Best app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time

Everyone likes apps, but sometimes the best ones are a bit expensive. Now and then, developers make paid apps free for a limited time, but you have to snatch them up while you have the chance. Here are the latest and greatest apps on sale in the iOS App Store.

These apps normally cost money and this sale lasts for a limited time only. If you go to the App Store and it says the app costs money, that means the deal has expired and you will be charged. 

More: 200 Awesome iPhone Apps | The best Android apps for almost any occasion

Net Master

Net Master is the ultimate mobile solution for all your network analysis and diagnostic problems. Net Master is a utility application developed for Network Administrators and IT Professionals but presented in a format targeted for non-professionals.

Available on:

iOS

Keymoji

Keymoji: Emoji Keyboard translates what you type in any app into emojis in real time from a constantly expanding emoji keyboard crowdsourced dictionary so you don’t have to think up emoji keyboard phrases.

Available on:

iOS

Password Safe

Using AES-256 Encryption, this app automatically encrypts all your data as soon as it’s stored, using a master password that only you know. All data is stored exclusively on your device.

Available on:

iOS

Creative Writer

Let the writers help you write. Recycle texts from books, lyrics, movies — combine words into something new, original, and beautiful. Creative Writer delivers language expressions for your writing sessions taken from actual books.

Available on:

iOS

Zen Sketch

Zen Sketch is a cross between a note-taking and a painting app. The app goes beyond regular ink handwriting apps by using an industry standard drawing/painting engine, but still organizes your work in a logical fashion like any good note-taking app.

Available on:

iOS

Fontpress

Fontpress lets you add short (or not so short) captions to your photos. The app contains more than 70 different hand-picked fonts with distinctive personalities so you can find just the right one to match your preferences.

Available on:

iOS

Meet the $100 lightbulb that could reshape modern offices

Why it matters to you

If you’re looking to buy the smartest and most versatile LED lights in the world, Ketra has you covered.

LED efficiency and a few key smart controls might have been the biggest innovations in consumer lighting in recent years, but innovations in the commercial space can take things a whole lot further. Offering high-efficiency RGB customization and constant self-checks to maintain a cohesive lighting scheme, Ketra’s bulbs have begun to reshape modern offices. They aren’t cheap though, with each individual bulb costing as much as $100.

Ketra isn’t a company that is going to sell much to the general public at that sort of price, but it isn’t trying to. It’s instead focused on large-scale business installations. Its most recent project was advertising agency, R/GA, which spent over a million dollars on the lighting in its new offices.

The advantages are worth it though, we’re told. With a combination of clean, white light, bulbs that change to match the hue of the sun’s rays throughout the day, and the ability to manage all of it in a smart zone system, Ketra’s bulbs are turning heads.

While the customizable nature of Ketra’s LED bulbs is impressive and their ability to go from daylight to disco in a second is a fun feature, it’s the bulbs’ error-checking capability that really sets them apart from the competition. Ketra’s bulbs check their own light emissions six times a second to confirm that they are sending out the desired lighting tone and intensity.

More: Light up your life with the best LED lighting solutions on the market

That’s an important backdrop feature for the ability to tweak lighting on the fly. The idea is that spaces can change their theme with a color change, rather than having multiple rooms for different purposes. A showroom Ketra uses to show off that function is a typical kitchen, that switches from morning breakfast to an evening party atmosphere with a change from white to blue and purple light.

While Ketra’s health claims about simulating the sun are a little less tangible (and not supported by government-backed health regulators) they are there as part of the marketing and are helping Ketra make big strides in the commercial sector. It seems unlikely consumers will ever be willing to spend as much as $100 per bulb, even if they’re unlikely to ever need to replace it. But if the cost comes down, who knows?

How much would you spend on a smart LED bulb?

Find your phone with these helpful tracking tips

If you need to track down a cell phone, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you’re simply trying to track the location of your lost phone or you’re a secret agent who needs to gain intel on the whereabouts of a crooked diplomat, we’re here to give you the information you need to get the job done.

More: Telemarketers getting you down? Here’s how to block calls on an iPhone

It’ll be easier if you’re trying to track a smartphone, but there are ways to locate older phones as well, so don’t give up hope if you’re still rocking a first-gen Motorola RAZR – we’ve still got your back.

Tracking your phone before you lose it

If you’re here just to prepare for the day that you lose your phone (which for many is inevitable), then you’re ahead of the game. If you’ve got a smartphone, consider installing the apps listed below

For smartphones..

There are several app choices available for your phone, but also remember to set up any included phone-locating software that comes with your device. That includes Find My iPhone, Android Device Manager, and Samsung’s Find My Mobile. Head to the next section for more details. If you’re looking for more choice, try these out:

Prey

Prey is free to use for up to three devices, there are paid plans for more, and the service can be used for both computers and phones. After you sign up for the service, you simply sync your devices with it, sit back, and relax. The day that your phone goes missing, all you’ll have to do is find a computer, log into your account, and start tracking.

Prey runs discreetly in the background and won’t track your phone’s location until you tell it to, so there’s no need to worry about your privacy while the phone is in your possession. We recommend this for any Android or iOS device, as well as any Mac, Windows, or Linux PC.

Download now for:

iOS Android

Lookout

Lookout combines security, tracking, and anti-virus/malware protection. There are several interesting features, such as the system recording a phone’s last location right before the battery dies, a chance to backup contact data before a remote erase, and it’ll even snap a photo of any would-be thief and email it to you along with location data. There’s a free two-week trial, after which it’ll cost $3 per month.

Download now for:

iOS Android

Avast Anti-Theft

This app is designed to deal with theft and has a ton of free features. You can remotely lock or wipe your smartphone, or listen remotely to find the thieves who took your device. You can also use it to activate stealth mode on your device, so that the thief doesn’t know Avast is protecting your phone. Avast provides SIM card change notifications, too, and the company offers similar services for Android, Mac, and PC.

Download now for:

Android

Cerberus anti theft

Cerberus is a feature-rich app, and one of the best anti-theft apps you can get. It’s free to try, but you’ll have to pay $6 for a lifetime license. The app offers numerous ways to track and control your smartphone via the website, and even via SMS. You can also sound an alarm, even if your device in silent mode, and lock it with a unique code. Additional features include the ability to record audio remotely and snap photos of anyone trying to use your phone. Location history is just a plus.

Download now for:

Android

For non-smartphones…

We recommend using a GPS tracking service. There are many different options out there, but AccuTracking is our current favorite.

AccuTracking

It costs as little as $6 per month (less if you subscribe for a year), and uses GPS to track the location of your phone — and lucky for you, it works with a wide variety of feature phones. As long as your phone is GPS-enabled, this service should do the trick. Most modern cellphones are, so as long as your phone isn’t headed to the museum due to age, you should be fine.

When the day comes that you can’t locate your phone, just log in to AccuTracking’s Web interface from any internet-connected computer and — so long as your phone isn’t dead — it’ll immediately show you its location.

Huawei might soon offer an ultra-affordable Android smartphone

Why it matters to you

If Huawei’s other U.S. phones are any indication, we could be in for a solid surprise with its ultra-affordable entry.

Since 2015, Huawei’s U.S. smartphones have consisted of midrangers like the Honor 6X and more high-end options like the Mate 9. Based on recent benchmarks and FCC listings, however, it looks as if an entry-level option is on its way.

According to the listings, MediaTek’s quad-core 1.44GHz MT6737T processor and 2GB RAM power a phone termed the “Maya,” while the MicroSD card slot provides additional storage. A 2,920mAh battery keeps the lights on, with the phone is compatible with LTE bands 2, 4, 5, and 7. Unfortunately, the phone apparently runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box, though it is too early to determine whether it will receive an update to Android 7.0 Nougat.

More: If you can’t buy the Huawei P8 Lite 2017, the Honor 8 Lite is nearly identical

Interestingly, the Maya is listed under model numbers MYA-L03 and MYA-L23. Based on the listings, the former sports one SIM card slot, while the latter includes two such slots. Regardless of the model, the Maya will feature a removable back cover, though it looks like the battery will not be removable.

Just about everything else is shrouded in mystery, though it looks as if Huawei wants to target the low-end smartphone market in the U.S. The company has slowly built a solid array of options for the country, but it has yet to deliver an ultra-affordable option since its renewed U.S. marketing strategy took effect with the Honor 5X‘s launch back in October 2015. Since then, Huawei launched the Honor 8, Mate 9, and Honor 6X in the U.S., but all those phones cost at least $250 unlocked.

The Maya could be that low-end option, since the phone is expected to sell for around $100 to $150. It can also provide Huawei with some breathing room, since the midrange smartphone market has substantially matured since 2015. Expect the phone to sell through some prepaid channels, with an official announcement sometime in the near future.

Get where you’re going more efficiently with the Google Maps update

Why it matters to you

By providing real-time commute information, Google Maps will help you get from Point A to Point B in a stress-free way.

It’s not enough to know where you’re going — you want to know how to get there in the most efficient manner possible. Luckily, Google understands this, and has just released an update to Google Maps on Android that promises “helpful everyday info — in real time — at the bottom of your home screen.”

Starting today, if you swipe up, you’ll be greeted with three distinct tabs — places, driving, and transit — that will guide you to a conveniently located restaurant, help you beat traffic, or get on the next bus downtown.

If you tap on the Places tab within Google Maps, you’ll find a curated list of restaurants and bars that will be conveniently labeled with categories like “best dinners,” “cheap eats,” or “business dining.” If you’re looking for something else, like a grocery store, a gas station, or a bank, just tap on one of the other options Google has already pre-populated. You can look at images of your surrounding area, or alternatively, read a quick description of the neighborhood to understand what you’re dealing with.

More: Google Maps now shows parking availability in ’25 metro areas’

In the driving tab, as long as you have your home and work addresses saved, you can check out real-time transit times to and from those locations. That way, you’re never wondering if you ought to give yourself an extra 20 minutes in the morning, or leave a little later at night to avoid rush hour. Just get your nearby traffic conditions report and expected delays straight from Google Maps.

And finally, Google’s transit tab promises that “you’ll never have to sprint to the bus again.” From your saved addresses, you’ll be able to garner recommendations for which public transit system to take, when the next bus or train is arriving, and an ETA you can share with friends and family.

“When you’re on the go, there’s no time for apps that can’t keep up,” Google concluded. “Whether you need to get to work or you’re just looking for a quick bite around you, Google Maps gives you personalized information about your world so you can make decisions and get around with confidence.”

Dropped phones, cracked screens and the death of awareness

The worst sound in the world.

I am like a dog, ears pricked and attention diverted, desperately trying to spot the offending sound. It’s a violent combination of bombastic crash and subtle crack, a unique flavor of dread.

It’s the sound of a phone dropping from hand or pocket or table or anything — gravity doesn’t discern — to the cold hard ground. Occasionally, you get lucky and the phone lands on its back, and you see your last interaction — Instagram, let’s be honest — staring back at you, the dog photo not nearly as cute dimmed by the judgemental harshness of the late afternoon sun. But often the screen is hidden from view, phone face down, a tense few moments where you brace yourself for the potential heartache and accompanying dread in knowing all the subsequent steps you’ll have to take to replace the shattered glass, and hoping that’s all it is.

Around 5% said they drop their devices six times per month.

There are no definitive numbers to work with, but a number of studies have attempted to figure out how often people drop their phones, and how often those accidents lead to permanent damage. A 2011 Plaxo study estimates that 33% of people regularly drop their phones on a regular basis — some 20% in to the toilet (which, with a bit of luck, may be less damaging) — while a 2013 study from Tech21 estimates that 90% of people drop their phones at least once a month. Around 5% said they drop their devices six times per month.

For most people, it’s not a matter of if but when, and though the materials used on the outside of our beloved devices have somewhat improved over the past few years, nothing is infallible. Corning, one of the most important companies few people know about, introduced the fifth generation of its Gorilla Glass substrate in 2016, and believes that it is the strongest smartphone cover out there, “surviving 1.6-meter, shoulder-height drops onto hard, rough surfaces up to 80% of the time,” according to the company’s marketing materials. Corning, headquartered in the New York town of the same name, has become synonymous with the front glass of most Android phones, and while there are competitors — Dragontrail is the MediaTek to Corning’s Qualcomm — Gorilla Glass has practically become the Kleenex of mobile screen covers.

Everything you need to know about Corning Gorilla Glass

But even the strongest glass is still breakable (for now), and unless we outfit the world with carpet (which could get gross pretty quickly) there isn’t an alternative to trying to make our devices more durable. A worrying trend, and one that has been criticized since the debut of the all-glass Nexus 4, is outfitting both the front and back of a phone in glass. From the Galaxy S7 to the Honor 8 and many in between, the Gorilla Glass sandwich doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon — the Galaxy S8 looks to have more glass, front and back, then ever — so we’re just going to have to deal with it.

The sight of a person, or groups of people, walking with phones in hand, reading the news or catching up on a Twitter feed, is all too common on busy city sidewalks.

If we assume that people are not generally getting clumsier, the rising prevalence of cracked and broken phones due to drops is likely due to the increasing number of hours people spend each day using their phones. The sight of a person, or groups of people, walking with phones in hand, reading the news or catching up on a Twitter feed, is all too common on busy city sidewalks, and the more we take the technology for granted, the less careful we are with the thing itself. Smartphones may be dropping in cost overall, but they’re rising in importance in our lives, and a cracked screen is more than an inconvenience — it’s a tragedy.

And yet the same Tech21 survey said that many people are willing to continue using a phone with a cracked screen because the idea of having to get it repaired or replaced — often out of pocket, since accidental damage is not covered under most manufacturer warranties — is stressful and, often, traumatic.

I hate seeing cracked screens. It’s a visceral reaction, a combination of anger at the owner and sadness for the phone. But that’s dumb; I should feel angry at the phone for breaking, and sad for the owner who has to go through the hassle of replacing it. I’ve been there; you’ve been there. We’ve all dealt with a cracked screen or at the very least damage a phone’s casing.

For a few years, high-quality polycarbonate — devices like the HTC One X, Nokia Lumia 1020 and iPhone 5C — were all the rage, and while they may not have looked as nice (debatable, since the Lumia phones were perfection), they tended to be very durable. But no material — metal, glass, polycarbonate — is unbreakable and the most important factor to preventing drops is being aware of your surroundings.

Credit: Getty

In Toronto, where I live, there has been a huge increase in the number of pedestrian deaths in recent years, many of which are caused by people engrossed in their phones as they cross streets or step into intersections. Such accidents are increasingly common in big cities throughout the world, and lest this turns into a PSA against using one’s phone out in public, it’s clear that people are becoming more cavalier about using phones in places that a few years ago would have been considered verboten.

A dropped smartphone is not always a broken one, and avoiding the occurrence completely is likely impossible, but being aware of when and how these drops happen is the first step towards realizing that our devices, as essential (and addictive) as anything we use on a daily basis, can be made safer by being more careful.

And, if you can’t, or just refuse to be, more careful, there are always rugged phones and thick-as-a-brick cases that will probably save you from yourself.

The best rugged Android phones

How to deal with blurry images in PlayStation VR

Seeing clearly in VR is a priority that you shouldn’t overlook.

You’re ready to spend some time in VR. The play area is clean, your accessories are charged, and you put on your PlayStation VR headset. Instead of seeing a crisp, clean image displayed around you, everything looks blurry and ill-defined. This issue can cause nausea, along with being a less than amazing experience. Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to deal with this problem.

Read more at VR Heads!

Snapchat to bring Planet Earth to portrait mode every week

Good news for nature-loving Millennials!

Snap is bringing Planet Earth II, which aired at the tail end of 2016 on BBC, to Snapchat this month.

Each episode has been repurposed into 4 to 6-minute chunks and optimized for Snapchat’s portrait mode-only navigation, and features the same categories from the original show, including Islands, Mountains, Jungles, Deserts, Grasslands, and Cities.

The shorter pieces will also have 3D audio, something that few mobile-optimized pieces of content possess these days. They’ll live in the Snapchat Discover section, which was recently overhauled in version 10 of the app, released earlier this year.

Snapchat owner Snap Inc. recently filed for an Initial Public Offering, revealing that the company has 158 million daily active users, and that it feels it needs to prioritize Android development if it wants to increase its user base. It has been criticized in the past, and its S-1 documents confirm, that it has prioritized iOS development because that’s where the majority of its audience live.

Privacy matters more now than ever — these apps will help

Privacy matters.

It may not matter to you as much as it does to others, but how we control who gets what when it comes to our data and when we communicate is still a very important discussion to have. It matters now more than ever and will matter even more as time goes by because tools and tricks to get unauthorized access to our stuff get better and better.

Here in the United States, there has been a lot of recent talk about our messages and what might happen if the right person reads the wrong thing. The NSA can intercept data you send to someone else in a text or email or instant message. They’ve been able to for years. Your internet service provider and cell phone carrier can do the same. While recent fears revolve around what the current administration in Washington might do, it’s important to know that the last administration had the same capabilities and might have done exactly what people are worried about in 2017.

More: What is encryption?

Maybe we can’t keep them from snooping, but we can make it pretty damn hard for them to read it if they do.

Secure messaging

A lot of applications promise secure messages between you and someone else. Some very popular apps, namely WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, offer encrypted and secure cross-platform messaging according to their description. But a lot of researchers and security professionals have a very different opinion and offer some pretty compelling evidence that Facebook has access at will. These folks say we shouldn’t trust WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger when it comes to encrypted messaging and that’s cause for concern and shouldn’t be dismissed.

Security researchers have great things to say about Open Whisper Systems because they can look at every line of code to verify exactly how it works.

Google, too, offers an end-to-end encrypted messenger in Allo. While there is no evidence that Google’s claims aren’t to be taken at face value, many have concerns because Google’s business is looking at your data. And encryption isn’t enabled by default in Allo, so many users aren’t aware it’s there or have trouble finding how to send secure messages. For two savvy users, it’s a valid option.

On the “other” team, iMessage is great. But cross-platform is a must in my opinion, and iMessage can’t offer what we need unless everyone is using an iPhone.

I’ve been testing secure messaging apps for a while. I ignored the most controversial examples from Facebook and Google and instead focused on what else is available on Google Play. The client had to be cross-platform and offer encryption by default. Once you narrow it down this way the choices are fewer, but I found an app that offers everything I need for secure messaging.

Signal is the app I would direct anyone looking for a simple but secure solution to cross-platform messaging. It doesn’t have the giant set of features that WhatsApp or even Allo does, but the interface is pleasantly minimal and the app is easy to use. The setup is easy enough for anyone to walk through and it only takes a few minutes to get everything up and running so you can send end-to-end encrypted messages to anyone who has the Signal app.

The best cross-platform encrypted messenger app is Signal.

After testing, I think the Signal app and technology is secure, and so do security researchers at Oxford, QUT, and McMaster who gave glowing praise during a recent security audit of the app.

Download: Signal (free)

Secure email

Forget Gmail, iCloud or Live email accounts. These services are convenient, easy to setup and use and great for almost any email need. Except for real encrypted mail. Messages may be secured between you and the provider as long as you choose the right settings and send mail the right way, but once it leaves their hands, anything goes. These companies make no claims that they offer a completely private email solution, so we should use them for everyday needs and enjoy their features, but not rely on them for anything sensitive.

The best thing anyone who isn’t ready for keystore-based self-encryption can do is to find a secure third party service who guarantees end-to-end encryption when both parties are using a secured service. There are a few good ones available, but I decided to stick with ProtonMail.

ProtonMail is the best turn-key encrypted email service for most people. And a basic account is free.

ProtonMail offers a single account with 500MB of storage for free. Paid options with multiple addresses and more storage start at $5 per month and extra storage is $1 per month per gigabyte. The prices are reasonable if the free account isn’t enough for you, but that’s not the only reason they are my choice. The company is based in Switzerland and not subject to data access laws from any other country, and it’s very unlikely that anyone will get access to your account unless you give it to them or they find a way to break in.

To top things off they have excellent mobile apps and the desktop web login is responsive and extremely easy to use.

Download: ProtonMail (free, requires account)

Advanced users might want to manage their own encryption and use a paired key system like OpenPGP. That’s pretty simple on an Android device. You’ll need two apps:

• OpenKeychain
• K-9 Mail

OpenKeychain is a full featured OpenPGP key manager that lets you create, import, share and upload an encryption key. You can also encrypt or decrypt files or text or even create a self-signed password-protected encrypted attachment. They offer a complete API and can hook into the Android intents system so that any developer of any app that could use a bit of extra security can build support right into their service. If you are familiar with GPG or PGP encryption and key management, OpenKeychain will be easy to use.

K-9 Mail has been around forever, and version 5.2 or later offer complete OpenPGP support. K-9 supports POP, IMAP, and Exchange accounts and with OpenKeychain installed you can send and receive encrypted email seamlessly. The combination of these two apps mimics the great support for OpenPGP in mail apps for the desktop.

Nothing is foolproof and any encryption can be cracked if you try hard enough for long enough. But these solutions can help you control who is reading your messages and mail and who isn’t.

The PlayStation VR Demos you should try

Trying out a demo before you purchase the full game is a good idea.

Want to find some awesome games for your PlayStation VR, but you don’t want to shell out the cash and then regret it later? Well then you’re in luck because there are demos for some of the best games available on PlayStation VR. Trying to figure out where to start can be a bit daunting though, especially if you’re new to gaming. That’s why we’ve collected the demos that are definitely worth checking out.

Read more at VR Heads!