Useful Android Apps for Samsung Galaxy S2

Personalization



Windows 7 Launcher provides a nice interface of Windows 7 phone theme which can be customized to map your favorite apps to the home screen tiles, you can also customize the tile colors. Transitions work smoothly on Galaxy S2, There is a AD based free version and paid version for this App, check the video below for a demo.



Pops



Great app for setting animated notifications for your SMS, Gmail, Twitter and Facebook alerts, It is a free to download app which currently has limited set of animated packs you can download however you can set your own custom video clips for notifications too.



Music & Audio

Saavn Music



Saavn music app is free to download app that gives you access to vast library of Bollywood music, Bhangra, Bhajans and more. Creating customized play list is quite easy and the song library is extensive from tha tracks I tried checking out, I liked the App interface and the ease of searching tracks and adding to your customized play lists for listening music on the go which works seamlessly on 3G connectivity.



Photo Apps

Instagram is a very popular app for iPhone users and Android market does have some notable photo apps that allow adding image effects to your pictures and instant sharing options, check out some of them below which I have being using recently.


   Little Photo                   Picplz


     FX Camera                   MOLOME

More app features coming up on my blog, keep checking

Times have changed: Music industry in last 30 years

Check out this animated transition of the way Music Industry has transformed in last 30 years

If you are ....... send me ........?

Funny response to a SMS forward

Rise of Android OS

Mobile handset and software market has undergone a major transition from the past year and the not so well known OS Android now captures 50% of the smart phone market globally, Nokia is pinning all it's hopes on windows OS to revive it's crumbling market share which still stands strong on top position in BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China. Samsung has good potential to rush ahead if Nokia provided it adapts to aggressive marketing and sales strategies in emerging markets.

Apple has grown from a market share of 14.2% to 19% with iOS it enjoys a stable growth in the US market and it does not see any immediate threat from Android considering the hype around iPhone 5 which is peaking amongst consumers eager to find out what Apple is going to come up with, Nokia is placed third falling from a lions share it had of around 41% of market share with Symbian which Nokia is now bidding farewell to and embracing Windows OS ahead seeking a new lease of life. RIM also is struggling to Android OS and iOS onslaught in American market which is visible by its market share falling from 18% to 12% from last yearThis situation was not the same last year in August 2010 which is reflecting from the graph below an article(via www.seekingalpha.com)



Google has woken up to a bitter reality of going easy on aquiring patents that are essential to safegaurd growth of Android OS, Apple is flexing it's muscles going hard after Android tablets and phones alleging manufacturers like HTC and Samsung of lifting designs meant for Apple phones and tablets. Luckily google also realised that it needs to act swift on unifying different versions of Android OS into one version touted to be named as Ice-cream Sandwich that makes it easier for developers to focus on developing apps for Android.

Indian Smartphone market would provide Nokia enough time to get their act straight with Symbian OS and its dream to build an ecosystem akin to Apple with Ovi services has not met desired success. Sony Ericsson once had the potential to come close to Nokia's market share in India lost the path midway with a series of mediocre phone launches which gave Samsung good chance to rise further with BADA OS and it started offering value for money products in different price segments. Samsung has also discussed options with google for developing desi version of Android OS in Indian market.