Android is one dang powerful mobile operating system. It allows you to do quite a few things, some of which could even make iPhone users green with envy.
But you can make your phone do even more. Way more.
How about automatically…
- …mute your phone when it’s placed face down on the table
- …set your phone to vibrate when it’s upside down (i.e. in your pants pocket)
- …call the person who just sent you text, simply by placing the phone next to your ear (as promoted with the Galaxy S3)
- …greet a list of moms via text when Mothers Day rolls around
- …send your Happy New Year messages to all your friends at New Years Eve, on the dot
- …transform your phone into a desk clock just by setting it on its side
These and so much more can all be yours, and it’s just a matter of how imaginative you can get to be. And all it takes is one app.
“Just one app?,” you might say. “How much is this magical app? A thousand pesos? A million pesos?” And I’d slap you silly for asking that.
But the answer is, just around 260 pesos. Say hello to Tasker.
Think of Tasker as a kind of like a programming language for Android. By giving you access to practically all of your Android phone’s sensors, tossed in with variables and a simple interface for designing commands, you can make your phone do nearly anything short of flying out of your hands when you set it on Airplane Mode.
It even allows you to create widgets. For instance, I have a widget that, when pressed, automatically sends a text message to tell my mom that I’m already near whenever I come to pick her up. I also have widgets for muting the phone and for turning 3G on or off. Because I’m lazy that way.
In short, there’s loads of things that you can do with your phone if you have Tasker installed.
The catch, of course, is that you will have to undertake a bit of a learning curve to learn the programming format. But it’s a breeze. And if you do decide to get Tasker, or have it already, I’ll be giving you tips and primers on how to use Tasker over the next couple of weeks.
You can get Tasker on the Google Play market over here.
‘Til then, enjoy getting automated!
