Found on Android Play Store:The 300 Gym Workout

An app to bring out the Spartan in you.

There are plenty of I apps on the Google Play J Store that try to get you fit and healthy, easing you away from a sedentary lifestyle by getting you more active more often. On top of those are apps for the fitness enthusiast, that focus on different aspects of your body rather than just keeping in shape. The 300 Gym Workout is probably the pinnacle of the latter, an app designed specifically to make you look like an oiled-up Spartan from Zak Snyder's blockbuster film.

This isn’t a workout for the faint of heart, indeed it recommends that anyone with a medical condition should contact their GP before they take it on, but it is well presented, and has a decent central competitive hook that will keep wannabe warriors happy. The workout takes the form of a series of activities, which are to be repeated without breaks, while an in-app stopwatch keeps a track of your time. Once you've completed the gruelling repetitions, you can share your time on Facebook, displaying for the whole world to see how strong and manly and like a Spartan you are. It's that intriguing metagame that makes The 300 Gym Workout stand out from the crowd, turning the lonely experience of doing a ridiculous amount of push-ups into a way to brag to, and compete with, your social-networking friends.

This is the kind of integration we're starting to expect from our mobile apps, and while it might not be the best-looking creation out there, the 300 Gym Workout does what it sets out to do admirably. It'll be far too tough for some, but if you're looking for a workout app hat does things a little differently, then you could do a lot worse than using this to sculpt your chiselled, bronzed abs

How to Shoot 360 degree panoramas with Android Smartphones

Taking panoramic shots can be difficult without the help of a special type of app. Panorama app 360 is the best of a very elite bunch.

Switch quality. Depending on your Android device, and the camera you're using, you may want to switch between the different quality settings. Although selecting the high-quality image is very much preferred, if you have a slightly older device, images will take far longer to process than the standard quality option.

Stay on track. When you're ready to start taking your panoramic shot, make sure you follow the on-screen instructions to get the best possible shot. As you start taking your photo, hand gestures will appear showing you which way to go, and when you should stop moving. Once it has finished building, your image will load instantaneously.

Calibrate your screen. Before you can begin to create panoramic shots, you first need to make sure the app is properly calibrated with your device. This makes sure that your camera picks up the right details in the images as you scan your closest surroundings.

Slow and steady. The best tip we can give you when taking your panoramic shot is to make sure you're moving at a very slow pace. This not only allows the app to pick up every detail of the scene you're capturing, but also stops the app from distorting your final image.

Those pixel-perfect phones

Here are three phones that can take fantastic-looking pics:

Sony has a decent pedigree in the world of DSLR cameras, so much so it has integrated the EXMOR sensor it uses in some of its high-end DSLRs into the camera on the Xperia S.

HTC has been heavily touting the cameras on its One series. With a dedicated processor for imaging the HTC One X becomes a tool for the more advanced photographer.

Although it isn't as highly regarded as the other two, you'll find the Galaxy Nexus is a big step up, in terms of camera quality, thanks to Jelly Bean. Panoramic mode is great.

Android Questions and Answers (Samsung Galaxy S3 and Nexus 7)

I have received the following question from one of my readers on another blog that I own:

I have a Nexus 7 and am pleased with it as a great travel companion. Indeed, until I get a ten-inch tablet which is good enough to be a laptop replacement, the Nexus 7 will accompany me on my travels, instead of my laptop.

However, it is a shame it does not support Flash, and for reasons I cannot understand, some apps that work on my mobile, a HTC Desire, cannot be installed on it; for example, iTriage.

You said in the review that "The new speech recognition engine, which also works offline once you have downloaded the language pack". I wonder what language pack you meant?

Finally, I am looking for a word processor - and only a word processor - for my Nexus 7, one that hopefully will be compatible with Word (so that I can transfer any documents created onto my PC if I want to). The Quickoffice Pro app featured on page 58 of the current issue would be an overkill for me, can you please recommend a word processor app for my Nexus 7 please? Thank you.

My answer sounds like this:

With regard to the language pack, if you don't have an internet connection when you try and use the speech recognition you will be prompted to download the offline pack. As for a word processor, we're fans of Writer, a completely stripped back writing tool, although it’s not compatible with the doc format.

Otherwise try Kingsoft Office as another free option.

Another question from another reader:

Re: Poweramp, Letters, issue 15 I also have a Samsung Galaxy S3. This is not a dangerous app, I have been using PowerAmp for well over a year now. The reason the phone shakes is the auto haptic feedback might be set to on. It can be found right at the bottom of the Sounds menu in the Settings, I thought this weird at first as I was listening via headphones with my phone in my pocket. I have now disabled this function.

My answer: Great stuff! Thanks for the tip, Ghosty. If anyone else has any app tips or advice then please do contact us via email, Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear from you.