Top Android Graphing Calculators

Most of the popular smartphones and tablets on the market not named "iPhone" today run on the Android OS. With every new smartphone released for Android, the buzz about the system grows. Unfortunately, the market's search features' problems are well documented.

A quick search of "calculator" on the Android Market returned about a thousand results, far than most people would like to sort through. You'll find dozens of tip calculators, BMI calculators, mortgage calculators, love calculators, and more that are probably not what you are looking for. Luckily for you, we've done the hard work of searching through all of those apps for you and found these 6 worthy of your consideration.

#1 - HandyCalc Calculator by mmin

HandyCalc Calculator is our choice for the top calculator available on Android today. This app give you a lot of the basic functionality of a TI-84, including all scientific calculator capabilities, graphing, and the ability to solve systems of equations. Answers can be returned in fraction and radical form or converted to decimals. There are also simple copy and paste capabilities, something that should be available in more apps. The app even comes with a demo doc and a link to a video tutorial. There's a lot to like here, and even if it's not perfect, it comes as close as anything we've seen.

Pros: Free, scientific and graphing capabilities, solves systems of equations, returns both exact answers for fractions/radicals as well as decimal approximations.

Cons: Missing features of a typical grapher such as max/min, intercepts, etc.; swiping between keypads presses buttons and feels awkward; two different "equals" buttons (which perform different functions) can be a bit confusing.

Cost: FREE

#2 - Scientific Calculator by Kreactive Technologies

Scientific Calculator had the nicest UI of any calculator app we reviewed. Buttons are attractive, with a nice top-lit effect, and a good size, making them easy to press. A flick scroll or double arrow button allows you to easily access scientific functions. The calculator does feature some basic graphing capabilities. This calculator comes very close to 2-line functionality. You can enter an entire calculation before pressing enter. Then you can return to previous calculations by long pressing the input area. There are more powerful apps on this list, but UI is important in an Android app, and Scientific Calculator has a great one.

Pros: Free, attractive UI, some functionality of a 2-line calculator, some graphing functionality

Cons: Graphing functions limited; comments in the market indicate some users confused by lack of +/- button, although we found this easy to work around.

Cost: FREE

#3 - Calculus Tools by Andy Mc

A fantastic calculator app for calculus students is Calculus Tools. As its name implies, this app is focused almost exclusively on calculus, so it's not for everyone. The app can find integrals as well derivatives up to the fourth degree, both algebraically as well as with with defined limits. It also has the ability to help you solve problems involving arc length, surface area, and Taylor series. Your results can also be graphed. The app also contains a pretty extensive list of formulas that calculus students have to memorize. The only real drawbacks with this app are that its scientific calculator mode is still in beta and fairly limited, and that all inputting must be done with your default keyboard.

Pros: Free, solve calculus functions symbolically or numerically, ability to graph functions, great "cheat sheet" of calculus formulas

Cons: Scientific calculator features still in beta, must use default keyboard instead of a custom math UI

Cost: FREE or $2.50 donate version

UPDATE: A math keyboard was added in an upgrade to Calculus Tools

#4 - Arity Calculator by Mihai Preda

Arity Calculator has a far different UI and capabilities from the other apps on this list. If you are looking for a good 3D grapher, this is it. You have the option to graph in either 2D or 3D, and simply pressing enter will take you to a clear prompt but will save your equation where it can easily be tapped if you need it later. We'd find it hard to recommend this calculator to a novice, but it's sharp 3D features will definitely appeal to many users. Arity is also an open source app.

Pros: Free, open source, fast, 3D capabilities, screenshots of graphs

Cons: Almost all commands (such as sin, cos, tan) have to be typed out; although you can navigate graphs and zoom in and out, there is no way to trace, find intercepts, etc.

Cost: FREE

#5 - RealCalc Scientific Calc by Brain Overspill

If you're looking for something comparable to a TI-30 (one line), the RealCalc Scientific Calc fits the bill. It's free, fast, and offers all the functionality of a standard scientific calculator. It also features an excellent help menu for new users. The UI isn't exactly the sexiest, but we are sure some will appreciate how much it authentically looks like a retro calculator. Although we'd have preferred to see an authentic two line display, the developer has provided a previous answer feature, which can be set to retrieve numerous previous results.

Pros: Free, fast, simple to use, offers functionality of a standard scientific calculator, Reverse Polish Notation option will appeal to some

Cons: One-line calculator interface, no graphing options, retro UI straight out of 1985 will not be for everyone

Cost: FREE

#6 - Calc+ by EricJohnson

Like many Android apps, Calc+ is available both in free and paid versions. The free version gets you the features you expect in a scientific calculator. The paid version offers the additional functionality of haptic feedback (vibrate) and unit conversions. In a clever UI decision the developer allows users to switch between a simple calculator and scientific mode by rotating rotating from portrait to landscape mode. The design is minimalistic, yet attractive. The biggest drawback to Calc+ is no ability to change from its default mode of radians into degrees.

Pros: Free version available, simple and attractive UI

Cons: One-line interface, trig calculations only in radians

Oppo Announces N1 Android Smartphone with Official CyanogenMod Support

By Humberto Saabedra on September 23, 2013

Chinese hardware manufacturer Oppo has officially announced its latest flagship Android smartphone in the N1 with an enthusiast bent, as it has also confirmed that the phone will support the most popular alternative third-party ROM in CyanogenMod without the need to root the device when it rolls out the ROM shortly after launch. Oppo has also announced that it will ship a version of the N1 with CyanogenMod pre-installed, after the initial launch of the initial N1 versions with Oppo’s own Color Android ROM.

The N1 features the following specifications:

5.9 inch 1080p HD display1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor2GB of RAM16GB or 32GB of internal storage13MP Rotating 6-element cameraWiFi ac, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS3,610 mAh batteryAndroid 4.2

One of the other key features of the N1 mentioned in the specifications harks back to the middle part of the 2000's with a 13 megapixel camera that is mounted on a 206° swiveling assembly on the top of the device while also including the main speaker and the front facing camera assembly.

The camera specifications are rounded out by the six element lens assembly, f’/2.0 aperture and dual LED flash. No pricing or availability information has been made available other than a December launch date for the international W-CDMA version. As Oppo smartphones are typically exclusive to China and Southeast Asia, the announcement of the N1 shipping with CyanogenMod support may mean an expansion of availability in other countries on an official basis.

Posted in Android, Manufacturers | Tagged Android, CyanogenMod, Oppo |

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BlackBerry Admits Further Delays In BBM Android and iOS Relaunch

By Humberto Saabedra on September 24, 2013

Following this past weekend’s delayed launch of BBM service for Android and iOS after a leaked Android app build was discovered to cause problems, the head of the BBM team now admits that the relaunch will be delayed due to multiple factors that are taking more time and resources than expected.

For example, the company is having to completely reinforce the existing BBM infrastructure in order to avoid traffic spikes that can bring down servers, as well as blocking the previous leaked Android application from accessing the service, which was causing its own set of load issues.

Last week, an unreleased, older version of the BBM for Android app was posted on numerous file sharing sites. We were aware of an issue with this unreleased version of the BBM for Android app. This older version resulted in volumes of data traffic orders of magnitude higher than normal for each active user and impacted the system in abnormal ways. The version we were planning to release on Saturday addressed these issues, however we could not block users of the unreleased version if we went ahead with the launch.

We attempted to address the problems caused by the unreleased version throughout the day on Saturday, but as active users of the unreleased app neared a million – and accelerated – it became clear that the only way to address the issue was to pause the rollout for both Android and iPhone.

The team is now focused on adjusting the system to completely block this unreleased version of the Android app when we go live with the official BBM for Android app. We are also making sure that the system is reinforced to handle this kind of scenario in the future. While this may sound like a simple task – it’s not. This will take some time and I do not anticipate launching this week.

BlackBerry has yet to give any sort of timeframe for the relaunch for either app, as iOS and even BB10 access to BBM has also been blocked due to the above work. As the further delay for BBM follows Friday’s grim earnings news and job cuts, any anticipation for the apps and service is all but wiped out by the additional delays, especially as there are now a multitude of alternatives to BBM for group messaging.

Posted in BlackBerry | Tagged bbm, blackberry |

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Using HTML5 With A Compiler For Android Development

Android applications made with the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) or the Android Native Development Kit (NDK) will not work on a Blackberry, iPhone or Windows mobile. Each has to be coded independently; typically four times the work, four times the cost for an app to work on all four systems. An android app developed using HTML5 and a compiler can be cross compiled to work on other mobile internet systems.

HTML Has Evolved into HTML5

HTML5 is the latest version of HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), which can be described as the original language of the WorldWideWeb. It works on every mobile internet device and is a common language; this is why HTML5 and compilers can be used for mobile internet app development.

Early web pages were pages of information, as they became more interactive, buttons were added and then graphics and newer versions of HTML were introduced.

The latest version is HTML5, which is designed for the second decade of the 21st century (post 2010) and is ideally suitable for today's mobile internet devices. A few companies at the cutting edge of writing apps for the Android, Blackberry iPhone, iPad and windows mobile have taken advantage of the unifying capability of HTML5 to increase efficiency and reduce development time/cost.

HTML5 (intended for desktop browsers), is designed not to have ‘gaps' that need filling by e.g. adobe flash. This has resulted in its suitability for mobile websites, which is exceptionally useful. Its most significant advantage was unforeseen and is that it can be used with compilers allowing applications to be cross compiled for the iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows mobile.

HTML5 is also about to rock the Drupal world, by using it in Drupal8 it will give a much better user experience on both desktop and mobile devices, and could lead to a convergence between native applications and the mobile web. Because of this, it is one of the top 5 initiatives for Drupal 8;

Compilers

These were used with early home computers, typical the Apple, ZX81, Vic 20, Commodore 64 and Acorn Atom. A few of today's app developers were writing machine code and using compilers in the early 80's when they were children or teenagers. They have also been using HTML since it was first introduced in 1990; these relatively few developers are understandably amongst the best in the world. The adAPPt compiler has been coded by developers of this ilk, who have the skills to build in the ability for an application to be cross compiled for use with the iOS (iPhone), Android, BlackBerry and Windows mobile.

Conclusion

HTML5 has now taken the world of mobile app development by storm, allowing significant price reductions resulting directly from increased efficiency. An application for four differing operating systems needs only to be coded once and is then cross compiled. It is a very cost effective way to develop ‘cross platform', and dramatically reduces the cost of maintaining apps in the future. Companies like AeonDada who are at the cutting edge of both Drupal web design and android development are well placed for the growth as mobile browsers are set to overtake desktop browsers by 2013.