QUICKOFFICE

powerful
1 A
office app
OK, so although Quickoffice has been
available for Jelly Bean for several
months, KitKat is the first version of
Android to include it as standard. If
you haven’t encountered Quickoffice,
it’s certainly worth trying because it
enables you to create and edit
Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint
files with no converting required.

Word
3 Editing
documents
Open a Word document for editing
and you’re met with basic but useful
options for altering text and
paragraph structure, font size and
colour. It’s also possible to insert a
table or image, though you can’t
choose how text wraps around these
objects. Otherwise, it’s an easy-to-use
app, with intuitive menus and a
handy spellchecker.

3 Comprehensive
control
See the menu icon in the top-left of
the ‘System management’ screen?
This displays extra tabs, where you
can control other speed-sapping
features, such as screen brightness, as
well as setting the volume for calls,
media and notifications. There’s also
integrated areas for uninstalling apps,
or moving them to an SD card.

file manager
2 The
Quickoffice includes its own
file manager, where you can browse
files stored on your Android device
and Google Drive account. You’re able
to create and delete folders, while
files can be renamed, cut and pasted.
The interface is even more userfriendly on a tablet, because in
landscape format there are three
browser panes rather than one.

a slideshow
4 Create
for PowerPoint
Tapping the ‘+’ icon at the top of the
file manager is all it takes to open a
new PowerPoint presentation
template. Don’t expect the sexy
transition and animation effects from
the full-blown desktop version to be
in this 14MB app, but simple layout
and content controls are great for
tweaking an existing presentation. Q

your
4 Preserve
battery
Now your apps are under control,
Jelly Bean should have got some of its
mojo back. But when you also need
to get the most from your battery,
check out Super Optimize’s ‘Battery
Management’ section. Here you’ll
find the app’s eco mode, which
automatically disables Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth, as well as reducing data
synchronisation frequency.

33

PROTECT YOURSELF
FOR FREE
Discover how to use a free service from Google to locate, lock
and wipe stolen or lost smartphones and tablets

{ AT A GLANCE }
SKILL
Anyone can do it
TIME NEEDED
5 minutes
SUITABLE FOR
Android 2.3 and later

ou’re in a coffee shop. Someone
bumps into you. A few minutes later,
you realise your smartphone has
gone. It would be great to be able to whip
your tablet from your bag, log into a remote
control service and wipe the missing device
of all your personal data. And if it’s just lost at
home, it would also be really helpful to make
it ring so that you can find it again.
Your smartphone or tablet is linked with your
Google account more deeply than many
people suppose. This close bond affords a
unique opportunity to harness the power of
other Google products to quickly manage your
mobile devices in case they are ever stolen.
Called Android Device Manager, this handy tool
is free, and makes it easy to track, find or wipe a
stolen or lost smartphone or tablet.

Y

USE ANDROID DEVICE MANAGER

ADM
2 Activate
Click the little-used ‘Google
Settings’ icon in your device’s apps list.
Among other things to do with apps
and connected games, this enables
you to activate Android Device
Manager. Click this and tick the
‘Remote wipe and reset button’. Grant
administrator rights to Android Device
Manager by clicking ‘Activate’.

devices visible
1 Make
Only devices that are visible to Google Play can be protected using
Android Device Manager, so open a browser on your mobile device or PC, surf
to http://play.google.com/settings and log in with your Google username and
password. Ensure that the devices to protect have a tick in their entry in the
Visibility column.

34

Protect yourself for free

into ADM
3 Log
From a PC or other connected device, open a browser and surf to
www.google.com/android/devicemanager. For speed in an emergency, you
can bookmark this page. Log in if necessary using your Google account name
and password, and a map appears. If your device has its GPS receiver switched
off, the location is unavailable.

it ring
5 Make
If you happen to mislay your smartphone, hearing it ring can help you
locate it. As long as the device is switched on, you can make it ring at full
volume for five minutes by clicking the ‘Ring’ button in Android Device
Manager. It uses a default ringtone and can be silenced by hitting the
smartphone’s power key.

Do more with your Nexus

up non-GPS devices
4 Set
You can still use Android Device Manager to help protect devices that
do not have a built-in GPS receiver, such as many cheaper models of tablet
computer. Simply go into your settings and select the ‘Location services’
section. Ensure that ‘Google’s location services’ is selected and then use the
tablet to surf.

your device
6 Lock
If your smartphone or tablet is stolen, you might worry that the current
password isn’t strong enough. To strengthen it, click the ‘Lock’ button in ADM.
Now enter a seriously long temporary password and confirm it to upload it to
your device. Remember to write it down because you’ll need it if the phone or
tablet is recovered.

your device
8 Protect
Finally, set up a password that
needs to be entered to unlock your
Android device. You don’t have to
keep it password-protected in safe
locations such as your home, but
when out and about, you need to
protect it. If you don’t, and your
device becomes lost or stolen,
all your secrets are accessible until
you can get to a web browser to
wipe the device. Q

the device
7 Wipe
For complete peace of mind, it’s a good idea to reset a stolen phone or
tablet to its factory condition before it becomes cracked, by removing all of
your pictures, videos, messages and settings. This is the job of the ‘Erase’ button
in Android Device Manager. If the device is switched off, it will be erased when
it next boots up.
35

TRACK STOLEN
DEVICES
Keep tabs on your lost Android device and its
wrongful owner with the Cerberus app

{ AT A GLANCE }
SKILL
Anyone can do it
TIME NEEDED
10 minutes
SUITABLE FOR
Android 2.2 and above

erberus is the next best thing to
Gollum-like doggedness for
protecting your precious Android
device. Named after the three-headed dog
that guarded the gates of the Underworld in
Greek and Roman mythology, this nifty little
app is chock-full of features that can help you
track and recover your stolen device.
Like other anti-theft apps, Cerberus tracks
your device using the on-board GPS. It can also
stealthily take pictures, audio and video of the
wrongful owner. The app sits peacefully on
your phone, until you call upon its services
from its online control centre.
If the perp isn’t online, you can control the
device by sending instructions to Cerberus by
SMS, which isn’t logged in the Android SMS
app. And don’t sweat if the thief inserts a new
SIM card – if he does, the app sends you an SMS
alert on a preset number. You can also stop the
app showing up in the app drawer, and if you
use a rooted phone, you can install Cerberus as
a system app to prevent it being uninstalled.

C

USE CERBERUS

1 Install
The Cerberus app is available
on the Play Store and can be tried for
free for a week, after which it requires
a one-time licence fee of €2.99. You
can also download a hidden version of
the app, which masks Cerberus as
‘System Framework’, from www.
cerberusapp.com/download.php.

36

device admin
2 Make
When you launch the app,
you’re asked to create a user account
on the app’s servers. After logging in,
you’re prompted to give admin rights
to the app. If you don’t do so, some of
the features, such as remote wipe and
password lock, won’t be available.

Track stolen devices

SIM checker
3 Enable
To enable the app to notify
you when it detects a new SIM card,
you can provide it with up to three
phone numbers, where it will send
the alerts. You can also ask the app to
optionally send you other details
about the new SIM card and the
location of the device.

your device
5 Track
To control a stolen device, head to www.cerberusapp.com. From the
dashboard, you can select the missing device using a pull-down list. Cerberus
then connects to your device, enables the GPS and points out its current
location in Google Maps.

Do more with your Nexus

configuration
4 More
After the initial setup, launch
the app to configure its features. You
can use the remote wipe feature to
zap particular directories on the SD
card that hold sensitive data, for
instance. The app also enables you to
tweak the options for stealthily
capturing a photo of the user.

tabs
6 Keep
Use the Command pull-down menu to run an action on the device. You
can find more details about the perp by using the device’s camera and
microphone to take his picture and record audio and video clips. You can also
see his recent call and SMS logs.

control
7 Remote
If you want to embarrass the
perp and make him suffer, you can
sound a siren or read aloud a custom
message. You can also lock the device
with a password and even reboot it.
You can also make it dial a number
with the speaker turned on.

wipe
8 Remote
If the data on the device is more valuable to you than the device itself,
you can ask Cerberus to remotely wipe your tablet or smartphone’s memory as
well as the data on the SD card. But remember to enable these features first,
before losing the device. Q

37

PROTECT YOUR
ACCOUNT
WITH 2-STEP
VERIFICATION
Keep all your files safe with this clever new feature from
Google’s brainiest security boffins

{ AT A GLANCE }
SKILL
Anyone can do it
TIME NEEDED
5 minutes
SUITABLE FOR
Any device

ith so much data stored
on your Google account,
it’s a big risk to have just
one password keeping it all safe.
Unlikely as it seems, if a web
criminal were to get your password,
they could lock you out of your
account in seconds, with potentially
devastating consequences for your
private information. Google knows
that its cloud services are becoming
indispensable, and millions of
people are storing their digital lives
on its servers, so it has developed
2-Step Verification to add another
element to securing entry to your
account. It’s like adding Chip & PIN
to your Google account, and it
involves your smartphone as well as
your computer. The walkthrough
below shows you how to enable it.

W

ADD AN EXTRA LAYER OF SECURITY

started
1 Get
Google’s 2-Step Verification has to be enabled on the web. Go to www.
google.com/landing/2step and click on the ‘Get Started’ button (which you’ll
see in a couple of spots on the page). It can be set up using many different
browsers, and from a variety of devices.

38

in again
2 Sign
On the next screen, click the ‘Start setup’ button. You’re asked to log in
with your Google account. You’re still asked for it even if you think you are
logged in already – for example, if your browser stores your account details on
a personalised homepage.

2-Step Verification

Do more with your Nexus

a verification code
3 Send
You’re asked to provide a phone number, which Google will use to send

your phone
4 Verify
On the next screen, you’re asked to enter the number that should have

you a verification code. The box should already be populated with your phone
number if that information is stored in your Google account. Otherwise, type in
your number and press ‘Send code’.

come through to your phone as a text message containing six digits. Type the
code into the box and click ‘Verify’. If you didn’t get the text message, click
‘Didn’t get the code?’ and follow the instructions.

this computer
5 Trust
If you lose your phone, you might be able to access your account from a
trusted computer without needing a code. On this page, you can make the
machine you’re using a trusted computer by keeping the box ticked. Only do
so if you trust everyone who can access it. Click the ‘Next’ button.

back-up phone
7 Add
Because you’ve opted for higher security, Google recommends that you
add a back-up phone to avoid being locked out of your account. Click ‘Add a
phone number’, then type in a new number on the next screen – remember to
choose a country code from the drop-down list – then press the ‘Save’ button.

and create passwords
6 Confirm
You’re only asked for a code whenever you sign in using your email
account from an untrusted computer or device. If you lose your phone, you
can always change it to a new one in your Google account settings, under
‘Security > 2-step verification’. For now, click ‘Confirm’.

verified
8 You’re
You can now access your account on untrusted devices. To rescind trust
of a computer, perhaps because you’re replacing it, go to http://security.
google.com/settings/security. Click ‘Edit’ next to ‘2-step verification’, and choose
‘Remove it from your list of trusted computers’ under ‘Advanced’. Q

39

BACK UP YOUR
SMARTPHONE
Backups are a dull but necessary part of life. Here’s how to
automate them to avoid disaster

{ AT A GLANCE }
SKILL
Anyone can do it
TIME NEEDED
15 minutes
SUITABLE FOR
Android 2.3 and later

ack when the smartest phones
around could still only make calls
and send texts, you couldn’t lose
much to hardware failure. But we’re
increasingly carrying our entire lives on
today’s smartphones and tablets. They’ve
become as important to us as PCs, but in a far
shorter time, and the impact of a suddenly
‘bricked’ device has also exploded.
Making manual backups is dull work, which
most of us neglect. Automatic cloud back-up
services are great, but they can only be used
where there’s a secure path to the internet. If
you’re not using it, however, a spare SD card
slot can serve as a back-up location to protect
your data from most catastrophes. Here’s how
to use the free version of MyBackup to
automate the process.

B

SAVE YOUR DATA WITH MYBACKUP

40

MyBackup
1 Install
Search for MyBackup in

in root mode
2 Run
If MyBackup discovers that it

Google’s Play Store, click the app’s
‘Install’ button, and accept the
permissions. When you open the app,
you are given the option to enter a
password to protect the program and
its backups, or cancel the dialog box.

can run in root mode on your device,
click ‘Yes’ to allow this to happen. Root
mode gives MyBackup elevated
privileges to read data for backing
up that it wouldn’t normally have
access to, thereby increasing the
completeness of the backup it can
make of system data.

Back up your smartphone

a local
3 Make
backup

Do more with your Nexus

a backup
4 Restore
Click ‘MyBackups’. Select the

To create a local backup, ensure that
an SD card is inserted in your device,
then click ‘New Backup’. Select ‘Data’
as the type, and ‘Local’. Now select all
the data types you want to add to the
archive and click ‘OK’. Enter a name for
the archive and click ‘OK’ again. That’s
it – your data is backed up.

type of backup to restore and the
local option. Select the archive from
the list of names and click ‘Restore’.
Select the types of data you want to
restore and click ‘OK’. Confirm the
action and the restoration begins.
Then reboot your device to complete
the action.

backups
5 Manage
You can examine the content

a backup
6 Schedule
To automate backups, click

of archives to ensure you are restoring
the right one. In ‘MyBackups’, select an
archive and then click ‘View’. The list of
backed-up categories now appears.
Click one and, if it can be displayed,
the data within enables you to make
sure that you’re about to use the
correct archive.

‘Schedule’, and select a local backup.
Select all the types of data you wish
to save and click ‘OK’. Enter a name
and time for the backup to occur, and
how many previous archives to keep
(the default of ‘5’ is fine). Click
‘Schedule’ to activate.

backups
7 Disable
You can disable the current

apps
8 Manage
You can clear the data stored

back-up schedule or even delete it
altogether by going back into
‘Schedule’. Select the back-up
schedule you want to edit and click
either ‘Disable’ or ‘Remove’ to carry
out each operation. Unfortunately, to
edit the time, you have to delete your
current schedule and set a new one.

by apps and even freeze them
(prevent them from running, in other
words) in ‘MyToolbox’. Select the type
of app (system or non-system) and
select the apps you want to manage.
Freezing stops them from running
until they’re unfrozen. You can also
clear their cached and stored data, or
uninstall them. Q

41

INSTALL FREE
ANTIVIRUS
Comprehensively protect your smartphone or tablet
using the bundled features of a free antivirus package

{ AT A GLANCE }
SKILL
Anyone can do it
TIME NEEDED
15 minutes
SUITABLE FOR
All Android phones and tablets

ack in the early days of smartphones
and tablets, antivirus was heavy on
power and light on protection.
Times quickly changed, however. With the
range of electronic and physical threats to
mobile devices growing and changing almost
daily, antivirus companies have branched out
into other areas of protection.
The free versions of most mobile security
suites available today shield you against
malware, of course. But they also protect you
against a range of other threats, and possibly
even the problem of identity theft caused by
selling a mobile device that hasn’t been
properly wiped.
In this tutorial, we’re going to show you how
to increase your security using some of the
wider facilities provided by AVG’s Antivirus
Security, but other free packages contain
broadly similar functions.

B

PROTECT YOUR DEVICE FOR FREE

42

the app
1 Install
Open Google’s Play Store and

2 Activation
Click the ‘Open’ button and the

then click the magnifying glass at the
top of the screen to open the search
bar. Enter the word AVG. Click ‘AVG
Antivirus Security – Free’ in the search
results, and click ‘Install’ on the
product screen. Finally, click to accept
the program’s permissions and it
downloads itself.

app opens on your device. The first
thing you need to do is activate AVG.
The screen shows some default
settings, along with links to the terms
of service and privacy policy. Click the
‘Activate’ button to continue and open
the main user interface.

Install free antivirus

malware
3 Update
scanner
Before running an initial scan of the
device, you need to make sure you
update its virus definitions and
scanning engine. To do so, click
‘Protection’ and then click ‘Update
Now’. This action downloads any new
data and program updates that may
be available from AVG, and ensures
that you have the latest versions of
everything you need.

5 Investigate
any threats

Do more with your Nexus

the device
4 Scan
At the bottom of the main
menu, click ‘Scan Now’. The scan takes
a couple of minutes to complete. If it
finds anything it suspects of being
either malware or an insecure system
setting, a big red cross appears with
the number of threats it has found.

6 Configure
Auto-Scan

The button at the bottom of the
interface changes to ‘View Scan
Results’. Click this to reveal the nature
of the discovered threats. It’s highly
likely that the threat is merely that
you have activated the ability to
install software from unknown
sources. If you have installed the
Amazon Appstore, for instance, you’ll
have activated this option.

Because an Android device is a
dynamic environment, it’s a really
good idea to scan for threats on a
regular basis. AVG scans your device
once a week by default, but you can
increase that to every day by clicking
‘Protection’, then ‘Auto-Scan
Frequency’. Select ‘Once a day’ and
then click the ‘Back’ button.

data use
7 Monitor
If your data bill is high, or you

your data
8 Wipe
If you ever decide to sell your

suspect that something is siphoning
off data, you need to know which app
is sending and receiving the most
data. To do so, click ‘Performance’ and
‘Data Usage’. The installed apps
appear with their data use since the
last reboot. Click one for more details
and to uninstall it.

tablet, smartphone or SD cards, you
need to wipe them completely of
data before you do so, otherwise the
buyer could assume your identity. To
do so, click ‘Privacy’, then click ‘Wipe
Device’. If an SD card is inserted, you
can add this to the wipe, and then
click the ‘Reset’ button. Q

43

STOP ADS INVADING
YOUR PHONE
Developers need to make money from their apps but the
tactics some use are distinctly undesirable

{ AT A GLANCE }
SKILL
Anyone can do it
TIME NEEDED
15 minutes
SUITABLE FOR
Android 4.1 onwards

here’s no such thing as a free lunch
and this old maxim holds as true
today as it ever did. Take free apps,
for example. Many developers give away their
programs and rely on adverts inside their
creations to pay for their efforts. In many
cases, putting up with the odd invitation to
play online bingo or purchase life insurance
is a small price to pay for an app that is
otherwise excellent.
Some Android users have, however, found
their smartphones throwing up adverts
indiscriminately. You might be taking a picture
or checking your mail, when your phone
demands, “Do you want to win an iPad?”
Random, invasive and unwelcome adverts
are a real problem. Their producers promise
developers more cash than traditional in-app
advertising. For us users, however, the benefits
are questionable, to say the least. If your phone
has been invaded by pushy ads, read on and
we’ll help you banish them.

T

BANISH AIRPUSH ADVERTS

your enemy
1 Know
AirPush adverts are ads that
appear as text-based notifications on
your smartphone. Generally, the sales
pitch is short and sweet, and they link
you to an external website. They’re
indiscriminate and are generally
welcomed on to your Nexus if you
download an app that contains them.

44

is
2 Prevention
better than cure
If you’re being besieged by AirPush
apps, you’ll naturally want to get rid of
them. The problem is, it isn’t easy
working out which app is causing the
problem. It could potentially be any
one in your collection. As you read on,
we’ll explore extermination, but first
let’s discuss prevention.

Stop ads invading your phone

Do more with your Nexus

hooky apps
3 Avoid
The most unscrupulous app

at reviews
4 Look
To help spot apps that might

makers know that we don’t like
paying for downloads. As a result,
devious app makers often make apps
that look like a popular program and
give them away for free. In reality, the
apps are Trojan horses, packed with
unwanted side effects. Avoid apps
that appear to be too good to be true.

have unwelcome side effects, always
ensure you read the Google Play
reviews before downloading. Look at
the one- and two-star ratings and
take a few moments to search for
mentions of unwelcome advertising.
Another user may have been bitten
and published their experiences in
the hope of warning off other users.

at the app’s
5 Look
permissions
Before you download an app, you’re
given a list of permissions the app
wants. These are basically phone
features that it wants you to let it
access when it’s running. It’s good
practice to read this list carefully and
questioningly. Why does that torch
app need access to the internet?
Avoid apps that demand any
unnecessary permissions.

air
7 Download
blocker
If you don’t fancy finding and
entering all those details, you
can nuke ad-pushing apps by
downloading either AirPush Detector
or New Airpush Detector from
Google Play. They’re free sniffer apps
that probe your phone for bad apps.
Try both, because when one fails the
other might sniff out the culprit.

out from
6 Opt
AirPush
One way to stop AirPush adds is to
register on the maker’s opt-out
register. To do this, nip off to www.
airpush.com/optout. There you can
enter your phone’s Electronic Serial
Number, International Mobile
Equipment Identity, and Mobile
Equipment Identifier. You might find
it easier to use a PC to do this job.

and delete
8 Scan
Both apps pack a similar
button labelled ‘Scan’. Tap it and in a
few seconds you’re presented with a
list of apps which are guilty of
drawing in ads. Tap on one and then
you’re taken to Android’s own app
uninstall option. Tap on the source of
your problems, and then on ‘OK’.
You’re done! Q

45

Apped

46

Welcome

Welcome

Apped

Apped
Top 25 free-to-play games
48
We run through our favourite free games
25 essential Android apps
Our guide to what to download first

54

Antivirus round-up
Protect your Nexus with these apps

60

47

Apped

Top 25 free games

Top

25

Free-to-play
games on
Android

48

Top 25 free games

Apped

From the pleasantly bountiful to
the downright money-grabbing,
we bring you some of the best
free games on Android
hen we’re living in such
financially trying times,
it’s quite nice to be able
to download and play a
game for the princely
sum of nada. But, as the
old saying goes, there’s
always a catch. Some
games sport a series of microtransactions, while
others might include banner ads or unskippable
videos. Knowing what lies within a certain game
can make all the difference, so in this feature we’ll
give each of our top 25 picks a quick run down and
highlight any pay walls or hidden ads.
And after so many years of existence, the Google
Play store is packed with hundreds of free games,
from cute puzzlers and challenging platformers, to
intense shooters and competitive sports titles. In
other words, there’s something for everyone.
We’ve trawled Google Play to bring you some of
the most enjoyable free gaming experiences, as
well as the hidden microtransactions within.

W
1Reaper

Easily one of the best games on the
store, Reaper combines the visual style of
Rayman Origins and the hit point and
levelling systems of traditional RPGs. The
jump, movement and striking controls
can take a little while to get used to, but
once you’ve mastered them, you’ll be
well and truly hooked.

What’s the catch?
As you defeat enemies and destroy chests,
you’ll collect gold that can be spent at
shops and blacksmiths to buy new
swords and stronger armour. Some
weapons or armour may need extra cash.

2Fruit Ninja Free

Simply swipe the screen every time a

piece of fruit appears to score points. Hit
multiple bunches to score big (but
watch out for bombs or any fruit that
evades your slicing skills). All the modes
from the original version are here, too.

What’s the catch?
There’s a new in-game currency
(starfruit), which has been added, as
well as a new store, Gutsu’s Cart. The
power-ups on offer aren’t essential, and
are just there for those users with high
scores on the brain.

3

Cut the Rope Free

The aim of Cut the Rope is to feed a
little monster called Om Nom with a
candy treat that’s hanging from a piece
of rope. Swiping your finger across the
screen cuts it free, but with multiple
ropes and a series of stars to collect, this
is more than a simple puzzler.

What’s the catch?

Reaper’s gorgeous graphics add to the fun

While you can buy new levels early,
they can still be unlocked by simply
progressing through the game as
normal. The real catch is the obtrusive

use of adverts – from on-screen banners
to unskippable videos.

Runner:
Football Dash
4 NFL

Pick your favourite team from the
officially licensed roster and swipe the
screen to help your ball carrier pick up
the most yardage. Collect coins, leap
over linebackers and slide your way into
the leaderboards.

What’s the catch?
There’s a store that enables you to buy
new jerseys, as well as purchasing
upgrades and power-ups that are a
must when the game gets a little crazier
later on. Despite the presence of
microtransactions, you can still enjoy it
without spending a penny.

5You Must Escape

Each level is represented by a room
with a locked door – your job is to
investigate and find the clues to escape.
From revealing hidden compartments to
uncovering safe combinations, each new
clue leads to another.
49

Apped

Top 25 free games

Rebuild Springfield with The
Simpsons: Tapped Out

Find the clues to get through the locked door in You Must Escape

What’s the catch?
There isn’t one! You Must Escape is
simply there to be enjoyed, so if you get
stuck, it’s because you’re rubbish at
games, rather than there being some
special key you need to buy.

6 BBC CBeebies Playtime

Little ones can create their own
balloon with a picture of themselves
before heading into four mini-games
based on some popular CBeebies shows.
Everything has been fully voiced-over,
and the menus and games are easy
enough for any young child to navigate.

have a knife-wielding psycho behind it.
It’s all very tongue in cheek but animated
in a cartoon style that’s hard not to love.

What’s the catch?
There aren’t any microtransactions and
there’s no shop, but there are ads that
pop up after every game-over screen. So
try to avoid failing if you can.

Simpsons:
Tapped Out
8The

The Simpsons Tapped Out gives you the

What’s the catch?
The catch is: there isn’t one! Being a
mixture of fun activities and educational
facts, this app is simply there to give your
little one another way to interact with
their favourite characters.

7Dumb Ways to Die

This selection of silly mini games
ranges from moving tourists off a train
track to choosing a door that doesn’t

opportunity to rebuild Springfield
following a Homer-related nuclear
meltdown. You can build almost every
shop and building from the television
show in this popular city-building title.
As you progress, these characters can
perform timed tasks that earn you XP
and money.

What’s the catch?
Unfortunately, those timed tasks can
take anything from 30 seconds to 24
hours. Having to wait a whole day for a
building to finish can be a little
frustrating. You can buy special
doughnut tokens to instantly complete
any task if you don’t have the patience to
wait, but they’re expensive.

9Real Racing 3

Unlike traditional racing games, Real
Racing 3 automatically accelerates your
car for you – you can brake by touching
the screen and steer by tilting your
device. With a huge variety of tracks, cars
and online leaderboards, there’s plenty
on offer here.

What’s the catch?

Even the tiniest kids can get in on the free fun,
thanks to BBC CBeebies Playtime

You can use ‘gold’ to increase your rank
and you can even purchase the in-game
currency to buy faster cars and upgrades.
These add-ons aren’t too obtrusive but
the game gets tough later on if you don’t
have a shop-bought car to hand.

Learning
the free-toplay lingo
As you’ll no doubt have noticed, there are
quite a few odd phrases and words that
crop up when it comes to playing some of
the many free-to-play games that are
available to download from the Google
Play store. Some games have an ‘endless
runner’ template, or they’re a ‘city builder’.
Some games have a distinct ‘Trials’-like
quality, and so on.
However, not everyone has played all of
these games, so to make the references
clearer, we’ve compiled a guide to a few of
the most common words you’ll come
across in free-to-play jargon.

50

1 Microtransaction
A word you’ll come across quite often.
Microtransactions exist to provide extra items and
unlock items that are inaccessible or only available
further into the game Many games include an
in-game currency (dollars, coins, gold and so on),
which exists to give you just enough free cash to
whet your appetite for further purchases.

runner
2 Endless
‘Endless running’ is a term first attributed to
the 2011 iOS game Temple Run. Designed by Keith
Shepherd and Natalia Luckyanova, it became a
massive hit on iOS, Android and Windows Phone.
It’s even spawned many an imitator, including
Temple Guns, Temple Jump and Pyramid Run (to
name just three).

Top 25 free games

Apped

Boost yourself over crazy-looking
obstacles in Jetpack Joyride
board-changing power-up? Go on, it’s
only peanuts!

11Jetpack Joyride

From the developers that brought
you Fruit Ninja comes another slice of
portable gaming goodness. This
side-scrolling adventure sees you
pressing the screen to power your
jetpack, boosting yourself over obstacles
and missiles.

What’s the catch?
Candy Crush Saga offers the sweet
smell of tile-matching success

10 Candy Crush Saga

The Stash store is packed with extra
upgrades and power-ups, including some
funky little ship boosts that turn your
jetpack into a squawking bird or a
wave-riding jet ski. These power-ups are
fun but easily dispensable, so spending
real-world cash is easily done.

Following the classic Bejeweled
template, Candy Crush Saga tasks you
with reaching a certain score in a limited
number of moves. Matching sweets of
the same kind scores you points, while
special treats and power-ups net you
super combos that mean you earn
bigger scores in fewer moves.

This fun little take on the city
builder template enables you to build a
Jurassic Park all of your own. Find amber,
research DNA and hatch the eggs of
dinosaurs from across the ages.

What’s the catch?

What’s the catch?

Candy Crush Saga will charm you into
loving its simple gameplay and easy
progression – but then it will start
sneaking in the occasional extra upgrade
or boost. Fancy a few more moves? They’ll
only set you back 69 pence! Need a

Certain tasks have a timer – some tasks
take a few minutes, while others can last
an entire day. If you want to get a real
session out of Jurassic Park Builder in
one go, you’ll need to spend in-game
currency on speeding them up.

12Jurassic Park Builder

134 Pics 1 Word

It might be a simple concept, but 4 Pics 1
Word has managed to stump many a wordsmith.
You’re presented with a set of four pictures that
each share a common word. You’re also presented
with a set of random letters, some of which form
the word in question, while there’s a few random
ones in there, too.

What’s the catch?
As you progress, you earn coins that can be spent
on helpful bonuses. You can either add a letter to
the word or you can have a random incorrect
letter removed from your word pool. These are
fairly pricey, so watch out.

3 Trials-like
The popular Trials games were originally a

builder
4 City
The city building genre goes way back into

series of Flash-based games, which were all based
on a similar set of physics. Players have to control a
biker, who is attempting to race from one end of a
course to the other – the big difference between
this and normal races being that your bike needs
to be kept balanced as you go.

the early days of gaming. The one that spawned
the whole genre was Will Wright’s Sim City in 1989.
The template has been adopted across various
platforms over the years, but it’s made a great
transition on to the free-to-play market thanks to
its easy customisation and resource management.

5 Tile-swapping
Tile-swapping or tile-matching is a
sub-genre of gaming that’s just as old and wizened
as city builders. Games such as Tetris (1984) and
Puzznic (1989) were some of the first to build
gameplay around a system of swapping coloured
tiles or bricks. Later iterations like Bejeweled (2001)
paved the way for titles such as Candy Crush Saga.

51

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Top 25 free games

How to play FIFA 14

Tile-swapping gets a glittering
upgrade in Bejeweled Blitz

Some games use simple gestures to keep
you glued to your touchscreen. Others,
such as FIFA 14, come from platforms that
use physical peripherals like keyboards or
controllers. Translating 12 buttons and two
joysticks on to a screen can be tricky, but

with the right know-how, you can be
racking up goals like any player on a Sony
or Microsoft console. Keep in mind that
FIFA 14 on Android plays at a slower pace
than normal football simulators, but this
helps you learn at a more comfortable rate.

to move
1 Drag
Once the first whistle is blown and play is

to pass
2 Tap
Even at the slower pace of this Android

under way, you need to get your player moving. To
control the player in possession of the ball, press
down on him and drag your finger in the direction
you want him to run. A dotted line then shows you
the route of his run.

port, trying to win a game of football with one
player is pointless – passing is key to controlling
the field. When in control of the ball, tap a nearby
player or area to pass the ball. Be careful, though
– some defensive players may intercept it.

to shoot
3 Swipe
The one gesture everyone wants to know.

defensive!
4 Get
This is football, after all, so you won’t have

You can shoot at any point, which can become
especially useful when you need to clear the ball in
a hurry. When you’re in sight of the goal, line your
player with a clear view and swipe in the direction
of the net to give the ball a decent boot.

possession of the ball all the time. When the
computer is in control of the ball, press down on
the opposing player. A series of yellow arrows will
appear around him. This signals your surrounding
players to apply pressure and strip the ball.

14 Bejeweled Blitz

Here’s the latest iteration of the
much-loved tile-swapping Bejeweled
franchise. For the most part, the classic
gameplay is unchanged – link three or
more similar gems to hit the highest
score in the allotted time.

What’s the catch?
Of course, a puzzle game like this is all
about the scores, and to get your name
high up on those global leaderboards,
you’re going to need boosts. Some are
unlocked through play, but the best ones
can only be bought with actual cash.

15Pet Rescue Saga

Designed on a similar principle to
Bejeweled Blitz or Candy Crush Saga, your
job is to rescue a bunch of stranded pets
by removing groups of similarly coloured
bricks. Gravity rules in this game, so
planning where other blocks will fall is
the key to winning each round.

What’s the catch?
What’s the catch?
You get a free rocket power-up that
destroys a whole column of blocks, but it
takes a while to regenerate. If you want
to beat the later rounds and hit the
leaderboards, you need better powerups. You also only get a limited number
of lives, so you’ll need to buy more.

16Temple Run 2

The sequel to the endless runner
that started it all is free to download on
Android, and it’s full of new, challenging
obstacles. From flying down ziplines to
leaping over jets of fire, Temple Run 2 ups
the ante with a selection of new
characters and power-ups.
52

As with any freemium title, the game
has been designed to be extremely
challenging later on, and it’s easy to get
sucked into buying the occasional
power-up here and there to get past a
particularly nasty run of obstacles.

17FIFA 14

console versions is tailor-made for
microtransactions. While you won’t be
playing matches online (due to the slow
rate of play), you can interact with other
users and trade cards online.

Me:
Minion Rush
18Despicable

The Android version of FIFA 14
comes with 33 leagues and 600 licensed
teams, so it’s more than just a tie-in. The
flow of play is slower than the versions
on other platforms, but it’s still great fun.

Minion Rush is another Temple Run clone
that sees Dave the minion speeding
through locations from the first film,
collecting bananas and racking up the
best score. Leap over obstacles and
collect power-ups to score big.

What’s the catch?

What’s the catch?

Two words: Ultimate Team. The
card-trading super team mode from the

You can access the Store from the main
menu, and it offers a variety of extra

Top 25 free games

Apped

Feel the Force as you play as the Old Republic or the Empire in Angry Birds Star Wars II
disappear the moment you begin
moving the dot. Memorising the perfect
route is the key to success.

What’s the catch?
Temple Run 2 brings endless running
to your Android device once again
costumes (which add extra abilities in
certain levels), as well as the option to
buy extra bananas to buy new upgrades.

19

Angry Birds
Star Wars II

The latest bird-flinging, franchiseaffiliating entry is just as addictive as
every other Angry Birds release. You can
play as both the avian Old Republic and
the pig-like Empire in a bevy of courses.

What’s the catch?

You get a limited number of lives with
each playthrough, so each failed attempt
loses you a heart. You can save a heart
after each fail, but you have to watch an
ad first. You can earn helpful power-ups,
but these run out quickly.

22Red Bull Kart Fighter 3

This slick cartoon racer combines
the upgrades of a modern racer with the
top-down antics of the Micro Machines
series. Use the on-screen arrows to guide
your kart around the tracks, drifting and
boosting your way to a podium finish.

What’s the catch?

What’s the catch?

& Furious 6:
The Game
24 Fast

To net the big scores and clear the latter
stages, you’re going to need some special
birds to lob. Each one comes with a
special ability and the best ones are
locked into Watto’s Shop. You can buy
these characters in special bundles, too.

KF3 has a severe difficulty spike later that
makes purchasing pre-race ‘wildcards’ a
must. These add extra abilities but cost
you coins and only last for a single race.
There’s also a cool little quick play mode
that randomly generates a kart,
racetrack and wildcard for free.

20Downhill Extreme

23Stickman Downhill

Combining the endless runner
template with a Tony Hawks-style
presentation, Downhill Extreme is packed
with content. Tilt the screen to guide
your skateboarder through a series of
qualifiers and racers around the world.

Stickman Downhill offers Trials-like fun and
games with basic-looking bikers

Following the basic rules of Trials
and its imitators, you guide a stickman
mountain biker as he speeds and leaps
through various courses. Accelerating
and braking is a simple case of pressing
down behind or in front of your biker.

What’s the catch?

Who doesn’t love a movie tie-in? The new
Fast & Furious game is less a traditional racer
and more a series of racing-related mini
games. You need to swipe the screen in
time to win drag races, or hold down to
drift round corners in special challenges.

What’s the catch?
Performing well earns you gold, which you
can spend on new cars and more resilient
upgrades. You can earn a fair amount of
gold from completing events, but to afford
the faster cars, you need to purchase more.

25Neon Motocross

Neon Motocross offers a mercilessly
challenging Trials-like experience with a
Tron-esque design. Guide your biker across
jumps and hills, while keeping him steady.
The super-sensitive physics are punishingly
addictive, so be prepared to restart often.

A lot of the game can be played without
spending a penny, but later races are
tough without a new coach or board
upgrade. These cost in-game coins, but
for the best performance and time, you
might need to spend some cash.

What’s the catch?

Tricky Training

21

This basic but addictive puzzler
tasks you with guiding a green dot across
a page to a target. Sounds simple? Well,
each level is littered with obstacles that

The microtransaction element is basic. All
events and bike types are available through
good old-fashioned hard work, but you can
spend cash to unlock everything if you’re
not a patient kind of person.

How’s your memory? Tricky Training tasks
you with remembering where obstacles were

The game uses its own in-game currency,
which you can purchase to pick up faster
and more extravagantly coloured bikes.
Again, you can earn them all by simply
scoring well on each available course. Q
53

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25 essential apps

GET STARTED:
25 ESSENTIAL
ANDROID APPS
If you don’t know what to download
from the Play Store first, look no further

38106

25 essential apps

ndroid is a terrific
mobile operating
system, but it can be a
bit confusing to know
where to start. And
once you’ve mastered the basics,
you’ll want to install some apps.
But there are so many thousands of
third-party apps available, it’s hard to
know what to download first. So
we’ve put together this list of top
apps to make it easier to decide what
you should be using. They’re not all
for everybody, but all 25 have two
things in common – they work really
well, and are from developers who

A

have worked hard to ensure they’re
among the very best downloads
Android can offer.
You download apps using the
Google Play store, which is shown as
an icon on your homescreen or Apps
screen. If you’ve not even seen this
before, don’t worry – there’s a quick
guide coming up. And we’ve also put
together a tutorial on one of the most
popular Android apps – WhatsApp –
which is a great way to send pictures
and texts to people wherever they
are in the world, for free. So without
further ado, let’s introduce our
favourite Android apps.

Facebook

Chrome

1

3

Thankfully, Facebook’s mobile
apps now offer most of the
functionality of the desktop browser
equivalent, and the Android app is
fast and stable, with a simplicity that
reminds you of the old days when
using Facebook used to be bearable
– plus, pictures are displayed nearly
full-screen. It incorporates a left
menu with access to the different
sections of Facebook, while swiping
right takes you to Messages, which
enables you to communicate almost
in real time with people. If you use
Facebook Messaging a lot, there is a
separate Messenger app also
available for Android.

Twitter

2

The official Twitter app for
Android doesn’t disappoint, with
a clean and crisp design that enables
you to tweet and follow the tweets of
others. It’s also simple to search for
hashtags or related tweets, as well as
see what’s trending at a particular
moment. Twitter has also added
some neat photo-editing features to
its apps now, so you can add filters,
crop and smart fix your images. If you
want a decent third-party Twitter
app, we recommend you check out
Seesmic, which also offers multiple
account support, a homepage
widget showing the latest tweets,
along with a slick design.

Apped

Android comes with its own
browser, of course, but if you use
Google Chrome on your desktop, its
mobile equivalent is a worthwhile
download – you can sync your
bookmarks and other details across
browsers. It’s a little limited in scope
for users of older devices, as Android
4.0 or higher is required to run it, but
if your phone ticks that box, Chrome
on Android offers unlimited tabs in a
nice pop-up list, desktop bookmark
and open tab syncing, offline saving
of pages, and an incognito mode.

Winamp

4

If you used to use Winamp on
your PC, this Android app is
derived from the same software you
used all those years ago. Winamp has,
in fact, been an Android app for
some time. It enables you to play,
manage and sync music from your
Mac or PC to your Android device. PC
users can sync from Winamp on their
desktop, while Mac fans can rely on
support for iTunes, Mac syncing, plus
plenty of other music streaming
options. There’s also Shoutcast
integration so you can listen to radio.
A fine, free media player.

Swype Keyboard

5

Replacement keyboard apps are
surprisingly popular, with the
65p/99c price of this a small outlay. It

Maps

6

If Google Maps is not installed on your device
already, this app is an absolute must-get. It’s
superb for directions by car or by foot, as well as by
public transport where available. As long as you have
Android 1.6 or above, a recent update to Google
Maps introduces turn-by-turn voice navigation
(replacing a previous standalone app). If you do use
the navigation, route calculations are done in a flash
at the outset of your trip, minimising data transfer en
route and keeping you on target even when the GPS
signal drops. It’s amazing, it works, and it’s free.

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25 essential apps

is, however, a love-it or hate-it kind of
thing, which takes a little while to get
to used to, because you swipe across
the keyboard rather than typing
letter by letter. There is a significant
amount of re-learning required to
make the most of it, and while this is
off-putting to some users, it is worth
the bother. Once you’re familiar with
the idea, it’s genius, with advanced
prediction options further speeding
your line-typing.

Evernote

8

Spotify

7

Although the Spotify app for
Android is free, you also need a
Spotify Premium subscription, which
costs £9.99 per month in the UK and
$9.99 per month in the US. There is a
48-hour free trial, however, if you
want to give it a try. Spotify provides
you with as much music as you can
listen to, and the app enables you to
manage it easily with access to
playlists, and a Discover tab so you
can find new music. You’re also able
to browse artists, tracks and albums.
And you can download music within
the app to enjoy offline.

Evernote keeps all your notes,
tasks and memories in one place,
with the free version allowing you
60MB of free access per month – a
Premium account provides more
allowance, but you’ll only need that if
you become a serious Evernoter.
Indeed, it’s only if you keep feeding
the service with bigger files, such as
images and voice memos, that you’ll
reach the free limit. You can also
download apps for your desktop
computer and browser, so you can
access your stuff on your desktop or
tablet as well as screengrab and
bookmark key websites.

Dropbox

9

The Android version of the
insanely popular cloud storage
app is here, and it provides a good
entry point to all your files and data. If
you’re a Dropbox newcomer, you can
have 2GB of storage for free, with
more space needing a monthly fee.
Files have to be downloaded to your
phone to be edited or shared, but
you can easily share them or send
them on via email. It’s also easy to
upload photos from your camera roll
in a jiffy, and you even can choose to
have everything on your camera roll

Online shopping automatically uploaded. The photo
is easier than
viewing features are excellent, too.
ever with
Amazon Mobile Amazon Mobile
Amazon has official Android
apps for mobile and for tablet,
replacing its reliance on a mobile
web store. The full selection of
products is available, while the app’s
very simple and fast to use, and even
includes full shopping cart features

10

WhatsApp
Messenger
14

The app that has sparked a
communication revolution,
WhatsApp is the new Skype for free
text and picture messaging to people
anywhere in the world, and has had more
than one hundred million downloads on
Android. WhatsApp has almost singlehandedly removed the need for costly
picture messaging on smartphones (as
long as your contact has installed the
app as well). Cleverly, it uses your existing
contacts, so there’s no need to add in
extra contact details. Coincidentally,
Skype is also available for Android, and
offers the full Skype experience, including
video calling.

56

it
1 Download
Once you’ve found WhatsApp in Google
Play, touch ‘Install’ to get the app on to your device.
Then tap ‘Accept’ to agree to the app’s permissions
and start your download. You need to give the app
permission to access your contacts, because it’s
these that WhatsApp uses – otherwise you can’t
use the app to communicate with anybody.

your contacts
2 View
Tapping ‘Contacts’ enables you to see who
else you know is using WhatsApp. Any new
WhatsApp users also appear here, and they can
see that you are using WhatsApp, too. You can tap
any of them to begin a chat, which looks like the
screen here – as you can see, you’re able to send
and receive pictures as well.

25 essential apps

With 2GB of free online storage,
Dropbox is a must-have app

Manage and share your pics in
style and on the move with Flikr

with Amazon’s one-click system,
once you’ve signed in. No longer do
you have to wait to get back to a
computer before making that allimportant purchase, and you can
track the status of everything you
have ordered. You do need to allow
location permissions, though, so the
app knows which Amazon store you
need to look at.

account and older feeds from Google
Reader are imported. Feedly also has
a simple design, so you can keep
track of favourite sites, RSS feeds,
blogs and magazines with no fuss.

Feedly

11

One of the best RSS readers
around, Feedly has come into
its own as a replacement for the
now-defunct Google Reader, which
Google killed after saying people
didn’t use it enough. Feedly is a good
alternative, though, syncing across
desktop browsers and different apps.
You can sign in using your Google

Flickr

12

Newly relaunched, Flickr is one
of the best Android apps for
handling and sharing images that
you’ve taken on your handset. As well
as supporting Flickr uploading, this
app also enables you to capture
photos from within the app, and
comes with a set of filters, so you can
edit your photos the same way that
you can with Instagram. The app
supports sharing with Twitter and
Facebook as well, so your other,
non-photo-nerd friends can enjoy
the results of your photography.

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Last.fm

13

The subscription-based mobile version of
Last.fm opens up a world of music streaming
on your mobile for £3 or $3 per month in the UK
and the US respectively. It’s a great way to create
radio stations on the fly if you’re not restricted by
bandwidth, but it doesn’t offer the on-demand
choice of services such as Spotify and Deezer. The
app also scrobbles – or tracks – what you listen to
using the built-in music players on most Android
phones, with the exception of some Motorola and
Samsung handsets; you can install another player to
get that functionality, though.

a message
3 Receiving
When you receive a WhatsApp message, it

to chats
4 Add
You can attach images to your chat using

pops up on your homescreen, as shown above.
You can simply start typing to reply, or choose
‘View’ – this takes you to the relevant conversation
in WhatsApp itself. Before too long, you’re sure to
be chatting to lots of different people using
WhatsApp because it’s so easy and intuitive.

the paperclip icon in the top-right, or simply paste
text and links in from other apps. You can also
add emoticons and symbols, as shown here. It’s
similar to texting, but it’s especially useful for
communicating with people abroad, where text
and picture messaging costs are expensive.

your chats
5 See
Finally, you can view your past chats in the
Chats screen. The Chats screen shown here has
quite a few chats already – yours will have none.
Your conversation history appears here any time
you chat with someone. To create a group chat,
press the ‘Menu’ button and select ‘New Group’,
before giving it a subject or title.

57

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25 essential apps

Kindle

15

Amazon’s Kindle app is a great
ereader, which seamlessly links
with your Amazon account. If you
have a Kindle device or you read on
another app or platform and then
transfer to your Nexus, the app
automatically knows where you left
off. Support for magazines and
newspapers is limited at the moment
– but for books, it’s great, with plenty
of screen and text display options to
make it easy on your eyes. As well as
the paid-for ebooks, there’s also a
bunch of free classic literature.

A tour of Google Play
Google Play is the new name for the old
Android Market. It’s an app store, but it’s
also so much more, offering games, ebooks,
magazines and TV and movie downloads.
As well as accessing it on your Nexus, you
can visit Google Play on your computer at

https://play.google.com. And because
everything is linked up using your Google
account, you can choose apps on your
computer that will download automatically
to your Nexus, with no need to connect
your device to your computer via USB.

Play
1 Introducing
Open Google Play from your Nexus device’s

apps
2 Choosing
This is the main apps screen. Again, there

home or Apps screen. The various categories of
apps are at the top of the screen. To install an app
on your device, touch ‘Install’, then tap ‘Accept’ to
agree to the app’s permissions. For paid-for apps,
touch the button displaying the price.

are numerous options at the top, such as ‘Top Paid’
and ‘Top Free’ apps. The store also recommends
apps for you, usually based on your previous
downloads, while there are also ‘Picks’ – great new
apps that the guys at Google recommend.

The Kindle app – the right way to
read on your Nexus device

OnLive

16

The technically astounding
streaming video gaming
service is now well established on
Android, with an official OnLive app
enabling Android users to play
console titles on their phones and
tablets via Wi-Fi and using on-screen
controls. Beware, though, because
while it might work on your Android
device, OnLive has only tested the
app with a set number of devices,
which you can check out on the
Google Play store. Games are best
played on devices with big screens,
but it still runs on something modest
such as the aged HTC Desire. Should
you want to take things up a gear,
the app works with OnLive’s
Bluetooth wireless controller, too.

Yelp

17

Yelp is, essentially, a reviews
app, giving you similar options
as Google’s wide range of local
restaurant, pub and venue reviews.
Only with Yelp, you also get an
augmented reality screen display on
your Android device, so you can
point it at the skyline and see what
five-star eating establishments are in

58

what you want
3 Watch
The games and media sections are filled
with goodies. You can browse through the latest
new releases, as well as see what is popular and
new in all the different types of content. The rental
costs are bearable, but video-to-buy prices aren’t
cheap, and you may prefer to get it on disc.

a magazine
4 Read
There are hundreds of magazines to browse
through on Google Play, and all are arranged by
category as well as popularity. They cost the same
or a little less than they do in the shops, but you
can subscribe, too, so you’ll never miss an issue of
your favourite title.

the vicinity. Places are backed up by
user reviews, too, while there’s also a
cost and general rating. Opening
hours are also provided where
possible, so you won’t turn up
somewhere hoping for a burrito and
have to settle for a kebab.

developed by Google but now open
sourced, which enables you to use
your phone’s orientation tools to give
you an accurate representation of the
stars and planets on your screen.
Point your phone at the sky, then
learn which constellations are visible,
and whether that’s a UFO or Venus.

Google Earth and
Sky Map

Endomondo

18

19

Google’s renowned and epic
app enables you to fly around
the planet in an instant and zoom
right in with integrated Google Street
View. New 3D imagery also enables
you to fly through certain cities,
including San Francisco and Rome.
Sky Map, meanwhile, is an app

Fitness tracking is all the
rage, and the free version of
Endomondo is essential if you
exercise (or walk a lot). There are
plenty of compelling reasons to get
the app, not least of which is the
excellent social integration. You
select an activity, initiate GPS mode

25 essential apps

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Blogging made beautiful, with
the WordPress Android app

Layar

20

The stunning augmented
reality app Layar has
decided it needs to make some
money, adding an online shop
that enables you to buy content
such as travel guides, local house
price apps and more. But you can
still use the numerous free Layers
to pop data up over real-world
locations, delivering a satisfying
futuristic experience. If you
haven’t used augmented reality
before, it’s worth a download,
because it makes you appreciate
how AR can be used to help
people acquaint themselves with
new surroundings – as well as
the future commercial potential.

WordPress

22

WordPress for Android started
out as independent creation
wpToGo, before WordPress decided it
liked it so much it bought it up –
hiring the maker to develop it
in-house. It’s feature-packed, with the
latest version offering full integration
with other apps, enabling you to spin
content and send it directly to the
app for easy updating. Google’s own
Blogger also has a fine Android app,
which makes the experience of
uploading content easy. It supports
image uploads and geo-tagging, and
works alongside your Google
account and existing blogs.

Google Play
Music is a
good-looking
aural treat

to browse its database of well over
1,500 TED talks in video and audio, all
free to download and try to get
through in one go without having
your brain explode.

Google+

24

Foursquare

Google likes to think of
Google+ as a social layer
working alongside your web services,
rather than a social network in the
Facebook sense, and has become
notoriously restrictive in allowing
third-party apps access to post to
Google+. So it’s just as well that the
official Google+ app is terrific, with a
magazine-style layout in the tablet
version and the ability to
automatically back up your fullresolution photos and videos on
Google+ (they’re private unless you
say otherwise). You can easily see
updates from people around you, as
well as check out trending topics.

21

Google Play Music

and it keeps track of you, times you
and even whispers robotic words of
encouragement at you, before
generating a stylish map charting
your achievements. There’s also a Pro
edition available with training plans
and more for £3.99/$4.99 – it also
removes the adverts and enables you
to customise the audio coach.
Foursquare is represented in
fine form on Android, with the
app offering easy one-click check-ins,
integrated Google Maps for a
seamless Google-branded
experience, and homepage shortcut
options to all your favourite places.
As you’d expect from somewhere
that collates comments on venues,
you can also see where your friends
like to go, and where people you
know have been that’s near your
current location. You can also get
recommendations from others, and
even make OpenTable reservations
within the app. So much more than
just another meaningless social tool.

TED

23

This app gives you access to
the famous series of talks. It’s
not all tech-related these days – the
talks are by some of the world’s most
fascinating people: education
radicals, tech geniuses, medical
mavericks, business gurus and music
legends, who all try to explain high
concepts in a way the likes of us can
understand. The TED app enables you

TED provides
edifying talks
from the world’s
finest minds

25

Another music subscription
service, Google’s approach is
far more graphical than Spotify’s, and
arranges things by albums rather
than relying so much on playlists. The
design is lovely, and you can also
have an account without the
£9.99/$9.99 monthly fee that enables
you to upload 20,000 of your own
songs to play back through the
service using the app. A good way to
listen to more of your music on your
Nexus – though watch your 3G/4G
data allowance if you’re listening
when out and about. Q
59

Apped

Antivirus round-up

Avast! Mobile
Security Premium
£2 per month or £12 per year Manufacturer www.avast.com
Includes Antivirus scanning, anti-theft, backup, app locking, privacy advisor,
SMS and call filtering, firewall, network monitor

s with most antivirus solutions,
Avast! Mobile Security is free to
download and install. You can then
upgrade to the Premium offering, which
unlocks extra functions, paying for them
through your Google account.
That’s not to say that the free version is
short on protection. Avast! has a good
reputation for bundling plenty in its free
products, in the form of so-called shields,
covering web access, instant messaging, mail
and so on. That’s also the case here.
Apart from the usual virus-scanning duties,
the full version comes with app locking and
management, and a very handy network use
monitor, which tells you how much data an
app is sending and receiving. Backups are
handled by a free app you install. This uses
Google Drive for storage, and the Premium
service enables you to back up music, videos
and apps, as well as all your other data.
Unusually for mobile security, there’s a
firewall, which needs root or elevated

A

privilege access to function. This enables it to
properly stop traffic flowing in or out of your
device. You block or allow individual apps
from communicating with the outside world
from an associated control panel.
When you go Premium, the Privacy Advisor
becomes active and gives you far more
insight into what each app can do with your
device, position and behaviour. Categories
include the ability to collect location data,
thereby potentially tracking you.
Premium also gives you access to a better
anti-theft service, including the ingenious
Geofencing facility. Simply switch it on when
you go to a location in which you expect to
remain for a while, and if the phone leaves
the area without you switching Geofencing
off again, it reports the phone lost and your
anti-theft defences spring into action.
Your £2 per month covers all the devices
linked to your Google account, making Avast!
good value. Simply install it on secondary
devices and click ‘Go Premium’. Q

An extensive list of facilities, but
the free version also provides very
good protection. The full facilities
and low monthly cost of the
Premium service, however,
make it well worthwhile.

+++++

TrendMicro Mobile
Security & Antivirus
£14.95 Manufacturer www.trendmicro.co.uk
Includes Antivirus scanner, data theft scanner, anti-theft, parental controls,
SMS and call filtering, 50Gb of cloud back-up space

he thing that bothers us about
TrendMicro’s Mobile Security &
Antivirus is the unseemly speed at
which it completes its scanning duties.
Where the other products here all take
several minutes to fully scan just a
phone’s apps, TrendMicro scanned for
about 10 seconds and pronounced 30
installed apps safe from malware. Setting
the scanner to examine all files changed
little; the number of scanned files leapt
to over 400, but the scan time was still
only around 15 seconds.
TrendMicro’s useful Data Theft Scanner
reveals which apps could potentially steal
information. It found that a game called Fruit
Slice, which came installed on a cheap
generic tablet we tried it on, was reading our
unique IMEI. Why would it need to do that?
No matter, it was uninstalled in a trice.
The package enables you to block calls
using a white or blacklist, and can also block
‘annoying calls’, which last about three

T

60

seconds before hanging up. Rejected
numbers can also be sent an SMS containing
one of three customised messages. Oh, the
fun you could have by sending abusive
messages to cold callers!
What is nice to see, given that many kids
use tablets, is the Safe Surfing and Parental
Control functions. You can block sites at three
levels: child, pre-teen and teen.
Usefully, TrendMicro includes a handy
Facebook privacy settings scanner. Because
the social network is notorious for changing
its settings, seemingly without widespread
notification, this is a very welcome addition,
and one that other security providers would
do well to include, given that Facebook is
used to a huge extent on the move.
As with Avast!, backups are handled by an
external free app. However, if you need over
50GB of cloud space, you must pay for it. If
you use your device to store your video and
ebook library, as well as taking pics, you
could use this space up quickly. Q

A good set of useful facilities. The
ability to send messages to a
blocked number is great, but the
antivirus scanning speed is a worry.
We have to wonder, how deeply
does it examine files?

+++++

Antivirus round-up

Apped

AVG Antivirus
Security Pro
£9.49 Manufacturer www.avg.com
Includes Antivirus scanning, anti-theft including camera trap, SMS and call
blocking, web filtering, performance monitor, power saving, app passwords

aybe it’s just a local glitch, but on
our generic Android 4.1.1 tablet,
upgrading AVG to the full edition
left us with two versions installed, both
identically named. We had to go into
each to find the paid one and uninstall
the free version by hand.
In terms of malware protection, there’s not
much to write home about. Web filtering and
SMS scanning are both here as standard, but
there’s little else beyond file scanning.
The performance category of the interface
is more interesting. It contains its own task
killer, enabling you to kill unused, running
apps and services to free up the CPU and
increase battery life.
Also very useful is the comprehensive set
of power saving facilities. You can see how
long you have left to perform certain
functions at the current battery level, and can
set a warning to display at a customisable
battery level. There’s also a power saving
mode, which you can instantly enter to

M

preserve your battery as long as possible. This
switches off facilities such as Wi-Fi and GPS
until you hit the button again. As with other
products, there’s a network use monitor,
revealing the heaviest network users.
The anti-theft facility enables you to track
the location of your tablet or phone over the
web using Google Maps. Registering is as
simple as confirming your Google account
name and checking your inbox. If a thief tries
to enter the password to unlock your device
incorrectly three times, the phone also takes
his photo and emails it to you.
Granting AVG device administrator rights
makes the anti-theft facilities even better. You
can erase all data, change the screen unlock
password, monitor unlock activities and snap
the screen lock on at any time. We’d also like
the ability to pop a message on the locked
screen. Password-protecting apps and
backing up apps to SD card are included, as
is a call and message blocker and the ability
to wipe data by category. Q

A very solid set of facilities indeed.
Finding your phone on Google
Maps is great, and this was the only
package tested that warned of
installation from unknown sources
being enabled.

+++++

Norton Mobile
Security
£30.74 Manufacturer www.norton.com
Includes Antivirus scanning, anti-theft,
backup, web protection

his is by far the most expensive
package in this group test. It is three
times more expensive than AVG and
twice the price of TrendMicro, so at first
glance, you might expect it to contain far
more facilities than cheaper offerings. Let
us disabuse you of that idea.
The full version of Norton Mobile Security
is sparse. It contains the usual virus scanner,
anti-theft, backup, call blocking and web
protection, but some of the functionality
bundled by default with other offerings must
be installed separately here. And some of this
extra functionality must be paid for, which is
a cheek, given that you’ve shelled out £30.
There are plenty of extra Norton packages
to choose from at the Play Store. However,
installing parental control package Norton
Family, for example, reveals that you’re only
running the lite version. This functionality is
bundled free in other vendors’ offerings.
The anti-theft facilities carried by Norton
Mobile Security are as comprehensive as

T

you’d expect from a paid service, and include
the ability to take a secret snapshot of the
thief. However, if you want your stolen phone
to scream in Germany, you’ll be out of luck,
because this facility is explicitly unavailable.
Also conspicuous by its absence is the
ability to password-protect apps. This is a
basic protection given the ease with which a
smartphone or tablet can be stolen or
misused. Norton’s other offerings at the Play
Store don’t seem to include this functionality.
While other products in this group test
contained a useful network use monitor,
Norton Mobile Security contains none, and
the Play Store doesn’t list one either. This is
somewhat of an oversight, given the insight
such a utility provides.
As an established brand, it’s easy to bash
Norton, but on the strength of the facilities
provided in this package, it’s clear that the
company needs to pick up its game or lose
market share to those who bundle more for
far less money. Q

Not enough in the basic package
to justify the hefty price tag.
Despite the trusted name of
Norton, you’ll get a lot more
protection for your money by
looking elsewhere.

+++++
61

Rated

62

Welcome

Welcome

Rated

Rated
Nexus 5
64
Our first look at the new Google phone
Nexus 7 2013
68
A brilliant bargain buy like the original?
Nexus 10
Does it still have what it takes?

72

63

Rated

Nexus 5

Nexus 5
The best Android smartphone on the market today? Well, there’s not a lot against it…
Price £299 / $339
Manufacturer
www.google.co.uk/nexus/5/
Operating system
Android 4.4. KitKat
Screen
4.95-inch IPS LCD
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 2.26GHz
RAM
2GB
Storage
16GB/32GB
Cameras
8MP with OIS/1.3MP
Battery
2,300mAh
Video
Full HD 1080p (30fps)
Connectivity
Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac,
dual-band, NFC, 4G
Sound
3.5mm headphone
DIMENSIONS
Height
137.9mm
Width
69.2mm
Depth
8.6mm
Screen
4.95-inch
Weight
130g

THE GOOD
Low price
Fast processor
Latest OS
THE BAD
Suspect battery life
No external memory
Plastic build

64

hen it comes to defining the best
Android phone, there’s something of
a debate raging – is it the handset
with the fanciest features, the cheapest, or
the one that’s just the easiest to customise?
With the Google Nexus 5, it’s a little of each, so
there’s a lot to enamour consumers looking to
get their hands on a great value smartphone.
Starting at £299 for the 16GB iteration, this is a
phone that’s been made to Google’s specification
by LG, and then subsidised heavily by the search
giant in a bid to get a strong smartphone into
the hands of consumers.
The strengths are obvious: screen technology
from LG brings with it a high-resolution Full HD
screen in a 4.95-inch package, so you can browse
the web, watch movies and generally look at
Google’s all-new icons in a razor sharp 445ppi.
The processor under the hood is premium, too.
Qualcomm’s lauded Snapdragon 800 CPU offers
not only high power and efficient processing, but
strong battery performance as well.
That’s a claim that’s going to be heavily
tested on the Nexus 5, because it only packs a
2,300mAh battery, while other brands offer over
3,000mAh to keep their phones chugging along.

W

It’s all about the feel
In terms of design, the Google Nexus 5 manages
to achieve the odd combination of both feeling
premium and solid in the hand, while also living
up to its cheaper price tag.
The build quality is solid, with no removable
parts (bar the locked-in SIM tray), making the
Nexus 5 feel well packaged. The camera sensor
is verging on the iconic, thanks to the large
protruding ring, which seems a little unnecessary
given that, while there’s a lot of tech in there, it’s
not enough of a raise to really pack more in.
More likely is that the ring is there to stop the
glass of the lens getting scratched when laid
down on a table, which makes sense and doesn’t
really detract from the phone’s overall feel.
What does irk is the material – it’s a kind of
rubberised plastic, and makes the phone feel
neither glossy, sophisticated nor premium in
ways other polycarbonate-clad devices manage.
It’s not terrible, but particularly if you pick up
the white version, you’ll really notice that it’s
made out of plastic, albeit a fairly robust material.
One of the main reasons users will want a
Nexus device is the ability to get their hands on
the latest version of Android before anyone else,
thus getting the new ideas that Google is
plugging on its OS.
Android 4.4 (or KitKat, thanks to a tie-in with
Nestlé) is quite a large step forward for Android
users, because it adds elements that really
improve the navigation experience. For instance,
when reading a book or watching a movie, the
navigation and notification bars disappear so you
get the most out of that gloriously large screen.
On top of that, Google has finally engineered
Android to make full use of the display in standby

mode by letting wallpapers extend through the
notifications bar at the top and the system
buttons at the bottom of the screen. This doesn’t
sound like much, but comparing this version of
Android with previous iterations makes KitKat
feel a lot more complete and visually attractive.
Other key tweaks include being able to see
your most important people at the top of your
contacts list, and the Nexus 5 looks around for
local business numbers when you get a call from
someone unknown – you can even reverse this
trick to essentially give you the Yellow Pages right
in your phone dialler.

The need for speed
We’d like to give a special mention to the speed
with which the Nexus 5 operates – it’s really
rather impressive. Thanks to that Qualcomm
Snapdragon chipset and the enhanced Android
OS (which makes scrolling and registering touch
that much faster), you can really feel that the
Nexus 5 responds to your commands better than
many other Android phones.
There are some instances where the phone
slows a little, be it through really high-power
games or when whizzing about the internet, but
these are nothing out of the ordinary and can be
explained by extraneous factors rather than the
processor slowing down.
However, it seems that this speed comes at a
cost – we were worried about the battery
holding up, given the smaller capacity on offer,
and it seems those issues have been borne out.
We’re not talking ‘breathe and you’ll be at 0%’, but
battery life is lower than rivals in similar tests. It
seems the Nexus 5 may struggle to last the day
in most medium-use scenarios, which is a shame
given there’s so much on this phone that we like
to play with.
The screen, as we’ve mentioned, is really clear
and crisp – it’s not quite in the same league as
the LG G2, but it’s very easy to read words on the
screen and movies look really great, too.
The brightness can wash things out a little bit,
which is a shame because the auto setting is
quite dark to start with, but we really like the
combination of colour and clarity that LG has
managed with the all-new Google Nexus 5.

Not so snap happy
The camera on the Nexus 5 is something of a
mixed bag. It’s an 8MP snapper, which might not
appeal to some when there’s a number of
13MP-plus handsets out on the market. But
there’s more to the phone than just a number – it
also has optical image stabilisation (OIS), which
automatically helps remove blur from photos
and unwanted judder during videos as well.
The on-board user interface is pretty useful as
well, with a clever floating arc system that allows
you to move through the menus from anywhere
on the display. Elements such as HDR+ are a nice
addition, too, because the Nexus 5 can quickly
enhance your photos to get the optimum

Nexus 5

Rated

Three apps
for Nexus 5

MX Player
A superb video player that
can handle all manner of file
types, plus it has easy-touse controls.

PlayerPro
A more visual music player,
offering lock screen widgets
and clever album
art grabbing.

Real Racing 3
Console-quality graphics on
your phone really push the
powerful Adreno processor
in the new Nexus.

65

Rated

Nexus 5

balance of brightness and darker scenes to give
a really great impression.
However, the overall quality of the pictures
you take is only middling. As with so many
cameraphones, the Nexus 5 works really well in
optimum conditions, such as a bright day with
distinct colours, but move too far from that
scenario and things start to get a little noisier.
It’s still a lot better than a number of other
cameraphones, and it’s surprisingly good at
maintaining detail in digital zoom, so you can
get up close to objects even after the picture is
taken. The Nexus 5 also has a really fast shutter
speed, making it great for grabbing a snap from
a moving scene, but it still doesn’t pack the
awesome power and mode choices of the
Nokia Lumia 1020 or LG G2, for instance.

Sound hound
Media is also a key consideration for Google,
given that this phone is subsidised mostly to
allow users to gain easy access to its Google
Play store, buying lots of content to bolster the
search giant’s coffers.
The music and video apps on the Nexus 5
aren’t the most powerful or easy to glide
through to get to your content, because they’re
so deeply fused with videos and music gleaned
or streamed from Google Play.
However, in a way, that’s the beauty of
Google’s ‘naked’ Android offering – you can
choose to use the basic on-board apps, but

“The Google Nexus 5
should be right at the
top of your list when
considering buying a
top-end smartphone”
there are so many better options on Google Play
to improve the experience, with almost any
functionality you could desire, if you’re prepared
for a little trial and error.
The good news is the hardware can keep
up – the Snapdragon 800 chip is also very
accomplished sonically, meaning if you’ve
invested in a decent set of earbuds, you’ll be
rewarded with clear and pure sound. Even
YouTube videos sound rich and bass-filled, as
well as being easy to stream through the 4G
connection on board, obviously.
One of the biggest elements of Google’s
Android range is the ability to control the
handset using the Google Now app. It’s
integrated throughout the phone via an upward
swipe from the bottom of the screen, and gives
instant access to the search interface.
However, there’s another nifty trick with the
Nexus 5, one that’s been borrowed from the
Motorola suite (which Google also owns) – the
ability to simply say “OK Google” when in the
Now app or even just on the homescreen, and
have the phone listen to your voice.
It’s not as clever as the Motorola X handset,
which debuted this feature, because the Nexus
5 must be unlocked to use the activation voice
command, and by that time you’ll be tempted
66

to just use the far more effective fingers you’ve
got to control the handset. But it’s a cool trick
and more accurate than you’d imagine for a
voice recognition engine – it’s a lot better
than Siri, for example, in that respect, and it
gives you the instant ability to send a quick
message or start the music player.
Google Now is a very rich app that sits
on the left of all your homescreens, always
available to swipe to when you open the
phone. From here you can get info on the
easiest way to get home, see how your
team is doing, or even get a notification
when your plane is going to leave, which
is achieved through Gmail inbox scanning.
Google is improving its Now app with
every iteration of Android, and we’re finally
at the point where it can be considered
the true heart of the Android experience;
as the voice processing improves, you’ll
easily get to the point where hands-free
use will be a natural way to use the phone.

Is it a must-have?
The Google Nexus 5 should be right at
the top of your list when considering
buying a top-end smartphone, and not
just because it comes with a really low
price – although £299 for a phone that
rivals the iPhone or HTC One for power
can’t be sniffed at.
The latest version of Android is a really
good step forward, refining an already
polished OS and giving users of HTC
and Samsung, with their heavier skins,
something to think about. This is a light
and refreshing user interface, and while
it’s slightly devoid of functionality in a few
places (not being able to restart the
phone from the power button, for
example), it’s slick and easy to navigate.
The icons and design updates, including
transparent bars at the top and bottom,
make the user experience much more
holistic, and the improved speed through
hardware and software is stunning.
We do think some people will struggle
with only 16GB of on-board storage and
no expandable slot, as apps are getting
larger these days and media is more
popular than ever. You can stream the
latter from the cloud, but users still enjoy
tangibility with their digital entertainment.
But overall, this is something of a
triumph from the LG/Google combination.
A superb processor, low price and decent
build make for a phone that the more
considerate buyer should be thinking
about as a strong alternative to the
Samsung Galaxy S4 or HTC One. Q

There are bits missing, there are
bits wrong. But the bits which are
there are great bits indeed. This is
the best smartphone around at its
price, and one of the best on the
market today. Buy it.

Nexus 5

Rated

9 reasons
to buy the
Nexus 5
1 Low price
The bargain price makes it a
no-brainer if you want a
superphone on a budget.
2 Great display
The screen makes movies
look pin sharp and colours
are well reproduced, leading
to impressive performance.
3 Audio output quality
Often overlooked, the sound
is decent here, too, with rich
tones and subtle bass.
4 Up to date
The Nexus range will always
get the latest version of
Android first, so the 5 is a
futureproofed handset.
5 Online storage
Integration with the cloud
makes it easy to attach files
from Dropbox/Google Drive.
6 Android KitKat
The new OS is less obtrusive,
enabling you to focus your
full attention on whatever
you’re doing.
7 Going large
Full-screen wallpapers make
the most of the large and
expansive screen.
8 Power play
A strong GPU enables you
to play really high-power
games with a reduction in
the cost to your battery life.
9 Office work
Higher integration with
QuickOffice makes it a good
tool for business users, too.

67

Rated

Nexus 7 2013

Nexus 7 2013
The original Nexus 7 was a brilliant bargain buy – can the revamped version keep up?
Price £199 / $270
Manufacturer
Google/Asus
Operating system
Android 4.3
Screen
1,920 x 1,080
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon
S4Pro 1.5GHz quad-core
RAM
2GB
Storage
16GB/32GB
Cameras
5MP/1.2MP
Battery
3,950mAh
Video
1080p
Connectivity
USB, Wi-Fi
Sound
3.5mm headphone
DIMENSIONS
Height
198.5mm
Width
120mm
Depth
10.5mm
Screen
7-inch
Weight
340g

THE GOOD
Easy to hold in one hand or two
Affordably priced
Durable build
Fast performance
Strong battery life
High density display excellent
for reading
THE BAD
Comes with 6GB of space
already occupied
No longer the dirt cheap option
Colours are slightly inaccurate
No 64GB option

68

he original Nexus 7 enchanted and
enthralled – and did so despite some
slight compromises. The fact that it was
so cheap (£159 for a 16GB version) meant it
remained outstanding value for ages. The
problem is, a year is a long time in the tablet
world, and competition is fierce, so the new
Nexus 7 is just what the doctor ordered.
Of course, Nexus devices are synonymous with
pure Google experiences. This is the chance for
Mountain View to show off Android in its purest
form, away from the meddling fingers of
Samsung or HTC, who just love to Sensify and
TouchWiz up their devices.
The Nexus 7 is still aiming for that sweet spot.
The price has been bumped up – it’s now £199
for the 16GB model that would have cost £159
before – but the specs are much better, so it’s
still very reasonably priced.
It looks a lot better, as well. Where the original
Nexus 7 looked like a medium level device, the
brand new Nexus 7 looks like a premium slab
of black slate – we’ll go into a bit more detail in
the next section, but suffice to say, it’s pretty
damn gorgeous.
It would be foolish to just go into the
specs without comparing the Nexus 7 to its
predecessor – that’s what most people will be
expecting. Suffice to say, this is one beautiful
piece of equipment. The front is one sheet of
high-gloss Gorilla glass, interrupted only by the
minute presence of a front-facing camera for
selfies and Skypes.

T

Nifty Nexus
It’s thinner and lighter than before (200 x 114 x
8.7mm and 290g, compared to 198.5 x 120 x
10.5mm and 340g). Eagle-eyed mathematicians
will notice there is a slight height increase, but it’s
negligible in practice.
On the original Nexus, there was a plastic trim
around the bezel, painted to look like metal; here
it’s gone. This is an all-black device. The screen
just blends into the sides, which curve round to
create an uninterrupted back panel. And if we
had to find fault, it would be with this bit.
Firstly, the bezels have been shrunk right down
to make the screen almost extend to the edges.
But this fact makes it difficult to hold the Nexus 7,
because the natural act of curling your hand
around the tablet and resting your thumb on
the bezel is now impossible without touching
the screen as well, and causing all kinds of
annoyances. Instead, you have to rethink how
you hold the tablet.
Altogether, this is a solid device. Where the
original Nexus sometimes felt like a compromise
due to the price (issues of light bleed and
creakiness on the left-hand side were common
complaints), this feels like a premium, well-puttogether piece of kit, which should command
more than the measly amount Google is asking.
This is definitely most apparent when you see
the screen. The only word that really fits here is

‘wow’. The pixel density of the original Nexus 7
represented one of its missed opportunities – at
216ppi and a resolution of 800 x 1,280, it was by
no means bad, but it always felt as though it
could have been just that little bit better. And
now it is.
Google and Asus have pushed the density on
the Nexus 7 up to the competition’s level and
beyond. It’s now a staggering 323ppi across its
1,200 x 1,920 panel. When you consider the iPad
Mini’s Retina display is just 264ppi, you should be
able to imagine just how razor sharp this is. Text
positively pops out and images look almost
inexpressibly crisp.

Fly me a river
As for the performance, boy does this baby fly.
Last time, we got excited by Project Butter – a
piece of Android code that would revolutionise
our lives by making everything run smoother
and quicker.
But it wasn’t as great as it sounded. Anyone
with a creaking original Nexus 7 will tell you that
Project Butter can’t work miracles.
The optimisations of Android 4.3 are a different
matter altogether. Mixed in with that 1.5GHz
quad-core Krait CPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon S4
Pro chipset and 2GB of RAM, there is little you
can do to make the new Nexus 7 stall.
Games and apps load in a flash and you can
swipe between screens, littered with widgets,
and not encounter the slightest stutter. It’s
amazing. Multi-tasking is handled with ease – it’s
all done via one of the three on-screen soft
buttons you’ll find throughout the OS. We had
more than 20 apps open at the same time and
encountered no problems whatsoever. The
Nexus 7 is hard to beat in this respect.
We have to hand it to Asus and Google here. It
may be sorcery – we won’t pry too much – but
they have managed to pull off the impossible
here. They have shrunk the battery size, and yet
seem to have improved battery life compared to
the previous iteration.
From 4,325mAh to 3,950mAh, on paper at
least, we thought they’d taken leave of their
senses. But it just goes to show how much the
software influences the energy spend that the
Nexus 7 seems to just go. And go. And go. And
go. In real-world usage, results will vary – it
depends what you’re using your tablet for – but
we found that when testing, we were using the
Nexus 7 nearly all day.

Storage strife
What you might feel disappointed with, however,
is the storage issue. You won’t find a Nexus 7
with anything more than 32GB of space – and
remember, Google doesn’t do external memory
these days. In its efforts to push us all on to the
cloud, you’re stuck with what Google deems to
be adequate.
And as we’ve become used to with mobile
devices, that 32GB on the box doesn’t mean you

Nexus 7 2013

Rated

Three apps
for Nexus 7

Stick Cricket
Super Sixes
Giving the world’s best
bowlers a good tonk to cow
corner never looked better
than on the Nexus 7.

Sky Sports
Mobile TV
Watch your favourite sports
channels with this top app.

BBC Good
Food Recipes
Turn your Nexus into a
domestic deity with this top
app for foodies.

69

Rated

Nexus 7 2013

get 32GB to play with, because the operating
system takes up a huge chunk. You’re left with
just 26GB. With the size of some high-definition
games, plus a couple of movies, you’ll eat that
up fairly easily. Obviously, the 16GB model is
even more dire in this regard.
There are two things Google could have
done here: either given the option of a larger
device (64GB or 128GB, for instance), or relented
and left an SD slot for those who want to be
able to expand their memory. Samsung still
does that with the Note 8.0, as does Sony with
the Xperia Tablet Z, and neither experiences too
many problems.
But larger memories would mean higher
prices, of course, and that would ruin the
Nexus 7’s USP. Increasing storage would mean
Google losing face. It’s a vicious circle, and it’s
the punters who lose out in this case. If you
are a media fiend, the paltry allowance might
mean the Nexus 7 simply isn’t the tablet for you,
despite how great all your content would look
on that screen.

Snap happy
The camera is obviously an aside rather than a
key selling point for the Nexus 7. In fact, there
are two cameras here: 1.2MP on the front (for
video calls and selfies), and 5MP around the
back. Considering the lack of a rear camera was
one of the criticisms levelled at the original
Nexus 7, the fact that Google and Asus have

“The screen is to die for,
and the form factor,
while taking some
getting used to, is ideal
for media consumption”
chosen to furnish us with one here is
commendable. It’s certainly a lot more
convenient than spinning the whole tablet
round and guessing where to point it if you’re
trying to show somebody something other
than yourself when you’re in the middle of a
video call.
The camera software is the same as that you’ll
find on the Nexus 4. That means a few filters,
white balance options and geotagging. Nothing
we haven’t seen before.
Same for the video, although you are also
able to snap photos during a movie filming
session by simply tapping the screen, which is a
feature the HTC One X gave us and one we’ve
grown to expect ever since.
Colour balance isn’t particularly great here
– pictures either tended to look overly cold or
overly warm, with very little in between. And as
for low light, you’ll just have to forget it. There’s
no flash, no light, nor any other help here for
dark conditions and so, if you have poor
visibility, you’re going to have no real chance of
a good snap.
Moving the camera during photos leads to
blur, so you can forget action shots, too.
The same could be said for video. Obviously,
the frame refresh rate is higher here, and so
70

moving subjects can be handled more
efficiently and effectively.
One thing you will notice is two lots of
speakers – stereo, if you will. All mod cons
here, it appears. They’re on the top and
bottom at the rear but the idea is that
when you watch stuff in landscape, they’ll
be at the sides.
Oddly, they’re at the back, facing away
from you, which seems silly when you
consider that HTC has moved the bar with
the HTC One. But we’ll find out how they
fare a little later.

Should you buy it?
We really like the Nexus 7. We really, really
like the Nexus 7. Google has taken what
made the original such a belter, corrected
almost every niggle with it, bumped the
price up ever so slightly (but kept it within
the region where you can excuse niggles
with a “Well, it is cheap”) yet also made the
Nexus 7 feel so much more premium.
The mini-tablet market is fiercely
competitive now, and Google has released
this quickly and effectively, sealing its
position in the public’s mind before
competitors can get an foot in the door.
It’s imperative that this device gains a
foothold in the market before the arrival
of the inevitable iPad Mini 2, so Google
needs to get this on shop shelves and as
heavily marketed as possible before it’s
too late.
The screen is to die for and the form
factor, while taking some getting used to,
is ideal for media consumption. It’s light,
it’s bright, it’s fun and it’s thin. The battery
life is really impressive, and the sheer
diversity on offer, be it through the
uprated CPU, screen or GPU, mean that we
struggled to put it down at times.
However, perfection is still a little way
away. Out of the box, users have noticed
issues with the GPS and also some have
occasional issues with multi-touch. It
seems to be down to the individual, but
there have been enough complaints to
stop this from being an unalloyed success
for Google, with some presses not
registering properly.
They seem to be software issues rather
than hardware, so we’ll not dwell too
much because they’re easily fixed, but it
does take the sheen off a bit.
We’re also slightly annoyed that Google
hasn’t given us an LTE model at launch,
since we know one exists, but that doesn’t
detract from the fact that the Nexus 7 is a
highly impressive 7-inch tablet. Q

There is no better 7-inch tablet. For
original Nexus 7 owners, it may not
be worth an upgrade, but for new
tablet buyers, you can’t knock that
value for money. This should be a
record-breaking Android tablet.

Nexus 7 2013

Rated

9 reasons
to buy the
Nexus 7
1 Improved screen
With a whopping pixel
density and full HD panel,
the Nexus 7 really takes the
fight to its 7-inch rivals.
2 Top build
Sturdy and strong, the Nexus
can handle anything you can
throw at it.
3 Better design
The all-black finish means
the new Nexus 7 looks great.
4 Long battery
Even though the new Nexus
is smaller, it manages to pack
an even bigger battery.
5 Smooth Android
Finally, an Android
experience that feels
perfect. A joy to use.
6 Get 4.3
The Nexus is geared up with
the latest Android, and will
be among the first to get
Android 4.4 as well.
7 Google Play
The Nexus 7 brings Google
Play’s movies and downloads
to the homescreen and is
great for movie lovers.
8 Top apps
Google Play is really
exploding with some great
new apps, which work
brilliantly on the Nexus
9 Top services
Check out the array of apps
included with the Nexus 7,
and you’ll see it’s a true
companion for everyday life

71

Rated

Nexus 10

Nexus 10
Does the relatively ageing Nexus 10 still have what it takes in the cut-throat tablet world?
Price £319 / $399
Manufacturer
Google/Samsung
Operating system
Android 4.2
Screen
2,560 x 1,600
Processor
1.7GHz dual-core
RAM
2GB
Storage
16GB/32GB
Cameras
1.9MP/5MP
Battery
9,000mAh
Video
1080p
Connectivity
Micro USB, Micro HDMI, Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth, NFC
Sound
3.5mm headphone
DIMENSIONS:
Height
263.9mm
Width
177.6mm
Depth
8.9mm
Screen
10-inch
Weight
603g

THE GOOD
Powerful processor
High-res screen
Android 4.2
THE BAD
No 3G/4G option
No expandable storage
Muted colours for media

72

he Google Nexus 10 has been out for a
while now – however, long before its
launch, it was predicted that Google
would take on the iPad. After all, if Google
was entering the tablet field directly, how
could it resist the lucrative 10-inch market?
It’s not going to be an easy fight for Google;
the iPad has always been in a league of its own
and has a serious headstart, but Google isn’t
entering the fray unprepared.
At £319 for the 16GB model, the Google Nexus
10 is £80 cheaper than the equivalent iPad 4. In
fact, even the 32GB model, with its price tag of
£389, comes in at slightly under a 16GB iPad 4,
and a whole £90 cheaper than a 32GB one.
Don’t think that just because it’s relatively
cheap it’s not a premium, powerhouse device
either. With a retina-searing 10.05-inch 2,560 x
1,600 Super PLS display, it’s even higher
resolution than the latest iPad, with 300 pixels
per inch against the iPad 4’s 264ppi.
That makes it the highest resolution tablet in
existence. With a display that beautiful, it’s
reassuring to know that it uses Corning Gorilla
Glass 2 to keep it in pristine condition.
It’s no slouch under the hood either. With a
dual-core 1.7GHz Samsung Exynos processor and
2GB of RAM, it should have no problem keeping
pace with the fastest Android devices. It comes
with Android 4.2 out of the box and, being a
pure Google tablet, it will be one of the first
devices to get the next version of Android, too,
keeping it up to date and future-proofed for as
long as possible.

T

High spec, low price
It’s the same tactic that’s been used for the
Google Nexus 7 – produce top-end hardware at
the lowest price possible to get people buying.
It’s even learned a few lessons from the original
Nexus 7, because this time it isn’t bothering with
a cripplingly small 8GB model, and making a
32GB version available from day one.
Despite the slightly higher price tag compared
to other tablets on the market, the Nexus 10 has
sold out on Google’s Play Store on multiple
occasions, with buyers entranced by the super
high resolution screen and larger dimensions.
Right now, the Google Nexus 10 is Wi-Fi only,
but if you want 3G or 4G you might not have to
wait too long, because the Nexus 7 has just been
made available with 3G, so we expect the
Google Nexus 10 will follow suit.
The Google Nexus 10 feels quite weighty,
particularly if your last tablet experience was the
Nexus 7, but at 603g it’s pretty average for a
tablet of this size, and comes in lighter than the
iPad 4.
With dimensions of 203.9 x 177.6 x 8.9mm, it’s
slightly longer and thinner than a new iPad, too,
giving it more of a widescreen experience for
watching movies.
The slightly curved edges make it comfortable
to hold in two hands for long periods (one-

handed holding is pretty much a non-starter).
However, if you’re planning to watch movies on
it, you might find that your hands start to ache
before the credits roll, so it would be worth
getting a stand of some kind or just finding
something to rest it on. There are rumours of a
pogo stand coming soon, which would allow
magnetic charging on the dock.
It’s also not quite as comfortable to hold as
the Nexus 7, not just because of their relative
weights, but also because the back of the Nexus
7 is slightly soft and warm, while the Nexus 10 is
cold, hard plastic through and through. Though
on the plus side, it’s rubbery, which provides grip.

Speeding ahead
The Google Nexus 10’s 2GB of RAM is double
that of the iPad 4, Asus Transformer Pad Infinity
or the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1. While it’s only
a dual-core device, each core is clocked at
1.7GHz, which is just about the fastest we’ve
come across on a tablet, trampling all over the
poor Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 with its mere
1GHz dual-core processor.
It also comes with Bluetooth 3.0 and NFC
support, although the former spec isn’t the
low-power sensor technology we expect to
come on most devices these days.
The Nexus 10 comes with an enormous
9,000mAh Lithium polymer battery, promising
nine hours of video, seven hours of web
browsing, or 90 hours of music.
In theory, that gives it slightly more juice than
a Nexus 7 but possibly slightly less than the iPad
4, with its monstrous 11,666mAh battery.
Unfortunately, much like the iPad 4, the
battery in the Google Nexus 10 can’t be
removed. So you don’t have the option to swap
in a spare one when it runs down, while if it ever
wears out, you’re out of luck.
Following suit from the Nexus 7, the front of
the device is a single sheet of glass, with no
buttons to spoil the lines. We’ve mentioned how
jaw-dropping the display resolution is, but it’s
worth noting that it has superb viewing angles,
too. We tried looking at it in every conceivable
position and from different distances, and the
display was always clear and sharp.
It even fares well in bright sunlight; well, the
brightest we can find in gloomy autumn. It
became harder to see but never became totally
washed out. Plus you can turn the brightness up
high, which helps burn through the glare.
It’s not a total victory though, because while
the resolution is unparalleled, the contrast
between colours is a bit muted – they’re never as
bright or deep as they could be, especially if
you’ve seen the amazing Super AMOLED HD
screen on the Samsung Galaxy S3.
There’s a black border around the display that
you can rest your thumbs on and a narrow
speaker running the length of each shorter side.
The 1.9-megapixel front camera lens can be
found in the middle of one of the longer sides,

Nexus 10

Rated

Three apps
for Nexus 10

Stick It!
This app enables you to
watch videos in a window,
while you use other apps on
your Nexus tablet.

Antek Explorer
As an Android user, you
can use file explorers to
manage your tablet
properly, and this one is
the best.

Thumb Keyboard
Type while holding your
Nexus 10 with this superb
keyboard replacement app.

73

Rated

Nexus 10

which suggests that the Nexus 10 is intended to
be used primarily as a landscape device. Next to
it you will notice an ambient light sensor, which
automatically dims the screen in low light.
On the right edge there’s a micro HDMI port,
sorely lacking from the Google Nexus 7. On the
bottom edge there’s a magnetic pogo pin
charging port, used to connect it to a dock.
Turn the Google Nexus 10 over and you’ll find
a big speaker at the top, along with the main
5-megapixel camera, which is also capable of
shooting 1080p video at 30fps. Below that the
casing is a hard, rubbery plastic shell with the
words ‘Nexus’ and ‘Samsung’ stencilled into it.
The Google Nexus 10 feels sturdy and well
made and it doesn’t look cheap, but it also

“Media is the lifeblood
of any tablet, so we’ll
say it straight off – the
Google Nexus 10 does
not disappoint”
doesn’t look particularly premium. That’s a bit of
a problem, especially when it’s been positioned
as an iPad 4 competitor.

Premium potential?
It’s not just the plastic shell that lets it down,
because the rounded shape makes it look a bit
childish – like a ‘my first tablet’. And while we’re
on the subject of the plastic shell, the Nexus 7
was plasticky as well, but the mottled, slightly
soft back on that was far more aesthetically
pleasing than this, and felt nicer to hold as well.
That’s not the Google Nexus 10’s only
problem either, because with no micro SD card
slot, there’s no option for expandable storage.
Sure, the iPad 4 doesn’t have that either, but
micro SD support has always been one of the
key differentiators between Android and iOS
– although Google has always been against it
on the Nexus brand, so we weren’t hopeful it
would pop up here.
It’s arguably a bigger problem here than on a
phone, too, because tablets are all about media
consumption, so it’s expected that you’ll be
loading it up with films, music and games.
32GB will still probably be enough for most
people, but the 16GB version may quickly start
to feel limiting. In any case, it’s a not an
unexpected omission, but with such a walletpleasing price tag, it’s far from a deal breaker.
The Google Nexus 10 has a 5-megapixel
camera, along with a secondary 1.9-megapixel
front-facing snapper. As ever, we’re really not
sure how useful having a camera on a tablet is.
The front-facing camera makes some sense as
it could be used for Skype and other webcam
stuff, but we have trouble envisaging anyone
taking their tablet out to snap pictures. If
anything, the front camera should get a boost
in quality, even if it meant dropping the
megapixel count on the rear.
Using the Nexus 10 has done nothing to
change our minds about the usefulness of a
74

camera on a tablet. It took some reasonable
snaps but nothing particularly eye catching.
In fact, it can’t even match the camera
performance of most high-end smartphones,
which really makes it a bit pointless, since a
smartphone is both more portable and, by
extension, more likely to be with you when
you’re out and about. Plus, taking pictures on a
tablet inevitably leaves you looking ridiculous.
Still, if you do decide to use your Nexus 10 as
a camera, there are a few settings to play with.
You can turn flash on or off, and pick between a
handful of scene modes, such as action and
night. There’s also a panorama mode and the
big new feature – Photo Sphere.
Media is the lifeblood of any tablet, so we’ll
say it straight off – the Google Nexus 10 does
not disappoint. Google Play will always be
the first stop for media consumption. You
can rent and buy movies, and there’s a
respectable selection on offer. There are
also thousands of books to download.

Play time
Movies and books each have their own
apps, in the form of Play Movies and Play
Books. These are primarily players, but
there are also links in them to the
relevant parts of Google Play for all your
purchasing needs, and they work well.
The Play Movies app displays images
of all your side-loaded videos, along
with information, such as the run time
and a synopsis. It also displays
suggestions for things to buy or rent
–that may or may not be a good
thing, depending on your outlook,
but it’s not very intrusive.
The Google Nexus 10 comes with
a pretty hefty 9,000mAh lithium
polymer battery. But although it’s a
big battery, it’s also got a big
screen to power – slightly bigger
even than an iPad’s. Google and
Samsung are claiming that it will
offer nine hours of video, seven
hours of web browsing, or 90
hours of music. They’re all pretty
solid figures and in general the
performance matched them.
For general use, the battery
performed admirably, seeing
out a day or more with a mix
of web browsing, reading,
listening to music and taking
a few photos and videos.
That’s with it on all day, and
emails and Facebook
updates being pushed to it.
Just what we want. Q

The Google Nexus 10 is clearly a
brilliant tablet. It’s got top-end
specs at a mid-range price. Add to
that a stunning screen and near
faultless performance, and it starts
to look like an iPad beater.

Nexus 10

Rated

9 reasons
to nab a
Nexus 10
1 Screen
With a pixel density of
300ppi compared with the
iPad’s 264ppi, the Nexus 10 is
the only tablet so far that has
managed to compete with
Apple on screen quality.
2 Speed
The quad-core processor
beating away at the heart
of the Nexus 10 is a real
powerhouse.
3 Google Play
Google’s online app store is
thriving, and easily competes
with Apple’s rival store.
4 Cost
At £80 less than its closest
rival, the iPad 4, the Nexus 10
is a real bargain.
5 Android 4.2
The Nexus 10 comes with
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean out of
the box.

Gorilla Glass
Corning’s screen glass is
extra tough, which makes
the Nexus 10 super robust
and likely to survive pretty
much anything.
6

7 NFC
It’s really easy to
communicate with other
devices, thanks to the
Nexus’s near-field
communication technology.

Good camera
The snapper on the front is
a 1.9MP model, which is
great for when you want to
chat with your friends or
far-flung family.
8

9 MicroUSB
Top connectivity options
mean that you can plug
various USB devices into
your Nexus tablet to make it
even more useful.

75

GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR TABLET OR PHONE

VOLUME 13

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