You're downloading a large file on your Android device, maybe a movie, or an OTA software update, and it's taking absolutely ages. A quick glance at the WiFi icon shows a full bar, yet, you're close to tearing your hair out at how slow the download is. Is it a bug? Is the download server located on the moon? Maybe your broadband's capped?

Well, XDA Senior Member niks_avana introduced an app called Network Speed, a nifty little app that shows your network speed, for both WiFi and mobile data, right in your drop-down notification area. The notification displays what type of network your device is connected to, and tells you your download and upload speed, so you'll know exactly what speed is your file is downloading at---all in real time. With a tap of the notification, the actual app pops up and displays your network speed and statistics in greater details, with a graph of real-time speeds for downloads and uploads, the WiFi network's name, the IP address, the network subtype (ie. UMTS, EDGE, GPRS) and the daily and monthly downloads and uploads.

Network Speed will definitely be a useful app for many users, being simple and minimal, and light in size. It's compatible with Android versions 2.1 and up, and can be downloaded for free from the original post. So if this interests you, check out the original thread for more details.

Quick Note: Network Speed was not developed by niks avana