app picks for April 9, 2011

SQLite editor

If you're going to root and hack away at your phone, eventually you're going to need toedit some of the database files. While big, complicated edits are best done on the computer, tweaking and testing things like additions to the HTC Sense weather city list, or the telephony database to fix funky MMS issues is a lot more convenient to do on the fly. That's where SQLite editor comes in. You can view, open and edit the databases, both for third party apps and the included db files from your manufacturer -- right on your phone. It's easy to understand and use, and the explorer lists all your db files to save you from having to hunt them down. I find myself using it a lot more than I thought I would, and don't mind spending the £1.80 (about $2.94) at all. You can grab it from the Market. [Market Link]

Cachemate for root users

Admit it: Android at times has issues with cleaning up after itself. Be it leftover files or just file caches the system is not sure it should delete -- it often times will consume a good amount of space that could be better utilized. Luckily though, Cachemate for root users exists and you'll no longer need to wonder where your space is going.. just one click at the end if the day and you've cleaned up most of the unneeded files on your de device. With both a free and more advanced paid version available you have nothing to lose. Try it and see how much space you're wasting on junk files. [Market Link]


 SGS Tools

Since we’ve decided to do apps that only work on rooted devices, this week, my choice is SGS Tools. It’s an app that’s only designed for Samsung Galaxy S phones, and one section (ROM Tools), is specifically for the Captivate. With SGS Tools, users can access secret codes, apply various scripts, modify bootup/shutdown sounds, apply MarketFix, upgrade Stock Apps and much more. It’s a very good app for anybody with a rooted Samsung Galaxy S. The Captivate specific section, ROM Tools, allows you to access ROMS, Kernels and Modems for that device. [Market Link]

 Root Explorer

Ever load a ROM and it came with some things preloaded that you didn't want anymore, or simply just wanted to remove some bloat from your original OS? Navigating the files of your device, modifying, renaming, and even deleting is exceptional easy with Root Explorer. Sometimes applications won't update from the market, and the best way to get the update is to remove the original, but for some devices and applications you can't just simply remove them, such as Google Voice, but having Root Explorer you can go in and delete the apk. The application does carry a price tag of a little over $4, but if you are into moving and playing with the files of your device, this is a must have. [Market Link]

MyBackup Pro

There are a bunch of rooted backup apps available on the Market, but my weapon of choice is MyBackup Pro. It offers local and cloud-based backup functionality for everything from contacts to alarms to home screen icon arrangements and system settings. Rooted users also have the option of backing up app .apk files and associated data, which makes switching between ROMs even more painless. The paid version even includes 100MB of cloud-based backup storage, which is great if you're regularly switching between phones or ROMs. [Market Link]

Accessing Google Docs on Android

With an Android device you have a world of mobile computing options at your fingertips. Email, the web, telephone in most cases and the extensions offered by theapps in the market make android a very attractive option.

If you’re lucky the mobile network or carrier that you go with will even have provided office software on your mobile device or tablet so that you can maximise productivity while on the road or in the air.
However not all phones and tablets powered by android have this option. So what do you do if you want to create or edit a document on your Android?

The answer is simple – you use Google docs!

Accessing Google Docs with My Docs

You might think that integration with Google Docs is something that Android already features – but you would be wrong. Unlike Windows Phone 7 which has a version of Microsoft Office Mobile pre-installed, Android Phones don’t have any tools for accessing or editing Google Docs other than via the browser. While this might be a useful solution for tablets, it’s not great for phones.

To take better advantage of Google Docs on your Android phone or tablet you will need to install the free My Docs app from the Android Market. This app gives you full access to existing documents that you might have created previously as well as offering the functionality to create brand new documents on your Android device.

Using My Docs to Edit Google Docs

Once the app is installed you can launch My Docs from the Apps list, although you might prefer to create a widget on your Home screen for quickly accessing your GoogleDocs account.

Opening My Docs (either from the Apps list or by tapping the upper-left corner of the widget) will display the My Docs menu, where you can use the Search option to find documents you have already written with Google Docs. New Document and New Spreadsheet are self-explanatory, and give you the option to give the document a filename before taking you to the browser window where the document is ready to be edited, which can be performed by tapping Edit.

Also of use is the Upload button, which will let you browse your phone or tablet for any documents (typically those created in Microsoft Office) and upload them to Google Docs.

You will note that My Docs only offers synchronization with Google Document and Google Spreadsheet; support for the Presentation software is limited to viewing via the Search tool.

Starting New Google Docs with the My Docs Widget

If you opted to use the My Docs widget you can start a new document very quickly by tapping New > Document. Again this will take you to the New Document Title screen before loading the blank document up in a browser window.

You’ll be interested to know that this guide was written on Google Document using the My Docs app on an Android tablet, a pretty good demonstration of how easy it is to use and just how much more powerful a tablet becomes with integration to Google Docs!

LinkedIn launches Android app

LinkedIn this week removed the beta tags from its Android app and made it available in the Google Apps Marketplace and the LinkedIn Web site.

 

"LinkedIn for Android, is a continuation of our efforts to help you leverage the power of your professional network anywhere, anytime," LinkedIn's Chad Whitney wrote in a blog post. "Now, you can walk into any interview, any customer engagement or client meeting with the ability to look up the details on over 100 million professionals worldwide, in real-time."

 

The app brings the functionality of the LinkedIn Web site to the smartphone. A home screen provides links to six modules: Updates, Connections, Invitations, Search, Reconnect, and Messages. It looks much like the Facebook app, except that you're scrolling through professional contacts rather than random photos from high school friends.

 

LinkedIn launched the beta version of its Android app in December, which at the time just included links to Updates, Connections, Invitations, and Search.

 

"Since the launch of our Beta, the team and I have had the great pleasure of working with a passionate group of Beta testers," Whitney wrote this week. "Their feedback, bug reports, and involvement in the process were invaluable, and we want to express our sincere thanks for all of the contributions."

 

Whitney promised to update the existing app in the coming months with "features that have been heavily requested during the public beta."

 

The announcement comes the same week that LinkedIn took a shot at Facebook with a new platform that will let third-party Web sites add content from the professional social-networking site.

 

Last month, LinkedIn also launched a number of new products, including the LinkedIn Today news site, LinkedIn Skills, LinkedIn Maps, and updated its LinkedIn iOS app with the new news focus. The company also said that its LinkedIn Signal product would be opened up to all users.

Motorola Milestone XT800 price dropped to 23,990 Rs

The Price of the only CDMA- GSM Dual sim Motorola Milestone XT800 Android Phone has been dropped to 23,990 Rs. A whooping 8000 Rs. less than the original  31,999 Rs. The price cut was very evident since the device generated no excitement and many other phones with better specifications are available in the market.

The only benefit of the phone is that it is Dual Sim capable and comes with android.

Even, with the price reduced, we still think that only people who are desperately in the need of a Dual Sim phone which also offers Android, will consider buying it. The price still seems high and we at iGyaan feel a price range of 15k would suit the product a bit more. Since there are still feature rich phones available at way lower prices.

Leaked Google Music Images Reveal Robust Cloud Features, But No ‘Social’

Earlier this week, Google appears to have mistakenly allowed a Tech from 10blogger access to an unreleased version of Android Market, and with it, a taste of the cloud-based Android Music 3.0 app Google has been “dogfooding,” to use its unappetizing term for the testing of internal products.

Out of all of the leaked screenshots, the one to the right tells us the most about what Google has in store for music fans on the Android platform. These settings reveal that Google’s Android Music 3.0 app will manage the playback of cloud-based vs. local content in a variety of powerful ways.

Let’s start with that top setting — the one that’s cut off — which we take to read ”Hide unavailable music.” This one means that customers with limited wireless data plans (i.e. most people) can disable the ability to play music from either their music locker or the rumored Google Music streaming service.

Fans will apparently be able to build playlists containing both local and cloud-based songs, making the latter invisible when away from Wi-Fi, so as not to rack up big streaming bills. This is an important feature because wireless data limits pose a major issue for cloud-based media services: You don’t want to use up your whole month of wireless data on, say, a single road trip.

The second one down, “Cache music,” creates ephemeral copies of whatever you’re listening to so that you can access the last few songs again if you’re on the subway or airplane. We’ve seen this feature before, and it works nicely as a way to ensure that you bring a little piece of the cloud with you in the event that you lose connectivity.

Moving on down the list, we see two options for “Stream music via Wi-Fi only” and “Download via Wi-Fi only.” We love these ones, because they mean you can set Google’s music app to stream or download whenever you’re connected to the internet through a local network. This might not seem like a big deal, but the advantage is that you’ll be able to set this once and then forget it, and the app will behave as it should as you connect and disconnect from local networks without you having to toggle these settings within the app each and every time.

“Download queue” reinforces what we already know, assuming these screenshots aren’t just a well-crafted hoax that hoodwinked the tech press this week (which we doubt, from the looks of them): that Android Music 3.0 will have the ability to download multiple songs, one after the other, onto the device. Apple has yet to add that feature to any of its iOS devices, so score +1 for Google.

However, nowhere among the leaked screenshots did we see a single social feature. You can play music (obviously), manage playlists, and stream or download from the cloud depending on your connection, but basically, you’re on your lonesome.

Now that Google has taken the extreme, likely-Facebook-inspired measure of tying every single employee’s yearly bonus to the success of social features across the Google ecosystem, you can bet their last dollar that Google’s dogfood-eating hordes are busy as can be integrating social features into Google Android Music 3.0, which could delay the app further behind Amazon’s surprise entry into cloud-based music — already a cause for concern from both Apple and Google.

In case any Googlers are reading this now, here are some great ideas/potential acquisition targets for making music apps more social.

Dock4Droid brings a cooler iOS-like multitasking bar to Android

Multitasking on Android is possible, but not convenient. We tried out Dock4Droid and enjoyed the experience.

All you do is hold down your finger on the bottom of your screen and a list of recent apps pops up that you can drag your finger across to navigate.

Dock4Droid imitates the functionality of the iOS multitasking bar, but offers some interesting options to customize its look and feel. Also, we like the fact that it sits on top of your current application instead of pushing it out of the way like in iOS.

Price: free from the Android Market

Dell 10 inch Android tablet by June

A dummy of the tablet was shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. The device will reportedly be launched in June this year.

During this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Dell had shown a dummy of its 10 inch Android tablet. Now there are reports that the product is ready and will likely be introduced by June, according to Forbes.com.

The tablet will run on Android operating system; and Dell's Microsoft Windows tablet will only arrive after September.

This 10 inch Android tablet is the one Michael Dell mentioned and quickly flashed at the January Consumer Electronics Show (CES), during which the company officially unveiled its 7 inch Android tablet as well.

At the time, Dell said the 10 inch Android tablet would not hit the market until 2012, but according Forbes, those launch plans have changed.

The device, however, remains unnamed. Dell has two tablets measuring 5 and 7 inches, and both are called 'Streak'. Whether the new device will be called Streak or not is still unclear.

Tags: DELL, DELL STREAK, ANDROID

Why Epic Games are on iOS not on Android?

With the launch of iPad 2, the graphics performance has improved considerbly, thus attracting more attention from the developers.

All users, especially the hardcore gamers, already know there are no Epic video games available on the Android platform as the company prefer the iOS platform over the former.

This is not the fault of Google or handset manufacturers, says Tim Sweeney, founder of Epic Games.

He says that carriers are giving so many pre-installed software programs on the handsets that there is not much space left on the Android smartphones to run games efficiently, whereas Apple controls how much memory is used for what purpose.

According to Tim Sweeney, Google needs to be more controlling of what is being put on the phones by the carriers.

With the launch of Apple iPad 2, the graphics performance of the games has improved substantially, which means the iOS platform will perform better than earlier and the Android will continue to be in the shadows for the time being.

Usually, the gaming consoles see a graphics improvement of 10 to 20 times in about eight years, whereas iPad2 has improved nine times within just one year.

Android fragmentation is also a huge problem for the high end game creators, because they cannot guarantee a consistent performance from the games on all the Android handsets. Even the same Android phones bought from different carriers don't perform consistently even if the users are playing the same game.

Tags: EPIC GAMES, IOS, ANDROID, FRAGMENTATION, HIGH END GAMES, IPAD 2, SMARTPHONES

Samsung Galaxy S update to Android 2.3 confirmed for mid-April

Samsung's Finnish website has turned the umlauts up to 11 and confirmed the Samsung Galaxy S is getting its update to Android 2.3 Gingerbread in "mid-April".

The news follows Three's tweet yesterday, confirming that the Galaxy S will be updated on that network "in the next couple of weeks".

It's about time, since we've been on tenterhooks awaiting the update since it was announced by Samsung's Romanian Facebook page, which later back-pedalled on its promise.

You'll need to connect your phone to your computer with a USB cable and use Samsung's Kies software to get the update. You can download Kies from the Samsung Apps website. Some users -- including us -- have struggled to connect Kies while attempting previous updates.

Our fix was to delete large files from the memory card, which were causing the update to fail. As a last resort, try restoring your phone to factory settings. If you have to wipe your whole phone to get the update started, your contacts, apps and emails are likely to be synced to Google's cloud. To save your settings and texts too, we've had good results using MyBackUp Pro.

We're waiting for confirmation from Samsung that 'päivittyy' really means 'update', and that we'll be enjoying the refresh in the UK at the same time as those lucky Finns. 

The follow-up to the Galaxy S, the Galaxy S 2, is due to arrive any day now

Read more: http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/samsung-galaxy-s-update-to-android-23-confirmed-for-mid-april-50003448/#ixzz1IvvKwkpb