For years, manners have been defined and documented in easy-to-learn rules classed by geography and culture. For example, in some countries it’s acceptable to make abundant noises when eating, whereas in others, eating is a matter to be taken with the utmost seriousness and is performed in stony silence. Then along came the jangling cellphone.

A few weeks ago I looked at Burner, an Android app that creates anonymous, disposable phone numbers for your smartphone. Android app Snapchat is in the same arena in that it, too, provides privacy for smartphone users. The difference, however is that this app uniquely deletes MMS-like multimedia messages once they’ve been viewed.

A few weeks ago I looked at Burner, an Android app that creates anonymous, disposable phone numbers for your smartphone. Android app Snapchat is in the same arena in that it, too, provides privacy for smartphone users. The difference, however is that this app uniquely deletes MMS-like multimedia messages once they’ve been viewed.

Voxer Pro Business turns your smartphone into a walkie-talkie. Smartphone walkie-talkies are not new, of course — Nextel, which got swallowed by Sprint, used to offer a unique push-to-talk, or PTT, walkie-talkie cellphone feature called “Direct Connect.” Nextel’s simulated half-duplexing service mimicked walkie-talkies but ran over spectrum similar to that used by cell networks.

If you find yourself bashing away on your Android device and maxing it to the hilt with numerous background-running apps, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered freezes and slowdowns. As PC makers can attest, we’re using our Android and other newer devices as laptop substitutes these days, and thrashing phones and tablets in the process. However, there are tools to help manage the maxing-out.

If you read my columns regularly, you’ll know that I’m a second-screen proponent. For those unfamiliar with the dual-screen concept, it suggests that tablet or phone often accompanies big-screen television watching, resting on the viewer’s knee and acting as a two-way, interactive, Internet-connected screen. Where the concept breaks down, however, is that no one really knows how second screens are used.

Here’s another app that takes personal analytics to the maximum. I’ve already looked at Android workout app Runtastic Pro, which allows for elaborate analytics to be run on exercise routines, conceivably enabling a honed fitness regimen. Well, here’s an app that lets you do the same kind of in-depth data-crunching on another element of life: sleep patterns.

Google Reader was popular for a reason: It was fast, and it allowed news fans to rapidly assimilate news, synced cross-device, using a super-efficient visual RSS headline-only scan. The lack of lofty white space in the Google product and the crammed-in text housed in tightly packed headers are unusual among newer magazine-style and visually rich apps.

Since time immemorial, the Windows computer has been subject to RAM issues — in particular, the issue that there’s generally never enough. RAM is the fast-accessible headspace, or breathing room, in a personal computer that’s used by programs to do their thing, as opposed to hard drive storage that’s usually used for slower, mechanical file storage.