Cross-platform frameworks provide mobile app developers with a complete set of tools designed to improve productivity by solving common problems. The question is which frameworks are best for you mobile development. To help you answer this question, we have prepared a special list of cross-platform frameworks for developing high-quality mobile applications.
Developing a mobile application using a cross-platform framework is a shorter path to the successful completion of the task.
With nearly three million apps on the Google Play catalog, the Android operating system dominates the mobile landscape. Individuals, small businesses and large enterprises are working hard to establish a strong mobile presence and capture their market share. However, not everyone has the experience and resources needed to create a good mobile app from scratch using native tools.
The goal of frameworks is to make mobile app development as easy as possible.
List of cross-platform application development frameworks:
- Corona SDK
Is it easy to create applications and games on the Corona SDK? The creators of the Corona SDK framework promise ten times faster development of games and mobile applications. How is this even possible? Probably because the internal structure of the Corona application is entirely based on Lua, a lightweight multi-paradigm programming language with a focus on speed, portability, extensibility, and ease of use.
The official website of Corona SDK contains guides, lessons, examples designed to turn novice mobile application developers into experienced professionals. The guides and tips cover all sorts of topics for the developer. From the basics of mobile development to more advanced topics. The Corona SDK framework is absolutely free. Remember about cross-platform. It runs on both Windows and Mac OS X and supports real-time application testing.
- TheAppBuilder;
So, the description of TheAppBuilder, a framework used by some of the largest organizations in the world, is equipped with a user interface to speed up the development of application code. There is feedback that the version works best when used to create company presentations and other information applications. The framework comes with ready-made blocks for push notifications, feedback, polls, content updates, analytics, and more. Best of all, TheAppBuilder integrates directly with Google Play, allowing you to publish finished apps with just one click.
- Xamarin;
The Xamarin framework was developed by the same people who created ECMA compliant Mono, and there is a .NET Framework compliant toolkit. Xamarin provides developers with a single C# codebase that they can use to build their own apps for all major mobile operating systems.
Unlike many other frameworks, Xamarin has already been used by over 1.4 million developers worldwide. With Xamarin for Visual Studio, developers can take advantage of the power of Microsoft Visual Studio and all of its advanced features, including code completion, IntelliSense, and application debugging on a simulator or mobile device. The Xamarin Test Cloud feature allows you to instantly test applications on 2000 real devices in the cloud (remotely, via the Internet). This is by far the best way to deal with the highly fragmented Android ecosystem and release bug-free mobile apps that run without any major issues on most gadgets.
- Appcelerator Titanium;
The Appcelerator Titanium framework is part of the Appcelerator Platform, which includes all the tools mobile app developers need to create, test, and deploy highly optimized apps. The Titanium framework uses JavaScript to call a vast collection of APIs. These APIs call native functions of the operating systems, providing exceptional performance and a natural look and feel.
Titanium includes a visually driven mobile app development process that relies heavily on pre-built code blocks that can be assembled via drag and drop. You can create data models programmatically or visually. Test completed mobile apps in the cloud and monitor them with the Mobile Lifecycle Dashboard, which gives you valuable insights into app performance.
- phonegap;
PhoneGap by Adobe is one of the world's most popular Android app development frameworks. It is created by the Apache Cordova development team. An open source mobile application development environment that uses CSS3 and HTML5, as well as JavaScript for cross-platform development. PhoneGap is also a completely open source software (Open Source).
It is based on an intuitive desktop application used to create applications and connect these applications to mobile devices (phones/smartphones, tablets). Finally, no more obscure text commands that are easy to make mistakes and hard to remember. The fantastic desktop app is complemented by the PhoneGap mobile app. The application allows you to instantly see the changes on the connected mobile device. Other things that make PhoneGap so recommended are its large plugin library, third party tools, and thriving community.
- Ionic;
Ionic is a free and open source framework licensed under the MIT license. It offers a whole library of components and tools. Ionic allows you to develop progressive web apps and native mobile apps for every major app store - all from a single codebase. Thanks to the best in-house plugins, it's extremely easy to use features like Bluetooth and the Health Kit, and fingerprint authentication is still supported.
Ionic is also designed for performance tuning and optimization. All apps built with Ionic look like they are standardized and they work equally well. At the moment, about four million applications have been created by five million Ionic developers from around the world. If you want to join them, visit the official website and learn more about this framework.
- NativeScript;
JavaScript and Angular, as well as TypeScript, are arguably the most used web development technologies. With the NativeScript framework, you can also use them to build applications. Simply put, NativeScript builds platform-specific user interfaces from a single code base. Unlike other frameworks, NativeScript is backed by Telerik, a Bulgarian company that offers various software tools.
Looking for tutorials on building mobile apps in the cross-platform NativeScript framework? To help mobile app developers get familiar with this framework, the official website hosts many examples and detailed tutorials. You can view real implementations of mobile applications, study official documentation, and even dive into the source code.
- React Native;
React Native is developed by Facebook and is used by Instagram, Tesla, Airbnb, Baidu, Walmart, and many other Fortune 500 companies. Facebook's React JavaScript framework is open source. Because React Native uses the same UI building blocks as regular mobile apps for iOS and Android gadgets, it's impossible to distinguish a React Native app from an app built using Objective-C or Java. As soon as you update the source code, you will immediately see the changes in the application preview window. If you ever feel the need to manually optimize certain parts of your application, React Native lets you combine native code with components written in Swift or Objective-C and Java.
- Sencha touch.
What is Sencha Touch? Like TheAppBuilder, it is an enterprise framework for building universal mobile applications. It uses hardware acceleration techniques to achieve high performance. Sencha Touch comes with five dozen built-in UI components and decent looking themes, making it easy to create amazing apps that will engage users.
The framework includes a robust data package that can use data from any internal data source. With this package, you can create collections of data using highly functional models that offer features such as sorting and filtering. Sencha Touch has received praise from many influential companies and organizations.
Conclusion of the review of cross-platform frameworks for developing mobile applications:
No matter which mobile development framework you choose, don't be afraid to change your mind if you ever feel like there are better development environment options out there. Cross-platform frameworks are extremely volatile and new ones are released on a regular basis. Their goal is to help you quickly turn a rough idea into a working app and a working mobile app into a finished product. In the end, it doesn't matter if you achieve your goal by using the latest modern framework that everyone is talking about, or a long-established framework that is starting to collect dust.
When Chinese tech company Huawei decided to unveil its new multimedia phone, surrounded by the ornate National Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona, it certainly gave hints to the tech journalists in attendance as to what they were about to see. After all, the recently unveiled Huawei Mate X foldable smartphone looks a bit like a rare Picasso painting.
Huawei Mate X First Review: A folding screen smartphone is attractive, has powerful specs and is unbelievably expensive to buy.
So, what is the Huawei Mate X smartphone? The impression from the first review of Huawei Mate X can be expressed by the phrase that this smartphone is great. Even the phrase that this is a beautiful smartphone softens the review a little. Rather, he is magnificent in his own way. It has perhaps the most worthy industrial design of any mobile phone that has ever been released by the tech giants in the last few years. The new Huawei smartphone from contemplation and deep imagination clearly pushes the boundaries of what smartphones can be. Since the size of a smartphone screen easily turns into a tablet. Thus, mobile content can be viewed in a convenient way according to the situation.
Those who know everything about phones might think that by asking for a unique price, the Mate X is a bit like the Picasso story in that it is a very expensive smartphone. The Mate X has raised the price bar for smartphones. But perhaps given the specs it offers, it can justify its high price for those who are deciding which phone to buy.
Display on Huawei Mate X.
Which display is better? Huawei Mate X has one display that can be transformed into three different configurations. The first mode is an 8-inch tablet. This is an almost perfect square with an aspect ratio of 8:7.1 and a resolution of 2480 by 2200 pixels.
Since the screen is on the outside of the smartphone, when the mobile device is folded, you get two screens. The front screen offers 6.6 inches edge-to-edge, complemented by a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and a 2480 x 1148 pixel resolution.
There's also a rear that offers fewer inches of screen space as it contains the device's cameras and a pen. You will primarily use this part to create selfie photos. This part delivers a decent (but thin) screen size of 6.38 inches with a slightly compressed 25:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2480 by 892 dots (Pixels).
How comfortable is the Huawei Mate X in terms of thickness?
When folded, the Huawei Mate X mobile phone is 11 millimeters thick, and unlike the rival Samsung Galaxy Fold phone, it does not have a bulky gap. It is completely flat and is fixed with one click. It would be interesting to test how well it locks when thrown into a purse, for example, and see if it can accidentally open or not.
When unfolded, the Mate X is 5.4mm thin, slightly thinner than the iPad Pro!
On Huawei Mate X camera, pen - everything for the user!
A quick look at the side of the Huawei Mate X is a pen (a fairly descriptive term from Huawei). The device contains three mobile cameras, including one using Leica hardware. For technology news, this was not a surprise. The same configuration has appeared on all Huawei phones since the P20 Pro. It would be strange if the manufacturer Huawei refused such a feature in such a revolutionary device.
You may notice that the phone does not have a dedicated front-facing selfie camera. This is because the three main cameras are selfie cameras. To take a photo of yourself, you just need to fold your phone and turn it upside down.
All of this is pretty exciting. Huawei premium phones are regularly ranked as having the best camera phones on the market. While the company didn't share any camera samples during the launch event, it's safe to say that some people enjoy taking selfies with a high-end mobile camera enhanced with Master AI software.
And since the back of the Mate X also contains a screen, you can use your smartphone when taking photos, for example, to show the subject of the photo a preview of how it will eventually look in the picture.
Huawei employees say that there are no problems with the camera on the Mate X model. This is good news, both in terms of looks and overall durability. The latter is what the company has been focusing on by announcing a specially designed protective case with the phone.
The new 5G connectivity and performance of the Mate X smartphone.
When reviewing the Mate X, it is important to remember that Huawei is not just a phone manufacturer. It targets many IT areas, including SoC design. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Mate X uses a Balong 5G modem, as well as a Huawei Kirin 980 processor.
The modem is especially interesting, as Huawei promises more than double the performance of competing modems such as Qualcomm Snapdragon and Samsung Exynos. It is assumed that users who can afford to buy Huawei Mate X in stores will be able to use the download speed of 4.6 Gb / s, for example, to download a 1 GB movie in just three seconds. Of course, right now, we have not been able to independently verify this, so for now it remains to take our word for it.
What operating system is installed in Huawei Mate X?
In terms of software, the Mate X runs on Google's Android 9.0 Pie system.
Huawei also said that Desktop Mode software will be available for its latest foldable phone, allowing the Mate X to be used as a smartphone, tablet, and even a desktop computer.
Memory Huawei Mate X.
The Mate X is a dual SIM mobile phone with one slot supporting 5G networking and the other limited to 4G connectivity. If you don't need the latter feature, you can simply insert an NM card (explanation, NM is a nano memory card invented by Huawei that offers the same type of memory as a microSD memory card but in a smaller form factor) and add an extra storage space on the mobile device. At the same time, the basic version of the smartphone comes with 512 GB of memory. Even the most dedicated filmmakers are unlikely to use all this amount of memory in a mobile phone.
Rechargeable battery for Mate X.
With such a big screen to work with, you'll be happy to know that the Huawei Mate X comes with a pretty gigantic battery. The device has two cells, which in total are measured up to a respectable 4500 mAh. Unfortunately, there are no battery tests right now, so it's hard to say how this affects the actual use of the new smartphone.
The Chinese company shared that the Mate X comes with a 55W Super Charge function that can recharge a phone's battery by 85 percent in just thirty minutes.
Huawei Mate X pricing.
The Huawei Mate X is arguably the most important phone the rising Chinese tech brand has ever unveiled, and not just because it solidifies its reputation as an innovative premium phone maker. This phone implements more than three years of research and development of the company and combines achievements in materials technology and communication equipment.
With that in mind, don't be surprised that the smartphone comes with really expensive prices, starting at 2299 euros. When Huawei CEO Richard Yu (English spelling of the name "Richard Yu") broke the news, the crowd's silence that he previously enjoyed was replaced by a questioning whisper. How much, how much does it cost?
Speaking of prices, that's about 300 euros more expensive than Samsung's flagship mobile device, the Galaxy Fold. And it's about 800 Euros more expensive than the most expensive Apple iPhone. Price-wise, the Mate X is in the same range as the company's previous luxury phones that have carried the brand of luxury car brands, namely Porsche.
Huawei is mindful of the high cost of the Mate X, and in the course of the conversation, Richard Yu said that the price of the phone reflects the high cost of R&D of the mobile device. He explained that the patented hinge that separates the two displays is a three-year development process and contains over a hundred different parts. Such research and development is not cheap, and it is inevitable that there will be costs.
However, two things are inevitable. First, there will be no shortage of pioneering enthusiasts willing to save a lot of money in order to raise money for a premium phone. For these buyers, there is an undeniable allure in being among the first to own something special. Perhaps Huawei will be able to take advantage of the news noise and benefit from more than just selling cheaper phones.
Secondly, market prices will inevitably decline. Maybe not for this smartphone, but certainly for foldable smartphones in general. By and large, the price of 2300 Euros for the phone will be perceived as a deviation from the norm. This will be driven by several factors, ranging from inevitable cost savings to competition from other up-and-coming brands such as Xiaomi and OPPO, which are steadily encroaching on the Western smartphone market.
Availability to purchase Huawei Mate X.
For example, Huawei hasn't revealed how much it will cost in the UK, but guess what, it could be around £2,300. This assumption takes into account previous price trends, high sales tax in the UK and the continued decline of the pound.
Also, Huawei CEO Yu did not mention any plans to release the Mate X in the United States. Which is not surprising. The company rarely releases phones in the US. So the Mate 20 Pro, which until recently was the best Android phone that you could buy for a reasonable price, was completely absent from the US market, forcing American consumers to order a smartphone from abroad. This situation could push prices even higher for US users, who may be forced to pay high customs duties and taxes.
When will Huawei Mate X be available?
Huawei has announced that the Mate X will be released in the middle of the year. Unfortunately, this message was not more specific. For clarification, you just need to wait and see what the official release date of Huawei Mate X will be on sale.
Planning to buy a new premium phone? There are reasons why it's better to wait before buying a premium phone right now. Which? Here are some of the main reasons. From the premium phones of 2019, what the buyer can expect: the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 mobile chip, new super fast 5G connectivity, folding screen design and 48-megapixel mobile camera.
All about phones and buying them: If you are planning to buy a new premium phone, wait at least one month with your purchase. And that's why:At Mobile World Congress 2019 (also known as MWC 2019) in just a couple of weeks (on the 20th of February), most of the leading smartphone manufacturers are expected to present their latest flagship phones with enhanced features and updated specifications.
So, the new characteristics of cell phones for this year.
Samsung will release the Galaxy S10 multimedia phone, while manufacturer HMD Global will introduce the Nokia 9 PureView five-camera phone. Phone makers Huawei, Oppo and LG will also showcase their latest mobile devices at the upcoming Mobile Show.
But in 2019, buyers should be thinking about more than just another upgrade cycle when buying a new premium phone. And the reasons for this are the unique technical characteristics in the description of the phones.
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor.
Qualcomm's top-end processor powers most premium phones, from the Samsung Galaxy S9 to the OnePlus 6T. The Snapdragon 845 processor is now history. The latest Qualocmm Snapdragon 855 chipset, based on 7nm process technology, delivers better performance, higher battery efficiency and built-in artificial intelligence (aka AI) processing.
Combined with the Snapdragon X50 modem, the Snapdraon 855 processor will also bring 5G mobile connectivity to premium smartphones in 2019.
Other highlights of the chipset include improved gaming performance (Adreno 640 GPU), AI and a higher resolution camera, as well as an in-screen fingerprint sensor.
- 48 megapixel camera.
The latest premium smartphones are expected to come with a higher resolution camera. The 48MP camera is the new rage and already several phones like the Honor View20 and Redmi Note 7 have a similar feature.
While resolution is definitely not the best measurement for evaluating a camera, the built-in sensors also improve a lot. Most of these 48MP camera phones will probably use the Sony IMX586 sensor, called the highest resolution camera sensor in mobile phones.
Apart from better camera resolution and sensors, 2019 premium mobile phones can also come with Samsung-like quad and penta camera setups (five). In most phones in 2018, dual cameras had a main camera, while the secondary camera ranged from ultra-wide, depth to monochrome.
We expect new phones to feature most of these sensors with three, four, or five cameras.
- Mobile communications of the fifth generation: 5G.
The evolution of mobile networks continues! The upcoming MWC 2019 will also be the launching pad for 5G phones. Xiaomi, OnePlus, Samsung and almost all the leading players in the mobile market are expected to present their new phones with 5G connectivity. Most of these phones will also hit European and US markets later this year. Some Apple fans are already looking to buy an iPhone 5G. For other countries, the rollout of 5G networks may be delayed by at least one year. But investing in a 5G-enabled phone right now wouldn't be a bad idea.
- Foldable mobile phone.
Foldable phones are no longer a concept, screen folding is already part of the feature of mobile phones. The Korean company Samsung introduced its first foldable phone at the end of last year. She is expected to unveil the commercial version of the phone at her event on February 20, ahead of the mobile show MWC 2019.
It's likely that Samsung is betting big on the new form factor as it plans to release at least one million foldable phones this year. Given that Russia is one of the priority markets, we can expect foldable phones to be released as well. In addition to Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo have plans to release foldable phones this year.
- Artificial intelligence in phones, plus do not forget about machine learning.
Google last year introduced the Android 9 Pie operating system. Android Pie features such as adaptive display and adaptive brightness are based on machine learning to help improve the experience on Android phones. Going forward, artificial intelligence and machine learning will be an important part of the updates to the Google Android platform. It might be worth making sure that your new phone will be compatible not only with Android 9 Pie, but also with the Android Q receiver.
Beyond Google, phone companies like Xiaomi and Asus are injecting artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) directly into system apps. The camera, for example, on premium phones uses AI and ML to automatically recognize scenes and automatically optimize settings. Most mobile phones in 2019 will be equipped with AI-enhanced cameras.
The only thing that remains a dream when buying is when the best mobile phones will have a full "3D phone" feature.
News added:
1) Samsung has released the latest version of the Galaxy S10, and people believe that the iPhone can lose its position as the king of smartphones.
The latest flagship smartphone Samsung Galaxy S10 was released by the company on February 20th. On this day, Samsung introduced a lot of new products. The audience was really interested in the demonstrated new phone. So much so that they say that the Apple iPhone smartphone has a serious alternative. With the latest Galaxy S10, Samsung surprised and shocked fans, in a good way.
2) Attractive, powerful and incredibly expensive Huawei Mate X foldable 5G phone.
Following the announcement of the first foldable smartphone Samsung Galaxy Fold, the Chinese company Huawei is betting on the folding screen form factor and announces the release of Huawei Mate X, which still works with 5G connectivity. Developer Huawei takes a completely different approach compared to Samsung, namely placing the smartphone's foldable display on the outside instead of inside, and this solution has a number of pros and cons in describing new generation phones. The price of Huawei Mate X starts from 2299 Euros.
3) Will Apple release a foldable iPhone?
Some analysts believe that a foldable iPhone may be in development at the Cupertino company. Then, if the new Apple smartphone comes with a folding screen, it has a chance to become the best among the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X folding smartphones already released.
Moom, from the developers of Many Tricks, has been bringing order to chaos since 2011, making managing windows in the operating system as easy as clicking a mouse button or using a keyboard shortcut. With Moom, you can easily move and scale windows to half screen, quarter screen, or fill the screen; set custom sizes and positions, and save open window layouts for one-click positioning. Once you try Moom, you'll wonder how you used your Mac without it before.
Software Overview: Moom is a program for moving and scaling windows on the Mac OS system.So, Moom allows you to move and scale windows - using the mouse or keyboard - in predefined locations and sizes, or in full screen mode. When using the program with a mouse, all you have to do is hover over the green resize button and the Moom interface will appear. When you use the keyboard, click on the shortcut you defined and the Moom keyboard frame will appear, then you can move windows around with the arrow keys and modifier keys.
Moom can be run as a traditional app, as a menu bar app, or as a completely featureless background app.
Location of pop-ups.
Hover your mouse over the green button of any window and the Moom palette will pop up.
Quickly fill the screen or move and resize vertically or horizontally at the edges of the screen. Want a quarter size window instead? By holding down the Option key, the palette presents four quarter-size corner options along with a "center without resizing".
Resizing is not a problem.
It's actually drag and drop using Moom's unique on-screen resizing grid.
Click on the empty box below the pop-up palette, move your mouse to where you want the window to be, then click and drag to resize it.
Release the mouse button and the window will fill the outline you drew on the screen, it's not difficult at all.
Want to quickly move and scale windows to specific areas of the screen? Just turn on the Moom edge and corner snapping feature.
Take the window, drag it to the edge or corner and release the mouse button. You can set the resize action for each location in the Moom settings.
Set the window set to the size and position you want, then save the layout. Restore the layout using the assigned hotkey or through the Moom menu.
This feature is especially useful if you are using a laptop with an external display, Moom can launch saved layouts when you add or remove displays.
No mouse required.
Don't worry keyboard users. Moom isn't just for those who prefer to use a mouse. Turn on keyboard controls and you can move, resize, center, use the on-screen grid and more - all without touching your mouse.
In addition, each custom Moom command, continue reading, can be assigned a global keyboard shortcut or one that only works when the keyboard controller is on screen.
Countless user commands.
Create and save frequently used Moom actions in the custom command menu, with additional separators and labels.
Moving, scaling, resizing, centering, even moving to other displays can all be done with custom commands. You can even create a sequence of commands tied to a single shortcut, simplifying complex moving and resizing operations.
But wait, it's not all about moving and scaling windows on Mac OS with Moom.
Use Moom as a regular Dock-based app, as a menu bar icon, or as a completely invisible background app.
Custom commands are accessed through the Moom menu bar icon, green button pop-up palette, or keyboard shortcuts.
Use a small hexagonal grid to resize the grid instead of a full screen virtual grid.
Move windows around displays, and use related commands to scale them to new sizes and locations as you move them.
You can display a keyboard cheat sheet that shows which tasks you have assigned to which keys in keyboard mode.
Resizing windows to precise sizes, ideal for checking how well windows fit into windows of different sizes.
The developers of the Moom program have made efforts to achieve these goals, when great software should do its job efficiently, have a clear interface and be pleasant to use.
Summary:
Moom is a Mac OS application developed by Many Tricks that allows you to quickly arrange, resize, move, scale and shape windows so you spend as little time as possible placing windows and more time working with them.
Moom system requirements:
The program requires macOS 10.8 "Mountain Lion" or later to be installed on the computer. You can try Moom for free.
Trying to download and choose the best file manager for Windows? There is good news, it is XYplorer portable program, it is just a file manager for Windows and has features such as tabbed browsing, powerful file search (as explorer, alternative), universal preview, customizable interface, optional dual panel and a large set unique ways to efficiently automate repetitive tasks. This file manager for Windows computers is fast, innovative, lightweight and portable, according to developer Cologne Code Company. Read on for an overview of XYplorer!
What is a file manager for Windows today.Learn more about the functionality of the XYplorer file manager. So, there is an export of extended information about the files of entire directories (or even directory trees) to CSV text files. Automatic column width adjustment. Customizable display formats for file size and date information. For each file and folder, the used (real) disk space is immediately displayed. Remembers the last folder and sort order. Browser-like history functionality. You can assign favorite folders. A large set of useful commands added to the standard file context menu, including "Copy to", "Move to", "Copy file name with path", "Copy file properties", "Rename multiple files". Icon extraction, multi-file timestamp and attribute label. Instant display of full file/version information for each selected file. Instant preview of images, audio and video files (displays detailed media information). Instant view of file contents for all files (ASCII and binary), including text extraction from binary files (fairly fast). Full support for Drag and Drop and mouse wheel.
XYplorer what is it for the user
XYplorer as a two-pane file manager for Windows was designed for hard work. The program is easy to install and easy to uninstall. Installing and running the program does not change your system or registry. Ease of use in that you can start working in the shortest possible time (the interface is fully consistent with the standards of the file manager). The program is small, fast and convenient for the computer's RAM.
Portability:
XYplorer is a portable file manager. That is, it does not require any installation into the computer's operating system, stores all configuration data in the program's data folder, and running it does not change your system or registry. Take it with you and you can run the program from a USB flash drive. Further file management is in your hands.
Working with tabs:
Tabs in the file manager make it easy to switch between folders. Drag them, hide them, lock them, name them or drop files on them. Tabs remember their configuration individually and across sessions. In addition, the user gets tabs and a dual panel.
Functionality:
XYplorer was designed to make the user experience faster, according to the developer. Indeed, numerous usability improvements in an attractive interface help to optimize the workflow and increase its efficiency. Under these conditions, you can save a lot of time when working with files in Windows.
Scripts in the file manager for many tasks:
Yes, you can program this program. Individual solutions for individual tasks. No plugins are required, scripts are run from the program folder. Even beginners can benefit from this feature, as many ready-to-use scripts are available on the official file manager forum.
The speed of the program:
Speed has always been the main goal of XYplorer software development. Code is constantly optimized for performance, zero tolerance for slowness. In addition, the file manager uses very little RAM in Windows, the executable file is small (only 7 MB) and loads almost instantly on the system.
Reliability:
Can XYplorer file manager be trusted. One thing is clear that the program works as intended by the developer and expected to work, it seems that it is very difficult to enter into a failure state. In addition, the developer states that any problems with the program are immediately resolved and are usually resolved within a few hours. It is worth adding that a large community is closely following the development of the file manager and is constantly testing frequently released beta versions.
Software customization:
You can customize the file manager to look and behave the way you want. Customization ranges from fonts and colors to customizable toolbar buttons and even file icons and program associations. And every part of the XYplorer file manager is completely portable. Even dark mode.
Responsiveness of the developer of the XYplorer program:
System requirements for the program:
Because XYplorer is a portable file manager. File management does not require you to install or modify your operating system or registry. You can take the program with you and simply launch the file manager from a USB drive along with your personal configuration.
The XYplorer program works under 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft operating systems:
Windows Server 2003;
- Windows XP;
- Windows Vista;
- Windows Server 2008;
- Windows 7;
- Windows Server 2012;
- Windows 8;
- Windows 8.1;
- Windows Server 2016;
- Windows 10.
You can try the file manager for free, but remember that the demo version of XYplorer is fully functional only 30 days after installation on your computer!
Nimble web video downloader for Mac: Downie will save video content one time or by list and customizable "alarm clock".
Online Video Downloader - Downie currently supports over 1,000 different sites (including Facebook, Vimeo, the legendary YouTube, Lynda, Youku, Daily Haha, MTV, iView, South Park Studios, Bloomberg, Kickstarter, NBC News, CollegeHumor , MetaCafe, as well as Bilibili and other video sites). Plus, the list of sites from which the program can download videos is growing rapidly.
Features of the Downie program:
Support for downloading 4K YouTube videos - Unlike many other YouTube video downloader software, Downie supports HD YouTube videos up to 4K format.
Frequent updates - no need to wait long for new sites to be added from where you can download videos or bugs are fixed. Downie is updated about once a week with new features, supported sites, and more.
International approach - Downie downloader not only supports specific sites created for a particular country, the program is also localized into different languages. If your language is not on the list of supported languages, just contact the developer of Charlie Monroe Software and discuss this issue.
New features in Downie:
Program UI redesign - The downloader UI has been redesigned from the ground up. The interface, according to the developer, has become faster, more convenient and visually pleasing.
Menu Bar Icon - You can manage your downloads from the menu bar, without having to take your eyes off your current work.
Improved HLS support - according to the developer of the program, HLS streams are loaded four times faster.
DASH support - DASH streams are now supported.
Major post-processing improvements - Post-processing of some uploads can take only seconds instead of minutes thanks to Downie, a short cut to analyze video before converting it.
Simple Mode - If you prefer to keep the user interface as simple as possible, there is the "Easy" mode for you.
Grouping video files by site, from which the download was made and playlist - all downloads can now be sorted into folders depending on where you downloaded them from or what playlist they are from.
Delayed start of the queue - a function of scheduling downloads for the required time (for example, you can assign a video download to the middle of the night) so as not to overload the Internet channel for the whole family.
Support for user-controlled pop-ups - The program now additionally supports pop-ups, so you can log in to sites that open the login in a separate window.
Simple tips for using Downie:
If you have a large list of links or a lot of links within some text, just drag and drop it all onto Downie - the downloader will scan the text for links with video content.
You can also use copy and paste - just hit Command-O in Downie and you can paste a lot of links.
Quick user support:
The developer of the video downloader usually responds to emails within 24 hours and quite often adds support for the requested sites in the program in the next update.
A few words from the developer of the program:
Charlie Monroe, CEO, Developer and User Support:
"My goal is to release the best apps and provide the best support."
Downie Compatibility:
To all who thought about downloading the Downie program for Mac. You should be aware that the program requires a computer running macOS 10.11 or later.
Software Breaking News: VideoSolo DVD Creator for converting and burning videos, with rich functionality for the user.So, with VideoSolo DVD Creator, burn almost any video to DVD and even Blu-ray discs easily and quickly, with excellent flexibility of settings (you can burn video, edit video, add audio, edit DVD menu).
It is possible to download online videos for burning DVD or Blu-ray discs.
Need to solve the problem of how to download videos from sites online? For example, from sites such as YouTube, Facebook, MTV, Vimeo, Yahoo, Dailymotion, TED, Vevo, Niconico, AOL, Worldstar Hip Hop, Youku, CBS, ESPN and others. With this program, home movies or videos can still be burned to DVD or Blu-ray after being downloaded from an online site.
The program allows, in a few simple steps, to download 3D video, high definition video (4K, 1080p and 720p resolution) and music for any player.
Styling your DVD with the right menu.
The flexible VideoSolo DVD Creator offers many different and incredible templates to edit DVD disc menus for you. Already available design themes such as holiday, family, wedding and more. After selecting the menu template you like, you can edit the DVD menu text and define its font, size, color. Creating a DVD menu is quite convenient.
What's more, you can separately set background music, background picture and opening movie with your music, picture and video file.
Setting DVD subtitles and audio tracks.
Need to change or create DVD subtitles or audio tracks? DVD Creator allows the user to customize the subtitles and audio track. That is, you can add subtitles and audio tracks to your DVD manually. Supported subtitle file formats are SSA, SRT, and ASS.
For audio files, this program supports almost all popular audio formats, so it's easy to import them into the program. With the DVD Creator utility, you can edit the audio volume and adjust the position of the subtitles to get a personalized DVD file.
Video editing and live preview.
This DVD burning tool is designed with a powerful video editing feature that allows professionals and beginners to create professional-looking DVDs. Which allows you to adjust video effects such as brightness, saturation, hue, volume, and contrast.
VideoSolo DVD Creator also supports the ability to trim video length, cut video, change aspect ratio, set position and transparency, and add watermark from text or image to video.
The user of the DVD Creator software can review the DVD video before burning to make sure everything is created as it should.
Video review of VideoSolo DVD Creator: User's Guide.
And in the last 5-10 years, a breakthrough in the field of cellular communications has been the emergence and then widespread use of smartphones. What is a smartphone, how does it differ from ordinary mobile phones and how to choose it? That's what we'll talk about now.
Smartphone is a device in which cellular communication functions are combined with . In addition to making voice calls, SMS, voice mail functions, using a smartphone, you can access the Internet, receive and send e-mail, communicate in social networks and chats, edit office documents, listen to music, take photos and videos, and much more. .
Whether all these functions are necessary for a novice user (i.e. "teapot"), it's up to you to decide. In principle, the support of a particular feature in a smartphone depends not only on the technical parameters of the device, but also on the type of operating system that is preinstalled in this model, as well as its current version and installed software.
Now there is a "fashion" for smartphones and they are bought by everyone, both schoolchildren, students, and even some advanced pensioners ... Before proceeding with the choice of a smartphone, let's figure it out, do you really need it?
1. Who needs a smartphone?
Articles and Lifehacks
Most tech-savvy users probably know the difference between a phone and a PDA. However, time goes by, manufacturers are constantly improving their devices, simplifying the process, and therefore it is difficult for many today to say what is a smartphone and what is it for. Let's try to answer these questions.
What is a smartphone and what is it for?
Outwardly, the described device looks like a mobile phone. Its standard set of functions is exactly the same, but its interface and versatility can be compared to a desktop computer. At the same time, having the functions of a PDA, it differs from it in the body and display dimensions.
Most modern smartphones are equipped with a touch screen. The user enters the necessary data using the QWERTY keyboard, which pops up when you press your finger on an empty typing field. All smartphones run on some operating system (for example, Windows Phone, Android, Symbian, iOS).
The very first smartphone is considered to be the 7650 model from Nokia. And today, this manufacturer produces high-tech mobile devices of proper quality - take, for example, at least the Nokia Lumia line of devices, which is popular with buyers.
The demand for smartphones is constantly increasing, and they are gradually replacing conventional cell phones. When purchasing such a device, do not neglect the means of protection - a special adhesive film and a cover. The same is important with, which needs protection no less.
So, we figured out what a smartphone is, and why each user needs it personally, we will consider below.
Why do you need such a device as a smartphone, personally for you?
Many users who are accustomed to the simplest push-button phones are genuinely perplexed about whether it is worth overpaying when buying a device such as a smartphone. At this stage, we will figure out whether we need our device only for communication, and how often we suffer in the absence of a desktop computer.
Most often, the buyer purchases a smartphone at the same time to perform several tasks. For example, he uses it not only to communicate and exchange SMS messages, but also to communicate via Skype, in social networks, like a calculator, player, camera, video camera, notebook, etc. In other words, in most cases it is supposed to use the device as a mini-computer. As a result, the user acquires a portable device with a huge range of functions. If desired, it can be used as a webcam, modem, etc.
If comfortable work on the Internet is one of the priorities when choosing a device, it is recommended to give preference to smartphones with a large screen size and support for all the most important modules, including 3G and Wi-Fi. It is also desirable to have a high capacity battery. It is very convenient to go online from an Android device.
Now the word "smartphone" will not surprise anyone. Even if you do not have it, then at least once, but heard it and roughly know what it means!
But here is the salt, which is about. Not everyone knows exactly what the word smartphone means, how it appeared and how this gadget differs from a phone, communicator or PDA. Let's try to figure this out together.
Meaning of the term Smartphone
The Russian language in our time is full of foreign words. And this term is no exception.
The word Smartphone comes from the English Smartphone, which, in turn, combines two words:
Smart- means "smart"
phone means "telephone".
Thus, it can be concluded that Smartphone is a phone that has “smart” functions of a mobile computer: both computing (processor, RAM, ROM) and communication (WiFi, 4g / LTE, Bluetooth, GPS, GLONASS).
What is a Communicator then?
Do not forget about the word-synonym - Communicator. The fact is that in their meaning both terms are actually one and the same. The confusion here appeared thanks again to the manufacturers. And that's why! At that time there were no tablets, and in their place on the market there were PDAs - a pocket personal computer. At its core, it was a small tablet on the Windows Mobile operating system. Despite the fact that he had a touch screen, it was impossible to control the gadget as it is now with a finger. For these purposes, a special stylus was used, similar to a ballpoint pen (By the way, until recently, it was also found on the Samsung Galaxy Note).
And from what the manufacturer considered his offspring, it depended on how he would call it. If the developers thought that this was a phone with PDA functions, it was a "Smartphone". If they positioned it as a PDA with phone functions, then this is a "Communicator".
Of course now, when the very concept of "Personal Pocket Computer" has simply disappeared, as well as the devices themselves representing this class, then the semantic difference between the two names of the same device has disappeared.
There was another classification option was according to the operating system installed on the device. It so happened that if the operating system is installed Microsoft Windows Mobile or Palm OS- then this is a communicator, but if the gadget is controlled by Symbian OS, then this is a smartphone. Of course, now, after some time, such a division seems strange and absurd, but then, in the early 2000s, everything was so. The funny thing is that the advent of the Android and iOS operating systems practically nullified their predecessors. Palm OS and Symbian have practically sunk into oblivion, and Windows Mobile has been transformed into Windows Phone.
Mobile operating systems
At the moment, we can name 10 major mobile operating systems that have been the most popular over the past 15 years:
Android - iOS - Windows Phone (Mobile, CE) - BlackBerry - Symbian - Samsung Bada - FireFox OS - Palm OS - Web OS - Linux Ubuntu
Unfortunately, a large part of them are already in the past and are unlikely to receive further development. At the moment, TOP3 looks like this:
History of Smartphones
At the beginning of 2000, a new Ericsson R380 mobile phone appeared on the market. It was the first device that the manufacturer officially called a "smartphone" and from which the development of a whole class of mobile equipment began.
Ericsson R380 ran on the mobile operating system Symbian OS and had a monochrome touch screen.
Almost after him, a competitor appeared on the market - Nokia 9210.
Nokia by this time already had a whole line of communicators, but none of them were popular. They were bulky, uncomfortable and of little use. Therefore, the 9210 model was fundamentally different and, accordingly, they began to call it differently - Smartphone. That is, Nokia positioned it as an advanced phone. Then a flurry of development began, during which more and more new players joined the race - HTC, Sony, Motorola, Siemens. Completely different technologies and form factors (sliders, clamshells) were tried. The phones were equipped with a full QWERTY keyboard.
This continued until 2007, when a new trendsetter appeared on the scene - the iPhone smartphone on the iOS operating system from Apple.
This non-keyboard monoblock set the direction for the next decades. And a little later, its main competitor, the Android operating system, and first dozens, and then hundreds of smartphone models based on this OS, saw the light of day.
What is the difference between a smartphone and a mobile phone
1. Software stuffing. The phone just has a firmware with a certain set of functions. The communicator already uses a full-fledged operating system (IOS, Android or Windows), which allows not only to use the available features, but also to expand them by installing additional programs.
2. Hardware capabilities. Hardly anyone knows what chip and how much RAM is used on a regular push-button phone. But modern smartphones already use multi-core processors and several gigabytes of RAM. In terms of performance, such devices will outdo computers older than 5-6 years.
3. Communication capabilities: availability of WiFi, 4G/LTE, GPS, GLONASS modules.
4. Additional features: Pedometer, gyroscope, IR port, USB.
5. Ability to work with various types of files: audio, video, documents, spreadsheets, presentations.
6. Data synchronization with Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc. cloud services.
7. Screen size. The phone does not need a large display. And with a high resolution, it simply will not be able to work due to modest hardware capabilities. Smartphones and tablets have an average screen size of 5 inches.
Many people use the word "smartphone" in their speech, but not everyone knows what exactly it means, often meaning by this just a cellular device. However, there are differences between a smartphone and a regular mobile phone.
A smartphone is like a telephone: it can also make phone calls, just like a regular phone. But besides this, advanced features, additional functions can be added to a smartphone, for example, various melodies and ringtones that can be found in a personal digital assistant (PDA) or on a computer. Smartphones typically allow you to send and receive email, edit documents, or view pages, social networks, and more.
How did smartphones appear?
When technology began to change, people began to think seriously about communication, they had mobile phones to make phone calls, and also (PDAs) like the Palm Pilot. PDAs were used as personal organizers or day planners that you could carry with you at all times. People could sync their Pocket PC with and save their contact information, calendars, and to-do list.
PDA technology has evolved, and over time, they have new features and capabilities. One of them was wireless communication, with which you could send and receive letters.
Meanwhile, cell phones were also developing. With their help, it was also possible to exchange short messages (SMS). Subsequently, the pocket personal computer received the functions of a cell phone, and mobile phones added functions similar to those that were already in PDAs and stationary computers.
This is how the smartphone appeared, as a result of the development of the functions of mobile phones and the capabilities of pocket personal computers.
What is a smartphone and what are its main functions
There is no standard definition of the term "smartphone". The name comes from the English smartphone, which can be translated literally, and it means "smart phone".
A smartphone is a smart phone that has an operating system.
What, according to one consumer, should be in a smartphone, for another user may be outdated or unnecessary. However, there are some features that are common to most famous smartphones, just as most cell phones have their own set of "standard" options.
The main features of the smartphone include:
- mobile telephony (calls using one SIM card or 2 SIM cards, and sometimes four),
- receiving and sending SMS messages,
- access to the Internet using one browser or your choice,
- Email,
- to access the Internet in addition to similar access using the services of a mobile operator that provided a SIM card,
- distributing Wi-Fi when the smartphone turns into,
- etc.
The main difference between a smartphone and a mobile phone
Mostly,
A smartphone differs from a mobile phone in that it has an operating system,
which allows you to run applications with a performance that is clearly greater than that of a cell phone.
Depending on the manufacturer, there can be many different types of operating systems on different smartphone models.
android smartphone is a smart phone running the Android operating system, which has become widespread due to its Linux-based open source code. The system is being developed by the OHA group of companies led by Google. The presence of open source allows numerous Android programmers to develop their own applications for smartphones.
Smartphone iPhone(iPhone) - Apple's smart phone with the iOS operating system.
BlackBerry smartphones run the BlackBerry OS operating system.
Other smartphones use Palm OS or Windows Mobile. Many operating systems are simple desktop versions of Linux that are available not only on computers but also on smartphones.
Flagship smartphone - what is it?
The term "flagship" comes from the fleet, on which the ship is the flagship, where the commander is located, headquarters and from where the fleet is controlled.
By analogy with the fleet
the flagship smartphone is the best device from any major manufacturer,
with the most advanced features and the best features (speed, video playback quality and other advanced features).
True, all this quickly becomes obsolete, but this, as they say, will be later ...
Smartphone app - what is it?
A smartphone application (eng. "Mobile app" - a mobile application) is software designed to work on smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices.
The app can be games, social media apps, e-mail apps, a flashlight, etc.
Many mobile applications are pre-installed on smartphones by manufacturers themselves, which is why they are called pre-installed or built-in. For example, a new Android smartphone is usually “to the eyeballs” packed with applications from, and a new Iphone is filled with applications from Apple.
An important feature of the smartphone is the ability to download additional necessary applications for free or for a fee at the request of the user from online application stores such as the App Store (for iPhones), BlackBerry App World, Google Play (for), 1mobile market, Windows Phone Store, Yandex.store and others.
The presence of an operating system allows you to arbitrarily expand the number of applications installed on your smartphone. Such "luxury" was not available in conventional mobile phones. Here, the number of additional applications is limited only by the size of the available memory of the smartphone, its performance and a number of other technical and software parameters. A smartphone allows its owner, with almost no serious restrictions, to expand the possibilities of using his gadget.
The operating system on the smartphone also provides the ability to constantly install new updates to both the operating system itself and installed applications, which makes the smartphone truly “smart”, keeping the system and applications up to date.
About mobile phone and smartphone security
Mobile phones, although inferior to modern smartphones, are still often indispensable assistants in a number of cases. For example, many bank-client systems running on desktop computers and laptops use SMS informing, SMS confirmation codes to identify a bank client and his operations. Of course, these are just ordinary SMS messages that can be received by both simple mobile phones and modern smart smartphones.
However, the lack of an open operating system in a mobile phone does not allow fraudsters to be as “easy” (relatively easy, of course) as in a smartphone. Simple mobile phones are much better protected from various kinds of fraud inherent in open systems, with which smartphones are “friends” and simple old and reliable “iron” mobile phones are completely “unfriendly”.
What is a pocket personal computer and what is its use
Rice. 1. Personal Pocket Computer (PDA) A pocket personal computer (English term: Personal Digital Assistant, abbreviated as PDA - “personal digital secretary”) is a small device with wide functionality.
Due to its small size, the PDA is often referred to as a handheld. PDAs were originally intended to be used as electronic organizers. You can't make calls from a "classic" PDA, it's not a mobile phone.
Now classic pocket personal computers are almost completely replaced
- communicators is a PDA with a cellular communication module and
- smartphones.
Rice. 2 (click to enlarge). Unfolded Nokia Communicator 
Rice. 3 (click to enlarge). Miniature Nokia Communicator Pocket PCs at one time were convenient for distribution to employees of companies that were engaged in, say, sales. Mobile applications were installed on PDAs that worked in conjunction with the information systems of companies selling their goods and services. And employees could, holding in their hand a small, in fact, a computer, see the remaining goods in the warehouse, the work schedule of employees providing services, and so on, in order to solve sales issues on the spot, at the client's. Fine, don't say anything. Now, for this kind of action, they mainly use tablets or smartphones.
Replacing PDAs with smartphones, in fact, has not changed anything. It became possible to install the same mobile applications both on communicators and smartphones, which gradually replaced PDAs. But…
If old PDAs allowed you to work only with the Internet, with mobile applications using a SIM card, then smartphones began to allow you to do a lot more: make calls, exchange SMS, use browsers, send and receive e-mail, and so on. But all these "pleasures" use the resources of the SIM card, for which the employer must pay! It turns out that the replacement of PDAs with smartphones "doomed" employers to control the work of "field" employees using smartphones more strictly. The use of PDAs in the past did not cause such problems and did not lead to inflated expenses in this or that company for the use of mobile communications.
There are many similar examples when old gadgets, old mobile phones, communicators, PDAs, worked more reliably (in some cases) than modern smart smartphones.
Results
However, progress cannot be stopped. The convenience of working with smartphones, the openness of the operating system, the ability to receive updates, expand functions at the request of users, write new applications on their own and other conveniences have gradually replaced the old gadgets, which were not flexible enough in nature and functions.
Now on a smartphone you can do almost the same thing as on a computer, and sometimes more. And it remains for us to live and work in new realities, somewhere sometimes adapting to them, but how could it be otherwise?!
