How To: 5 Apps for Your Nexus 7 Tablet That You're Not Supposed to Have

One of the best features on the new Moto X is Touchless Control, which lets you verbally ask the device questions or perform tasks without ever touching or turning on the display, a feature that would do quite nicely on the Nexus 7, if it could handle it.

Touchless Control is currently on Google Play, but only available for select Motorola devices, and there is an APK of it you can try out if you're daring. Unlike the Moto X, the Nexus 7 doesn't have a dedicated language processing core, so it won't work quite as well and will eat up some serious battery.

However, if you want Touchless Controls simply because you like the idea of installing apps on your Nexus 7 tablet that you're not supposed to have, then you'll be pleased to know that there are some other brand-specific apps you can install that will work just fine. Here's just five examples, from HTC to Sony to Samsung.

Sony's Sketch Drawing App

There are plenty of drawing apps on Google Play, but if you want something you can't have, try out Sketch, which is featured on some Sony devices, like the Sony Xperia Z Ultra. In order to install it, you will need to have a Nexus 7 running 4.2.2 or higher and have a custom recovery installed. Click here for instructions and more details.

HTC's Beats Audio

If you want better performance from your headphones, Beats Audio is definitely something to try. It only appears on certain HTC devices, like the HTC One, but you can get its magical equalizer on your N7 no problem. You don't even need Beats Audio headphones. You will, however, need to be rooted with a custom recovery. Click here for instructions.

Sony's X4 Video Player

I'll admit, there's not really that many reasons for watching more than one video on your Nexus 7, but just in case that's your thing, there's X4 Video Player, which was originally created for Sony's Xperia Z tablet. It only lets you play audio from one video at a time, but it's still a fun app to play around with, and you don't need to be rooted or anything. Click here for installation instructions.

Sony's PlayStation Mobile Store

If you're a gamer, there's a wealth of free and paid games on Google Play, for sure. But, if you want to add even more possibilities, there's the Sony PSM Store, which only runs on "PlayStation Certified" devices—and the Nexus 7 is not one of them. There is, however, a way to trick Sony into thinking your Nexus 7 is certified, but it requires you to be rooted and have a custom recovery. See how to do it here.

If you have a PlayStation and a little time on your hands, you can also add to all of your favorite PS1 games to your Nexus 7 by converting the discs into BIN and CUE files and using an emulator like RetroArch to play them.

Samsung's TouchWiz Features

If you're a fan of some of the features on the Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, Note 2, and Tab, like the TouchWiz app launcher, icons, sounds, and widgets, you could replicate them on your Nexus 7 tablet using the ClockworkMod Recovery and CodenameSammy ROM. Click here for instructions.

If you just want the TouchWiz launcher and don't want to install a custom ROM, you can do so using this guide.

If you like the Sony Xperia's launcher better than Samsung's, you can get that too if you want.