Most Android phones come with only 16 or 32GB of internal memory, much of which is already taken up by the operating system and preloaded software. After you start adding your own apps, shooting photos, downloading movies and putting your music collection on the device, you risk running out space. Fortunately, a number of tablets and phones come with microSD card slots that allow you to expand your storage capacity by inserting an expensive memory card, with 64GB units costing only $30 and 32GB models coming in under $15.
Here’s how to move apps to the microSD card using Android’s application manager.
Some, but not all, Android devices offer a button in the application manager that can move portions of an installed app to the microSD card. The list of devices with this button includes the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 3, the LG G3 and the HTC One (M8), among several others.
Unfortunately, large apps such as games leave most of their data on the internal storage. For example, Asphalt 8 puts just 64MB of data on the microSD card while leaving the remaining 1.4GB to fill up your phone or tablet. However, you can save some space this way, particularly if you have a lot of apps installed and move all of them.
MORE: Top 12 Android Games
1. Navigate to settings on your phone. You can find the settings menu in the app drawer.
2. Tap Application Manager.
3. Select an app you want to move to the microSD card.
4. Tap the Move to SD Card button. If you don’t see a Move to SD Card button, the app cannot be moved. Most preloaded apps cannot be moved to an SD card. If you don’t see Move to SD Card buttons on any apps, your device may not support this feature at all.
If you wish to move an app back to the internal memory, hit the “Move to device storage” button.
The official Geeks Geek, as his weekly column is titled, Avram Piltch has guided the editorial and production of Laptopmag.com since 2007. With his technical knowledge and passion for testing, Avram programmed several of LAPTOP's real-world benchmarks, including the LAPTOP Battery Test. He holds a master’s degree in English from NYU.From Laptopmagazine. Product reviews and advice for best reference
With the news of Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp, all eyes are turning to alternate messaging apps. With its clean user interface and variety of features, it’s no surprise that Telegram is getting a lot of attention. Unlike other chat clients, Telegram is cloud-based, which means you can seamlessly move your conversations between your smartphone, tablet and even your desktop, thanks to independent developers.Telegram is more than just a messaging client, allowing users to enter secret chats that are encrypted end-to-end for extra security. You’re also able to share more than just pictures and videos — Telegram lets you transfer documents or send your current location to a friend with the click of a button. Best of all, there are no ads and it’s completely free.
3. Add your name and a picture. Telegram lets users create their own profiles, complete with name and picture. Enter this information to continue.
4. Find a friend with Telegram. Telegram can automatically search your contacts for friends who use Telegram if you grant the app permission to access your address book. When you tap the Contacts tab at the bottom left of the screen, Telegram will show a list of your friends who use Telegram followed by contacts currently not signed up for the app. You can send an invite to join a chat by tapping on a friend’s name that’s not yet using Telegram.
5. Start a regular chat. Select a friend who has a Telegram account to start a new chat. Similar to WhatsApp and other traditional texting apps, there’s a text field at the bottom of the screen that’s used to type messages.
6. Send a photo, Web image, video, document, contact or your current location. Unlike most messaging apps, Telegram lets you send a wide range of information to your friends. Tap the paperclip icon next to the chat text field and choose the type of information you want to send. You can choose to immediately take a photo or video, or select one from your library. There’s also an option to search the Web for an image, which opens a search prompt that shows only image results.
If you want to send your current location to a friend, select the Location option and approve that app’s access to your current location. Your friend will then be send an interactive map with you as a pin, which can be useful for finding each other when out and about. There’s also the option to share documents and contacts, for when you need to share a file or pass along someone’s information.7. Start a secret chat. From the Contacts tab, select the option that says New Secret Chat and then select a friend’s name. Any messages sent in this window are encrypted, meaning that no one else will have access to the chat, even Telegram. You can send texts, media and documents just like you would in a regular chat.
You can also choose to make secret chat messages self-destruct, which means they’re securely erased after a set time. In a secret chat, tap on your friend’s name at the top of the screen > tap the Info button > and go into the Self-Destruct Timer settings. Choose one second, two seconds, five seconds, one minute, one hour, one day or one week.
SanDisk Ultra Dual USB Drive (32GB) $30.00 SanDisk’s Ultra Dual USB Drive is a bit pricey, but it’s a super convenient means of transferring files between Android smartphones and tablets and your computer. 