Android App of the Day: Smart Tools

Have you ever found yourself in an odd situation where you wished you had your toolbox with you? Maybe you needed to measure the angle of a chair, or measure the length of something, but you didn’t have a tool on hand. As most people don’t carry a ruler or protractor in their pockets, thankfully there’s an app that is designed specifically to act as a portable tool kit for these type of situations. Now with the Smart Tools app for Android you can measure length, angle, distance, height, direction and sound directly from your mobile device. This app is an all-in-one package of 5 app sets for a total of 15 tools guaranteed to offer a little help when you’re on-the-go.

Pros:

• 15 tools in one app
• Accurate measurements on the go
• Smart ruler lets you measure length, angle, slope, and level
• Smart measure lets you measure distance, height, width, area
• App acts as a compass, metal detector, and GPS
• Sound meter provides a sound level meter and a vibrometer
• Has built-in flashlight

Cons:

• Measuring objects larger or longer than the parameters of your device’s screen is awkward

How it works:

Measuring Length and Angle: You can choose a category of tool that fits your needs directly from the home screen. The tools are easy to use and don’t take a lot of time to learn. You will do most of your length and angle measurements directly from your touchscreen. The app is still fairly productive even if you have a smaller touchscreen, but you won’t be able to measure extremely large objects. If you want to switch between tools you can tap on the menu icon to quickly switch tools.

To measure the length of an object align your mobile device with the object and swipe your fingers across the touchscreen to measure it. If the object is longer than your touchscreen and you run out of space you can move your mobile device to the point where you have measured thus far and then utilize the arrow mark to start measuring again. It’s not ideal but it gets the job done if you’re in a pinch. You can also switch between the metric or imperial system of units.

Protractor: Smart Tools provides three different protractors for you to choose from. The surface level protractor acts like a ruler, which is fairly simple and straightforward to use. The camera and augmented reality protractor measure angles as you move and tilt your mobile device.

Augmented Reality: Here you can measure the height and distance away an object is. Simply point the camera at the object and Smart Tools will start calibrating the measurements. When you know you have the object positioned correctly in the camera field, tap the shutter icon to lock in the measurements. You will then see the distance and height of the object on your touchscreen. To start measuring again or a new object just tap on the shutter icon. Smart Tools allows you to measure  objects between 3 to 164 feet away.

Compass: Here the compass uses your camera app to navigate and see what’s in your path at the same time. If you want to just display a North/South compass, simply hide the camera icon.

GPS: Here you can see your exact location and you can email your coordinates to your friends. This could be helpful if you are out hiking or camping by yourself and want to ensure that someone knows where you are for safety purposes.

Metal Detector: Here the app indicates when there is an increase in metal and when there is a decrease.

Sound and Vibration Levels: Here the app can detect sound and vibrations by utilizing your mobile device’s microphone.Remember that a tablet or phone microphone is designed for voice, meaning that maximum possible measurements will likely be lower than on a dedicated sound level device. You can also monitor decibel variations within the last 30 seconds in a chart.

Conclusion:

Smart Tools comes equipped with a plethora of useful tools that are both intuitive and easy to use. While you may not necessarily use all of the tools on a daily basis, this app has been surprisingly helpful in a variety of random situations that I have encountered. I love that the Smart Tools app offers 15 total tools for only $2.50, which is more cost-effective than buying just the individual tool apps. If you are a fix-it-yourself type of person, or have ever needed to measure something in a pinch, then I strongly recommend downloading the Smart Tools app.

Smart Tools is available for $2.50 in the Google Play Store. Requires Android 2.1 and higher. Play Link

This is part of our Android App of the Day series. We take our favorite app for Android for each day and post it here for you to check out. Feel free to check out all of our App of the Day posts here.