How many times has your mum, dad or roommate come home with the groceries, only to forget the chocolates you asked them to buy just before they left? Or maybe they’re already out when you suddenly had the urge to munch on some whole grain chips? Well you can save the frustration because now you can just share all that onto the Shared Shopping List and they’ll know exactly what to get.

XDA Forum Member GammaL has come up with a practical solution for those instinctive purchases in the form of an app called Shared Shopping List. Taking on a somewhat familiar user interface as many other conventional shopping list apps out there on the market, you can create a new shopping list of which within a list, you can add different items as well as how many of each one. Tapping on an item will simply cross it off as ‘purchased.’ And once all is done, you can clear the list with a ‘trash’ button on the top right corner.

However, the most notable feature of Shared Shopping List is (as its title implies) its sharing capabilities, allowing you to share lists with others who have the app installed. After creating a new username or account through the app, you can then tap on a list and selecting the ‘share’ option. Both you and your friend must have individual accounts, and must be logged in on the app before you can add each other as ‘friends’ and sharing lists. A handy notification will pop up when a list has been shared, and any changes to lists will then trigger new notifications on the other device. As you would expect, both devices must be connected to the internet either via WiFi or mobile broadband in order for ‘shares’ to operate normally.

Shared Shopping List is compatible with any device running Android version 1.6 or newer, is ad-free and free from the Play store. If you like what you’ve read so far, most definitely check out the application thread for more details.

For most Android users, the battery consumption statistics accessed from the settings may be enough to know exactly what’s going on with the battery. However, for those who are looking for some more advanced and detailed data, the Battery Test Utility app may be of some helpful and practical use.

Developed by XDA Forum Member jacksparao, Battery Test Utility allows users to run different tests on an Android device to calculate an array of information regarding your battery and how it responds to video and music playback, as well as Internet browsing. Presented with a  clinical, Holo user interface, users can select an audio, video, or browser test with adjustable settings such as screen brightness, music or video file, and URLs to be visited. When the battery level drops to 15%, the test phase is considered complete, upon which data such as music bitrate, start and end time of the test phase, battery consumption rate, and other settings like the light sensor and accelerometer computed and displayed. The app however, does come in at a rather large size of 118MB, thanks to the HD videos packaged along with it for testing purposes. But do not worry, as the app thankfully does install itself straight onto the SD card.

Battery Test Utility is a great dedicated battery tester, which presents complicated data in an uncomplicated way, unlike many other apps of similar function in the market. It’s a useful app not only for end-game Android users, but also for those curious about just how much of the precious battery is drained by the favorite album, a typical movie, or a bit of web browsing. Jacksparao has made the app available to all who have  devices running Android 2.2 and up, and free from the Play store. So if this has gotten you curious, be sure to check out the original thread for more details.

A few days shy of one year ago, I brought you news of nifty little application called ReadItToMe by XDA Senior Member crazyfool_1. This app, as the name suggests, takes any incoming messages and call notifications that you might receive while a headset is plugged in or the device is streaming audio over Bluetooth and reads them to you aloud. The concept is perfect for those who are fed up of constantly hauling your device out of your pocket or impulsively taking one eye off the road whenever a notification comes through.

Since that article was posted, the application has been developed further and in fact it has been essentially rewritten and given a hefty update. It has not only received a boost in functionality, but also a full Holo UI makeover. It makes sense to keep such an app consistent with the aesthetics of newer versions of Android and contemporary applications, as the basic functionality is something people are pretty much always going to find a use for—well, for as long as we have devices capable of playing back music and receiving calls/texts anyway.

Possibly the greatest feature of this application, though, is that it will translate the gibberish that is “txt spk“ and read it back to you in proper English (other languages are available). Although this isn’t a new feature, it’s still awesome. There are of course other features that are new and available in the applications PRO version, such as receiving notifications from apps like Google Talk and WhatsApp. I wasn’t planning on mentioning the premium version because we only focus on freely available apps here on the XDA Portal. However, seeing as crazyfool_1 has been kind enough to make the PRO version available to XDA members for the low low price of £0.00*, I think we can make an exception.

Check out the application thread for more information on the app itself and what’s changed in the past year.

*Approximately $0.00 (depending on current exchange rate)

The methods for expressing one’s thoughts are constantly changing. Fluid in form and nature, they are most often characterized by whatever is readily available, which in our case, is technology. Within only a decade, came MSN, text messaging, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, and even Omegle—all aiming to satisfy our natural tendencies to blabber our mouths away at anyone who would care to listen. The one restriction that has remained constant through the ages, however, is that you cannot blabber at people when you’re not actually there or if you simply do not have the time. So with this, pops up Schemes in the XDA forums.

Developed by XDA Senior Member Flozzo, Schemes is an app that allows you to remind, badger, or pester people at any time you want, with its main function of sending messages based on a set schedule you set. With support for SMS, Twitter, Facebook, and Gmail; you can set the time and date for the message, Tweet, or Email to be sent. Additionally, messages can be sent on up to four networks at the same time, something you can choose to do from the message creation screen. Notifications can also be toggled in the settings, which when on, notifies you upon the sending of a scheduled message. Flozzo then packs all of this into a pleasant Holo user interface that’s simple in design and navigation.

With an active developer behind it, Schemes may see support for multi-recipient SMS support, Facebook posts on friends’ walls, photo sending and sharing, and a whole lot more in the future. The app is compatible with Android versions 3.0 and newer, and can be downloaded for free from the XDA forum post. So if this has gotten you interested, most definitely check out the application thread for more details and download.