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Android Software Thread - Tasty Desserts, Tastier Apps

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gcubed said:
nexus one doesnt have the final 2.2 either, so really no phone has actual release 2.2 yet... but yes, if you want 2.2 the fastest you will need a stock UI, which would be the droid on verizon... if you were going to go that route i'd actually wait a bit and get the shadow
Click to expand...

Supposedly there is another Moto phone releasing in July, for Big Red.
 
Battersea Power Station said:
The Gmail app is so much better than the email app. I strongly suggest you use it, either by registering your whole phone with your school email address or by forwarding your school email to another Google-powered address.
Click to expand...
Does not sound like a bad idea, Thanks! Its annoying me though that I can not set up my school one though... oh well.
 
gcubed said:
nexus one doesnt have the final 2.2 either, so really no phone has actual release 2.2 yet... but yes, if you want 2.2 the fastest you will need a stock UI, which would be the droid on verizon... if you were going to go that route i'd actually wait a bit and get the shadow
Click to expand...
Shadow won't be Stock, it will have MOTO Blur unfortunately. :-\
 
Salaadin said:
What is a "lock screen widget"
Click to expand...
Generally a widget where you can toggle on/off the lock screen, where you have to draw the unlock pattern to get access to your phone after waking it.

You should be warned, I had to do a factory reset because there's some stupid glitch that makes it impossible to get into your phone if you enter the lock code wrong too many times. I don't know if this has been fixed or not.
 
Salaadin said:
What are the pros to buying mixzing over the lite version? What is a "lock screen widget"
Click to expand...
I am assuming what you are asking about is this:

A lock screen widget is a widget that appears on your phone's unlock screen. I don't know if Mixzing has one, but I'll assume that's why you are asking. In that case, the app probably has a widget that appears on your phone's unlock screen while music is playing. Maybe shows the album art and track forward/back buttons. That way you can control the music player without having to "slide to unlock" every time you want to skip a song.
 
womp said:
Shadow won't be Stock, it will have MOTO Blur unfortunately. :-\
Click to expand...

oy, didnt know that... well then... forget it

CrayzeeCarl said:
Generally a widget where you can toggle on/off the lock screen, where you have to draw the unlock pattern to get access to your phone after waking it.

You should be warned, I had to do a factory reset because there's some stupid glitch that makes it impossible to get into your phone if you enter the lock code wrong too many times. I don't know if this has been fixed or not.
Click to expand...

i believe its fixed in 2.2, but yes, i took off my unlock code for this reason
 
Running apps:

Cardio Trainer, Run Star, or My Tracks?

I need an Android site that compares the best apps across various categories: fitness, sports scores, battery apps, recipe apps, etc. How is it that I have never seen any articles like this?
 
GatorBait said:
Running apps:

Cardio Trainer, Run Star, or My Tracks?

I need an Android site that compares the best apps across various categories: fitness, sports scores, battery apps, recipe apps, etc. How is it that I have never seen any articles like this?
Click to expand...

I use Run Star. It's nice, but doesn't have any features besides run and view your map/time/distance on the phone right now.

My Tracks has a lot of data, it's actually a little intimidating to use in it's UI and features, so if you're super serious and want to know everything, give that a shot.

There's also something called Runkeeper, I believe. I tried it on iPhone and preferred another app over it (Fitnio), but it may be worth a look.
 
I know there's a hardware thread around here, but this is more a thought regarding OS updates. It seems to me that no new Android handsets are being released with stock Android since the Moto Droid and Nexus One. It's either all Sense or Moto Blur. And looking at brand new devices including all the Moto and HTC offerings (the big boys) none of the offerings are stock android.

How is this going to affect fragmentation/updating the OS? I'm really interested in the Incredible, for example (being on Verizon) as well as the two mystery android (?) phones moto is going to release on Verizon this July. With the Incredible I know it won't get 2.2 until Q3-4 of 2010, by then 2.3 is going to be out. These things are not making it easier for me to upgrade from my Droid.

Decisions decisions.
 
Solideliquid said:
I know there's a hardware thread around here, but this is more a thought regarding OS updates. It seems to me that no new Android handsets are being released with stock Android since the Moto Droid and Nexus One. It's either all Sense or Moto Blur. And looking at brand new devices including all the Moto and HTC offerings (the big boys) none of the offerings are stock android.

How is this going to affect fragmentation/updating the OS? I'm really interested in the Incredible, for example (being on Verizon) as well as the two mystery android (?) phones moto is going to release on Verizon this July. With the Incredible I know it won't get 2.2 until Q3-4 of 2010, by then 2.3 is going to be out.

Decisions decisions.
Click to expand...

With the acquisition of the guy responsible for Palm's webOS, Google will likely work on streamlining the UI after Gingerbread is released later this year.

Ideally, we would have the option to dual boot. Let Sense or Moto Blur be the default but users should be given the option to switch to vanilla Android.

EDIT: Looks of the hardware used to be what differentiated different handset manufacturers. I remember the RAZR was all the rage a few years ago. I don't think there was anything that looked like it when it came out. Now, many phones look pretty similar with a big touch screen and a few buttons on the bottom so software is where manufacturers have to differentiate themselves.
 
Solideliquid said:
I know there's a hardware thread around here, but this is more a thought regarding OS updates. It seems to me that no new Android handsets are being released with stock Android since the Moto Droid and Nexus One. It's either all Sense or Moto Blur. And looking at brand new devices including all the Moto and HTC offerings (the big boys) none of the offerings are stock android.

How is this going to affect fragmentation/updating the OS? I'm really interested in the Incredible, for example (being on Verizon) as well as the two mystery android (?) phones moto is going to release on Verizon this July. With the Incredible I know it won't get 2.2 until Q3-4 of 2010, by then 2.3 is going to be out. These things are not making it easier for me to upgrade from my Droid.

Decisions decisions.
Click to expand...

Stock Android hasn't been abandoned. Motorola has a stock Android phone for Verizon in the pipeline (Droid 2). The rumors now are that there are 2 Moto Droids enroute for V this summer, one being Shadow, the second potentially Droid 2. If not this summer, then by November, we'll have a new stock by Motorola.

If you want upgrades the fastest and don't want to root and deal with custom roms, then bottom line, you want stock on a high end device. Manufacturers like to put their own spin on Android because Android does most of the work for them, and it helps them differentiate their offerings from other Android phones instead of relying solely on specs. Even LG took two seconds to throw a ever so slightly custom homescreen/launcher for the Ally. That's not going to change.

Hang in there for Droid 2. Even if manufacturers learn and get updates out faster, they'll always be behind stock, since there's just more work to be done there. You're a stock Android kind of guy, Stock is getting better and better everyday (Froyo, Gingerbread + webOS designer), and stock devices aren't dead. We only know the future based on leaks, and not everything is leaked. But there is definitely a Droid 2 in the future. Whether that's in a couple months or in November remains to be seen, but that seems like the sensible next step for you (and me).

At the same time; think about it. As more and more phones get custom Android, more and more take longer to get updates than the few stock phones. When you look at it that way, it's not like everyones having the latest update while you're missing out because you thought a custom UI is awesome. Sense is still awesome, your phone can still do a lot of cool and different things that stock Android doesn't, and the Streak/TouchWiz/Xperia/Blur people are waiting just like you are. It may be less of an issue than people make it out to be.
 
jonnybryce said:
I use Run Star. It's nice, but doesn't have any features besides run and view your map/time/distance on the phone right now.

My Tracks has a lot of data, it's actually a little intimidating to use in it's UI and features, so if you're super serious and want to know everything, give that a shot.

There's also something called Runkeeper, I believe. I tried it on iPhone and preferred another app over it (Fitnio), but it may be worth a look.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I watched a tutorial for My Tracks and it almost seemed overkill for what I want. Ideally I'd like distance, time, avg. time per mile, map, and the ability to save/log data so I can see what kind of improvements I'm making.
 
I remember reading about a screenshot app for the Evo that works unrooted. You shake the screen for a shot.

Either way Google needs to add that. I never realized how much I liked that feature until it was taken away from me.

On a random note, I just deleted 11 apps from my Droid that I don't use. I feel better now. I also feel bad that App Brain is going to die soon when Android Market site gets live :/
 
I'm really loving how you can send SMS over wifi with GV. I'm not really loving how you can't call people on skype with Wifi on. Sometimes there's no signal, Verizon.
 
The worst thing about skype is you can't even text chat while on wifi....
I text chat on skype all the time.
 
Solideliquid said:
I'm really loving how you can send SMS over wifi with GV. I'm not really loving how you can't call people on skype with Wifi on. Sometimes there's no signal, Verizon.
Click to expand...
Google Voice is definitely one of the killer apps for Android. I love it. Hoping they can add MMS eventually.
 
Does anyone have an cool games that use the GPS? I remember hearing about that FPS that used the camera and GPS, but it seems it was canceled or something. Anything in that vain?
 
I was just looking at some android games around the web, and I found out that gameloft released 10 of their most popular iPhone games on android a few weeks ago... but they arnt on the marketplace, you have to buy them from gameloft's site. Why would they not put the games on the market? Seems kinda crazy not to, no one is going to find it on their site :lol
 
ZZMitch said:
I was just looking at some android games around the web, and I found out that gameloft released 10 of their most popular iPhone games on android a few weeks ago... but they arnt on the marketplace, you have to buy them from gameloft's site. Why would they not put the games on the market? Seems kinda crazy not to, no one is going to find it on their site :lol
Click to expand...
If what I read is correct, GameLoft's official position is that they don't agree with Google Marketplace allowing you to buy the game once and use it on later phones with your account info. They prefer a "buy for each individual phone" style model. And so, you have to buy from their site. Have a Droid? Pay. Upgrade to an Incredible? Pay. Getting a Shadow this summer? Pay again.
 
New to Android:

How do I get this screen lock?

060210a.png
 
mosaic said:
If what I read is correct, GameLoft's official position is that they don't agree with Google Marketplace allowing you to buy the game once and use it on later phones with your account info. They prefer a "buy for each individual phone" style model. And so, you have to buy from their site. Have a Droid? Pay. Upgrade to an Incredible? Pay. Getting a Shadow this summer? Pay again.
Click to expand...
That's the dumbest crap I've ever heard of. Should you have to buy all your software over again when you get a new PC?
 
mosaic said:
If what I read is correct, GameLoft's official position is that they don't agree with Google Marketplace allowing you to buy the game once and use it on later phones with your account info. They prefer a "buy for each individual phone" style model. And so, you have to buy from their site. Have a Droid? Pay. Upgrade to an Incredible? Pay. Getting a Shadow this summer? Pay again.
Click to expand...
So iPhone owners are allowed to, but not Android users?
 
CrayzeeCarl said:
That's the dumbest crap I've ever heard of. Should you have to buy all your software over again when you get a new PC?
Click to expand...

Seriously - I hope that is not their actual line of reasoning - why then are they happy to have it on the app store?
 
killakiz said:
So iPhone owners are allowed to, but not Android users?
Click to expand...
They don't have a choice, do they? They're not gonna let that market untapped because of that. On Android, they can do whatever they want.
 
mosaic said:
If what I read is correct, GameLoft's official position is that they don't agree with Google Marketplace allowing you to buy the game once and use it on later phones with your account info. They prefer a "buy for each individual phone" style model. And so, you have to buy from their site. Have a Droid? Pay. Upgrade to an Incredible? Pay. Getting a Shadow this summer? Pay again.
Click to expand...

That is... incredibly stupid. Wow.
 
Do the live wallpapers work for the lock screen as well. I thought you could set it up where you had to draw something to unlock the phone. Is that a built in feature or an app.
 
IcebergSlim3000 said:
Do the live wallpapers work for the lock screen as well. I thought you could set it up where you had to draw something to unlock the phone. Is that a built in feature or an app.
Click to expand...

These are actually two different things...

Go into settings and you can turn on the pattern unlock screen option from where you can create a 'draw to unlock' password.

Be careful though, some smart people have figured out that you can see the finger swipes from the oil on the glass if they wanted to access your phone. :lol

Live wallpapers are active on a lock screen but you cannot interact with them while locked.
 
2.2 allows you to set either PIN, pattern or password protection. With the PIN and password options, you get the vanilla lockscreen, then the PIN/password screen. With the pattern option, you just get the dots. Live Wallpapers operate in the background (slightly dimmed) behind whatever lock option you choose.
 
ZZMitch said:
I was just looking at some android games around the web, and I found out that gameloft released 10 of their most popular iPhone games on android a few weeks ago... but they arnt on the marketplace, you have to buy them from gameloft's site. Why would they not put the games on the market? Seems kinda crazy not to, no one is going to find it on their site :lol
Click to expand...

Few conspiracy theories, like (1)they want to fail on Android since it's more work than they feel its worth (hey, we tried!) (2)they don't want to have a forum where everyone is rating their game one star, warning people not to buy and saying they don't support their games with updates (on one hand, they don't. On the other, Asphalt5 is not made for an Eris) or (3)so that you can't refund easily and will just keep the sale.

Their official reasoning is they want to experiment with different options, which is stupid. There's something more there. They won't let you redownload games, meanwhile on iPhone, I can sign into a buddies iPhone with my iTunes Account and redownload anything I've bought for free to his phone, so it's all bullshit. Fuck Gameloft.
 
Posted this to the Android Games thread in Gaming, but then quickly realized nobody reads that one, ever.

So, anyone try and enjoy Battle for Mars?

I'm digging it. It's a really nice Advance Wars clone. Cops the look and feel for the most part. Not quite as polished in terms of interface or audio, but he keeps updating with improvements. My only gripe is that a multiplayer game can take days to finish if your opponent is the lazy sort.

Author's blog is here:

http://larvalabs.com/blog/android/battle-for-mars/

I keep wanting to give Uniwar a try, since it reminds me of Military Madness, but I never seem to get around to it as I'm playing Battle for Mars.
 
IcebergSlim3000 said:
How intricate can you make the lock pattern. Is it just a series of lines or can I create shapes free hand.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't it be easier just to try it? heh.






Oh and fuck Gameloft.
 
womp said:
These are actually two different things...

Go into settings and you can turn on the pattern unlock screen option from where you can create a 'draw to unlock' password.

Be careful though, some smart people have figured out that you can see the finger swipes from the oil on the glass if they wanted to access your phone. :lol

Live wallpapers are active on a lock screen but you cannot interact with them while locked.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I just hope that if someone steals my phone, I had just cleaned the screen beforehand.
 
mosaic said:
Posted this to the Android Games thread in Gaming, but then quickly realized nobody reads that one, ever.

So, anyone try and enjoy Battle for Mars?

I'm digging it. It's a really nice Advance Wars clone. Cops the look and feel for the most part. Not quite as polished in terms of interface or audio, but he keeps updating with improvements. My only gripe is that a multiplayer game can take days to finish if your opponent is the lazy sort.

Author's blog is here:

http://larvalabs.com/blog/android/battle-for-mars/

I keep wanting to give Uniwar a try, since it reminds me of Military Madness, but I never seem to get around to it as I'm playing Battle for Mars.
Click to expand...

Cool, I've been checking out some Android game stuff since I'll be getting the EVO next Friday.. Can't wait to get that, I actually thought about making a game thread as I didn't even know there was one. If we all started using that for game recommendations, maybe more attention on GAF would come to Android games and more people would start building games for it on here. Just a thought.
 
So I'm interested in getting an Android at the moment, some of my colleagues have them and the apps look really incredible. Is there an affordable one? I'd like YouTube support but that's about it. I'm also skeptical when my colleague says that the new Android update will work on all old devices, except faster.. sounds like he's just being a fanboy and it's too good to be true.
 
Majik said:
It's the 2.1 lock screen. If you're on 1.6 or 2.0 then just get Lockbot from the Android Market.
Click to expand...
I don't have an Android phone yet (I'm getting the Evo), but I haven't seen that lock screen in any of the Evo videos before. I guess I'm getting confused as to what parts of the UI are Sense and what parts are Android and what I can and can't customize.
 
Visualante said:
I'm also skeptical when my colleague says that the new Android update will work on all old devices, except faster.. sounds like he's just being a fanboy and it's too good to be true.
Click to expand...
Well, I don't think you'll see the 2.2 update sent to ALL old devices, but any relatively recent phone should get the update. And yes, it does considerably increase speed and performance. Look up some of the 2.2 benchmark tests.
 
Epix said:
I don't have an Android phone yet (I'm getting the Evo), but I haven't seen that lock screen in any of the Evo videos before. I guess I'm getting confused as to what parts of the UI are Sense and what parts are Android and what I can and can't customize.
Click to expand...
The lockscreen on the EVO is a Sense lockscreen. It has some positives and negatives when compared to the stock Android lockscreen.
 
Visualante said:
So I'm interested in getting an Android at the moment, some of my colleagues have them and the apps look really incredible. Is there an affordable one? I'd like YouTube support but that's about it. I'm also skeptical when my colleague says that the new Android update will work on all old devices, except faster.. sounds like he's just being a fanboy and it's too good to be true.
Click to expand...
There are plenty of affordable ones, it depends on your situation (carrier, new contract or upgrade vs retail or ebay). Need more info.

And 2.2 was built for speed. The browser is now the fastest mobile browser, and there's a huge speed increase. Its fact.
 
jonnybryce said:
There are plenty of affordable ones, it depends on your situation (carrier, new contract or upgrade vs retail or ebay). Need more info.

And 2.2 was built for speed. The browser is now the fastest mobile browser, and there's a huge speed increase. Its fact.
Click to expand...
I'm in the UK, I prefer Orange because it gets me a near free cinema ticket on Wednesdays but I don't really care. I don't want a contract because I don't make enough calls. I spend barely 10 pounds a month because I mostly text. I don't deny the OS speed increases I just doubt they will keep updating OS for older devices.
 
My Tracks is awesome. I just mapped a hike this morning and uploaded it to google maps and now can view it in Earth and everything. Really nice and handy.
 
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