I personally appreciate having a mobile computer (smartphone) in my pocket, there are so many possibilities to consider. As an Engineer with an interest in networking and mind for analytics, there is much that I can do with a pocket-able computer. My favorite pocket computer runs on the Android OS and is known as a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Android smartphones have a massive library of useful apps from which to choose. And thankfully, there are many people who have devised apps for the platform. So when I want to do some network analysis, I use Fing Network Tools.
At a bare minimum I like Fing for it's ability to discover the local network that my phone has connected to. The app scans the subnet for all systems connected. If possible Fing will try to identify what the systems are that are connected to the network, it often guesses correctly for iOS devices and other standard devices such as routers. Desktop and laptop computer names are accounted for as well as the name of the device I am using at the time.
If I select the Router or Wireless Access Point (WAP), the basics of that system are listed, such as IP Address, MAC Address, Vendor, and when the item was first seen on the network. If I select a desktop computer, depending on the OS, there may be more information like System Name, Workgroup, and Role. But the features don't stop there. Any of these systems can be analyzed further using some common networking tools included in Fing. I can Ping, Trace a route, scan for services, or even wake that remote server up using Wake-On-LAN.
For a user who is more familiar with a graphic interface Fing may not be as pretty as some apps found in the Windows OS, but it gets the job done and its free. I recommend Fing to anyone who is simply curious about the network they are using or who may just want to explore a bit more.
Check out Fing on the Android Play Store
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