Google announced a lot of goodies in the second day of Google I/O 2010 with Android 2.2 officially launched, Google TV and all 5,000 attendees will receive an HTC Evo 4G for Sprint in addition to the Android phone received the day prior!
So jealous… but we are awaiting on details of non-Sprint customers who received it. If you are there and plan to sell it, we’re buyers to hit us up on the Contact form!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ8m0kJJ5DM
At day one of Google I/O 2010 an AR Drone was showcased flying and being controlled by a Nexus One. We got the hint that this type of remote control technology was capable via smartphones even with the recent news of Android controlled OnStar system headed for GM’s new Chevy Volt.
[Via Android Police]
Can’t decide where to eat? Urbanspoon can help. Shake your phone and Urbanspoon suggests restaurants near you. Keep shaking until you find a restaurant you’d like to try. Available in the US, Canada, and most major cities in the UK and Australia.
Price: Free
Pros
Urbanspoon Android App is clearly awesome… we saw it highlighted in Apple’s app commercial a while back right? Well the Android version brings the same location-based restaurant recommendations to your indecisive self [in character from movie 300-type voice]. The app goes a bit further as you find a result, you can see more restaurant information like address (get directions and navigation on Google Maps), phone numbers (for direct dialing), user ratings & reviews (leave yours by signing into Urbanspoon’s website), menu, critic reviews, and more. Search restaurants by text or voice too!
It gets as easy as opening the app and literally shaking the phone, it does the rest like; grabbing your location, cuisine type and price range to randomly spin Vegas slot machine style of dials to offer you a dining choice. Of course you can change the settings and restrict or lock the various dials, for example if that blind date you got fixed up with is… let’s say lower on the totem pole you can limit to one “$”. 
This app is great when undecided or you can turn it into something interesting with your mate. 
Occasional use on up to daily use, especially for those drones stuck in the office undecided about lunch choices.
The layout consists mostly of the choice dials you can lock, shake to spin or manually scroll your choice, plus complete restaurant info.
(4.3 out of 5)
Should you Download Urbanspoon? Yuppers! Must Have For Restaurant Recommendations!
This week we’ve highlighted WaveSecure Mobile Security as App of the Week for its awesomeness in finding a lost or stolen phone plus backup capabilities. We recently found 6 useful nuggets on Wavesecure’s blog that will allow you to maximize the app’s features. Let’s get started:
1. Find your misplaced phone without a PC. Not only can you locate your lost/stolen phone on their website, but you can text it to sound the alarm or do other things like lock, customize screen, locate and even wipe the phone by SMS text from another phone using the following commands:
| Command | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Lock | To lock your phone, send “Secure lock ”. Eg. “Secure lock 123456” |
| Customize lock screen | To change your lock screen message, send “Secure lock ”. Eg. “Secure lock 123456 Please contact 911 to return”. |
| Sound alarm | To lock your phone, send “Secure lock alarm ” or with a custom message “Secure lock alarm”. Eg. “Secure lock alarm 123456” |
| Locate | Send “Secure locate ” for a SMS with a link to track the current location of the phone. Eg. “Secure locate 123456” |
| Wipe | To erase the phone’s data, send “Secure wipe”. Eg. “Secure wipe 123456” |
2. Automatically backup your data. Schedule backups and forget about it. The app backups up incremental data like contacts and text messages. Plus backups can be done automatically while charging (feature not available for Android 1.5).
3. Migrate your data to a new phone. One pain in upgrading to new phones is the restoration of contacts, text message, etc. Migration to new devices and even cross platform devices can be done as WaveSecure is on Android, BlackBerry, Symbian S60 and Windows Mobile.
4. Locate your phone the battery-friendly way. Android phones are notorious for draining batteries. You can control how often the app tracks the phone to conserve some battery power.
5. Find out who the thief is calling. Say your Droid-baby gets stolen, and the thief swaps the SIM card… no worries, WaveSecure tracks call and text message logs so you get the thief’s number as well as who they have been calling/texting to track down the phone.
6. Root Your Android Phone, Make WaveSecure Invulnerable. “Rooting” your Android may be a little challenging – but it’s worth the effort! Root version not only makes WaveSecure hard-reset proof, it also enables GPS tracking even if it’s set to be off! NerdGirl has been answering a lot of user inquiries about Rooting in her Ask NerdGirl column, to learn more head on over!
If you haven’t picked up the app, now you can get it at 20% off the annual $19.90 charge by liking them on Facebook or following on Twitter.
Hopefully these juicy tips will help you maximize your Android phone. Tell us if you knew about these tips or even your lost/stolen stories using apps like these in the comments below!
GM’s new electric car, Chevy Volt’s OnStar system is in the works to get several Android Apps infused. GM is negotiating a telematics system with Google that will do things like allows owners to open, start and/or adjust their cars and trucks, get electric charge levels; plus locate their vehicle via phone. More is to be revealed this week at Google I/O developers conference.
Kindle recently announced an app for Android phones to download, manage and read e-books. The app will be free and available in limited quantities projected for this summer. Users will be able to access some Kindle features like browsing books, access previous purchases, add bookmarks, browsing by author/genre, read Amazon consumer and editorial reviews, and get personal recommendations.
The app will not have Kindle newspapers, magazines and blogs. However Christopher Dawson of ZDNet brings up a good point, will this mobile device convergence kill the Kindle device as there will be no need to buy/carry the larger device around… simply read your books on your phone. What do you think?
At Google I/O today, PayPal announced the Mobile Payments Library.
The Mobile Payments Library allows you to add checkout functionality for donations, personal payments, physical goods and services sold through apps on the Android phone without having to worry about keeping customers’ personal financial information secure.
It was recently released beta to the iPhone development community and now available for Android. Download it today from http://www.x.com. (And yes that URL is correct and goes to PayPal’s X Developers Network).
Are you a Dev, tell us what you think! PayPal user? Would you pay for purchases with your account within apps without the need of a credit card? Tell us in the comments below.
A few days back we told you about the Sprint HTC Hero leak of the latest Android 2.1 software, now we are happy to announce the official update is available on HTC’s website with instructions on Sprint’s website for customers to perform the manual update themselves. We’ll have a guide up shortly, but if you haven’t updated from the old 1.5… now is the time to do so!
Note: the update will wipe your phone and specific to Sprint version of the HTC Hero. Concerned about backing up your contacts, SMS, email, apps, etc? Try MyBackup Pro for complete backup solutions or WaveSecure for SMS and call logs, try AppManager for apps, and your Gmail account automatically backs up Contacts. It will not come as an automatic update thus you must install it yourself.
[Via HTC]
One of the best parts of having an Android phone is I’M POSTING THIS FROM A TRAIN! The train is not WiFi. I’m using EasyTether and it’s working beautifully! I have the GPS going on my phone so I can see right where we are and I’m answering questions from all of you to make the time fly!
I have got the new Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and when I receive a text message there is no option to forward it on. So what I’d like to know is where can I download an app where I can forward a text on to a group of contacts? Please help as this is driving me mad that a new phone cannot do a simple task.
I used to work for Sony. I was so excited to hear they had an Android phone coming out and happy people are buying it! Now, to hear it can’t forward text messages confuses me. Android has this as an option. When you have a text message you want to forward, hold your finger on that message until a menu appears. In that menu is the option to forward. When you click on it, it looks just like a normal text message where you can enter as many contacts as you would like.
If for some reason that doesn’t work, download an app like Text Easy. It’s a free app that should allow you to mass text people. If this still doesn’t work, let me know and I’ll look into it some more.
Hi,
I got very curious when reading your information about rooting; however I am very interested to find out more about the next steps in conceptual terms. I do not need a step-by-step tutorial since it is not possible for you to give but more what it means to root?
Best regards,
PichdudeFromSweden
I’ll go through some basic steps for rooting which really aren’t dependant on which phone you have.
First, you need to replace the recovery image on your phone. This will give you the ability to recover your phone in the future in case you were to get it to a point where it wasn’t booting correctly. There are two ways to do it. The first way is the more simple way and involves just running a program to backup and install a new recovery image. The second way is more difficult and time consuming, but will probably be better in the long run. It’s designed to keep future updates from pushing through from your provider to block rooting.
After you’ve replace the recovery image you are ready to put the custom Android build on your phone. You would need to download the ROM you want to use and put it on your SD card. Then, you would boot your phone into the new recovery menu you made in the previous step. Wipe the original Android. Install your new Android. You’re done!
As I’ve said, rooting is not difficult, but you do run into the chance of making your phone into a brick and voiding your warranty. I personally have not rooted my phone because as of right now, I feel that my phone does everything I want it to. Maybe if I had a more powerful phone I would feel more of a need to root, but with the Eris, I’m okay as is.
First of all, I love your blog. Good stuff.
I have a Motorola Droid from Verizon and I have questions I need desperate help with.
I need help with email. It was recommended to me to use K9 mail. I was told it was much better than the stock email. Unfortunately, nothing seems to have improved. I operate a small web design company so as you can imagine, it’s important I receive my emails immediately. I need something that updates well and has a nice clean look. Any ideas?
Personally, I don’t mind the default email. But that’s the great thing about Android. You don’t have to use default anything! Both K-9 and the default in my experience update at whatever frequency I set it to. Mine is every minute, which is also the lowest you can go with Outlook so that’s what I’m used to and is more than adequate for me. Make sure that your settings are correct for email sync before you change apps. I bet that’s part of the problem.
The Chief Editor’s 2-cents: I personally like K-9 Mail over the default as it offers more options, organization with color-coding, plus “Push-like” email notification with IMAP settings. I would recommend your email protocol for your design firm use IMAP over POP3. We are actually writing a complete ”unofficial” guide with videos on how to setup and use K-9 Mail thoroughly as it actually is our most discussed review. Stay tuned for that!
This application is a great resource for Google I/O 2010 conference goers. Features: Look at the schedule, Look through detailed session info, Look through info about companies in the Developer Sandbox, Star sessions and Sandbox companies, Look at a conference map, Take notes on sessions .
Price: Free
Pros
Cons
Google I/O 2010 Android App is specifically catered to conference goers of this years annual event. Google I/O is an annual developers event Google hosts to showcase new development tools, services and even give away free stuff like Android Phones! This is a handy tool to find session information, star those in your itinerary or of interest, view the conference schedule, get background info on development firms attending, jot notes, and view the convention center on Google Maps by all three levels in satellite view.
As mentioned the app can be very handy for attendees of the event over the two-day course. Convenient and beats the need for multiple apps to keep track of a conference and sanity (see how I needed 10 apps to cover CTIA 2010 mobile tech conference). Though it may not be for everyone else not attending.
(4.0 out of 5)
Should you Download Google I/O 2010? Must Have for Attendees… Ignore it if Not!
TV-Guide UK. Fast and easy TV listings for the UK market. Quickly get an overview of what’s on right now – the shows, the movies and the sports events. The TV-Guide team is constantly adding more features and channels – keep sending us your feedback and suggestions.
Price: Free, $1.99
Pros
Cons
The TV-Guide UK app seeks to compete with a number of other apps out there doing exactly the same thing. The only way that they are obviously differentiating themselves from the competition seems to be by charging for an ad free version. Tempting!
On start up you choose the channels you are interested in from what seems like a pretty impressive list ranging from the channels you will very obviously want (BBC) and those that might charitably be considered to cater to the niche market (Bomerang – Whatever that is). There is even programme information for the Adult Channel. The idea of a regular watcher of the Adult Channel needing to plan his (or her’s) viewing of that channel really is very creepy indeed.
Once you have chosen your favoured channels you will be directed back to the app home screen which by default displays all your channels in a list format with their currently showing programme highlighted, in addition to the subsequent two programmes. From the same page you can filter these channels with the tabs along the top to show only your sports or movies channels. This is a nice feature but does not allow for user defined filtering which would have been awesome.
A click on a channel brings up a drab, vertically scrolling page of that channel’s schedule for the day. Not even a thumbnail of the channel’s logo is used to punctuate the vast swathes of boring text assaulting the eye. From here you can set notifications by long pressing on a programme and choosing from the predefined reminder intervals.
This app works pretty well as far as it goes. The scrolling is smooth and everything works intuitively. You will not need any instructions or to visit any forums to get the best out of this little guide. Unfortunately, there is no channel info for any day other than today. This has been a pretty critical factor in my evaluation of its usefulness. Also, what is the purpose of setting a reminder 6 hours in advance of a programme airing? Do people really start a 6 hour long build up to a new episode of Doctor Who? Very strange.
The app took a little while to bed down on my HTC Hero with lots of crashing and incredibly long load times at the beginning. Once the app was set up and I began using it however I found it to be incredibly easy to quickly navigate around the app.
I really like to know what’s going to be on TV so I expected to use this app a lot. Unfortunately the lack of channel information for the week to come meant that I used it pretty infrequently, preferring to use competitor’s apps.
The interface, on the whole, is really nice with clean white backgrounds and fast scrolling text. Unfortunately it is let down here and there by a few issues already mentioned. Just gimme a thumbnail or something on the channel schedule page, come on.
(3.1 out of 5)
Should you Download TV-Guide UK? Hmmmm. Meh. Whatever. It is what it is, and what that is, is ‘Meh’.
I’m so excited! Google I/O starts tomorrow! I can’t wait to hear all the announcements! They even have an app for it. Plus, since I’m taking a train for 13 hours it will give me something to do!
Hey nerdgirl…=)…I don’t know if you condone rooting but…when I switch roms I naturally have to reinstall my apps; now when I reinstall Skyfire mobile browser it only has the bookmarks that my stock browser has…the thing is I obviously don’t use my stock browser…do you know of a way to save the bookmarks so I don’t have to constantly keep adding them? Thank you in advance X3
After doing some research, and installing SkyFire myself, it seems like this is everyone’s complaint with this browser. I did notice that it imported my bookmarks from my default browser, like you said. I took that to mean that it does understand where bookmarks are stored by default, but writes to it’s own folder for bookmarks made by SkyFire. So I made a few bookmarks. I went back to my default browser and the bookmarks I made in SkyFire were there. I went into my folder for bookmarks on my phone and it seems like they’re all there in one place. I’m not sure what the disconnect is on yours, and others, phone. Maybe rooted phones place bookmarks in several places. I’m not sure and unfortunately it seems like no one else is either. I wish I had a better answer for you, Matthew.
And in the matter of rooting, I don’t have an issue with it. The way I feel about it is that you purchased your hardware. If you want to make your phone into a magic carpet or a microwave, why can’t you? It’s yours! Android is an open source platform so changing it isn’t stealing and (if you know what you’re doing) doesn’t hurt anything. You own the hardware. You should be able to do whatever you want with it. That’s just my opinion!
I’m a huge fan of your page!!! Sorry I had to start with that!!! But I was wondering, is there a nifty geocaching app out there? I love geocaching and the thought of paperless caching & not having to lug around my handheld GPS even though I have my phone on me, would be a huge help!!! Just wondering…. Figured if anyone could help me with you could!!
Little Missy
I love geocaching too, Missy! For those of you that don’t know what geocaching is, here is a little explanation from Geocaching.com: “Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache’s existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS device can then try to locate the geocache. ”
So a geocaching app would be something that connects to Geocaching.com, has a GPS, a compass, and a way to mark your caches. I have been researching these myself and there are a ton of apps and geocaching tools. Some of the higher ranked free apps you may want to try out are c:geo (which is the one I use), GeoBeagle, GeoHunter (which is based on GeoBeagle), or Columbus (which has the highest rating).
There are good tools for geocaching as well. You can use Hintdecoder for Geocaching or Geocaching Tools to figure out the hint’s without having to manually decode it. Geocaching Keyboard provides a specialized keyboard just for logging finds. It provides keys just for TFTH, DNF, TNLN, and other frequent geocaching abbreviations. Orienteer is a compass you can use with your phone for when your GPS is being inaccurate due to cloud cover, trees, or buildings.
So, with these tools you can be a paperless geocacher with only your phone (and cache repair kit) to carry around! Have fun! I’m going to be using some of these myself while I do some geocaching in New York City this week!
How do you use [AppBrain]. Mine keeps saying that I must connect to INTERNET but my android had wifi, so what would it tell me to do that?
Tai, I’ve run into this problem. What I find on my Eris is that it’s not the app having the problem, but it’s a problem with the actual phones software. As odd as this sounds, see if turning off your wifi fixes it. It has a few times with me.
But if it does end up being a problem with AppBrain, that can be simple to solve. Make sure you’re signed in with the same email on both accounts, the computer and your phone. When you go into AppBrain and click on Manage my Apps, it will then go through your installed apps on your phone. Click on Sync with AppBrain and the apps you want to install or uninstall will be listed at the top. This is where I was getting the message and after I turned off wifi it went away. Then click on Perform Installs and voila!
Yesterday we announced Gameloft Releases 10 HD Games for Android Smartphones, however, today it seems they pulled the page without any announcement of a return. My guess is the piss poor approach to selling their games outside Google’s Android Market plus a barrage of support calls and emails. The page is no longer available and redirects to their homepage.
We tried and tried numerous times to purchase and download the iPhone ported HD 3D games without an ounce of success. The process went a little something like this… Start out on their website choosing the game you want to purchase then press Buy. Enter carrier, country, birth date info, then enter your phone number to receive an SMS text message with link to complete purchase on your phone and download. Text never came. 
Of the titles listed we were about to review the game Asphalt 5 via the Android Market which is truly awesome on higher end Android phones. We’ll see if they can get this together and Giveth again.
GetJar, the world’s second largest app store behind Apple, is calling for nominations for the best apps across all major smartphone platforms for their first ever “The Gettie Awards 2010“.
A panel of five judges including prominent industry heavyweights, press and analysts will first select three (3) nominees within each category from all submissions of files/applications. Winners from each category will be determined by review of the actual physical applications. The Gettie Award winner will be determined by a combination of popular vote and judge’s votes. Developers get the chance to be the best within each category and best for overall application at this prestigious event.
The deadline for entries is June 25, 2010. Submissions after this date may not be eligible for consideration.
Winners get $15,000 in pay-per-download credits from GetJar, 80 hours of free testing from Device Anywhere worth. Head over to nominate your favorite Android App!
We recent illustrated in a handy chart of sold Android phones in the market the issue of Android fragmentation, most phones were on Android 1.5. In a chart just released by Google showing Android Platform Versions; we can see there are more users on Android 2.1 at 37.2%, followed by Android 1.5 at 34.1 then Android 1.6 at 28%. With Google I/O starting tomorrow we expect to see Android 2.2 (Froyo) debut, which could add to more fragmentation, however it is rumored this version makes updating easier hopefully easing the scattered pains.
| Android Platform | Percent of Devices |
|---|---|
| Android 1.1 | 0.1% |
| Android 1.5 | 34.1% |
| Android 1.6 | 28.0% |
| Android 2.0 | 0.2% |
| Android 2.0.1 | 0.4% |
| Android 2.1 | 37.2% |
Data collected during two weeks ending on May 17, 2010
[Via AndroidGuys via Android Platform Versions]
Gameloft, developer of downloadable games, announced 10 HD games aimed at higher end Android smartphones (like Sony Ericsson XPeria X10, HTC Desire, HTC Incredible, Motorola DROID, Motorola Motoroi or Nexus One). The catch, however, these games will be sold outside Google’s Android Market and sold directly from their website at $4.99 USD each.
Luckily your favorite Android App Review website will have all the games reviewed soon with videos, so you can virtually try it before you buy it!
Stay tuned for our reviews soon!
[Via Wired via Gameloft Press Release]
Dot 2 Finally it arrives ..™ “The Sequel” – a game of skill and survival! ..™ game play manifests itself in 3D. Fly through a world of amazing sound, stunning graphics and highly addictive game play. Be part of the experience. Become one of a few select individuals who can own them all. NOW WITH TWITTER AND FACEBOOK.
Price: Free
Pros
Cons
Dot 2 Android Game is a simple accelerometer game where you try to make the white dot last as long as possible by hitting the blue dots and dodging the red triangles. Blue dots increase the size of the white plus extend game play while the red triangle shrinks the white dot. Shrink too much and the game is over. Match your high score online with others, plus broadcast your Best Time on Facebook and Twitter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp0Vk4Owd_g
The game can be fun, challenging & addictive to see how long you can last and boast the best time via social networks.
Features a simple yet futuristic 3D playing field in which you tilt the white dot in.
The core of the game is based on the accelerometer and uses vibration for crashes into the red triangle along with cool background music (you cannot toggle the music so lower it with volume buttons).
(3.9 out of 5)
Should you Download Dot 2? Yes! Drop Your Best Time in the Comments Below!
HTC announced another Android smartphone, the HTC Wildfire, that looks similar to the HTC Desire yet has hardware similar to the HTC Tattoo headed for major European and Asian markets in the third quarter of 2010. It will ship with Android 2.1, latest HTC Sense UI with the bonus of HTC Caller ID which displays your contact’s Facebook profile picture, latest update, and birthday reminders. There will even be a widget that allows you to social share and recommend Android Apps via SMS text message, email, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
[Via AndroidGuys]
This is the beta version of the ³ (aka Cubed) music player. Enjoy!
Price: Free
Pros
Cons
³ (aka Cubed) Music Player puts a 3D twist on the music player for Android phones. Play in either portrait or landscape mode (if you have the setting). It supports every feature for listening to music on your phone (standard player, Playlists, Shuffle, etc.) plus a few more like the ability to grab album Cover Art, match concert events of artists in your music library with Concerts³ app extension, plus a few cool ways to display your music and visually theme it.
There are four viewing modes:
Gripe Alert: the app name is cool but the use of the ³ cubed symbol for the name makes it impossible to find in the Android Market. We suggest scanning our QR codes or search “Cubed Music Player” to find it.
Concerts³ is an extension app to be downloaded separately and finds concerts of artists in your music collection that will be performing within a certain range of your location.
³ (aka Cubed) Music Player is both useful as a music player plus gets cool points for its visual style it puts on your music collection. One of those apps to show off to friends.
There are a few adjustments to learn while using the app but most features are intuitive of any other music player.
Depends on your music listening frequency; I could see it as a replacement for the default Music app.
The user interface and 3D enhancements is what make this app and its user experience unique.
(4.3 out of 5)
Should you Download 3 (Cubed) Music Player? Yes! Awesome Music Player App for Android!
Many HTC DROID Eris owners are receiving the Android 2.1 update from Verizon while Samsung Moment owners have to manually download and install it from Sprint. Have you you been upgraded yet? We want to hear your feedback on the new software, whether your phone is snappier, has it been a pain, or even questions you may have (NerdGirl can answer them).
Post your feedback in the Comments Below!
