Android install

HTC smartphones root

2011-08-30T13:43:00.001-07:00

The links link to english websites.

Sinds begin dit jaar bracht HTC een aantal toestellen uit met een grote verandering: een versleutelde bootloader. HTC stond bekend om smartphones waar makkelijk root-toegang op te verkrijgen was, maar met dit nieuwe beleid kwam hier een einde aan.
Ondertussen heeft HTC al aangegeven dat na hun beleid te hebben heroverwogen, ze de wensen van hun consument willen nakomen en in augustus met een oplossing voor root-toegang zullen komen. Echter zijn de mannen bij AlphaRev en Unrevoked ze nét een stapje voor. De nieuwe tool, Revolutionary, is afgelopen weekend vrijgegeven voor ontwikkelaars.

AlphaRev

Toen bekend werd dat de nieuwe bootloaders van HTC versleuteld werden, gingen velen ervan uit dat root-toegang op toekomstige HTC-toestellen niet meer mogelijk zou zijn. De ontwikkelaars-groep AlphaRev dacht hier echter anders over en na een tijdje wisten ze een aantal van deze versleutelde bootloaders te kraken en te voorzien van root-toegang, inclusief S-OFF.
Het eindigt niet bij deze toestellen en AlphaRev heeft de handen ineen gesloten met ontwikkelaars-groep Unrevoked om een nieuwe tool genaamd ‘Revolutionary’ voor root-toegang te bouwen en de HTC Sensation en EVO 3D worden ondersteund! Tot kort geleden was het nog niet mogelijk om je HTC Sensation of EVO 3D volledig te rooten, maar sinds kort kan dat dus wel!

Beschikbaarheid

Je HTC Sensation, en ook de Amerikaanse HTC EVO 3D is vanaf heden te rooten, maar let op: AlphaRev en Unrevoked geven expliciet aan dat deze tool nog niet af is en ze hebben hem dan afgelopen weekend ook alleen maar opengesteld voor ontwikkelaars.
Voel jij je niet aangesproken, dan raden we je aan om je toestel niet te rooten met deze tool en te wachten tot de ontwikkelaars deze tool afronden en hem openstellen voor gebruikers, of liever nog: totdat de bootloaders door HTC zelf vrijgegeven worden.
Natuurlijk kun je toch besluiten het risico te nemen en de bron link volgen naar Revolutionary, maar Androidworld, noch AlphaRev en Unrevoked kunnen niet aansprakelijk worden gesteld voor de mogelijk schadelijke gevolgen voor je toestel.

Bron: Revolutionary

Open GPS tracker

2011-08-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

A nice app for your android machine with GPS is the GPS tracker. You can track your way and project it on a map.

Look for it here: http://code.google.com/p/open-gpstracker/

F droid

2011-08-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

F droid is an market like application that offers a repository with FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) for you android system. The source is also downloadable, so you can programm your own software.

Look for this website and scan the QR code to install fdroid.
http://f-droid.org/repository/

Or first look through the database with programms that are available:
http://f-droid.org/repository/browse/

Enjoy

Display upcoming events on Android lockscreen

2011-07-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

Lockscreen Calendar is a handy Android application that puts your upcoming calendar events right on your lock screen–and therefore right in front of you every time you go to open your phone.
Carrying around your calendar in your pocket is useless if you forget to check it. Lockscreen Calendar puts upcoming events on your lock screen so that every time you unlock your phone you get an instant refresher of the upcoming events. You can configure they way it displays the date, whether it shows the location of the event or not, and how often it updates.
Hit up the link below to grab a copy. Lockscreen Calendar requires Android 2.2+ and is only compatible with the stock lock screen (sorry Sense UI users).
Lockscreen Calendar [Android Market via Addictive Tips]

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Take care that you make the settings so that the upcoming events don't push the unlock key out of screen. If the events come down too far, you might not be able to drag down to unlock You may need to eventually click on an ad, which may unlock And recover from there.So take care....

2011-07-27T14:51:00.000-07:00

How to make any MP3 to be used as a ringtone on Android.

Getting your Android phone to use your Youtube MP3 as a ringtone is very easy. Android will recognize virtually any sound file as a valid ringtone, so MP3 works straight out of the box, no conversion to a “ringtone file.”
Start by connecting your phone to your PC. You then create a “Ringtones” folder in your root directory of your SD card—that is, if you don’t already have one there.
When you create or find this folder, simply drop in the converted Youtube.mp3, or any MP3 into the folder.

This HTC Evo Shift took a few extra moments to add the Metal Gear sound to the list of ringtones, but it finally did. You can change the ringtone under the “Sound and Notifications” item in the settings menu.

6 apps for keeping track of your data usage

2011-07-26T01:20:00.000-07:00

6 apps for keeping track of your internet data usage.
This article from webwereld is written in Dutch. It describes some apps for Android phones to keep track of your data usage. Needed if you've got a limited data plan.

3G Watchdog free and payed
Track your 3G
Phone usage free and payed
Mobile counter
Data watcher widget
Netcounter

Deze tekst komt van Webwereld. Lees hier het origineel:

3G Watchdog (Pro)

Deze applicatie is er in twee smaakjes: Een gratis versie en de betaalde Pro-versie. De gratis versie van deze applicatie biedt enkel de belangrijkste informatie: hoeveel dataverkeer is er tot nu toe gebruikt. De app kan dat meten per periode die de gebruiker zelf kan instellen. 3G Watchdog maakt dat zichtbaar via een statusmelding. Het is ook mogelijk om een widget te installeren, zodat de app direct op het home-scherm van Android is te zien.
Handig is dat beide uitvoeringen de gebruiker informeren over hoeveel procent van het toegestane dataverkeer hij (of zij) nog overheeft. Komt dat boven een zelf in te stellen percentage, dan waarschuwt de app. 3G Watchdog rekent bovendien je internetgedrag door om te laten zien wanneer je datategoed op zal zijn of hoeveel er aan het eind van de maand gebruikt zal zijn.
De betaalde variant van de app gaat voor 2,25 euro over de digitale toonbank. Daarvoor krijgt een gebruiker veel extra's. Zo is het mogelijk om alle gegevens over het dataverbruik te exporteren naar een spreadsheet. Ook kun je in één oogopslag zien hoeveel je bij moet betalen als de datlimiet overschreden is en er per MB bijbetaald moet worden. Tot slot maakt de betaalde uitvoering inzichtelijk welke applicaties nu precies de meeste bytes opsnoepen.

Track your 3G

De maker van Track your 3G noemt zijn app een alternatief voor 3G Watchdog Pro, maar dan gratis. De app lijkt dat qua features behoorlijk waar te maken. Het is mogelijk om zelf je datalimiet in te stellen en de dag dat die limiet weer gereset wordt. Ook kan de applicatie vertellen hoeveel een gebruiker bij moet betalen wanneer hij (of zij) de datalimiet overschreden heeft.
De applicatie meet daarnaast ook het WiFi-verkeer op de telefoon en laat in een heel eenvoudig overzicht het verbruik per applicatie zien. Het is op die manier dus inderdaad een goede vervanging voor de betaalde versie van 3G Watchdog. De app ontbeert slechts één functie van die app: Het doet geen voorspelling voor de verbruikte data aan het einde van de maand.

PhoneUsage

Ook de applicatie PhoneUsage is er in zowel een gratis als een betaalde versie. Hier is de betaalde versie met een prijs van 74 cent een stuk goedkoper dan die van 3G Watchdog. De gebruiker krijgt daar dan ook minder functies voor: widgets die het gebruik aangeven en waarschuwingen als een gebruiker boven de limiet dreigt te komen.
Deze extraatjes komen bovenop de basisfuncties van PhoneUsage. Die zijn precies wat je verwacht van een app als deze. PhoneUsage meet het dataverkeer maar ook het aantal minuten dat de gebruiker gebeld heeft en het aantal sms'jes dat hij deze maand al verstuurde. Bij PhoneUsage is het ook in de gratis versie mogelijk om te zien welke app veel data verstookt en welke niet. Toch is die informatie niet helemaal betrouwbaar, PhoneUsage neemt daarin namelijk WiFi-dataverkeer mee.

Mobile Counter

De gratis app Mobile Counter heeft heel wat mogelijkheden. Behalve het bijhouden van het verbruikte dataverkeer, waarschuwt de app bijvoorbeeld ook wanneer de gebruiker door zijn bundel heen dreigt te gaan. Handig daarbij is, dat de app af kan ronden op dezelfde eenheid als de telco van de gebruiker. Als iemand per MB moet bijbetalen dan rekent de app automatisch een MB meer als een gebruiker slechts een kilobyte meer gebruikt. Handig voor accuraat rekenen.
Verder geeft de app een aantal handige statistieken en is het erg licht in het gebruik. De app schakelt zich op de achtergrond namelijk automatisch uit als de telefoon niet in gebruik is. Bovendien is de applicatie nog geen 500 kilobyte groot.

Twee simpele apps

De hierboven besproken apps bieden, met uitzondering van de gratis versie van 3G Watchdog, ontzettend veel opties. Soms meer dan nodig. Het doel is namelijk het eenvoudig meten van het gebruikte dataverkeer in een maand (of week, of jaar). Gelukkig zijn er ook voldoende applicaties die niets anders dan dat doen.
Data Watcher Widget bijvoorbeeld. Dat doet precies wat de naam zegt. Die hele app bestaat uit één widget van 1x1 schermblok groot die simpelweg het dataverkeer op 3G, WiFi en roaming voor die maand laat zien. Deze app ziet er erg gelikt uit maar kost wel 1,12 euro.
NetCounter is volledig gratis maar biedt dan weer geen eenvoudige widget. Een gebruiker moet hier specifiek naar zijn verbruik kijken. Dat verbruik staat dan weer wel netjes uitgesmeerd over het totaal, maandelijks, wekelijks en dagelijks verbruik.

Superbox

2011-07-18T03:02:00.000-07:00

Superbox is a 10-in-1 app and gives you the functionality of 10 individual applications, yet lose only a fraction of the space on your device.

Why use a single app?

Many people have older Android phones. Some of the devices cannot run Froyo or higher. Many of the older Android phones lacked internal memory. A perfect example is my HTC Desire. It has 148mb of space for apps and information. Once I get the essentials like Pandora, Kindle, a bar code scanner, Springpad, Dropbox, Lastpass, Google+, a to-do list app and some others, I need to be careful about what else I add.
Using a single application that serves several functions is ideal for Android phones with less memory. Superbox only takes up 1.90mb when a portion of the app is moved to the SD card. 3.42MB when it is all on the phone.

What do I get with Superbox?

There are 10 applications you get with Superbox. Here is the list:

file manager
batch uninstaller
app2sd
task manager
memory and cpu usage
battery charge and usage detail
app installer
phone feature settings
safeguard
cache cleaner

How does it compare to individual apps?

Here is a list of similar individual applications randomly chosen from the market to cover the same functions that Superbox packages together.

Advanced Task Killer – 99k
App 2 SD – 257k
App Cache Cleaner – 201k
Easy Uninstaller – 173k
CPU Station – 432k
Battery monitor – 370k
Toggle Settings/Profiles Lite – 1.3mb
Astro file manager – 2.2mb
App Safeguard – 164k
Appinstaller – 257k

All of these applications measure up to 5536kb or 5.41MB. That’s almost twice the size!

Why are these useful?

The applications you will use the most for a low memory phone may be App2sd if you are running 2.2 Froyo or higher, the cache cleaner, batch uninstaller and the task killer. The reasons are all geared toward maximizing space and keeping your device running smoothly.

App2sd

Using an app 2 sd application will move a part of the application to your SD card. Doing this will let you install more applications on your Android phone. However, you will need to be running 2.2 Froyo or higher to use this function. When I upgraded my HTC Desire to 2.2 and used the app2sd portion of Superbox, I was able to almost double the amount of installed apps.

Cache cleaner

The cache cleaner can help get rid of old information stored by the applications installed on your Android device. This may cause you to have to log into some applications again.

Batch uninstaller

I use the uninstaller a lot. It is great for freeing up space fast. When you open this section of Superbox, you will see a list of all the applications on your phone. Simply check the box next to the apps you want to uninstall. When all apps to uninstall are checked, press the uninstall button and follow the prompts.

Task killer

There is some debate on the web whether you need a task manager or not. We are not going to add to the debate. All I know is that from time to time, having a way to kill a stubborn application or two has came in handy.

Conclusion

I have been using Superbox for quite some time on my Android phone with low memory and have found having an all-in-one application more beneficial than trying several individual or combo application.

Create your own ringtone with ringdoid

2011-07-16T05:41:00.000-07:00

With an andoid smartphone you can create your own ringtones from MP3files. In this guide I will explain how to convert a standard MP3 music file into a ringtone file on your Android phone using Ringdroid.

Before we begin, first head over to the Android Market and download the ringtone maker “Ringdroid” (market link).After you have installed the app, launch it and you will see a list of all the audio files on your device (SD card and internal storage).

All the files on my device are fairly standard MP3 files so I can view all of them, however according to the FAQ, Ringdroid only supports MP3, WAV, AAC, MP4, 3GPP, and AMR files. Ensure the audio file you wish to use as a ringtone is in one of the acceptable formats before copying it over.
If you have a long list of files, you can use the search option. Alternatively, you can make a recording and use it as a ringtone by clicking the “Record New” button.

Simply record whatever you wish by hitting the “Record” button and then save it.
Once you have selected (or recorded) your audio file, you will be able to select the portion of the file to use as a ringtone.

You can manipulate the sliders to select the portion of the audio file you wish to use as a ringtone. You can pause/play the track to ensure that you have selected the appropriate position. Once you have decided the portion of the song you want, tap the floppy disc icon to save your creation.

You will have the option to choose the name of the ringtone and also select the type of audio file you wish to save as.

Here you can decide what type of file you want to use your creation as.

Once you hit “Save” you will have the option to assign the ringtone to a specific contact, make the ringtone the default ringtone or just exit the menu.

That is all, your ringtone will now be ready to use.

Applying a Ringtone

To set the ringtone, navigate to the “Sound” preference in the main settings of your device and select “Phone ringtone“. You should be able to see your newly created ringtone.

Deleting a Ringtone

To delete a ringtone, simply head back to Ringdroid and find the ringtone you wish to delete. Then select the down arrow.

This will pop open a menu giving you the option to delete the ringtone.

That’s it you can now make custom ringtones on Android!

Sync between PC samba-share and Android

2011-07-12T14:11:00.001-07:00

If you’re looking for a way to sync files from your network to your Android device without plugging in your sync cable, WiFi Syncr syncs to your network shares.

Install the free app on your phone, point it at your network share (open or password protected), and it will sync the files between your Android device and your computer. There’s no need to install any sort of software on the host computer. The only requirement is that the host share the folder as a Samba share (Windows shares this way by default, other operating systems and devices can be configured to do so).

WiFi Syncr is a free application, requires Android 2.1+.

WiFi Syncr [Android Market via Addictive Tips]

Asus EeePad transformer

2011-07-12T01:42:00.000-07:00

On maketecheasier I read a fantastic review of the ASUS Eee Pad transformer.
For yours and mine convenience I quote it here:

If you are looking for a tablet and you ask your friends for advice, most probably they will tell you to get an iPad 2, since it is the best and most popular tablet out there now. However, being an Android lover (and I hate the dictatorship of Apple), I decided to go against all odds and get an Android Honeycomb tablet – Asus EeePad Transformer, and I am glad that I got it rather than the iPad. Here is my hands-on review of the Asus Transformer.

First of all, Asus is well-known for laptops and netbooks. The Eee Pad Transformer is their first foray into the tablet world and they have done well to make it an excellent product at an affordable (or should I say cheap?) price.

Hardware spec

The hardware specification of Asus Transformer is pretty standard. You get almost everything you need for a tablet. It uses a Nvidia Tegra 2 dual core CPU, 1GB RAM, 16 or 32 GB Storage and a 10.1-inch capacitive IPS display at a decent HD resolution of 1280×800. It also comes with a 5MP rear camera and a 1.2MP front-facing camera.
On the tablet itself, there is an audio jack, mini HDMI output port and a min-SD card slot. If you get the keyboard dock, you get yourself 2 extra USB ports and a SD card slot, which can be used to transfer your camera’s photos over.

The dimension of the transformer is 271 x 171 x 12.98 mm which makes it bigger, wider and thicker than iPad 2 (241.2 x 185.7 X 8.8 mm). Weighing at 680g, it is also much heavier than iPad 2 (601g). This is one thing that I feel it can be improved. I definitely feel that the thickness and weight can be further reduced. Right now, if you hold a iPad 2 on one hand and Asus Transformer on the other, you can definitely feel the difference in weight.
As for the battery life, the tablet itself can last for a whole 9 hours. Together with the keyboard dock, the battery life get extended to 16 hours. For your info, my Lenovo netbook comes with a 6-cell battery can only last a maximum of 4 hours. For a tablet that is half its weight, 16 hours of battery life is really a godsend.
Other standard items include G-Sensor, Light Sensor, Gyroscope, E-Compass and GPS.

Operating System

When Asus Transformer was first launched, it was running Android Honeycomb 3.0. However, the later version all came with the upgraded Honeycomb 3.1, which fixed a great deal of bugs and sluggishness. Honeycomb 3.1 also has a better support for Adobe flash which runs well in the tablet. And if you set the Flash to load on-demand (rather than always ON), it doesn’t suck battery as much as what many claim.

If you have deal with an Android phone before, you will have no problem getting use to the Honeycomb interface. Unlike Android phone, there is no notification pulldown bar. Instead, the notification bar is moved to the right bottom corner.

Applications

Other than the default Google applications that come with Honeycomb, Asus has also packed in several applications. PolarisOffice allows you to create and edit documents (word, spreadsheet, presentation) on the tablet while MyNet turns the the Transformer into a DLNA device.

Other applications include:

MyNet – turn your tablet into a DLNA device
MyCloud – Sync your files and documents to the cloud. Asus’s equivalent of Apple’s iCloud.
MyLibrary – ebook reader

Performance

In general, the Asus Transformer is a joy to use. Honeycomb 3.1 is fast and responsive and the bright color screen is very comforting to the eye. Being able to place widgets on the Home screen is one great experience it has over iOS. The ability to resize the widgets makes it even better.

Browsing

The native browser supports both tabs and desktop mode so you can access your favorite website in full. I am also able to login to my WordPress dashboard and write and edit posts. As a web worker, this means that
I can use it for work purpose as well, rather than just for casual browsing and reading.

Watching Video

The inbuilt video player can support avi, mp4 and some other common video formats. However, if you have video files in mkv, vob formats, you are out of luck. You might want to install third party apps like RockPlayer of MoboPlayer (free) to play your videos.

Camera

There is only one word to describe – it sucks. For a 5MP camera, I were surprised to see grainy and unclear pictures. The contrast is not there and the color looks dull. The same goes for the video. Its ability to capture 720p video doesn’t auto-translate into high quality video. The conclusion is, don’t expect quality photos or videos from this device.

keyboard Dock

In my opinion, the keyboard dock is what made the Transformer great. When attached to the dock, the transformer can double as a netbook where you can type comfortably. The best part is, even when it is docked, it also supports the touch screen. Personally, I love to use my finger to swipe and navigate and use the keyboard to type.

Attaching and detaching the tablet is an easy task. There is a silver latch that clicks when the connection is in place. You can attach/detach at any time and it won’t affect what you are doing.

When your tablet is attached to the dock, the keyboard power pack will charge the tablet so that it is always at maximum power on tablet mode.
In addition, the keyboard also comes with useful shortcut keys like Home button, brightness and volume control, lockscreen button etc. It even support shortcut like “Ctrl + T” to open new tab. “Ctrl + C”, “Ctrl + V” to copy/paste text.

Pros – What we like

Responsive
useful keyboard
affordable price
long battery life, especially with the keyboard dock

Cons – What we dislike

Bad camera
USB port only available on keyboard
The thickness and weight could be reduced further
Short charging cable
Plenty of apps not optimized for tablet (not really Asus’s fault)

Conclusion

Asus Eee Pad Transformer is selling in the USA for US$399 (without the keyboard dock). At this price, it is a steal. And the best is, low price doesn’t equate to inferior product. Asus Transformer is a quality build. Until newer, better and cheaper tablets arrive, with this price and quality, Asus Eee Pad Transformer is easily the best Android tablet out there. If you are getting the Asus Transformer, do get the keyboard dock as well. Without it, the transformer tablet is just a …er…plain simple tablet.

Alternatives for Dropbox

2011-07-08T05:41:00.001-07:00

Dropbox may be the most popular service for syncing files and storing them online, but that doesn't mean it's the best. Some of us are currently considering Dropbox alternatives due to recent security or privacy concerns, while others just want to see what else is available. Here's how Dropbox stacks up against four other major online syncing services: Windows Live Mesh, SpiderOak, SugarSync, and Wuala.

We've mentioned Dropbox a lot because of how useful seamless file sync is, but most of our favorite Dropbox tricks would work with any of the tools highlighted in this post. Some services give you more space, others more flexibility, and others more security. Below, we'll walk you through each of our favorites.

What These Services All Do

These five services offer free online space for storing/backing up your files, sharing them with others, and keeping them in sync across multiple computers and/or mobile devices. They all work with Macs and PCs, and in some cases Linux and many mobile platforms as well.

If you're in a hurry, here's a quick comparison chart of the five services by platform, storage space, and pricing for additional space.

If you're a Linux user, your choices from the above five services are limited to Dropbox, SpiderOak, and Wuala. If your phone runs Window Mobile or Symbian, SugarSync will likely be your service of choice.

There's also much more to consider when choosing an online storage provider than just storage capacity and price per gigabyte.

Unique Features

There are advantages and disadvantages of all of these services. Here are some of the unique features each offers:

Dropbox: Besides its ease of use and great performance, especially when syncing over a local network, Dropbox has the best third-party integration so you get access to a ton of tools like SideCLOUDload, Dropbox Screen Grabber, Dropbox Linker, and a whole lot more. Syncing email clients (Outlook or Thunderbird) across multiple computers works with Dropbox but not other syncing solutions because of its unique syncing technology. Plus, there are a great many ways to gain more storage space in Dropbox.

Live Mesh: Microsoft's file syncing tool works really well in the background (so well, you probably won't even notice it). You can use Live Mesh just for local syncing and/or 5GB of SkyDrive's online storage space (out of SkyDrive's 25GB max). As you might expect, Live Mesh has some unique benefits for Windows users: you can remote control your Live Sync connected Windows computer (similar to Remote Desktop Connection) and sync Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer program settings. SkyDrive is also where Office Web Apps online documents are stored, so you get that integration as well.

SpiderOak: Besides its really strong "zero knowledge" security features (see below), SpiderOak is very versatile: it can sync not only your desktop or mobile device but your external drive or network volume as well—so you can use it to keep your desktop, laptop, and USB thumb drive in sync, for example. SpiderOak offers a lot of information about your backups, uploads, and syncs, so you always feel in control of your data. Refer a friend and you get an additional 1GB more free space (up to 50GB max for the free referral space).

SugarSync: SugarSync does what Dropbox does, but lacks the LAN sync and strong API support. It makes up for that in more features for media streaming, mobile syncing (including auto syncing photos and folders from Android devices), and folders selection and permissions/passwords settings. SugarSync's web interface has a bit more functionality than Dropbox, with its separation of photos from files and also a very useful direct editing feature where you can edit files from within the webapp. You get a generous 5GB free to start with and can earn 500MB more space for each referral.

Wuala: From Swiss storage manufacturer LaCie, Wuala, like SpiderOak, offers locally encrypted data backup and syncing. Although the 1GB of free storage space is on the low end to start with, Wuala has a unique way to earn additional storage: you can buy more space or exchange unused storage on your computer (e.g., empty space on an external drive) for more storage on Wuala.

Ease of Use

Drag n' Drop to one folder. When it comes to simplicity, Dropbox wins hands down. You have a Dropbox folder, drag files into it, and magically the files appear in identically named folders on your other computers. Sharing files for collaboration on Dropbox is also just as easy: from the website, go to the sharing tab, select the folder/files and enter the email addresses of people you want to share the files or folders with.

Like Dropbox, but with multiple folders support. SugarSync has similar functionality, with its Magic Briefcase folder, but because you can sync multiple folders on more than one computer, managing your synced folders and shares can get more confusing.

Easy visual clues. Both Dropbox and SugarSync have handy tray icons and integrate well with Mac and Windows. There's a visual clue over folders to show whether they've been uploaded or not, and you'll be notified if you get near or go over your file storage limit.

Traditional file management interfaces. SpiderOak and Wuala have folder management user interfaces that aren't really difficult to understand or navigate, but they do require just a bit more thought and planning than simply dumping everything in a catchall folder. Live Mesh asks you to select each folder you wish to sync individually. By allowing you to select which folders to backup/sync, however, you get more control (a good tradeoff between simplicity and power. We've previously posted a workaround using a symlink and a small Windows app for syncing files and folders outside of the dropbox folder, if you prefer more control over Dropbox's simple "one folder" access).

Backup separate from syncing. Of the five services, SpiderOak's interface/system may be the most awkward and confusing to set up. With the other services, you select the folders you want to backup/sync and the app starts to make that happen. With SpiderOak, you first have to choose your folders/files to back up and wait for those files to be uploaded. Then, in another screen, you have to choose the folders you wish to sync between devices. This might be good in corner cases where you want to backup files to the cloud but not sync them to another computer, and it also eliminates some overhead by separating the backup and sync function. From a user standpoint, however, it may feel like an unnecessary step. Wuala also separates the backup and syncing function (though you don't have to first backup in order to sync), so clearly these two services are designed for people who may want more options than just syncing.

Security & Privacy Policies

SpiderOak and Wuala both shine in the security department, because, unlike Dropbox, your data encryption key is only saved on your computer. SpiderOak has a well-publicized "no password storage" policy stating your data and even filenames are inaccessible to the company.

Dropbox's reputation, on the other hand, has dramatically dropped recently due to recent security mishaps, awkward terms of service changes, and the fact that employees can, after all, access your unencrypted data. While we don't think there's a major security concern here we do recommend you encrypt any sensitive data stored within Dropbox (or any online storage service, for that matter).

The other service providers haven't come into as close scrutiny as Dropbox. Here's what these service have to say about their security practices:

SpiderOak: "SpiderOak never stores or knows a user's password or the plaintext encryption keys which means not even SpiderOak employees can access the data. Our zero-knowledge privacy approach means we can never betray the trust of our users" SpiderOak also recently added 2-factor authentication.
SugarSync: "We use industry best practices to ensure that your data is safe and secure. Your files are transferred securely using TLS (Transport Layer Security) and are stored in the cloud in an encrypted format using 128-bit AES-the same level of protection used for online financial transactions."
Live Mesh: This Technet post says that files stored on Microsoft servers are protected by access controls but are not encrypted.
Wuala: "All files are directly encrypted on your desktop. Your password never leaves your computer. Not even we as the provider can access your files or your password. Wuala employs proven encryption technology (AES, RSA and SHA) to secure your data."

In short, SpiderOak and Wuala definitely have the most assuring security policies/practices, but you still want to take matters into your own hands and encrypt any and all sensitive data stored online.

Performance

Both Dropbox and Live Mesh performed best in my tests because they both synced directly over my local network, without having to go through the online servers first, as these syncing services typically do. Dropbox's LAN sync and Live Mesh's local sync are unique and very useful time-saving features if you use these services to keep computers on your home network in sync. You can also use them, of course, for syncing computers and devices that aren't on the same network.

Otherwise, the services all performed relatively the same, with barely any noticeable difference when saving new files or deleting them. I found SpiderOak just a bit faster but more resource-intensive in the initial folder upload than Wuala, while SugarSync took up more system resources than the others in the background.

Sharing

All of the services make sharing files with others very easy. Just right-click or select the files/folders and enter the email addresses of your recipients.

With Wuala and SpiderOak, you create groups or "share rooms" (SpiderOak's comes with its own RSS feed) to distribute to more people at a time, so it feels more of a collaborative environment.

In addition to this folder sharing for collaboration or to give others access to your files, all of the services also let you create public links to your files so you can post a link on Facebook to a document, for example. SugarSync has direct posting to Facebook Photos.

One major downside to Dropbox is that files shared with you by others count towards your allotted Dropbox space, and, like most of the services, you also don't have any control over the permissions of the folder. For sharing and syncing a read-only folder, SugarSync may be your best bet because you can specify folders to be read-only and password protected. Depending on your settings, you may also be able to control editing of files in shared files for groups with Wuala.

Conclusion

As we've mentioned before, you can use multiple online cloud storage services to make the most of the available free space. For your work documents, for example, you might select SpiderOak or Wuala; for streaming music on your mobile phone, SugarSync; to backup files from one computer to another over your local network, Live Mesh; and for everyday files, Dropbox.

If that's too much overhead, however, the decision for which online syncing service is right for you will depend on your priorities: simplicity and third-party support (Dropbox), security (SpiderOak/Wuala), Windows advantages(Live Mesh), or most features and platforms support (SugarSync).

iTunes and Android

2011-06-21T13:36:00.001-07:00

If you have iTunes, and you don’t have an iPhone – but an Android phone instead, syncing iTunes to your phone can be frustrating. So here are some tips to sync iTunes and make sure your cover art works well on your Android phone.

Syncing iTunes

Salling Media offers a complete solution for syncing your iTunes media to Android. On top of that it is really user friendly and super fast.

It will ask you to mount your phone as a disk drive when you launch it; so pick up your phone, swipe down the notification bar, and tap the disk drive option.

Once you mount your phone as a disk drive, Salling Media immediately detects your phone as an external storage media. Head over to the music tab, click the sync button, and you’ll find all your iTunes music in your Android; quick and easy.

If you happen to subscribe to podcasts, and you want to listen to them in your phone, Salling Media got you covered. You can sync all your podcasts

… or simply select those you want to listen. Click the sync button once you have made up your selection, and you’ll get all your podcast in your phone.

Download Salling Media

Managing Cover Art

Although iTunes music comes with cover arts, we like to pick our own images for our musics with “cover art downloader”. It’s not only free, it also has an awesome batch cover art feature that download missing cover arts for your music.

Check your cover arts, and tap any one of them which you want to change.

Tap the search button to look for alternatives cover arts online.

Tap the one that you want, and cover art downloader will replace your current cover with the one you want.

Feel free to share any other tips on syncing iTunes and managing cover arts in the comments section.

Download Cover Art Downloader

Twitter for android

2011-06-20T06:34:00.001-07:00

Social media has become a part of many people’s everyday life. If you converse with people on Twitter or have an active presence for your business, you know how fast information flies through Twitter feeds.
With information moving at the speed of Twitter, having access to this sea of information is a must-have for many people. There are several Twitter clients for Android. Below is a breakdown of some of them.

Twitter

The first and most obvious application is the one Twitter made. The Twitter made application is very clean and gives you the basics you need to send and receive updates, DMs and Replies. There aren’t really any extras to speak of.

Twitdroyd

My first Android had Twidroyd (formerly known as Twitdroid) installed on it. Without digging too deep, it looks very simple. Almost as simple as the Twitter made app. However Twitdriod has a lot more to offer. Daily deals, nearby tweets and channels make it a good upgrade from a basic app.
Channels are a list of recent tweets from companies, universities, sites, news and other sources. This makes it easy to keep track of the latest information easier.

TweetCaster for Twitter

Tweetcaster is another basic yet easy to use Twitter application for Android. You can search, see your @replies, DMs and the other essentials. Whats cool about searching in Tweetcaster is when you type in a search term, you can choose to search Twitter as a whole, people with that word in their name or nearby tweets.
Another more advanced feature is being able to post to multiple accounts at once. This is super handy if you tweet for multiple accounts with similar topics.

Tweetdeck

It wouldn’t be right to talk about Twitter apps and not mention Tweetdeck. Tweetdeck is a powerhouse in the Twitter desktop application world. While Tweetdeck for Android does not offer the full host of features as the desktop, it is no slouch. You have access to your Facebook, Foursquare, Google Buzz and multiple Twitter accounts.
Another great feature adopted from the desktop is the use of columns. Columns makes it easier to see feeds that matter to you. You can set up several different columns and simply swipe to the one you want.

Seesmic

We have talked about Seesmic a couple times here on Make Tech Easier. It is a great competitor to desktop and web applications. The Seesmic Android app gives you a few special features. The first is being able to see Facebook Pages, both your own and pages you like. It also lets you use Salesforce Chatter. Of the apps on here, this is the only one I noticed offering this as an optional account.

Hootsuite

Of the group, Hootsuite is my personal favorite. The reason isn’t because it can add multiple Twitter accounts or Facebook or Foursquare. It is because I can schedule tweets. Scheduling updates is very handy and helps create the illusion that you are more active on Twitter than you really are.

Conclusion

A basic user can pick any of these Twitter Android applications and they will have what they need. The more specific your needs, the more you may want to try an application for a while and see how it works for you. My top two choices on this list are Tweetdeck and Hootsuite. They are user friendly and because you have an account with each, no matter where you sign in to that account, they are all more-or-less in sync.

The 10 Best Android Apps that Make Rooting Your Phone Worth the Hassle

2011-05-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

Android phones are spectacular little devices because they're able to so much that others simply can't, but one big snag in that greatness is that many of those best features require that the phones be rooted. Whether you plan on installing custom ROMs or not, you may want to root your phone just to use the great apps that require root access. Here are the ten most essential apps available for Android that require root.

Rooting, for those of you that don't know, means giving yourself root permissions on your phone. It's similar running programs as administrators in Windows, or running a command with sudo in Linux. With a rooted phone, you can run more apps or install custom versions of the Android operating system. Note that there's a big difference between installing a custom ROM on an Android phone and just rooting it. Custom ROMs may offer plenty of features that aren't available direct from the manufacturer, but most of them can be added to a rooted phone by simply installing the right apps. That's what we're after today.

If you haven't rooted your phone yet, but would like to know more about the process, be sure to check out our always up-to-date guide to rooting Android phones.

Superuser Allows Other Apps Root Access

Superuser is the first app a user should install after rooting, if the rooting method didn't do it already. "Rooting" a phone allows a user to establish total control over the device, but Superuser is the app that provides the button for that control. With Superuser installed, any app that needs root privileges to run will have to ask permission, and an informative pop-up will display with the option to give it those privileges. This app is an absolute must for any of the other apps on the list to even run.

Titanium Backup Automates System Backups

Titanium Backup is an enormously useful app. Not only can it backup apps, but it can backup apps and all their data, and it can delete apps—even system apps or bloatware. Making regular backups of all your apps (and their data) can ensure that if you ever really screw up, say in trying to install a custom ROM, that you can still have everything the way you left it should you need to wipe the entire phone and start from scratch. For more detailed information, see our full guide on using Titanium Backup.

ShootMe Takes Screenshots with a Shake

It's a sad fact that Android ships with no way to take screenshots. ShootMe is an extremely simple, user-friendly app that rectifies that situation, but it needs the phone to be rooted first. ShootMe's greatest feature is that it allows you to choose from several options in deciding what the trigger should be for the screenshot to take place—whether it's shaking the phone, covering the light sensor, or just yelling at it (my favorite).

Metamorph Applies Visual Themes to Anything

Metamorph is a small app that allows you to theme any part of Android by applying simple patch files. Learning how to make your own themes isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world, but most users don't bother—there are plenty to choose from, made by other users who are absolutely nuts about theming. Parts of the system that can be themed by Metamorph include the lockscreen, menu screens, individual apps, or just about anything else that's ever displayed on the screen. It's all possible.

Adfree Blocks Ads Anywhere on Your Phone

Adfree may actually be the greatest root-essential app available on Android, and it's one that you never see unless it needs updating. All Adfree does is block ads, but it does it for everything on the phone. Since the app works by blocking ad-serving sites at the IP address level (by modifying the phone's Hosts file), it doesn't slow your system down, and it does a remarkably good job. Even if you don't mind ads in your browser, using Adfree makes "free" apps from the Market much more tolerable, since most of them have pop-up ads that tend to ruin the experience otherwise.

SSH Tunnel Encrypts All Internet Traffic on Your Phone

Recently mentioned SSH Tunnel is an app that allows an Android phone to connect to the internet using an ssh tunnel for a completely secure connection. It's great for those times when you've got no data signal, stuck at work or a coffee shop that only has public Wi-Fi available, and you need to be sure that nobody is snooping your sensitive personal information as you connect to sites like Gmail or Facebook.

Tasker Can Automate Almost Any Task

Tasker by itself doesn't require root privileges to run, but some of its more impressive features do. Giving Tasker room to do what it does best is definitely a good thing, since it can practically automate your entire phone given the right amount of power. Rooting your phone is the only way to give it that kind of access.

SetCPU Controls the Speed and Behavior of Your Phone's Processor

SetCPU has been, is still, and will probably be for quite some time the de facto tool for controlling a rooted Android phone's processor speed. SetCPU allows the user to exert total control over how fast, or slow, the processor runs at any given point in time. As an example, SetCPU can force the processor to sit at its lowest setting whenever the screen is turned off, but to use a range between 240MHz and 806MHz as needed while the phone is awake. For phones that have the ability to drastically overclock, SetCPU can help ensure that they don't overheat by keeping watch on the temperature, and acting accordingly. Overclocking or not, battery savings and overall performance can be greatly enhanced using this app.

Busybox Adds True Linux Commands to the Android System

Busybox is often called "the Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux," because that's what it basically is. It's not an actual app that you run, but instead provides all the Linux/UNIX commands that we know and love. Without the commands installed, the barebones "Linux" that Android runs on top of can't really do too much, making apps like Terminal Emulator nearly worthless.

Wireless Tether Turns Your Phone into a Wi-Fi Hotspot

Finally, Wireless Tether. For many users, this feature is the single most important thing in the world of mobile devices, so having the ability to use it is a must. Wireless Tether turns an Android phone, regardless of carrier, into a full blown W-Fi hotspot for any nearby devices that need one. It's as simple as that, but only rooted phones can use it.

There are plenty of other apps out there that only work with rooted phones, and it doesn't seem likely that the carriers are ever going to allow phones on their networks to sell with root capabilities baked in. If you want the added functionality of these apps, there's just no way around it. You've got to go rooted. So, if you're convinced, head over to the rooting guide to see what's required to set your phone free.

Know of any other great apps for rooted Android phones? Have a personal favorite that's not on the list? Share them in the comments!

Business Card Reader: Easily Add A Contact To Your Android Phone

2011-05-09T03:09:00.001-07:00

When you receive a business card, the usual way is to manually enter the contact information to your phone book. If you have collected tens (or hundreds) of business cards in a networking session, you probably have to spend several hours entering the details. If you have a smartphone (such as iPhone or Android), one solution is to use a business card reader to automatically scan and add the contacts to your phone book.

Business Card Reader (BCR) for Android is one app that can take a photo of your business card, parse the information into various fields and add the contacts info to your phone book. The usage is simple and it works pretty well in this testing.

Download the Business Card Reader (market link, cost US$4.99)

Open the app. You should see the main screen of Business Card Reader.

Tap on the option "Take Photo". Your camera will load and you will be prompted to take a picture of the business card.

Once you have taken the photo, it will scan the business card for contact info.

The parsed data will be displayed and you can check if the information are correct.

From here, you can either tap "Done" (top right hand corner) to add as a new contact to your phone book, or tap "Merge Contact" (bottom left corner) to merge this contact with existing contact. Lastly, you can also tap the "LinkedIn" button (bottom right corner to view the contact info in LinkedIn.

That's it for adding new contacts from business cards.

Back to the app main screen, there are also features like selecting a picture from your gallery to parse contact info (useful when people email you a scanned copy of their business cards) and the Card Holder where you can view contacts added using the BCR.

Caveats

On the whole, BCR is easy to use. There are two caveats though: big file size and the inability to move to SD card. The file size of BCR is about 22MB and the inability to move to SD card can be a problem to those who have a small internal storage space in their phones.

Other than that, Business Card Reader has worked really well in my Android phone.

Business Card Reader is available for iPhone/iPod Touch, Blackberry and Windows Mobile as well.

Business Card Reader for Android (market link)

Use Kernel Manager For Android To Flash Custom Kernels Easily

2011-05-09T03:07:00.001-07:00

If you're running a custom ROM on your Android phone, you may have thought about flashing a custom kernel. A kernel, by definition, is the central component of an operating system. What a kernel does for your phone is manage the software and hardware. Depending on your kernel, you may have faster performance, improved battery life etc. Since there are different custom kernels that are capable of different things, it is nice to have the option of using kernels other than the stock one on your phone. Up until now flashing a custom kernel requires the user to reboot their phone into recovery and manually flashing the file. This process has now been made much simpler with the Kernel Manager app for Android.

If you've ever used the famous ROM Manager you'll find Kernel Manager to be similar. Like ROM Manager, Kernel Manager comes in two varieties – premium and basic. The premium version comes without ads. The basic version however, has everything that you need to make flashing a new kernel a quick and painless process.

Head over to the Android Market and download Kernel Manager.

After the app has gained root permission, you will be presented with a screen similar to ROM manager. A list of kernels available for download will be present as well as further information regarding each kernel. It should be mentioned that the number of available kernels depends on how many developers choose to submit their work via this application. Despite this, there are still a fair number of kernels available for download.

In order to install a kernel, scroll down to find a kernel that matches your needs. Read the descriptions of each kernel carefully to make sure that it matches what you are looking for. As a general rule of thumb, it is a good idea to always make a backup of your current ROM with its kernel in the event that something should go wrong.

After you have selected a kernel, press the button labeled "More Info" and you will be brought to the kernel's menu. A button located on the bottom of the screen will allow you to download and flash the kernel. The flashing automation is really where this application helps users manage their custom ROM and kernel. After download of the kernel has finished, the app will automatically boot into recovery and take care of all flashing requirements. It will even clear all caches to ensure that your phone behaves correctly upon reboot.

Kernel Manager is a great tool for anyone running a rooted phone with a custom ROM. The Pro version can be had for $3.99. This is not an unreasonable asking price considering all that the app is capable of. Ultimately Kernel Manager is a power user's dream for managing their phones software and hardware. It provides the easiest and simplest way of installing a custom kernel.

How to Sync Android’s SD Card With Dropbox

2011-05-03T06:53:00.001-07:00

On maketecheasier i read about dropbox and automatic sync from your android phone:

Dropbox for Android is easily one of our favorite mobile app. It allows you to download and view your files in your Dropbox folder and also upload files to the server. It is best suited for people (like us) who like to work on the move. If there is anything that we are unsatisfied with, it have to be the inability to sync your local files (in SD card) back to the server.

When you open a file from your Dropbox folder in Android, the file will be downloaded to your SD card and you can then view/edit the file with a file manager. However, after you have made changes to the file, the Dropbox app does not automatically sync it back to the server. The only solution is to manually upload the file. This is definitely not a good solution.

A good solution to overcome this is to use DropSpace, another app to do the stuff that Dropbox suppose to do, but didn't. DropSpace allows you to create a link between a folder in your SD card and a sub-directory in Dropbox. Once the link is created, it will auto sync the files from/to your Dropbox.

Download DropSpace from the market (it's free)

Connect your Dropbox account to DropSpace.

Tap the "Manage Sync List" button to set up the sync.

Navigate to the directory on your SD card that you want to link and long tap on it to add to the sync list.

Next, it will show your Dropbox folder and you can do the same thing (long tap on the folder) to complete the sync configuration.

Lastly, go back to its main screen and tap the "Sync Now" to start the sync.

By default, you have to manually tap the "Sync Now" button everytime you want it to perform a sync. However, you can set it as a service and get it to run at a regular interval. You can also configure whether to remove the remote files when the local files are deleted.

Syncing notes to Dropbox

If all you want is to create notes on your Android phone and have them synced to your Dropbox, Epistle is one such app that allows you to do so. With Epistle, you can create simple notes and it will automatically synced to the Epistle folder in Dropbox. I have found this to be extremely handy, especially when I need to jot down some ideas while on the move.

Epistle also supports two-way sync. That means, if you create a text file on your desktop and drop it into the Dropbox Epistle folder, it will show up in your Android phone as well.

Until the Dropbox team implements the synchronization feature in their mobile apps, we will have to make use of the above mentioned apps to get things done. They might not be the most feature-complete app, but they get the jobs done.

OMG ubuntu app for Android

2011-05-03T04:44:00.001-07:00

It’s finally time to unveil the official OMG! Ubuntu! Android app to you all!
Now you can get the latest Ubuntu news, tips, interviews, how-tos and more from your favourite Ubuntu site wherever you are on your Android phone.

Features:

Stay up to date with the latest articles from OMG! Ubuntu!
Read comments and post your own
Share articles via Twitter, Facebook and more
Use swiping gestures to change articles
Cache the articles for offline reading
Filter posts by category
Pull down list to refresh articles
Adjustable font size
Haptic feedback
In-frame article viewing

Help us test it

We’ve been working hard on this for the last month and a half, and although it’s fairly stable, we think it’s ready for wide scale testing. Disclaimer: It’s an alpha version.
Future feature update ideas include better social integration, highlighting of featured posts, speed optimizations, a homescreen widget, optional new post notifications, and more.

If you’ve got an idea for a new feature you’d like to see, then constructive feedback is very much welcome either in the comments on this article or preferably on the Get Satisfaction page for the app.
You can also just click the Feedback tab on the right hand side of the site to report an issue/feedback/ask a question about any of our products at any time =)

Download

It’s available for no charge in the Android Market.

Alternatively simply search for “OMG! Ubuntu!” on your Android phone and punch the button to install.

How to Get Better Battery Life from Your Android Phone

2011-04-27T01:24:00.001-07:00

If you have a modern Android phone, you know the pain of turning on your phone at 5 PM only to realize it's deep in a low-battery coma. Here are the simple manual changes, and clever automatic tweaks, that will keep your phone awake and useful for far longer.

There are a lot of different things that can kill your phone's battery, and oftentimes they're things you don't even need. We've mentioned quite a few of these before, but if you're having serious battery life issues on your phone, make sure you check each of these settings, features, and customizations to make sure you're getting the best battery life possible out of your phone.
The Features that Draw Battery Power

There are quite a few settings and features on your phone that will drain battery life, sometimes without your even realizing it. To see what I mean, head to Settings > About Phone > Battery > Battery Use. You may see some things there you didn't realize were battery killers. Here are the settings that are most likely killing your battery, and how to turn them off when you don't need them.
Your Screen

Photo by Kevin Jarrett.

Your screen, especially if it's one of the new beautiful Super AMOLED or Super LCD displays, draws by far the most battery from your device. The best way to minimize your screen's battery usage is to turn the brightness down. By default, your phone should be on "Auto" brightness, which works, but might still use up more juice than you'd like.

If you head to Settings > Display > Brightness, you can uncheck "Automatic Brightness" and put it on something like 10%. It'll be a little harder to see in direct sunlight, but you'll be better off everywhere else. Putting the Power Control widget on your home screen makes toggling between low and high brightness a lot easier, too, so that's a widget I highly recommend you use if you don't already. To add it, press and hold on an empty section of your screen, choose Widgets, and pick the Power Control option.

I'd also recommend lowering the Screen Timeout from 1 minute to 15 or 30 seconds under Settings > Display. If you tend to let your phone sleep automatically (rather than hitting the sleep button when you're done using it), this will help you save some life as well.
Cellular Data

Unfortunately, one of the biggest battery killers—especially if you live or work with with bad service—is your cellular and data connection. Whether you've got a fancy new 4G phone or a standard 3G unit, your data will use up battery even if you aren't actively using the phone.

You can turn your data connection on and off using either previously mentioned APNDroid or previously mentioned Quick Settings. Toggle mobile data on when you need it, turn it off when you don't. If you're just planning on talking, texting, or sending a quick email, EDGE or 1X is more than sufficient. You can turn data back on when you're browsing and need the extra speed. It seems extreme, but it'll save you quite a bit of juice.

Unfortunately, these apps only work with GSM phones (AT&T and T-Mobile in the US); CDMA phones (like those on Sprint or Verizon) are left out. Some phones can turn off 3G from Settings > Wireless & Networks > Mobile Networks, but others will have to go the more complicated route. Sprint users can also turn off 4G with the previously mentioned Power Control Plus widget, while Verizon users can turn off 4G with the LTE OnOff app.
Wi-Fi

When you have Wi-Fi networks around, use them. They'll automatically turn off your data connection and use Wi-Fi instead, which is better for battery life than cellular data. However, when you aren't around Wi-Fi, it'll actually drain your battery by constantly searching for networks to connect to. Apart from a few choice locations, I don't use Wi-Fi very much except at my house—so I'll turn Wi-Fi off with the Power Control widget when I'm out and about.
Bluetooth

Having Bluetooth on kills battery just like Wi-Fi does. If you don't use a bluetooth headset, just turn Bluetooth off entirely. Again, you can toggle it on and off from the Power Control widget, so on the occasions that you are using a Bluetooth headset, or transferring files over Bluetooth from your computer, you can quickly toggle it on right from your home screen.
GPS

Everyone hates on GPS as a huge battery killer, but it probably isn't as bad as the others since it's unlikely that you're always using it. GPS only turns on (and drains battery) when you use it for something, like Google Maps or turn-by-turn navigation. Of course, if you use location services with Twitter, Facebook, or other social apps, then it may be turning on more often than you realize. Like the others, it can't hurt to toggle this one off using the Power Control widget when you're not using it, and then just turn it on when it's time to use Google Maps.
How to Automate These Settings

Of course, toggling these settings on and off all the time isn't an ideal phone scenario that leaves you feeling like you live in the future. If you only use Wi-Fi at home and at your local coffee shop, for example, wouldn't it be nice if your phone just knew when you were there and turned Wi-Fi on for you? Or wouldn't it be nice if you could just have Bluetooth on during work hours, when you're more likely to use that headset?
Automate Any Setting with Tasker

Luckily, you can do all this (and way, way more) with one of our favorite tools, Tasker (or other similar apps like Locale and Settings Profiles). We won't get into how to use Tasker here, since we've already given you a full rundown before, but you can automate pretty much anything you want—like turning GPS on only when you open Google Maps, turning on Bluetooth only when you dock your phone, and scaling back on data usage at night.

If you'd rather not go through the trouble of setting all these up, of course, you can still do it manually. Again, I can't recommend Power Control or Power Control Plus enough—it makes it so easy to toggle those settings on and off.
Scale Back Data Usage with JuiceDefender

Your other option is to use previously mentioned JuiceDefender. It does all the automation for you, though you can tweak some of its settings if you like. Basically, it manages your data connection as intelligently as it can. It will essentially turn off your data connection and re-connect every 15 or 30 minutes, to see if you have new emails, Twitter mentions, or other notifications to download.

By default, this particular setting probably won't do a ton unless you're already using your battery inefficiently. If you have your apps set up to use push notifications or battery-efficient intervals for pull notifications, this shouldn't save you a ton of battery (more on that below). What is really cool about JuiceDefender is its other features. For example, you can set it to disable Wi-Fi after one minute if it hasn't yet connected to a nearby network. It will then keep Wi-Fi off for 15 minutes and check again. It can even learn the Wi-Fi spots you connect to most, and just turn Wi-Fi on whenever you enter those areas. It can also turn off data entirely at night and re-enable in the morning, either after a certain time or when you wake the phone from sleep. You can also configure which apps have access to background data, which is nice for those that may be sucking up your data without you knowing it.

It's extremely easy to set up and use, and you can grab it from the Market for free. However, some of the features (like the Wi-Fi ones) are only available in the $5 JuiceDefender Ultimate upgrade, so I highly recommend you grab that too. It's well worth the price.
Other Things to Try

All that said, there are a few other tweaks I'd recommend, whether you're using the above settings or not. Here are some extra things you can do to make sure your phone's getting the best life out of its battery.
Tweak and Uninstall Data-Heavy Apps

While some apps, like Gmail, use battery-efficient push notifications, others (like the default Email client, Twitter, Facebook, and others) poll the server for data every so often to see if there are any new notifications. You want to make sure these are using battery-efficient intervals. You don't need your Twitter app checking for email every five minutes—every 30 minutes (or more) is fine. These can make a huge difference in your data usage, and will save you quite a bit of battery. Closing these applications when you don't need them is a great idea, too.

If you have apps you aren't using, uninstall them. Some apps will try to connect to the internet without you realizing it, and it's best to just uninstall them entirely. If it's a piece of crapware that came with your phone, you'll have to root and use Titanium Backup to freeze it. Also, get rid of any widgets that are constantly pulling data down, like Facebook widgets, weather widgets, and so on. Or, at the very least, make sure you can edit their settings so they only poll for data every half hour or hour.
Turn Off the Eye Candy

Screen animations, live wallpapers, and other eye candy features can get pretty CPU intensive, so if you're looking to save battery life, turning them off is a great way to do so. You lose some of the "awesome" factor of course, but if you've done everything else and still aren't happy, this should give you a bit more juice.
Keep Your Phone from Getting Too Hot

Nothing kills a battery like extreme heat. This is probably common sense by now, but don't leave it in a hot car, get it out of your pocket when you can, and keep it as cool as possible during the summer. The hotter that battery gets, the faster it will die.
Wipe Your Battery Stats

If you're rooted your phone, you'll want to make sure you wipe your battery stats every once in a while, especially after you've flashed a new ROM a few times. This isn't something you want to do often, but if you've flashed a few ROMs since you've had the phone and haven't wiped the stats yet, wiping them now is probably a good idea. Follow these instructions to make sure you do it correctly.
Don't Use a Task Killer

We've talked about this before, so I won't get into the whole spiel here, but unless you're using an old version of Android—like 1.6—you don't need a task killer. They'll harm your battery life more than they'll help it. If you've done everything else correctly, like uninstalling apps that constantly connect to the internet for no reason (including crapware), quit apps when you're not using them, or use battery-efficient notification intervals, you don't need to be killing apps left and right for any reason. Don't use it.
Underclock or Undervolt Your Phone

If you have a new, powerful phone, you probably don't need all that CPU power it's giving you. Rooted users can download and install previously mentioned SetCPU, which lets you adjust your CPU's clock speed. Tone the CPU down a little bit, or even create a new profile that turns it way down whenever your phone is sleeping—after all, why do you need your processor clocking out at 1 GHz when you're not even using it? You can also create profiles that underclock your phone more and more as your battery goes down, so once you get to, say, 25%, your phone sacrifices more performance so it can last as long as possible.

You can also use a lower voltage kernel, which you can find around the internet or grab with previously mentioned Kernel Manager. Sometimes these can be a little less stable, and you may have to underclock your phone at the same time, but they can seriously give you better battery life.
Get a Secondary Battery

Last but not least, there's no shame in getting another battery for your phone. Most modern smartphones have crappy battery life, it's just a sad fact of owning one. If you find that, even with the above tips, you use your phone enough that the battery doesn't last you as long as you'd like it to, it's time to swallow that pride and just pick up a second battery. They don't take up a lot of space; you can keep it in your backpack or pocket until your phone dies and then just pop it in to give it new life. If you prefer, you can also get an "extended battery", which is a larger battery that will bulk up your phone, but give it quite a bit more battery life.

Make sure you're buying a real OEM battery, though. A lot of places, like Amazon, are selling a lot of knockoffs for super cheap. They can be tempting, but they can also cause problems—buy directly from your cellphone manufacturer or carrier to make sure you're getting a real, high quality battery for your phone.

Hopefully you've learned at least a few new tricks for saving battery on your phone today—there are a lot of different things you can do, and it's up to you to pick and choose which ones work the best for you. Of course, many of you have probably built up your own arsenal of battery tips over the years, so if we didn't mention one of your favorite battery tricks, be sure to share them with us in the comments.

4 Ways To Make Good Use Of Dropbox For Android - Make Tech Easier

2011-04-25T13:50:00.001-07:00

When I made the switch to an Android phone from a Blackberry, one of the deciding factors was how I could easily share files with clients and club members. I am usually not at my office and do much of my work remotely. While Dropbox was accessible from my Blackberry, it was less than convenient to use regularly.

By doing a little reading and some planning ahead, I have come up with a few ways to use Dropbox while I am mobile. Below are a few tips to use your Dropbox for Android more efficiently while on the go.

1. Share a folder or link

This is probably the main use for me. It is really easy to share files via email or other methods. During certain times of the year, I am emailing the same set of forms to different people all the time. I keep all of the files in a folder in my Dropbox. When someone calls or emails me, I can send them the forms in a zip file.

Open Dropbox for Android and navigate to the folder you want to share.

Press and hold on the folder name. In the pop-up window, you will see Open or Share a link. In this case, select Share a link.

The share menu will appear asking how you want to share the link. Choose your method and send.

Fill in the recipient's address or phone number. When the recipient clicks the link, they will initiate a download of the files in that folder in a .ZIP format.

2. Save or share app APKs

If you download applications from places other than the Android Market, you will likely have the APK file on your SD card or computer. Well, if you make a folder for these files in your Dropbox, you can uninstall the applications you do not use all of the time. When you need the application again, download it from your Dropbox folder.

In the same manner, if you want to share an application, you can send a link to a friend so they can download the APK file and install the application.

3. Basic text reader and picture viewer

A nice feature of Dropbox for Android is you can open certain files without downloading them to your SD card or Android phone. If you have a picture stored, you can open it within Dropbox. The same is true with a .txt file like you would use in Notepad.

4. Resume and portfolio

Another really handy thing to be able to do is share your resume at a moment's notice. If you are looking for a job or freelance work, you need to respond to opportunities as soon as you see them. If you see a bookkeeping gig on Craigslist, you can shoot them a resume right away.

If you are a designer or photographer, you can quickly email a folder with all of the information such as a resume, sample pictures, references, links or anything else you'd like to send.

There are many other uses, what it comes down to is access and sharing. Be creative and I'm sure there are lots of ways you can find to use Dropbox for Android to make you more efficient.

Tell us your tips for being efficient while using your Android.

If you want more general tips on using Dropbox, here are a couple previous articles Part 1 and Part 2.

Rootexplorer app

2011-04-21T14:06:00.001-07:00

On maketecheasier I found this article:

SD cards are an important tool for the mobile technology enthusiast. These memory cards can hold music, images, documents, and even important miscellaneous files. However, managing them on a mobile device can be a difficult task. This is especially true for Android phones where the SD card forms an important part of the phone. Luckily, there are several tools that you can use to manage (and read files from) your SD card and Root Explorer is one of them.

Root Explorer is a very powerful application (available in the market) that allows you to access the whole of android's file system (including the elusive data folder!). It also comes with feature like SQLite database viewer, Text Editor, create and extract zip or tar/gzip files, multi-select, execute scripts, search, remount, permissions, bookmarks, send files (via email, bluetooth etc), image thumbnails, APK binary XML viewer and many more. As its name implies, Root Explorer only works in rooted devices. In this article, we will be mainly discussing its capability as a SD card file manager, even though that is undermining its full capability.

This app provides an easy graphical view of your phones entire system. What is especially handy about it is that it allows you to move around any files that you'd like to. It also displays a folder called "SDcard". This folder contains everything that is stored on your memory card. Selecting this folder will allow you to view the entire contents of your SD card. Why is this handy? Because not all information that your phone needs is ever stored in one place. Occasionally, you will need to have certain files on the root portion of your SD card in order for your phone to use it.

In order to move files to the root of your SD Card, follow these simple steps:

1. Install Root Explorer from the market (cost US$3.99)

2. select Root Explorer from your apps drawer.

3. It will request for super-user permission. You will have to grant it permission in order to use it.

4. On the app's main screen, scroll down until you see the folder labeled as "SDcard."

Scroll down to where the particular file has been saved. The location of the file will vary depending on your download methods and default settings. Select the file by long pressing on the icon. A popup menu will appear.

5. Select "Move" from the menu and a paste button will appear at the bottom of the screen. After this, hit the back button on your phone and it will take you to the root of the SD card. Simply hit "Paste" and your file will be moved to the appropriate location.

You can also carry out operation like delete, copy, rename, or even view the file properties.

The one downside to this application is that it comes with a price tag of $3.99. Considering that there are a dozen of other file managers app in the market, this could be a turnoff for many of you. Nevertheless, it is absolutely worth the price because you can get many features out of it that are not available in other apps. It gives the user total control over the Android file system as opposed to other less-capable file managers. For those tight on the budget, there is the free Astro File Manager for Android. Although the Astro File Manager does not come as completely equipped as Root Explorer, it will allow the average user decent control of their file system.

Root Explorer (market link)

WordPress for Android

2011-04-14T03:37:00.001-07:00

Many web savvy individuals know about WordPress and its various uses. What was once a simple blogging platform has matured into a sophisticated, yet flexible, content management system. Its flexibility has led users of all walks of life to produce their own content and share it with the world. Despite all the wonders that WordPress offers, it was previously impossible to control a WordPress site without the use of a computer. Now the ability to control a WordPress blog remotely is possible via the use of its Android application.

The WordPress Android application, as with virtually all other android apps, is available for download in the Android Market. Open the Market Browser and perform a search for WordPress. The Application will be the first listing. Download the application and open it when installation has finished.

Upon first launching the application, you will be presented with a login screen where you are allowed to enter the credentials for your blog.

Note: There are two version of WordPress. The first is WordPress.com, which is a service similar to Blogger and hosts blogs for individuals free of charge. The second is WordPress.org, which is for individuals hosting their own blog on their own servers. The Android app can connect to either version of WordPress.

After you have entered your blogs credentials, the application will display all available blogs in a list. It should be mentioned that the Android application is capable of connecting to more than one blog at a time. This particular feature is convenient, as it allows you to post to any number of blogs you owned or involved in.

Selecting a blog from the list will bring you to the blog control screen. At the top of the screen, you have four available options: comments, posts, pages and stats. The comments feature allows you to approve comments ( or delete them ) while on the run. The Post and Pages feature allows you to create posts and pages from your mobile phone. Although this feature isn't necessarily ideal for intense editing, it is a nice feature if you need to make minor adjustments to your site while away from the office.

Apart from these basic editing features, the application also integrates with communication services on your mobile device. Selecting a post, for instance, will give you the option of sharing the posts via URL, SMS, Gmail, or even Twitter. This particular feature makes the application an ideal platform to share your thoughts while on the move.

Note: The stats feature works only with the WordPress.com version of WordPress. As mentioned previously, this is the freely available and pre-hosted web service that anyone can sign up for. This particular feature is not compatible with WordPress.org, the self-hosted version of WordPress.

In addition to the editing and sharing functions, the application comes with its own notification settings. This setting alerts you to any recent comments that a blog visitor may have posted to your site. All things considered, this is a handy feature to have. If you're a business owner using WordPress as your main site, this function will allow you to connect with your clients or readers almost as quickly as they can post.

Some may argue that the WordPress app is too sparse in its list of features, and to some extent, it is. The application is primarily designed to make quick edits, approve comments, and be alerted of activities that are occurring on your blog or site. All in all, the application performs its intended functions admirably well and can serve you or your webmaster needs.

Bartender Lite = A More Useful Android Notification Bar - Make Tech Easier

2011-04-11T00:31:00.001-07:00

Maketecheasier mailed me this article:

One of the most under utilized parts of an Android phone is the notification bar. While it is useful for alerting you of emails, calendar appointments and SMS messages. The Android navigation bar can do so much more.

Previously on Make Tech Easier, we showed you how to put a reminder note in your Android notification bar. If you are looking for more uses for your Android notification bar, Bartender lite will let you create application shortcuts in your notification bar.

Download

Start by scanning this QR code or by visiting this link from your Android phone to download Bartender Lite.

How to add an application shortcut

Once the application is installed, you will need to open it from your application drawer. When the application opens, you will see a screen with only a few choices. Adding an application or shortcut is pretty straightforward.You will need to press the + Item button.

A screen will pop up asking what kind of item you want to add. This screen is very similar to the one you see when you are adding a shortcut to one of your home screens.

For this example, I will add an application shortcut. So when Application is selected, you will see a list of all the installed applications on your device. I chose Google Maps.

If you want to add more applications to your notification bar, repeat these steps. Here is what it looks like with a few shortcuts added in the Android notification bar.

Rearranging the shortcuts

When you have everything added to your android notification bar, you may find that you use one application more than another. If you want to move the application up in the order, you can do so from the Bartender Lite screen.
Next to each of the shortcuts, there is an X along with an DOWN and UP button. If you would like to delete a notification bar shortcut, you can press the X. To move the application up on the list, press UP. To move an application down on the list, press DOWN.

Possible uses

Because you are accessing preinstalled shortcuts, you can easily personalize the shortcuts according to your needs.You could set it up for:

Most called or messaged people
Maps and directions for a trip
Apps you need to toggle on and off frequently
Media players
Dropbox folders you access a lot
Browser bookmarks
Quick access to multiple Gmail labels
Various settings for your phone functions

Activate USB debug on android devices

2011-04-08T13:28:00.001-07:00

On maketecheasier I read this article:

Have you ever thought, it could happen even a common user needs to switch on the USB debug mode on his/her Android phone? One could think this may be required for an application developer, however, certain desktop phone managers can establish connection with your phone via USB cable only, when this setting is activated.

Certain Android powered devices require this option for various file operations, for example to automatically synchronize the content in the phone with the data stored on your desktop computer.

I was quite astounded at this when I wanted to use MyPhoneExplorer, a handy Windows phone manager with my Android powered phone for the first time. I opened the Help dialog of the app with brief information. It suggested me to make sure whether USB debugging is activated in my device.

"Where will I find it?", this question kept running through my head. There was nothing else to do, I opened the User Guide of my phone, and searched for this keyword. After skipping some matches, I found the desired chapter. I had to recognize, it is not so complicated, only a few steps needed.

I hope I will make you find it easier by following the below step-by-step instructions and screenshots.

First Thing First

If you already connected your mobile device with your computer via the USB cable, please unplug it from your phone, otherwise your device will prompt you a warning requesting to do so.

If the cable is left in the phone, you will tap the OK button in vain, the 'USB debugging' option will remain ticked. So, unplug the cable, please.

Where Can I Find It?

Let's go deeper, step by step:

1. Tap the Applications shortcut in the idle screen.

It may a bit faster when you press the menu key on your phone and tap Settings in the quick launch bar.

In this case you can skip Step 2.

2. Tap the Settings item in the applications list.

3. Select Applications in the Settings screen that opens.

4. Tap Development in this screen.

Now you got it! The first item in this screen, that is loaded, is 'USB debugging'.

Some More Actions

Now tap the 'USB debugging' option in the display. Your phone will raise the question whether you want to switch on this setting. Confirm your decision by tapping the OK button.

A green tick will appear, it means that the check box is selected and this feature is activated.

Now you can replug your cable in the phone. When you replugged the USB cable, your device will notify you about the successful connection by displaying two appropriate indicator icons in the status bar (upper left corner of the screen).

When you scroll down the status bar, you can learn the meanings of these icons.

Your Android powered device is now ready for the communication.

Security Concerns?

When I read the confirmation message, I was a bit afraid. When the USB debugging is activated, it can be used for synchronizing data between your phone and your computer. In addition to this, (unwanted) applications may be installed on your phone without your prior knowledge. Your user names and passwords stored by the applications installed on your device can be accessed. Logs, hardware information and the list of installed applications can be accessed as well.

Finally I realized, these all are things what an experienced user already should know. They may compromise your privacy, so ensuring your security, it is highly recommended to deactivate the USB debug mode at the end of your session.

Fwd: The Always Up-To-Date Guide to Rooting Any Android Phone

2011-04-07T06:43:00.001-07:00

A nice rooting article from lifehacker:

By Whitson Gordon

The Always Up-To-Date Guide to Rooting Any Android Phone

With all the different devices out there running different versions of Android, the rooting process can be a little different for every phone. Here's a one-stop guide that should get you up and running with root access, no matter what device you have.

Rooting, for those of you that don't know, means giving yourself root permissions on your phone. It's similar running programs as administrators in Windows, or running a command with sudo in Linux. With a rooted phone, you can run more apps (like backup or tethering apps), as well as flash custom ROMs to your phone, which add all sorts of extra features.

Just like our always up-to-date guide to jailbraking iOS, we're going to keep this guide up to date instead of publishing new guides every time the rooting process changes—it's one page to bookmark that will always have the latest or best method. It's a more hefty undertaking, what with all the different Android phones and rooting methods out there, but we're up to the challenge. Currently there are two main rooting methods that cover most devices, with a few outliers that require more work. To find out which method works for your phone, you can probably just hit Ctrl+F and type in your phone's name (e.g. hero). If you find your phone isn't listed, read through the first method, as it's probably the one you'll want to use.

Note: Our goal is to keep this guide as accurate and up to date as possible, but we can't test every phone out there, so we're relying on you guys a bit to help us out. If you have an outlier device who's method isn't listed, or one of these methods becomes outdated for a specific device, please let me know by emailing me at whitson+rootingguide@lifehacker.com (if you can help me out by providing the correct method, that's even better). I'll do my best to maintain this guide as much as possible, and if anything big changes, we'll be sure to let you know.

Most Android Phones: The SuperOneClick Method

Photo by Raphael Schön.

The majority of you will be able to use previously mentioned SuperOneClick for Windows to root your phone. So far, it's been officially tested on the following phones:

Acer Liquid Metal
Dell Streak
HTC Magic (Sapphire) 32B
HTC Bee
T-Mobile Comet (Huawei Ideos U8150)
LG Ally
LG Optimus 2x
Motorola Charm
Motorola Cliq
Motorola Droid
Motorola Droid 2
Motorola Droid X
Motorola Flipside
Motorola Flipout
Motorola Milestone
Motorola Milestone 2
Nexus One: Outdated. If you've upgraded to 2.3 Gingerbread, there is currently no simple method for rooting. You'll either have to wait for a 2.3 exploit (which is rumored on the way for SuperOneClick), or downgrade to 2.2 using this method.
Samsung Captivate
Samsung Galaxy 551 (GT-I5510)
Samsung Galaxy Portal/Spica I5700
Samsung Galaxy S 4G
Samsung Galaxy S I9000
Samsung Galaxy S SCH-I500
Samsung Galaxy Tab
Samsung Transform M920
Samsung Vibrant
Sony Ericsson Xperia E51i X8
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10
Sprint Hero
Telus Fascinate
Toshiba Folio 100

However, it should work on many more. Forum threads abound on the net where people claim it works with other devices, and they just haven't been added to the "official" list. With that in mind, I'd recommend checking the incompatibility list here. If you have one of these phones, you'll want to skip down to the next section:

Sprint EVO 4G (HTC Supersonic)
Droid Incredible (HTC Incredible)
HTC Desire GSM
HTC Desire CDMA (HTC BravoC)
HTC Aria
Droid Eris (HTC DesireC)
HTC Wildfire (HTC Buzz)
T-Mobile G2
HTC Thunderbolt

If your phone isn't one of these, SuperOneClick should work. All of these phones will need the Unrevoked method below, except for the G2 and the Thunderbolt, which have their own sections. If you want to double check that SuperOneClick will work with your phone, a quick Google (e.g. superoneclick droid x) will probably reveal whether its compatible. If it does work and it isn't on the compatibility list above, let us know and we'll add it!

What You'll Need

A Windows PC: SuperOneClick has ports for Mac and Linux, but it's pretty complciated to get it working. I haven't used it myself, but you can check out its XDA Developers thread for more information. For the purposes of this guide, we'll assume you have a working Windows PC to get this working. If you don't have one, borrow one from a friend—you'll only need it once.
The USB Drivers for Your Phone: You'll have to grab these from your manufacturer's web site.
Previously Mentioned SuperOneClick: This is the Windows program that will root your phone. It's portable, so just download it and unzip it somewhere safe—no installation necessary.

The Process

First, find, download and install the USB drivers for your particular phone. You can generally Google for your device's drivers, but you can just head to your manufacturer's web site too (e.g., Motorola Droid users will head to Motorola's web site) and navigate to your device's support page. Go ahead and install the drivers once they're downloaded.

Next, make sure your phone is in USB Debugging mode. Head to Settings > Applications > Development and check the USB Debugging box at the top.

Once you've done all that, start up SuperOneClick. Plug in your phone (make sure NOT to mount the SD card), and hit the "Root" button to root your phone—it's that simple. When it finishes, you'll see a message that says "Root files have been installed!" Hit Yes if it asks you to run a test, and if everything went according to plan, it should confirm that you have root permissions. You can now close out of the app.

To double check and make sure everything went well, when you open up your app drawer you should see an app called "Superuser". If so, you're good to go! You can now flash custom ROMs, run root-only apps, and more. See the "What Now?" section below for more ideas.

Certain HTC Phones: The Unrevoked Method

Photo by Kevin Jarrett.

If you're running an HTC phone, chances are you'll need to use the Unrevoked tool. More specifically, Unrevoked roots the following phones:

Sprint EVO 4G (HTC Supersonic)
Droid Incredible (HTC Incredible)
HTC Desire GSM
HTC Desire CDMA (HTC BravoC)
HTC Aria
Droid Eris (HTC DesireC)
HTC Wildfire (HTC Buzz)

If you have an HTC phone that isn't supported by either method (such as the HTC Thunderbolt, at the time of this writing), Unrevoked may be working on support for it—they're still actively developing the program and doing a great job. It usually takes them a few months, but once they get it up and running, it's worth it—Unrevoked's one click method is a ton easier than the manual hacking you'll have to do if you want root access right after a phone is released.

What You'll Need

A Computer: Thankfully, Unrevoked is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. So as long as you have a PC handy, you can run it.
Previously mentioned Unrevoked3: When you head to Unrevoked's web site, you'll see a list of phones. Click on yours, and you'll probably be presented with two options—for a traditional root, you'll want to make sure you download the "Unrevoked3" tool, not "Unrevoked Forever." It will automatically detect your operating system (Windows, Mac, or Linux), so just hit the download link to grab the appropriate version.
HBOOT Drivers (Windows only): Windows users using Unrevoked will need to install a few drivers to get it working properly. Mac and Linux versions should be a plug-and-go affair.

The Process

If you're running Windows, the first thing you'll want to do is install the Unrevoked modified USB drivers (Mac and Linux users can skip the next two paragraphs). Download the drivers from this page, and extract them somewhere you'll remember. Turn off your phone, then reboot into the HBOOT menu by holding the volume down button and then holding power. You should boot into a white screen. Plug your phone into your computer via USB, and wait for your phone to say HBOOT USB PLUG.

When it does, head to Start and search for Device Manager. Start it up and head to "Other Devices", where you'll see an "Android 1.0" device. Right click on it and hit Update Driver Software. Click "Browse my computer for driver software" and navigate to the folder you extracted earlier. Hit next and let it install. If you get any warnings, just hit OK. When you're done, and you should see the Device Manager now lists an Android Phone with "Android Bootloader Interface" under it.

Next, make sure your phone is in USB Debugging mode. Head to Settings > Applications > Development and check the USB Debugging box at the top.

Now, start up the Unrevoked tool and plug in your phone (again, make sure to hit "charge only"). It should do everything for you automatically. Make sure you wait until Unrevoked says "Done" before unplugging your phone. If you open up your app drawer and see an app called "Superuser Permissions", you're done and can continue to flash custom ROMs, use root only apps, and more (see the "What Now?" section for more inspiration).

Rooting the T-Mobile (HTC) G2 and HTC Desire Z

Photo by kuchingboy.

The G2 is a special case. You're going to need to use a tool called Visionary to give it temporary root, and then go through a bit of manual hacking to make that root permanent. None of the Lifehacker editors have a G2 to test this on, but we've taken these instructions from the Android rooters extraordinaire over at XDA Developers, as well as the below video from The Unlockr.

Note that the Desire Z got an update back in December that stops this method from working. Unfortunately, at the moment there is no other method to root the Desire Z running the 1.72 firmware. You'll have to downgrade using this extremely involved method before going through the rooting process. I'm not going to get into it here because it's very long and tricky, and I don't have a phone to follow along with. Plus it would also make this guide an ungodly size for one outlier. If you have a G2, you should be fine.

What You'll Need

Visionary: This is the app that will temproot your phone. You'll need to go through a slightly longer process, but this is pretty much all you need to start out—no PC necessary!
Android Terminal Emulator: The second half of this method requires a bit of manual hacking, so you'll need a terminal app on your phone. This one should work well.

The Process

To start, head into Settings > Applications > Development and check the USB Debugging box. Also be sure to check the Unknown Sources box in Settings > Applications.

Then, head to Visionary's download page, download and install it to your phone. Once installed, start it up and check the "Temp Root After Reboot" and "System R/W After Root" boxes. Then hit the "TempRoot Now" button. Wait until it finishes, and check your app drawer. If you see "Superuser" listed among your apps, you've achieved temporary root!

Next, we need to turn that temporary root into a permanent root. This is going to require a bit of manual terminal work, but nothing too difficult. Head to this XDA forum thread and download the attached rooting files. You'll need an account at XDA, but trust me, you want one. You'll use it more than you think. You can either download it to your PC and transfer them to your phone, or download them straight to your phone. Just make sure you don't reboot your phone (or you'll lose your temproot), and make sure to extract the zip file to the root of your SD card. When you're done, you should have a folder caled root_files on the first level of your SD card's file system.

Next, head to the Market and download your Terminal Emulator. Start it up and type the following commands, hitting enter after each one:

su cp /sdcard/root_files/perm_root /data/local/perm_root chmod 777 /data/local/* /data/local/perm_root

You'll see the status scroll by as it performs the process. When you're done, it will return you to a regular terminal prompt. You should now have permanent root, and you can continue on to flash custom ROMs, use root only apps, and more.

Rooting the HTC Thunderbolt

Photo by Eugene.

At the time of this writing, the HTC Thunderbolt has been rooted, and has a somewhat easy rooting solution. It's for Windows only, and will only work with firmware versions below 1.12.605.9 (Mac users can root, but they'll have to use the long, complicated method). The Unrevoked team is working on adding it to their list of supported phones, but we'll likely be into summer by the time that happens. If you can't wait, this method should work just fine. Start by downloading the very large Easyroot program from this XDA forum thread (you'll need an account to do so, but trust me, it's good to have—you'll likely use it again in the future). As with the G2 method, I have not tested this myself—only copied the instructions from XDA-Developers. Feedback is appreciated.

To start, make sure your phone has USB debugging enabled in Settings > Applications > Development. Plug in your phone and make sure it's in "charge only" mode. Open up the Easyroot app and click on Step 1. Wait a few minutes, and it should reboot your phone to a white menu with the Bootloader option highlighted in blue. Hit the power button to head to your bootloader.

After a minute or two, it should load a program and ask you if you want to update. Tell it that you do by pressing the Volume Up button. It will update and then say "Update complete". Hit the power button to reboot your phone.

Once you've booted back up, skip through the phone's setup options and head back to Settings > Applications > Development to turn USB debugging back on. Then, unplug your phone, and plug it back in. Click Step 2 in the Easyroot program. If you get an error, kill the Rooter.exe process from Windows' task manager, then restart it and hit Step 2 again.

It will reboot into the white menu again. Highlight the Bootloader option and hit Power again. You're going to go through the same process you did in Step 1—wait, hit Volume Up to upgrade when prompted, then hit Power to reboot your phone when it says "Update complete".

Once again, skip through your phone's setup options and head back into Settings > Applications > Development, turn USB debugging on, unplug your phone, and plug it back in. Click on Step 3 and let it go through its process.

Your phone should reboot when its done. If not, close Rooter.exe and restart it. Click on step 3 again and your phone should restart as expected. Once you're done, you should have root permissions. Check for the Superuser app in your app drawer to confirm, then head off to the Market to grab ROM Manager or the other root-only goodies you're looking for.

What Now?

Now, the world is your oyster. Like I said before, I'd recommend checking out our original guide to rooting the Motorola Droid to see some of the things you can do, but I'd also highly recommend considering:

Flashing a custom ROM like the popular CyanogenMod
Speeding up your phone if it's feeling a little sluggish
Setting up an automated backup (and removing crapware) with Titanium Bakcup
Overclocking (or underclock) your phone with SetCPU
Getting your tethering on with Wireless Tether or Wired Tether

That should get you started. Of course, share your own favorite root tweaks in the comments.

This guide should have you up and running with root permissions on nearly every Android phone out there. Like I mentioned before, I can't test every android phone in existence, so your mileage may vary. Again, goal is to keep this guide as accurate and up to date as possible, so if you find that one of the above methods change for a particular device (or if I haven't addressed your device), please email me at whitson+rootingguide@lifehacker.com. I'll do my best to keep the guide updated whenever I can.

Unlock your android at home when your WIFI is detected.

2011-04-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

Unlock with WiFi is a lightweight Android application that does one thing; it turns off the lock screen when your home WiFi network is detected.

The presumption here is that when you’re at your house you want speedy access to your phone’s interface without worrying about the lock screen. Install the app, tell it which WiFi network is your home network, and as long as it can detect the network it will keep the screen unlocked. Hit up the link below to read more and grab a copy.

Unlock with WiFi [XDA Developers via Addictive Tips]

Save batterylife on your smartphone

2011-04-04T06:48:00.000-07:00

A diverse range of people now own one of the various smart, internet-enabled 3G mobile phones available on the market. Although it would hardly be catastrophic should your kid neighbour’s battery conk out right when he is in the middle of sending a text message to his college sweetheart, a reliable battery reserve is often essential to a fully fledged businessman or woman.

You can simply use the “Power Control” toolbar – which is available as a free download from the Android Marketplace – after it was recommended to me by a friend. The toolbar allows one to turn off/on five features of an Android phone; Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPRS, instant refresh and the screen brightness.

As far as energy saving goes, this app is quite useful but it is dependent on your memory. Often when I was using this toolbar alone, I would open up the phone’s browser only to then realise (when my chosen page refused to load) that I had forgotten to switch the phone’s Wi-Fi feature back on again.

This is where an application called Juice Defender comes in.

The app itself has a nice, clear interface which is not crammed with the type of technical jargon which would prevent tech novices from using it and most users won’t have to delve past the standardised options into the advanced ones. The HTC sense interface of your phone is extremely intuitive and as such, you can get your phone to turn off all of its connectivity options when it is in your pocket or the bottom of your handbag – as soon as you re-interact with the phone, you will be instantly reconnected.

This means that emails, tweets and Facebook communications (etc) will only be downloaded when you are actually looking at the phone, with it essentially in sleep mode the rest of the time. The application also comes with a home screen widget to inform you of how much battery you are saving by using Juice Defender. A 1.58 rating, for example, will see your phone lasting almost 60% longer.

The app is a free download though it is worth mentioning that the paid version – Ultimate Juice allows users to access power saving options based on GPRS location. Being located at work could have automatic power save settings which differ from to those you prefer to have installed when at home. You should – at the very least – download the free version to extend your battery lie to its full potential.

Other ways you can save battery power on your HTC phone:

Use Advance Task Killer: When you are clicking through various apps (either because you need to or you’re just showing off the capabilities of your gadget to your friend) it can be quite easy to have plenty of them running in the background without your knowledge.

Connect to the internet with 3G instead of Wi-Fi: This is not a solution that is ideal for many people due to data plan limitations but if at all possible then your should connect to online services using 3G instead of a Wi-Fi hotspot. Android users have noticed that Wi-Fi uses far more battery power over time compared to 3G and it is thought that this is because the former is a constant connection and 3G transmits and receives data as required.

Play music from your phone – don’t stream it! I love using my phone to listen to music on my long, daily commutes but playing that which is stored on my phone uses considerable less battery power than streaming music does. This is also a great way of restricting your monthly data usage – each song streamed through the Last.FM app can see you using up to 6MB and this can add up really quickly!

Stop fiddling with your phone! Obvious advice really – needlessly playing with your phone will see you unnecessarily draining the battery!

Titanium backup

2011-03-31T03:09:00.001-07:00

An interesting article from Maketecheasier:

Not all applications that are available on the Android market are free of charge. Some of the more useful apps can be had for a price. If you're an Android power user, you've probably invested your fair share of money on higher end applications which may include any number of powerful utilities for your phone. Like any other customer, you want to make sure to protect your investment. In the case of your applications, it would mean backing all of them up. Although there are a variety of ways to do this, one of the best methods involves using Titanium Backup, available on the Android Market.

As the name would suggest, Titanium Backup, is primarily a backup application. Apart from doing simple backups, it also includes features to keep every power user content. The application comes in two varieties: free and a donate version. The donate version unlocks most of the features that would cater to the power user crowd. Some features of the donate version include: batch backups and restoration, backup sync to the Dropbox file service, scheduled backups, and the ability to backup protected applications. Users also have the option of encrypting their backups for additional security upon restoration.

Note: It should be mentioned that in order to use these powerful features, you must have a rooted Android device. If you have not done any modification to your phones before, most probably your phones are not rooted.

Go to the Android market and initiate a search for Titanium Backup (or go to the web-based market here). Doing this will yield a search page that displays the actual application as well as the donate version license. Although the free version can be had, the paid-for version truly displays the applications full brilliance and potential. Download both applications and install them as you would any other app from the market.

Open the Titanium Backup application and select the "problems?" option. The application will then do a variety of system checks to ensure that its capabilities will not be prevented from functioning in any way. Once you receive the green light from the application, you will be free to make any backups that you see fit.

One feature that is especially handy is the Dropbox sync feature. In order to enable this, hit the menu button and select Preferences. Select "Enable Dropbox" from the menu. Directly beneath this option, select Dropbox settings to enter the appropriate credentials. After this you will be allowed to sync all apps directly to your Dropbox account. This feature is especially useful should your SD card fail for one reason or another.

In order to initiate backups, select the Backup/Restore option located at the very top of the application's screen. After selecting this icon, all of your available apps will be displayed in a list. Press on an application entry and you will be presented with a series of options for backing up that particular application. Also remember that you can perform batch operations, allowing you to backup multiple applications at once. To do so, hit the Menu button and select Batch. This will allow you to perform multiple backups.

A final feature to be aware of is the ability to schedule backups.for your applications. Selecting schedules at the top right hand of the screen will allow you to create schedule recurring backups.

To summarize, Titanium Backup truly provides a powerful set of backup features for the Android power user. Not only does it perform its job intelligently, it also provides secure backups of all of your paid-for applications. Use and abuse your Android with total peace of mind.

Create your own QR encoded messages in Linux

2011-03-26T15:15:00.001-07:00

OMHGUbuntu had an interesting article

QR Codes are time-saving shortcuts: sort of hyperlinks that can be put on paper to follow.

A Quick Response is a ‘two-dimensional barcode’ made up of black squares on a white background. Used in Android and Blackberry mobile phones for reading URL's.

The creation of QR codes in Ubuntu is simple, though command-line based. You will need to install ‘qrencode‘ from the Ubuntu Software Center - you can search for ‘qrencode’ manually, or use a terminal :

sudo apt-get install qrencode 

Once Qrencode has been successfully installed you can create QR codes using the Terminal and the following command structure: -

qrencode -o- [filename.png] '[text or URL to encode]' 

For instance a command to create a link to google in your homefolder you would run: -

qrencode -o google.png 'http://www.google.com'

this outputs the following: -

You can make the ‘pixels’ used in the code bigger by using the ‘-s‘ argument. Let’s make the same QR code but with the square pixels increased to 6×6 and have the .png saved somewhere else, e.g. your desktop:

qrencode -o ~/Desktop/google.png -s 6 'http://www.google.com'

The result is:

A Gui is being developed by David Green. Read more about that here:

https://launchpad.net/qr-code-creator

You could use the web-based graphical interface to Google's QR generator at http://zxing.appspot.com/gener... and as for reading QR codes on the desktop, I've found an AIR app that works OK at http://www.dansl.net/blog/?p=2... .

The Google Charts API does this. See http://code.google.com/apis/ch... An example: http://chart.apis.google.com/c...

How to Set Up a Fully Automated App and Settings Backup on Android

2011-03-24T01:42:00.001-07:00

An article read on lifehacker.com and forwarded to my weblog:

In an ideal world, your Android's apps, their settings, and your system settings would automatically back up to the cloud so that if you lost your phone, bought a new one, or installed a new custom ROM, setting up a fresh device with everything in place would be a piece of cake. The good news: This utopian Android backup actually is possible. Here's how to set it up.

We back up our computers religiously, but our phones are often neglected. There are tons of situations in which you may want to have your phone backed up. Perhaps you uninstalled an app and deleted its settings, only to decide that you want it back. Perhaps you've picked up a new phone, or you've flashed a new custom ROMand you don't feel like reinstalling all your apps and reconfiguring everything from scratch. An app called Titanium Backup saves you from these annoyances and more, by backing up all your apps and settings to your SD card (or to the cloud via Dropbox) and restoring them worry-free. You can even schedule backups, set them, and forget them until you need that data back. It's one of the best apps an Android user could have in their toolbox, and if you aren't using it, you really should.

How to Back Up Your Apps and Settings with Titanium

The biggest and best feature of Titanium Backup is, obviously backing up your phone's data. What's really nice about it is that it's an incremental backup, meaning it will back up everything the first time, and then after that, back up only the apps that have updated, so you won't need to go through a long backup process every time. Here's how to formulate your backup plan.

What You'll Need

A rooted Android phone: Titanium delves into some pretty deep settings of your phone, so you're going to root if you want to use it. For more information, check out our guide to rooting your Android phone, and maybe look through XDA's device-specific forums to find the easiest method for rooting your particular phone, as these methods do change from time to time on various phones.
Titanium Backup: You can grab Titanium Backup from the Market. There is a free version, but I highly recommend you pick up a $6 Pro license, too (you'll need to install the free version, then the Pro license from the Market). The Pro version has a ton of features we're going to cover here that make it far more useful than the toned-down lite version. It's really a small price to pay, believe me.
A Dropbox Account (Optoinal): Titanium Backup is going to use your phone's SD card to store backups, but it's much, much easier (and safer) if you also sync it back to your Dropbox account, which Titanium can do automatically for you. That way, if you accidentally wipe your SD card, your phone's internal storage, or if you just get a new phone, you don't have to worry about messing with SD cards—you can just download your latest backup from your Dropbox.

Your First Backup

The first thing we're going to do is run a full backup of all our apps and settings. Once you've downloaded Titanium Backup, just follow these steps:

Launch Titanium Backup and tap "Allow" when it asks you to grant it superuser permissions.
On the first screen, before you do anything else, hit the "Problems?" button and hit Get Busybox. This will install some of the necessary tools that make Titanium Backup tick. Once that's done, you'll get a notification prompting you to restart Titanium Backup. Tap that, and you'll be ready to start a backup.
Open Titanium Backup's preferences (Menu button > Preferences) and check the Auto-sync TB settings box. This will make sure Titanium saves its settings on your SD card, so if you end up wiping your data completely, Titanium will still be able to restore its own settings.
Head back to Titanium's main screen and hit the Menu button on your phone.
Tap the "Batch" option.
From here, you'll see all the batch options you can perform—right now we're going to backup all our apps and system data, shown in the screenshot above. Hit the "Run" button next to the "Backup all user apps + system data" entry, and then hit "Run the batch operation". It'll take awhile, so just let it do its thing.
Congratulations! Your phone is backed up and ready for anything that comes its way.
Optional: If you have a Dropbox account, head back into the preferences and check the "Enable Dropbox" button. Then, go to the main screen and tap the "Sync to Dropbox now" button to send your backups to Dropbox.

Automate Your Backups on a Schedule

After your first backup, you'll probably want to do things a little differently. From now on, instead of backing up all your apps, you can tell Titanium Backup to back up just the ones that have updated or are new. What's even cooler is that you can automate this process, so you don't have to remember to back it all up yourself. To set up a backup schedule:

Open Titanium Backup and hit the Schedule tab.
There should be a few schedules there already. Enable the "Backup all new apps & newer versions" schedule. If you want to edit when it runs (by default it'll run every Sunday at 3AM), hit the Edit button and tweak it to your liking. Hit Save when you're done.
Now, to create a scheduled backup of all our settings. Tap the "Add new schedule" button, and hit the Edit button when the new schedule pops up in the list.
From the top drop-down menu, choose "Backup all system data" and hit Save. Those two schedules should be sufficient for pretty much any data you may want to back up on your phone..
Note that your backups will not sync to Dropbox automatically. You'll have to do this manually by opening Titanium and hitting "Sync to Dropbox" for right now

You can do a lot more than that, but those two schedules will keep you in good shape for a while. If you keep your phone on at night, run them when you're asleep and you won't even know they're there.

Set Up Filtered Backups

The backup method above can take up a few hundred megabytes of space on your SD card or Dropbox account (depending on how many apps you have installed). If that's more than you've got room for, you can save a little space by backing up only the really important stuff instead—say, your browser bookmarks, SMS history, or call log—instead of all your settings. To do that, we can make use of filters.

Open up Titanium, the Menu button and go to Filters.
Hit the "Create Label" button at the bottom of the screen and call it whatever you want (like "My favorite settings").
Next, head back to the Backup/Restore tab and find the settings you want to back up. The most useful ones will be listed in green: things like Bookmarks, SMS history, and call logs, for example. When you find one you want to add to your backup schedule, press and hold on its entry, and hit the Assign Label button in the menu that comes up.
Assign it the "My favorite settings" label you just created
Repeat steps 3 and 4 for all the settings you want to back up.
Once you're done, head back to the Schedules tab and hit the Edit button under your settings backup schedule.
Under the top drop-down menu you'll see another one that says "No filtering"—change this to "My favorite settings" and that schedule will only back up the settings you absolutely need, as opposed to all of them.

Restoring Your Apps and Settings

Whether you just want to restore an app you uninstalled, or you've gotten an entirely new phone or ROM and are starting with a blank slate, restoring apps and settings with Titanium is super easy. Before you start, make sure the TitaniumBackup folder on your SD card is full—that means your latest backup data is still intact. If not (or if you're on a new phone), head into Titanium and hit the "Sync to Dropbox" button. This will download your Titanium backups back to your SD card (but only if the TitaniumBackup folder is empty!). Then, just follow the steps below.

Restore a Single App

If you just want to restore an app or its data, head into the Backup/Restore tab. Then:

Tap the list entry for the app you want to restore.
Hit the "Restore" button.
Pick the option that describes what you want to do (e.g., if you have the app but just want to restore your old settings, hit "Data only") and let it do its thing. You'll get a notification when it finishes.
Repeat for any other apps or system settings you want to restore, and go on with your day!

Doing a Full Restore

Let's say you flash a new ROM to your phone, get your hands on a new device, or otherwise need to restore all your apps and settings. You can easily save yourself endless amounts of reconfiguring with just a few taps from Titanium's main screen.

Note: If you aren't using Dropbox and have a phone with two SD cards, like a Samsung phone, an HTC EVO or Incredible, or the Viewsonic G-Tablet, you'll want to make sure your Titanium backup data is stored on the external SD card instead of the internal SD card. This process is described in Titanium's FAQ (number 14 on the list). If you're using Dropbox, this shouldn't be a problem, as you'll always have your latest backup just a click away.

Head into the Market and install Titanium Backup, if it isn't already on your phone. You'll also want to Reinstall BusyBox here.
On Titanium's main page, hit "Sync to Dropbox" if you don't already have your Titanium data on your SD card.
Hit the Menu button and go to Batch. From there, hit the "Restore all missing apps + system data" button, and let it restore your data.
Reboot your phone. When you come back, you should find that everything is just how you left it on your old ROM or phone. You may have to re-apply your old wallpapers and widgets, however.

If Your Data Isn't Restored Correctly

There are a few cases in which Titanium Backup can't, sadly, restore a few specific settings to a new ROM. If you have a phone running the HTC Sense UI, for example, you very well may not be able to restore your SMS message history when you load a non-Sense ROM, or switch to a non-Sense phone. The messaging apps are just completely different. You can increase your chances of restoring incompatible data by going to Titanium's Preferences and checking the "Data Migration" option before restoring, however. Additionally, you can exclude anything you want from the backup process by unchecking its list entry when you go to back up your phone.

That said, restoring most data should work just fine. Just be careful, and if you're messing with custom ROMs, I'd recommend doing full backups through ROM Manager or Nandroid apps in addition to Titanium Backup. The two systems serve very different purposes—Titanium lets you restore specific data to your current phone or ROM, while Nandroid/ROM Manager make complete images of your phone, restoring it to exactly the way it was when you last backed up with it—ROM and all. If you're big of flashing custom ROMs, I wouldn't neglect Nandroid backups.

Other Awesome Things Titanium Backup Can Do

As if all that weren't cool enough, Titanium Backup also has a bunch of other really neat features that make it a must-have for Android rooters, like Dropbox integration, crapware removal, and

Remove Pre-Installed Crapware

We've briefly mentioned this once before, but it bears repeatin:. one of Android's biggest annoyances (and one of the things that can really slow down your phone) is the pre-installed "crapware" that comes with almost every phone—things like the Amazon MP3 store, the Peep Twitter client, or games like Need for Speed. To remove these apps with Titanium, just find them in Titanium's Backup/Restore tab and tap on its list entry. Hit the "Freeze" button to freeze the app. This won't uninstall it completely, but it will keep it from running or slowing down your phone. I usually stop there, since uninstalling certain pre-packaged apps can break your phone. If, after freezing it for awhile, you're confident your phone will work fine though, you can go back to that same screen and hit "Remove" to free up a bit more space on your phone's hard drive.

Move Apps to Your SD Card

We've mentioned before that moving some apps to your SD card can speed up your phone, and if you're running Titanium Backup, you don't need an extra app to do this. What's especially nice is that Titanium Backup will move them even if the app doesn't support it—which is great for big apps like games that you really, really want to get off your internal storage. To move an app, just long-press its list entry in the Backup/Restore tab, then hit "Move to SD Card". Of course, I only recommend forcing the move with non-essentail apps—you don't want to break anything by accident. If you find you have problems with the app after moving it, though, you can always try moving it back by going to the same menu—you'll then have an option to move it back to your phone.

This will get you started working with Titaniium Backup, but the app has a ton of advanced settings and actions if you find that this doesn't do quite what you want it to. I definitely recommend checking out the Titaniium Backup wiki for more information on how it works and all the other things you can do with it. And, of course, if you have your own favorite tools hidden away in Titanium Backup, tell us about them in the comments below.

Two Android tools that can help cut down your phone bills

2011-03-16T06:48:00.000-07:00

Have you been struggling to stay on top of your mobile bills ? With these Android applications, you can send free sms and monitor your mobile usage, so that you’ll never have to go over your monthly mobile allowance.

To accomplish this, we will use two Android applications: HeyWire for sending free local and international sms, and Droid Stats to monitor our monthly phone usage. Both of these applications are available for free from the Android market, so head over to the market, and install them when you are ready.

Free SMS

HeyWire, developed by Media Friends, offers free sms in over 146 countries worldwide. HeyWire lets you send sms over WiFi, or your data plan, so you do not have to worry about consuming too much of your data plan when you have a free WiFi available for you to use.

Check your HeyWire number by tapping the “Settings” button. You and your friends have to use this number to exchange sms.

You can use HeyWire beyond sending sms; you can even use it to update your Facebook status. Just tap the “Chat Services” button, and you can add your Facebook account to HeyWire.

Monitoring Your Monthly Mobile Usage

If you’re puzzled on why you keep exceeding your talk time or sms allowance, then you might want to monitor your mobile usage with Droid Stat.

Droid Stat’s setting screen consists of four menu: the monthly limit menu, the billing menu, the application setting menu, and the actions menu.

The monthly limit button lets you configure your phone allowance, the billing button lets you configure your phone charges, and the application settings button is where you can set Droid Stat to warn you when you are about to reach your monthly allowance.

The monthly limit screen lets you configure your monthly call, sms, and data allowance.

Tap the free minute, sms, or data, to set your monthly allowance.

Once you’re done setting up your monthly allowance, head over to the “Application Setting” screen, and set Droid Stat to send notifications when you are about to exceed your monthly limit.

Sometimes, despite all of our best and honest efforts, we still exceed our monthly mobile allowance. The best thing we can do is to evaluate our monthly mobile usage, and pick a different plan to accommodate our average monthly mobile usage.

Feel free to share your tips on how to save money on mobile phone in the comments section.

2011-03-05T15:11:00.001-08:00

How to Secure Your Google Account With 2-Step Verification

http://maketecheasier.com/secure-google-account-with-2-step-verification/2011/03/04?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MakeTechEasier+%28Make+Tech+Easier%29

picasa from android

2011-03-05T15:10:00.001-08:00

Just follow this link:

http://maketecheasier.com/manage-picasa-web-album-from-android/2011/03/04?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MakeTechEasier+%28Make+Tech+Easier%29

from iPhone to Android or from Android to iPhone: two Switcher's Guides

2011-02-14T16:39:00.000-08:00

Two tutorials for switchers on lifehacker.com

from iPhone to Android

from Android to iPhone

From iPhone to Android

If you're sick of Apple's walled garden but have yet to make the jump from the iPhone to an Android handset, here's what to expect, how to adjust, and how to cope with certain app withdrawal.

Pictured app is SlideScreen.
Let me preface all of this by saying that for many—not all—the switch from iPhone to Android will feel like being covered in band-aids and ripping each one off over the course of a few weeks. This is not because there's anything particularly wrong with either mobile operating system, but because they have different paradigms. Android and iPhone feel different, look different, and accomplish things in sometimes very different manners. Nonetheless, they're both mobile operating systems with touch interfaces, so it's hard to avoid comparing the two and finding similarities between them. If you decide to ditch your iPhone and give Android a try, be prepared for a little culture shock.

The Good

While some things are worse and others just different, there are quite a few things Android does best, and you'll want to be sure to check them out.

You've Arrived with Google Maps Navigation
Welcome to getting to your destination safely, courtesy of Android's phenomenal free turn-by-turn navigation. As much as I love beating a dead horse, I won't go on endlessly about the fantastic Google Maps Navigation app. The app has found new routes to places I frequent that save 5-10 minutes over what I learned from my iPhone. It's great, it's built-in, and it costs you nothing.

Your Voice
Voice capabilities are also new and exciting. The iPhone's Voice Control exists, but it's limited to music, apps, and a few other areas of the phone. Android gives you surprisingly accurate voice search that lets you enter text into any field with your voice, get directions while you're driving, make calls to businesses just by saying their names, or find pretty much anything on the web.
Freedom of Choice
On the iPhone you have the App Store; on Android you have the Android Marketplace. One of the reasons you may want to switch to Android is the choice of carrier and hardware it provides, along with its much more open app market. This has its disadvantages, which we'll talk about it later, but the upside is the freedom developers have to bring you all kinds of apps. There are apps that look exactly like their iPhone counterparts, but also apps that dig a lot deeper into the OS, letting you customize all sorts of uses and notifications, and have a seductive level of control over what you can do.
Instant Web
On Android, the web is here. On your iPhone, you have to bring it to you. If you're an eager Google service user and you supply your Android phone with your Google credentials, you'll quickly find your phone is filled with all sorts of information. You'll have e-mail, calendar items, contacts, bookmarks and more. I found out I had calendars and contacts in Google I didn't know existed. You can also connect to Facebook and Twitter to pull even more information into your phone. When Android detects contact information that should belong to an existing contact, it'll suggest you link it. While the way it displays everything isn't so great, and you don't always have easy handles on what you don't want to see, information is in constant sync with your web apps.
Passively Notified
If you were asked to pick just one complaint about the iPhone's interface, there's a good chance it's about how it handles notifications. Nobody loves frequent pop-ups, and it's almost bizarre that Apple has implemented such an archaic notification system. Android handles notifications passively, allowing you to check when you want and be otherwise uninterrupted—but, if you'd like, set specific notifications to ring, vibrate, or flash your trackball light for attention. If you're new to Android, you might not know where to find these updates. Just drag the down on the status bar up top and you'll pull down your notifications drawer.

The Bad

It's not all good news when you switch. Android has its issues, too. Fortunately, you can work around most of them.
Spyware
Apple insists their walled garden of an App Store is necessary to keep everyone safe—and, infamously, offers freedom from porn—and in some ways they may be right. The Android Marketplace has begun to see a potential spyware problem. How big of an issue it is may be up for debate, but it exists as a potential problem. When you download an Android app, you'll need to consider its source and note the warnings about the sorts of data it can access. Be prudent and think before you install.
It is worth noting that Apple's App Store isn't bereft of spyware. I may not have done an adequate job of expressing that so I'm going to let Lifehacker reader Tom B. explain:

There is not a shred of evidence of a spyware problem on Android's app store. The article you link to just points out that 20% of the apps on Android have access to information that could be used by spyware. Guess what: on iPhone, 100% of the apps that you install have access to that information. The difference between Android and iPhone is that Android can guarantee that 80% of its apps are not spyware; you can install any of them without worrying because they never get any permissions that they shouldn't get.
And calling Apple's store a "walled garden" is really misleading because there is nothing "walled" about it. It is impossible for Apple to determine for its apps whether they are malicious or not, except for the most trivial cases; Objective-C is simply too complex and unsafe a language.
The risks from spyware and malicious apps on Android are considerably less than on iPhone.

Blame the Manufacturer
Carriers and hardware manufacturers can sometimes add to the Android experience, but in most cases you'll wish you could get rid of that Sprint Nascar app (for example). HTC likes to add their Sense layer on top of the standard Android experience, as a means of beautification and betterment, but you might find it more cumbersome than helpful. Of course, you may be the minority that loves mandatory carrier apps and added interface layers. If not, you can relegate carrier apps to the app drawer by simply dragging them from the home screen to the trash (and then further banishing them through the "Manage Applications" section of Settings/Applications). Better still, if you don't like the home screen, change it.
Low Battery Warning

Certain Android phones (that'd be you, Evo) have embarrassing battery life. While the iPhone's battery isn't endless (even though it's more battery than phone nowadays), due to Android's true multitasking, the battery life falls a little short. You may be able to eke out a little more longevity by utilizing apps like TasKiller (see #6) to quit processes you don't want running, or the buggy-but-brilliant JuiceDefender app to cut back on data and screen usage. There's a debate over TasKiller's efficacy, and you don't want to abuse its power in fear of killing off an important background task you actually want running, but I've found it helps me keep the phone on a little bit longer. If you don't want to take such extreme measures, just make sure you actually quit apps when you're done with them. Unlike the iPhone, you need to be a little more active in your app management.

The good and bad aside, you'll most likely be uncomfortable until you hit the other side of the learning curve. Switching from one OS to another isn't supposed to be, so stay patient and stick with it.
Bad Touch
There's something about (multi)touch on Android that isn't quite as elegant as the iPhone. The animations aren't as smooth, touch doesn't always respond the same way and things just don't feel right. In some cases you'll find yourself adjusting to the little differences, such as sliding down to unlock your phone rather than left to right (as you're used to with the iPhone). In other cases you may find things just don't feel the way you hoped, like when scrolling and you hit a hard stop at the bottom of a page (whereas an iPhone will bounce a little to let you know you've reached the end). How hard it is to adjust to the touch, the feel of ~~cotton~~ Android will depend on you, but remember this: It's different. It's not an iPhone, so don't expect one.
Different Strokes
When you buy a new keyboard for a computer, the displacement of a single button can become very frustrating. Once you memorize key locations it's hard to switch, because they're embedded in your muscle memory. Depending on the Android phone you choose, you'll either be adjusting to a physical keyboard with its own layout, or you'll be presented with a familiar but notably different touch keyboard. The number/symbol selector may be on the right side (it varies), your spacebar is a bit smaller, and you have a microphone button that will let you speak what you want to type instead of typing it. It's slightly different and you'll slip up, but you'll adjust with practice. But once you get the hang of it you'll discover keyboard shortcuts that'll help you type faster. Here are a few shortcuts, but note that they may or may not work based on your hardware:

Alt + Spacebar lets you insert special characters
Alt + Delete will delete an entire line
Pressing Shift twice will initiate caps lock.
Menu + X will cut all text, Menu + C will copy it, Menu + V will paste clipboard text and Menu + A will select everything in the current field.
Alt + Q inserts a tab space.

The upside to Android? If you want to try a keyboard that's vastly different, like the gesture-based Swype, you have that option as well.
Consistent Expectations
Consistency of the interface is another piece of culture shock. Maybe staring at a grid of iPhone apps felt like staring into your probable future as a member of the Apple occult, but at least you knew what you were getting. On Android, you have several pages with different items and you may find yourself swiping around blindly. Just like you would with a grid of apps with no real immediate notification of what's what, you'll get used to the differing pages of your home screen. If not, you can always replace it with a nifty app like SlideScreen (something the iPhone could really use).
Localized Settings
On the iPhone you've come to expect some of your app settings in, well, the global Settings app. In Android, you'll always find them in the actual application. To get to any app's settings, you'll need to go into the app, hit your phone's Menu button, and then hit "Settings." This applies not only to apps you download from the Android Marketplace, but settings for your text messages, email accounts, and other features you may think of as part of the OS.
Real (or Unreal) Buttons
Speaking of the menu button, you'll find that navigating an Android phone requires the use of those four buttons below the screen. This can be very off-putting at first. You might wonder what purpose is served by offering dedicated buttons which, on some handsets, aren't really even buttons at all. As you get used to them and memorize where they are, you'll adapt, but initially you may want to pull your hair out wondering why everything isn't part of the touch screen. Simply put, iPhone apps have been designed for some time now as single environments with multiple screens to page through, while Android apps function a bit more like traditional desktop apps—a single screen, with buttons and options, made to be switched into and out of regularly.

Out of Sync
What about syncing? One of the benefits of Android is that, for the most part, you won't need to sync. You can copy media from your computer over USB if you need to. But do you miss the painful tethered syncing of iTunes? Then get doubleTwist (here's our first look), which can be described pretty accurately as iTunes for Android. If you don't like Android's media player, doubleTwist offers an alternative. If you're longing for iTunes after the switch, a couple of downloads should have you covered.

From Android to iPhone

So the iPhone is finally here and you've ditched your stop-gap of an Android phone for what you really wanted all along. But wait—where are all your beloved Android features? Where's your awesome, free turn-by-turn navigation? Your retro game emulators? Your freedom? Welcome to the iPhone. We're here to help.

Before we get started, you should know that switching to an iPhone means there will be restrictions you'll never get around. You are never going to have the same flexibility as you would on Android, but there are ways to gain back the functionality you miss. Some of this functionality can be regained through apps you can find in the iTunes App Store while other functionality will need to be acquired through jailbreaking your phone. First we're going to take a look at the stuff you can do right now and then check out the jailbreak options that will give you full control of your iPhone.

Apps to Help You Make the Transition

Let's take a look at stuff you can grab from the iTunes App Store—mostly for free—to get back some of the stuff you loved about your Android phone.

Google Apps

While this wasn't the case in the past, most of the Google apps you've come to love on Android have made their way to iPhone. iPhone users have long had access to the Google Mobile app, which provides some nice features like voice search, and Google Earth has been available for awhile as well, but Google Voice is really the most exciting addition. Aside from all the drama surrounding its long-awaited appearance in the iTunes App Store, it was highly anticipated because it's awesome. While it can't become your native phone app on your iPhone, you can pretty much use it as a phone and text messaging replacement. You'll recognize the interface for the most part, even if it is a bit more iPhone-y, and you can enjoy using your main Google Voice almost as seamlessly as you did on Android by just dialing from the Google Voice app instead of the iPhone's native phone app. While a little less exciting, Google Shopper was recently announced so you don't have to give up the nifty product identifying features of your Android device.

Google Sync

I can't complain enough about how much I hate plugging in my iPhone to sync with iTunes (it's my biggest iPhone annoyance). I've gone so far as to try and avoid ever syncing with iTunes again, but no work-around is going to prevent you from syncing your phone once in a while. However, you can sync less-frequently by pushing certain information to your iPhone. Apple's MobileMe service is designed to do that, but it will inevitably screw up. It also costs $99 a year, which is reasonably price by Apple's standards but pales in comparison to free. Instead, you can set up Google sync by setting up your Google account like a Microsoft Exchange account. This will provide the push sync you're used to without the added cost of MobileMe.

Also, if you're a Chrome to Phone user, you can pretty much get that exact functionality on your iPhone with Chrome to iPhone. Chrome to iPhone now works with multiple browsers, so if you're not an iPhone user you still have options. If you're willing to pay, you may want to consider trying the more feature-rich MyPhoneDesktop.

Free Turn-By-Turn Navigation

There's nothing quite like Google Maps' turn-by-turn for the iPhone, but there are a few free apps that'll get the job done. Skobbler seems to be the most favored, what with its map caching (in cas you lose your data connection) and automatic re-routing (in case you get lost). It's far from perfect, but it's the best free option out there at the moment. If you've tried Skobbler and really don't like it (read our review to see the issues we had with it), previously mentioned MapQuest 4 Mobile is another free option that comes highly recommended.

Jailbreak Options

Jailbreaking is really what's going to bring you most of the functionality you want—at least in terms of customization and flexibility. You should know, however, that jailbreaking can void your warranty (if you're caught) and potentially brick your shiny new iPhone. I've jailbroken more times than I can remember and have never come across an unfixable problem, but you've nonetheless been warned. When you're able to jailbreak your Verizon iPhone, make sure you know what you're doing before you dive in.

To jailbreak, you're going to need the latest version of Greenpois0n. Once you've got it, use these instructions to complete the jailbreaking process.

Customization

Interface customization (aside from your iPhone's wallpaper) is basically impossible without jailbreaking, but boy do you get a lot of options once Apple's restrictions are removed. Cydia, the "App Store" of the jailbreak community, already comes with a bunch of themes you can buy. Another app called Theme It provides some pretty thorough and beautiful themes as well. If you want a beautiful implementation of true multitasking, check out Multifl0w, an app that gives you Exposé- or webOS-style app switching. Once you're jailbroken, you'll be able to search through Cydia for many more enhancements as well. Custom lock screens are a big favorite, and you'll find plenty of people creating custom lock screens on deviantART (or make your own). Basically, once you're jailbroken you can customize whatever you want. In some cases there will be really great tools to help you out, and in others you may have to dig into the filesystem yourself. Nonetheless, your efforts will be nicely rewarded with an interface of your choosing.

UPDATE: There may be some security concerns about the Theme It store, so read this to learn more.

Better Notifications

One of the best parts about Android is the pull-down notification bar at the top of the screen. With it, you don't get any annoying popups, and you don't have to act on a notification as soon as you get it. You can pull down the status bar at any time and see which notifications are calling for your attention, and deal with them when you want to. There are quite a few ways to get this functionality on a jailbroken iPhone (we've featured one before), but the best is probably an app called Notified. It doesn't stop the normal iOS notifications from popping up; instead, it works with them. You get notifications as normal, and it keeps your last 50 notifications in its drawer, and sorts them by application. The free version only lets you access those notifications by opening up the Notified app itself, though if you grab the $2.99 Pro version, you can access the drawer with a swipe, just like on Android.

Widgets

Like notifications, there are a number of ways to get widgets on your iPhone. They work a little differently than Android widgets; instead of being integrated in your home screen, they show up on your lock screen. We've previously featured an app called Intelliscreen that presents calendar, email, SMS, news, and weather on your lock screen in a very attractive way. It's a bit pricier than it was when we featured it—$9.99—but it has a free trial if you want to check it out.

If you're looking for something a bit cheaper, an app called SmartScreen does something very similar. While Intelliscreen's widgets integrate themselves very nicely with the lock screen (they almost look like they were designed to be there), SmartScreen's are much more widget-like. They essentially grab information—data, graphics and all—from apps like calendar, weather, and stocks. It even has a flip clock similar to the one that comes with HTC Android phones. SmartScreen is only $5, and also has a Lite version available which, among other things, limits the number of widgets you can use to three. Both are great additions to your iPhone if you miss the widgets feature of Android. Note that if you want to try SmartScreen, you'll have to add their repository to Cydia first, as described on their home page.

Quick Settings

While the above apps will get you quite a few great widgets, they won't get you (what in my opinion is) the greatest widget on Android: Power Control. The Power Control widget lets you save battery by quickly toggling settings like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Brightness, Airplane Mode, and other things. To get this functionality on the iPhone, you'll want to download previously mentioned SBSettings from Cydia. After installing, you can access quick settings by swiping to the right on your status bar at the top of the screen. You'll be able to toggle all sorts of settings right from a popup window without having to dig through menus.

Retro Game Emulation

The Android Marketplace is open, so finding and downloading a retro game emulator is easy. On an iPhone, it's impossible unless you jailbreak. We've shown you how to add an SNES emulator to your iPad—instructions that work just the same for iPhone—but you can get other emulators as well by searching for the platform you want in Cydia.

Wi-Fi Sync and Mobile Hotspots

While your Verizon iPhone comes with a mobile hotspot—a feature Android picked up quite awhile ago—you have to pay $20 a month just to use it. Simply put, that sucks. As an alternative, you can spend $10 on MyWi and use the data connection that you pay for however you want. Getting back to Android's wireless sync, you can actually get the best of both worlds with a jailbroken iPhone. One of the best jailbreak applications is no doubt Wi-Fi Sync. The current version is $10 and lets you sync to iTunes without plugging in your phone. It works very, very well. A new version is around the corner (which appears to be free for current owners of the original Wi-Fi Sync) which promises a bunch of new features, including easier connections, background syncing, and syncing over 3G. You might not want to actually sync over 3G because the speeds will be fairly slow, but remote syncing can be pretty handy if you're on a Wi-Fi connection at a friend's house and forgot to grab a few things you want synced to your phone.

Android Market (Web) Vs. Appbrain

2011-02-14T14:20:00.000-08:00

On maketecheasier I read this:

If you have not heard, the Android Market is now available to view on your desktop browser. I was pretty excited to see the features offered in the web version of the Android Market. However, much like many of you, I have grown comfortable using Appbrain for my Android app searching needs.

I’m not going to go in depth into Appbrain here. Here is a post to reference if you want a more detailed explanation of how Appbrain works. I will talk about the key differences between the 2 though.

Android Market key features

The Android Market is the newest of the 2, so there is room for improvement. There ARE a couple features that reign superior over Appbrain. The first and most notable is the on click installation for apps.

One click installations

The one click feature works like magic. When you are logged into your Google account on your computer, all you need to do to install an application is click INSTALL. Within seconds you will see the little download arrow appear on your Android phone or tablet.

Same layout

Both the mobile application and the web version of the Android Market have the same layout. This is very comforting to may people who like familiarity. If you are use to using the Market on your device, using the web version of the Market will be a very simple transition.

Tabs

When you are looking at a specific application, there are tabs across the top letting you easily jump to: permissions, reviews, whats new (changlog) or the overview.

Appbrain key features

Appbrain has had a little more time to hone in on some really useful features. Many people, myself included, like to install apps just to see what they do. Appbrain gives you a lot of sharing options the Android Market does not.

Sharing apps

Aside from the basic ways to share links to an application (email, Facebook, Twitter Buzz), Appbrain gives you a few other ways to let people know about an app you find.

Being able to scan the QR code and easily download the app is great. Each application has a QR code to the Appbrain page.
Appbrain provides a link to email and another for foums that use BBCodes.
The third style link is HTML code. This code is for displaying a widget for the application on your webpage. I have used these before and they look and work great in an article talking about a specific application.

Syncing

Appnrain offers an application in the Android Market. Once you sign in on both Appbrain and the mobile app, you are ready to sync. It may take a minute for the first sync. After, you will be able to see, from the website, all of the applications installed on your device(s). If you need to master clear your Android device, you can re-install apps easily.

Installing from the web

While it is a couple more steps than using the Market, applications can be installed right from Appbrain’s webpage. You simply pick which application(s) you want to install and add them to the list of apps on your device. Then, on next sync, you can install the apps on your device.

While this seems like a lot more work, this method is a good way to batch install several apps at a time.

Sorting

Sort apps is a little different with Appbrain. You have filters for:

Specific countries
Male or female users
Certain age ranges
Recommended for you

Being able to search differently than the Android Market allows, helps you discover more applications to better suite you.

Conclusion

While the Android Market is shiny and new, my preference is still Appbrain. I do not doubt the web version of the Market will improve over time. Currently, features like the QR codes, syncing and the more advanced search will keep me using Appbrain.

4 interesting articles for your Android

2011-02-14T14:17:00.000-08:00

Change the default application

2011-02-10T07:24:00.001-08:00

When it comes time to switch from using one application to another on your Android device it isn’t immediately clear how to do so. Follow along as we walk you through swapping the default application for any Android task.

Initially changing the default application in Android is a snap. After you install the new application (new web browser, new messaging tool, new whatever) Android prompts you to pick which application (the new or the old) you wish to use for that task the first time you attempt to open a web page, check your text message, or otherwise trigger the event. Easy! What about when it comes time to uninstall the app or just change back to your old app? There’s no helpful pop-up dialog box for that. Read on as we show you how to swap out any default application for any other with a minimum of fuss.

Changing the Default Application

Grab your Android device and navigate to the Settings menu (either by tapping the physical Menu Button and selecting Settings or by opening your application list and selecting Settings as seen in the first panel of the screenshot above). Navigate to Applications and then to Manage applications.

Once in the Manage applications sub-menu tap on All to list all the applications installed on your phone. Scroll down until you see the application you wish to change. For this example we will be changing our home screen manager from LauncherPro to ADW.Launcher to demonstrate how to change a default system application.

Inside the Application info menu for the application scroll down and tap Clear defaults. Once you have cleared the defaults you can then force a new default selection by triggering the action that the application would handle. In our case we’re swapping out the home screen manager so all we have to do to trigger the event is tap the physical Home button on our phone. Android then prompts us with a Complete action using dialog box. Here we can select either ADW.Launcher or LauncherPro. Note the Use by default for this action checkbox. If you don’t want to be hassled to pick in the future, commit to your change here.

Potential Pitfalls and Workarounds

If you’re having trouble forcing the Complete action using dialog box to appear (especially for the handling of non-default file types) make sure you haven’t uninstalled the prior default application. Android sometimes gets hung up when attempting to change the default application for a file type or action away from the prior selection if the prior selection has been uninstalled.

For example, if you installed a video application and associated it with a bunch of video file types and removed the application before switching the default application you might run into problems. In this case the best solution is to install the old application again, change the default from within the Application info screen for that app, and remove it once you’ve successfully used the new application. It’s a hassle, we know, but now that you know how to change the task associations you shouldn’t be stuck in that situation again.

Add storage space to your android

2011-02-10T02:07:00.000-08:00

1. Zumo Drive

ZumoDrive costs money or gives very little storage space. The free account of ZumoDrive comes only with 1GB of storage space. ZumoDrive supports multiple platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android and Palm Pre. This make managing your files much easier. Secondly, it comes with an inbuilt music player so you can play/stream your music directly from your ZumoDrive account.

Market link

2. Sorami using Microsofts Skydrive

Of all the cloud based storage services, Microsoft’s Skydrive is the most general, giving you a whopping 25GB free storage space but it is purely web based without any tool for its users to access it from the desktop (or phone). Sorami is an app of Skydrive by a third party developer. You can access your Skydrive folder and download/upload files to it. The app is still beta, and might be your only choice if you are an active Skydrive user.

Market link

3. Box.net

If you are looking for an app with a simple interface, use Box.net.

The Android version of Box.net is just a simple implementation of its web interface. After you have login to the app, you can access or upload files to your web folder.

The free version comes with 5GB of storage space.

Market link

4. Dropbox

The free account comes with a 2GB space, but you can gain extra storage space (up to 8GB) by referring friends to use the service, or to get connected via any social means. Dropbox is available in all platforms so you can easily drop a file in any of the computer and access it immediately in your mobile phone.

The Android app only shows a list of the files you have in the cloud and download the necessary file only when you need it. Similarly, you can upload files from the Dropbox app. It does not automatically sync the files/folders that you placed in the Dropbox folder.

You can create files (Picture, Video, Audio, Text file, Folder) from your phone so that you can quickly take a photo and sync it to the Dropbox folder.

Market link

5. SugarSync

SugarSync is functionally similar to Dropbox, except that it provides 5GB of free storage space (3GB more than Dropbox). Both of them support multiple platforms, but Dropbox has the slight advantage with Linux support, while SugarSync don’t.

Market link

Create Geo-Reminders in Android with GeoNote

2011-02-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

On Howtogeek i read this about reminders that are triggered when you enter a location: Follow the link if you need the pictures.

Unlike most reminders that remind you to do a certain action at a desired time, GeoNote gives you reminders when you enter a location. If you’re a big fan of location-based services, then GeoNote is the perfect reminder for you.

GeoNote is one of the few Geo-Reminder applications that are available on the market for free. Its simple interface allows us to create To-Do list quickly. Just click the “Add Location” button to add your first note.

Each reminder has three parts, a name, a location, and some notes.

Tap the location field and attach the exact location for your task using a map, a GPS, or an exact address. The address is probably the best option when you do not have any GPS coverage in your area.

Once you have filled the task location and address, you should put some notes, and configure how GeoNote should notify you on your pending task. You may choose to have GeoNote to notify you when you are leaving, arriving, or within a particular time frame on your location.

In this example, we setup GeoNote to remind us to pick up the latest edition of Linux Journal Magazine from Borders when we are leaving the supermarket for approximately 100 meters.

Tapping the save button brings you back to the main screen and save your task to GeoNote.

The top buttons act as a quick control panel for GeoNote. The light bulb turns GeoNote on and off. The locator buttons let you switch between GPS, when you tap the satellite button, and WiFi, when you tap the radio tower button.

Make sure that GeoNote is turned on, and you have set the appropriate locator button; otherwise, GeoNote will not notify you on any pending tasks. Slide down your status bar when you see a small flashing GeoNote icon on your task bar to read GeoNote’s notification.

Some people still prefer the standard time based reminders, such as calendars, and others prefer writing their To-Do list on a paper notepad. We like Geo-Reminder because it is a great companion to our standard notes and To-Do list. Feel free to share your thoughts on location-based reminders in the comments section.

Go Launcher Ex: An Impressive Home Replacement App For Android

2011-02-09T05:52:00.000-08:00

Make tech easier had an interesting tutorial:

If you want the pictures with it, read the original website.

Go Launcher Ex is functionally similar to LauncherPro, except that it comes with gesture support and custom theming.

There is an older version of this app – Go Launcher, which should not be confused with Go Launcher Ex. While they are created from the same developer, they are not compatible with each other. Go Launcher user who wish to migrate to Go Launcher Ex will have to first uninstall Go Launcher, then install Go Launcher Ex from the market.

Scrollable Dock with gesture support

The most noticeable difference of Go Launcher Ex is the scrollable dock. Like the homescreen, you can swipe left or right to display the next row of dock. It can display up to 3 docks. Each dock can accommodate 5 app shortcuts, so effectively you can place up to 15 apps in the dock.

The best part is, you can even assign gesture action to each dock space (touch the app and swipe up). For example, I have assigned the gesture for the app drawer to display preview. So whenever I touch the app drawer icon and swipe up, the homescreen preview window will appear.

With 15 gesture actions and 15 apps, you can configure up to 30 shortcuts just in the dock itself. I am sure this is sufficient to fulfill your daily needs.

Gesture support for Home Screen

Go Launcher Ex supports up to 7 home screen and supports up/down gesture actions as well.

Useful app drawer

To most people, the app drawer is only a place to find all your installed applications. Some comes with 3D effects, but nothing really special. Go Launcher Ex repackages the app drawer and includes two useful tabs: Recent and Running.

When you go into your app drawer, the first tab will show all your installed application. You can configure it to scroll horizontally or vertically. Now, when you tap on the Recent tab, you will see all the applications you have recently used. You can tap on the “Clear History” button to clear the list. On the Running tab is the list of applications that are currently running in the background. If your phone is running slowly, you can quick tap on the “Close All Programs” button to close everything all at once. This will save you from installing another task killer app from the market.

Note: We don’t encourage you to kill all your tasks unless they are really causing you problems. Regularly killing your background tasks will cause your battery to drain faster.

Custom theme

This is one part that LauncherPro is lacking – custom theme. Currently in the market, there are only few available themes, but that is because Go Launcher Ex is still new. I believe the number of themes will increase as the days go by. The theme library may not be impressive yet, but it is still better than not being able to change the theme.

Last, but not least, Go Launcher Ex also allows you to backup and restore your configuration. If you are using multiple Android phones (or you are always flashing new ROMs), you can easily backup your settings to the SD card.