ANDROID-Favourite Honeycomb apps

Having recently acquired a fantastic Samsung Galaxy Tablet 10.1 (who needs an iPad?) I thought it would be time to list my favourite apps that I have installed so far.

As I have spent a few hundred pounds on this device I thought it would be useful to spend £10 maximum on apps for it! (I don’t want to splash out too much cash now do I!)
 
I present to you the most useful apps I have found in using the device for the first few weeks. A few aren’t fully optimised for Honeycomb but for some reason stretch and fill the screen and work just fine! Just click each app name to locate it on the market!

ANDROID-Problems with Google Calendar syncing to an account?

My Android based phone (HTC Desire) has sporadically been losing sync between the Calendar application and my Google Calendar via my Gmail account.

It has frustrated me for many days now and have been attempting to find a solution that works. Loads of forums talk about rooting your phone, deleting certain Google folders and files, hard resetting your phone and even ringing your mobile phone provider to remove the 18+ rating on the phone service!

BUT

It seems I have actually found a solution that actually works and doesnt mean any of the hard (and risky) work suggested above! In just a few minutes you can get your Google Calendar back on your Android based device.

Latest Favourite Android Apps (November 2010)

A few months have moved on since the last update of my favourite apps for the Android operating system. So here is a run down of my current favs that I use on my HTC Desire mobile phone. (Of course they should work on all Android mobile phones and tablets!)
 

Twidroyd (FREE) Twitter has grown from just a 140 text string to a media rich way of cummunicating with photos, videos and links. This app used to be called Twitroid (or Twidroid!) but has now been renamed Twidroyd (for some reason) and has recently had a massive makeover. The latest addition to this version is the LIVE PREVIEW which means you can view all links, photos and videos with the built-in viewer IE you dont have to click the links and open up another app to view whatever you are clicking. This new version also allows portait and landscape viewing options aswell. This is the best, most flexible and intuitive Android Twitter client on the market.
 
 

Angry Birds (FREE) Our iPhone fanboys have been raving about this game for what seems like ages now but after a short beta-period its now available on Android and best of all its FREE! (Yep we dont have to pay like those Apple bods!) Ok every now and then there is a small advert in the corner but this doesnt detract from the game at all.
So for the unitiated what is Angry Birds? Well its a game of skill trying to unearth the nasty pigs who have stolen all their eggs! Yep it all sounds totally childish and this is reflected in the style of cartoony graphics, music and sound effects.
SO essentially you have to catapult your chickens and chicks into the air to unearth these pigs and hit then and the surrounding environment to unearth them. It all sounds pretty easy but some levels can become quite infuriating.
Its one of those games where you just have to keep having one more go! Well recommended!
 
 
Layar (FREE) An interesting little app this! Essentially it is a take on Augemented Reality on the Android operating system. Essentially what this app does is allows you to view your surroundings via the onboard camera and move it around your environment to interact with it and discover/locate things! For instance, I was trying to find a Post Box near me to post a letter in – switch on the ‘Post Box layer’ and spin the camera around to see where the nearest one is. Or if you are feeling a bit peckish and need to know where a local takeaway is – switch on the ‘Takeaway Layer’ Essentially it is a massive database with GPS locations of items which you can view relevant to you. It comes into it’s own when you start using the social media layers consisting of Facebook, Youtube and Twitter. A little bit scary for some people to see other Tweeters located around you but a really invaluable tool!
 
 
Meebo (Free) This is an instant messenger app that allows you to chat with MSN, AIM, Yahoo, and even Facebook contacts all within one window. Much more easier than multiple accounts open in loads of different apps! So easy to use. You have the choice whether to individually log onto separate accounts or all together with just one click! No need to reenter usernames or passwords – ever!
 
 
Xiia Lite Media Player This application allows you to surf and stream most online radio stations. So forget using separate apps like Winamp, Quicktime, Windows Media etc whereas this will play them all. Xiia Lite supports aac+,aac,m3u,pls,mp3,mp4,mp4a and mpeg audio formats. A lot of websites have small radio feeds or music player links but using the built in browser means the links dont actually open up anywhere! But once you click a streaming link in any web browser Xiia Lite instantly asks you whether you want to save and open in Xiia and when youve done that once you can always instantly open up in Xiia then! Seemples.
 
 
Vignette There are many photo manipulation apps about and a lot of them are great for specific effects. Where Vignette comes into its own is that it offers a range of effects which can be applied and give really professional results. Effects range from tilt shift, vignetting, diorama, colour casts, lens effects, blurring, single colour separation to name a few. Well worth trying the free version first which only allows photos of a max res of 0.5MP – paid version allows full res.
 
 
Bonzai Blast There are loads of games around like this but none as enjoyable as this version.
Here you have to shoot the coloured balls to match the other colours and then they pop once you get three or more of the same colour together.
Ok it does sound a bit simple but the game is well designed and executed with controls that are very responsive on the HTC Desire.
One to give to the kids to keep them entertained on that car journey or one to sneak into the toilet and play – yes surely we all take our phones to the toilet now?
 
 

HTC DESIRE-Tips to improve battery life

We’ve all got our brand new spanking HTC Desire mobiles and are busy playing with them, installing new apps and generally showing them off (even though the Apple fanboys wont even look at them cos they know they are better )

But all this playing can drain the battery quite a bit and i did struggle to get mine to last more than one day before having to recharge. So I have come up with ten rules to ensure the battery does infact last longer and hopefully to cover you for a full day!
A lot of them might seem pretty obvious but when added together do really make a difference!

1 ) Avoid live wallpapers
2 ) Try and have darker, non-animating wallpapers
3 ) Set the screen timeout to a maximum of 1 minute
4 ) Turn down the screen brightness
5 ) Always switch off Bluetooth
6 ) Don’t use GPS unless necessary
7 ) Disable always-on mobile data
8 ) Limit use of widgets
9 ) Limit use of streaming apps
10) Set a reasonable frequency for background updates

Recommended Android Apps (April 2010)

After the first week of owning my HTC Desire I detailed a few apps that I found useful HERE but am now adding to this some more great apps that will make your Andorid phone even better!
 
Quick Uninstall This app does exactly what it says on the tin!
Use it to uninstall any app from your phone.
It can sometimes take a few seconds to populate the list but once running is fairly easy to use!
 
 
Xiia Lite Media Player This application allows you to surf and stream most online radio stations. So forget using separate apps like Winamp, Quicktime, Windows Media etc whereas this will play them. Xiia Lite supports aac+,aac,m3u,pls,mp3,mp4,mp4a and mpeg audio formats. A lot of websites have small radio feeds or music player links but using the built in browser means the links dont actually open up anywhere!
 

Phit Droid 3 This is an extremely addictive game featuring blocks! Loosley based on Tetris where the idea of this game is to fit a certain amount of shaped blocks into a pre-designated area. It doesnt sound that great when you write it down but the main thing going for this is the ease of play, simple graphics and responsive controls. In this version there are 4000 levels!
 

Foursquare This is a bizzare app and idea that allows you to explore your city and see where your friends are, learn about the places they frequent and unlock rewards as you travel. Its a bit of a social app which allows you to check into actual venues, pubs, restaurants etc and see who else is visiting and even connect with them. One worth trying out and see if you can become Mayor of your local pub!
 

Vignette There are many photo manipulation apps about and a lot of them are great for specific effects. Where Vignette comes into its own is that it offers a range of effects which can be applied and give really professional results. Effects range from tilt shift, vignetting, diorama, colour casts, lens effects, blurring, single colour separation to name a few. Well worth trying the free version first which only allows photos of a max res of 0.5MP – paid version allows full res.
 

My Tracks This app is a tracking application that allows you to use GPS or mast triangulation to plot your location on a map and then display the information of your journey on a map and give you graphical displays of speed, time, height amongst other parameters. This is an essential tool for when cycling or running or when exploring new places.
 

Cestos This is a fully interactive game of marbles played against others online players. Essentially on the playing board there are holes and you must knock your opponents off before they knock you off. Simply totally addictive.

Use Google Maps as Sat Nav on Android 2.0

Google have been showcasing what the Google Maps application is capable of on the Android operating system – but it seems loads of people are having problems locating the files, installing them and getting them to work as intended.
It’s taken me a bit of investigating and poking around the net but I have now successfully managed to get Google Maps installed and up and running complete with voice navigation and street view.
So here is the method on how I got Google Maps to work with voice control, street view and to work as a Sat Nav application.
 

UNINSTALL PREVIOUS APPS
I only got ALL the functions fully working by completely uninstalling all old versions of Google Maps and also another ‘Brut’ map application I had aswell to avoid any further conflicts further down the line.
 

DOWNLOAD GOOGLE MAPS
Firstly download the latest version of Google Maps (Currently 4.1.1)from the Android App Store and install.
New features include My Location, Directions, Traffic, Street View, Latitude, Layers, Navigation (beta), Search by voice.
 
 
DOWNLOAD GOOGLE VOICE SEARCH
A lot of Android phones do not already have the Voice Search app installed and it isn’t that easy to locate either within the Android Market so pop the following URL in your browser and download the apk file directly and install from the following location:-
http://voicesearch.googlecode.com/files/VoiceSearch_2.1.apk
 

INSTALLATION
Once all downloaded – run Google Maps and click Menu and select the Search option.
This will now bring up a top of the screen search box but now complete with a microphone graphic. Click the graphic to activate the Voice Recognition app and speak your destination by starting with the phrase, “Navigate to……Cardiff Castle” (for example.)
Click to confirm destination and Google Maps will show you your route. A very basic Microsoft voice will speak the directions to you but im sure many more voices will become available real soon.
Whilst in navigation mode you can access Google Street View by pressing the small street view graphic(its a small stick man!) and your Google Map will transform itself into a fully-rendered 3-D navigation system.

So by following these 3 simple steps you can enjoy a free Satellite Navigation system on your Android mobile phone. Obviously you will need to use the app with the GPS switched on! Enjoy. This page may be updated again real soon.

How to import contacts and address book into an Android phone

People sometimes try to put their old sim card into their new phone and attempt to copy them that way, others sync up via Outlook on their PC whilst others try to bluetooth their old address book across – but none of these methods would work from a HTC Diamond to the HTC Desire. Baffling me for many days – I stumbled across a solution and am posting it here to assist other new Android users in tranferring their whole address book/contacts over.

As you’re going to an Android phone, I’d personally recommend a Free GoogleMail/Gmail account. They are fairly friendly to the Android operating system and are great for backing up contacts, calendars, & email for FREE. And it all happens over the internet(I know how temperamental Activsync can be on USB)

HOW TO IMPORT CONTACTS/EMAIL/CALENDAR TO A NEW ANDROID PHONE

1) On your Computer, set up a GoogleMail account (IF YOU ONLY WANT TO USE IT FOR CONTACTS TRANSFER, THAT’S FINE! You can always get rid of it later). Once you’ve done that and are shown the inbox, click on ‘Calendar’ in the top corner of the web browser, just to kick that into life too. Should only take 2 or 3 seconds.
 

2) On your HTC Diamond Tap Start > Programs > ActiveSync.
 

3) Tap Menu > Add Server Source.
 

4) Enter your Gmail address, and ensure that the ‘Attempt to detect Exchange Server’ Settings automatically check box is de-selected. Enter the Google Exchange Server setting manually, which is m.google.com
 
4a) Enter your User name (which is your Gmail address IN FULL), password, but leave domain blank. Exchange server settings and the password are case-sensitive, so be sure to enter uppercase and lowercase letters correctly. Tap next.
 
5) Check the boxes for the types of information you want to synchronize with exchange server. Make sure ‘contacts’ is one of them!
 
6) (Optional) Select E-mail, and tap Settings to do any of the following: Change the number of days for which messages wil be synchronized, Change the message format, Select the download size limit, Include attachments when downloading messages. Tap OK if you have finished.
 
7) Tap Finish.
 
All your contacts, emails & calendar will now sync from your original phone to the Google servers. It might take some time and not accurately display what your old phone is doing and may even crash it! But if you run into trouble either reboot ActivSync or even the phone as a last resort. Emails will be pushed to your handset rather than it having to check every so often.

When you get your HTC Desire, one of the first things it’ll ask you on setup is if you have a Gmail account. Fill in the details, check that data sync is enabled in the settings menu and your new phone will pull down all your contacts (and calendars, and email) for free!

Any questions please feel free to ask!

Best Android Apps (March 2010)

Well I got delivery of my brand new HTC Desire mobile phone over the weekend and am totally over the moon with the advances made in the Android operating system. My last 4 phones have all operated on Windows Mobile which has offered some tweakable features whereas the Android system is totally open and now boasts over 100,000 apps made for it with the figure growing at a really rapid rate.

So you’ve just got yourself a swanky new Android 2.1 mobile phone – what apps do you instantly need to add? Well here is my list of what i’ve put on in the first week and found really useful.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Meebo (FREE) – an instant messenger app that allows you to chat with MSN, AIM, Yahoo, and even Facebook contacts all within one window. Much more easier than multiple accounts open in loads of different apps!
 
 
Layar (FREE) - an interesting little app this! Essentially it is a take on Augemented Reality on the Android operating system. Essentially what this app does is allows you to view your surroundings via the onboard camera and move it around your environment to interact with it and discover/locate things! For instance, I was trying to find a Post Box near me to post a letter in – switch on the ‘Post Box layer’ and spin the camera around to see where the nearest one is. Or if you are feeling a bit peckish and need to know where a local takeaway is – switch on the ‘Takeaway Layer’ Essentially it is a massive database with GPS locations of items which you can view relevant to you. It comes into it’s own when you start using the social media layers consisting of Facebook, Youtube and Twitter. A little bit scary for some people to see other Tweeters located around you but a really invaluable tool!
 
Twidroid (FREE) – a Twitter client for the Android operating system. A lot of phones come with their own Twitter app/widget but this one comes into it’s own as it proves VERY useful when trying to navigate the myriad of media contained within Tweets – be that whether its video, photos, other people or URLs. It’s so easy and intiuitive to use.
 
BeebPlayer (FREE) – this is a non-BBC branded version of the BBC iPlayer. There isn’t an official BBC iPlayer app but this does everything you would expect from an official app! You can watch live streams of any of the BBC channels (was very useful for The Grand National at The Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday!) and also you can watch the thousands of hours of material in the watch again section. Obviously streaming quality depends on your 3G signal but is still watchable on other sources!
 
RESOURCES
Net Counter (FREE) - this app counts up the amount of data that your phone uses and is very useful for people on tariffs with Orange as they only give you a figure of 500mb a month (which is a bit stingy of them!) These new smart phones really do use up a lot of bandwidth and i’d try and get at least 1Gb per month just to be sure.
 

Barcode Scanner (FREE) - this little app is extremely useful in that you dont even have to enter URLs or other information to browse websites or find out costs of items. All those little boxes you can see can be scanned by this app and hidden within those boxes are information and instructions depending on what is scanning it. Therefore you scan those boxes with this app and it redirects your phone to download the associated app with it. Very simple and useful.
 
GAMES
Nesoid (FREE) – an emulator that allows you to play any of the games released on the Nintendo Nes system. You will have to download the ROMS aswell and sometimes the controls can be a bit dodgy if playing on a touch screen – but otherwise its great discovering the old games again.
 

Marvin (FREE) – a Spectrum 48k/128k emulator. Luckily there is a link directly to World Of Spectrum within the app to download all the ROMS directly. Very handy but choose the game carefully as some dodgy control systems in place if using touch screens. (or maybe I just havent configured everything properly yet!)
 

Right that’s a few to get you started. As I discover even more useful apps i will post them here! Have fun with your Android mobile phone and please add any interesting apps you find here!