Android Unleashed

Ubuntu One Music on Android just got a whole lot better

2011-04-21T13:15:00.000-04:00

The Ubuntu One team are feeling the joys of Spring, because after several months working hard we’ve got some great news about updates to our Android Music app, which don’t forget works anywhere in the world!

The first thing you’ll notice in the new UI is album art so you will now see any saved album covers. Managing your playlists is now even easier as you can create, edit and delete playlists straight from your device. Those of you with lots of music will notice the overall speed improvement, meaning you can enjoy your huge music collection without any long waits. Plus, we have also added support for non-DRM iTunes songs so that you can stream songs you’ve purchased from iTunes just as easily as your MP3s, bringing all your music together.

In addition many of you requested this next feature so we’re sure you’ll be pleased that we now support songs in Ogg Vorbis format so you can stream your collection of Ogg music natively, without the need to convert it to another format. If you’re a developer you may be interested in knowing that playlists are stored in your CouchDB database allowing you to write applications that read/write to them.
So that’s faster access to more of your music wherever you are in the world. The latest version 1.2 is now available in the Android market, happy listening and watch this space for upcoming updates to our iPhone app.

Angry Birds Valentine’s Day Edition Coming February

2011-01-21T23:07:00.004-05:00

Just like Rovio presented us with Halloween and Christmas versions of the runaway success we call Angry Birds, the team is gearing up for the holiday of love with a special pink-tinged version of the game. In the video clip below from DW-TV we see the Rovio gang hard at work on all sorts of fun new edition to the Angry Birds lineup, stating “The designers and game developers at Rovio are currently working on new versions of their game, like this update in pink, due to come on the market on February the 14th – Valentine’s Day.”

It isn’t revealed outright which platforms will get the Valentine’s edition, but it seems pretty much a lock that Android will get it at some point in February. That’s good, because we’re running out of new levels of Angry Birds to slave away at until three stars are achieved.

[via PocketLint]

Angry Birds

The survival of the Angry Birds is at stake. Dish out revenge on the greedy pigs who stole their eggs. Use the unique powers of each bird to destroy the pigs� fortresses. Angry Birds features challenging physics-based gameplay and hours of replay value. Each of the 195 levels requires logic, skill, and force to solve. Recent changes: - 45 new levels - QVGA(320x240) display resolution support - Optimizations for more Android devices - Fixed graphical problems... Read More

Downloads >250,000

Developed by Rovio Mobile Ltd.

Via: Angry Birds Valentine’s Day Edition Coming February | Android Phone Fans

Review: Circle Launcher [VIDEO] › AndroidGuys

2011-01-21T18:58:00.000-05:00

Before you jump to conclusions, this is not a "launcher" like ADW or Launcher Pro. Although the title might hint at being that type of app, this is simply a widget that visually and productively helps your launcher. In a nutshell, this application adds a 1x1 widget that almost replaces your folders in a very unique fashion.

The Good

This application helps reduce the amount of icons on your home screen and allows you to add many more icons without having to change your launchers dimensions. You can add multiple shortcuts and contacts without ever seeing them (until you open the widget). Personally, the fact that this application is free (full version $1.35) makes it for me.

The Bad

Most of the features that look appealing, custom icons, different style sliders, and more are only available in the paid full version. When the widget is open, I cannot help but think to tap the widget icon again to close the widget, but when I click it, I am brought to the settings. If you do not click "back" when exiting this widget, the circle of icons appear with the list of settings behind them.

Conclusion

This application is defiantly worth trying out, although if you are not going to purchase the paid version, this app might not blend (the way you want) into your launcher. Also, this application needs to add some more settings to change what the widget button does after the widget is open. Overall, this app is a great idea and has a few kinks and bugs to work out.

Toshiba Honeycomb Tablet Gets a Teaser Site | Android Phone Fans

2011-01-21T18:55:00.002-05:00

A teaser site has gone live for the Toshiba Android tablet with Honeycomb showing us nothing more than we already knew. The tablet was under pretty tight wraps at CES, but Toshiba has been eager to talk it up. An intro video runs down the pertinent specs including NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and 10-invh screen.

Check out the site for yourself at the source link below if you want to see for yourself that tablet Toshiba will surely be showing us more of at MWC.

[Toshiba via IntoMobile]

AndroidSPIN » Quick Look App: GeoQpons – Save Money Locally

2011-01-21T18:55:00.000-05:00

We may not all love to shop, especially in this economy. Sadly, there are still things we want to buy or things we need. Saving oney is on everyones agenda no matter how much money you have in thebank. GeoQpons by XYMOB, Inc., is aimed at helping you save in your local area or based off your GPS location. GeoQpons has many features build in that make saving money a breeze.

All the coupons have expiration dates, so be sure to use them as many times as you can before the offer is gone. Some coupons have barcodes and some have online codes to enter. Under the tools section you can can check your shopping list, wish list or even check prices using the build in scanner. The application can help you locate the store and even let you call them directly. An added bonus for all your friends the have yet to switch to android, is the ability to share the coupon with your friends and family via a SMS, Email, Twitter or Facebook. It really is your all-in-one savings application.

Click or scan the QRCode below to find out more information about the Line2 application.

Summary and Downloads:

Application: GeoQpon
Developer: XYMOB, Inc.
Cost: FREE

T-Mobile Takes the Low Road, Vibrant Update is NOT an OTA

2011-01-21T18:53:00.001-05:00

What a mess these two company’s have created for themselves and for the consumers. Not only have we been impatiently waiting for some sort of good news from T-Mobile and Samsung about Froyo finally rolling out, but now they force it through Kies Mini.

For the majority of the U.S. users, Samsung Kies Mini isn’t a readily known application. It is a free PCapplication that allows you to sync various files through the software to your device. It is also used for installing updates to your device. The full version of Kies is used extensively in the U.K. for updates and seems to work out pretty well.

Here is the conflict with the program, although it is free, it still requires a bit of technical know how. I am not a complete noob on software and even I had some trouble getting things to connect correctly. Not only does this add one more step and complication for users, but not everyone is on a PC. If you are aMAC user I hope you have some friends that will let you use their Windows based PC.

The way I see it, you may as well have just given up on the official update and gone a head and rooted your phone. After all, it is also ‘just a downloaded application’. Sorry T-mobile but this was not the way to make this happen. This is only going to prolong the situation. There is still no word yet of if an OTA might find its way out to people or not. We will keep an eye out for any development on it.

If you plan on attempting this update through Kies Mini, here are some pointers and the download link.

www.tinyurl.com/kiesmini

You can view a full support and install instructions from Samsung

You will need to register your device or the software won’t recognize it. You can register it atSamsung.com also.

Set the USB Setting to “ask on connection”. You do this by going to Menu>Settings>Applications>USB Settings>Ask on Connection. You need to do this so you can select “Kies” when you plug your device into your PC.

If you are still having issues getting it to connect, leave the application open and keep unplugging and plugging it in. It should eventually recognize your device.

I hope that helps a few people get through the update process.

Source: Thedroidguy and TmoNews

HTC Thunderbolt Priced at $250, Motorola XOOM Will Go for $799 | Android Phone Fans

2011-01-21T18:51:00.000-05:00

HTC Thunderbolt Priced at $250, Motorola XOOM Will Go for $799 | Android Phone Fans: "We could be looking at the pricing for two of Verizon’s most highly anticipated future releases. The HTC Thunderbolt, which should be launching in February, looks to be priced slightly higher than your typical new smartphone release at $249.99. The Motorola XOOM looks to get an unsubsidized pricing of $799.99 (we hope its unsubsidized, at least).
Both prices are sure to turn a few heads and strike up some lively conversation. The Thunderbolt does get 4G, but the hardware makes it not much more than similar handsets retailing for $199.99. Given everything the XOOM offers, we aren’t too turned off by the pricing, but with a bit of room for subsidy there is hope it might drop a bit."

After Further Analysis: No Stolen Java Code Shipping with Android, After all | Android Phone Fans

2011-01-21T18:50:00.001-05:00

After Further Analysis: No Stolen Java Code Shipping with Android, After all | Android Phone Fans: "It seems whoever came to the conclusion that Android is shipping with a group of 30+ segments of code copied line by line from Java may have not done their homework. After further analysis of the files in question, Ed Burnette of ZDNet has concluded that there are in fact no instances of copied code shipping directly with Android.
The first set of files in question are a group used for running internal tests, and not meant to ship with a final build of Android on a device. A second set contain files specific to native code audio drivers, and also would not ship with Android. The first set did have some wonky licensing pasted on top of it, but Google has already taken upon itself to delete the files as of January 14th, 2011.
It seems the internet (we included) got a bit worked up over the sensationalist claims that Google is clearly stealing from Oracle and Java and was quick to spread the word without further checking into the code in question."

Hell Freezes Over, Vibrant Gets Froyo Update › AndroidGuys

2011-01-21T18:50:00.000-05:00

Hell Freezes Over, Vibrant Gets Froyo Update › AndroidGuys: "Whether or not you believe that all the community outrage at the lack of a Froyo update for the Samsung/T-Mo Vibrant did any good, the update is finally here.

As of right now, if you own a T-Mo Vibrant, you can download the 2.2 Froyo update for your phone using the Kies Mini software that Sammy uses to push builds to devices. If you have questions you can visit the T-Mo discussion thread by clicking here.

We originally thought that this would be an OTA upgrade, but I am glad to see it as a download so people can get it when they are ready (NOW).

Let us know how the upgrade process goes."

Android 2.3.2 Update Pushing to Nexus S Phone, Fixes SMS Bug | Android Phone Fans

2011-01-21T18:49:00.001-05:00

Android 2.3.2 Update Pushing to Nexus S Phone, Fixes SMS Bug | Android Phone Fans: "Just yesterday we got word that an update was poised for release on the Nexus S and that it would fix the SMS bug seeing text messages sent to the wrong contact, and now several of you readers have reported in to inform us that the update is starting to reach handsets now. Never mind that yesterday we heard it wouldn’t be out until next week, the update bring the version number on Android on the Nexus S to 2.3.2.
Update is going out over-the-air right now, so hang tight and it should hit your Nexus S shortly if you have one."

Trapster user e-mails and passwords might have been compromised | Android Central

2011-01-21T18:49:00.000-05:00

Trapster user e-mails and passwords might have been compromised | Android Central: "We've covered Trapster a few times here in the past but they seem to of have had a run in with some hackers as of late. Recently Trapster has been sending e-mails out to users letting them know hackers may have comprised the Trapster database:

'The Trapster team has recently learned that our website has been the target
of a hacking attempt, and it is possible that your email address and password were compromised. We have taken, and continue to take, preventative measures to avoid future incidents but we are recommending that you change your Trapster password. As always, Trapster recommends that you use distinctive passwords for each site you visit, but if you use the same password on Trapster that you use on other services, we recommend that you change your password on those services as well.'

If you have any questions, you'll want to reach out to Trapster, and if you are a Trapster user please, be sure to change up your password as soon as possible. Thanks to everyone who sent this in!"

Nexus One Getting Update to Android 2.2.2 | Android Phone Fans

2011-01-21T18:47:00.001-05:00

Nexus One Getting Update to Android 2.2.2 | Android Phone Fans: "Nexus One Getting Update to Android 2.2.2
by Kevin Krause on January 21st, 2011 at 6:15 pm

Not to be left completely in the dust by its successor the Nexus S, we are also receiving word that the Nexus One is also receiving an update today. The N1′s latest software brings it up to Android 2.2.2, which appears to be a maintenance update more than anything else. We’re still looking into whether or not this update also fixes the SMS bug as does the Nexus S’s Android 2.3.2 update, but we get the feeling it does. Nexus One owners expect this one over the air over the next few days."

Reuters: Nexus One Available Directly Through Google Website January 5 | AndroidGuys

2009-12-23T19:03:00.000-05:00

Via:AndroidGuys

Reuters is reporting that a source of theirs indicates a January 5th date for the Nexus One to go on sale. They’ve been advised that it will be at a “reduced price to consumers who agree to a service contract from Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile USA“. Are we skeptical? Sure. It’s only a couple weeks away but whatever. We thought it would be months before Google Goggles was ready and here it was rolled out days after we learned of it.

We were looking through our comments from another post and found that the always-fun Charbax dropped by with some information regarding price. We’re not sure were he heard it or how he knows, but here’s what he says…

Here’s the price: $199 unlocked in stores. $100 rebate online if you have an active and old Google account. That $100 rebate is either to buy it $99 online from Google’s online phone store, for using on Android Marketplace or for using on any Google Checkout stores. Can also be used for T-Mobile or AT&T pre-paid Data SIM card service at $29 per month, no contracts required.

Google will push full VOIP usage on these, meaning no voice/sms plans needed at any carrier. Voice calls will go through Google Voice on Data SIM cards and will provide unlimited free voice calling. And SMS is replaced by unlimited free Gtalk.

Finally, Google will provide easy roaming data services in other countries. For example, if you go to Europe, you can roam on HSDPA data networks for the same price of 20€ per month, and if you only stay in Europe for a few days you won’t need to pay for the whole month. You may not even need to change the SIM card.

And... We are back!

2009-12-23T18:50:00.001-05:00

Sorry about the downtime, I had switched hosts and couldnt afford the hosting due to financial problems, I'll be pushing out content soon.
d e f c o n

New iGoogle For Android! + Screenshots!

2009-06-12T07:58:00.000-04:00

Via : Official Google Blog
"This new version is faster and easier to use. It supports tabs as well as more of your favorite gadgets, including those built by third-party developers. Note that not all gadgets — like those with Flash — will work in mobile browsers.

One of our favorite new features is the in-line display of articles for feed-based gadgets. That means you can read article summaries without leaving the page. You can also rearrange gadget order or keep your favorite gadgets open for your next visit. None of these changes will mess up the layout of gadgets on your desktop computer, so feel free to play around and tune your mobile experience.

The new version of iGoogle for mobile is available in 38 languages. To try it out, go to igoogle.com in your mobile browser and tap "Try the new Mobile iGoogle". Bookmark the page or make it your home page so you can return to it quickly. Finally, please fill out our survey by clicking on the "Tell us what you think" link at the top of the new home page. We'll continue to use your feedback to make iGoogle even better."

Turn Your Android Phone into a SIP Phone Place/Recieve Free Calls with Google Voice or Use other voip Service.

2009-06-12T07:13:00.000-04:00

Did you know you can turn your phone into a SIP phone with sipDroid?

Sipdroid is an open-source SIP client implemented in Java. The project was based on:

Mjsip contributing the original stack,
initial port to Android emulator and development of a Test SIP Client by Hughes Systique Corporation.

Sipdroid can be used with Asterisk or any other sip phone system, even free systems like Gizmo, or ipKall

I have added my Gizmoproject phone number to my GoogleVoice account, GoogleVoice is currently private beta without invites, so you may want to try ipKall or another cheap voip/sip service.

The nice thing with this setup is it allows you to either use your unlimited data plan or wifi connection to make/recieve calls.

First you need to login to gizmoproject.com or create an account then find the SIP phone number to add to GoogleVoice:

Sign in to Google Voice.
Go to the Settings link at the top right of the page.
Click the Add/Edit Number link right above your phones, to the right of the page.
Click the Phones tab.
Click Add a new number.
Select Gizmo in the Phone Type drop-down menu.
Enter your SIP number without 1.
Enter a name for that phone, if you want.
Click Save.

Once that is done, click here to download sipdroid, and install that on your Android
SipDroid only works with cupcake/adp roms

Run SipDroid
Press Menu->Settings:

Press Server, and enter: proxy01.sipphone.com
Then enter your Gizmo login information where Username/Password are
Press Use WLAN, and Use 3g/Edge and leave the other settings alone, press back then you are ready to use Google Voice to place all call :)

Head over to https://www.google.com/voice/m/phones
Make sure gizmo is checked, then go to http://www.google.com/voice/m and input a number in quick call and press call.

Enjoy your free Sip calls without using airtime over 3g or wifi :)

Example Incoming SIP Call:

GlossSuite G1 Theme

2009-06-12T06:38:00.000-04:00

GlossSuite
Here is another Great theme for your Android G1
DOWNLOAD:
WITH custom lock screen
WITHOUT custom lock screen(updated March 31st)
Previous Versions:
Original Status Icons
You must have a rooted phone with a modified recovery img

Install by downloading the theme to /sdcard/update.zip
Reboot into Recovery with Home + Power and ALT+S to apply
Currently works with JF RC33, and possibly Dudes, and Cyanogen's
Developer: MoonSpoon

Howto Upgrade your Android G1 to the Latest Radio & SPL

2009-06-12T05:48:00.000-04:00

First you need to update your radio to the latest before applying this spl to avoid bricking your device. You also must flash one of the newer roms that support the new radio/spl which are dudes, cyanogens, or any hero rom.

This SPL is optional and optimized for hero and rogers roms, if you flash the spl make sure you have a nandroid backup or rom to reflash because you will need to do so.

The latest Radio version is 2.22.19.26I with a Baseband Version of 62.50S.20.17H_2.22.19.26I

Download the radio to /sdcard/update and download the SPL here to /sdcard/spl-signed.zip

Shutdown your phone and press Home + Power while booting to get to the recovery console, then press ALT-S to flash, once its finished and done rebooting twice, go back into the recovery console.
Press ALT+X for terminal, press Enter, then type:

mount /sdcard
cd /sdcard
mv update.zip latestradio.zip
mv spl-signed.zip update.zip
cd ..
umount /sdcard
recovery #Sends you back to the recovery screen

Press ALT+S to flash the new SPL after your successfully flashed the new Radio!

JACMan 1.62 Modified Hero ROM

2009-06-12T05:45:00.000-04:00

There has been allot of HTC Hero Rom modifications, this seems like it could be one of the best, one i'll definitely be flashing this baby soon.

You must install the latest Radio & Spl for this build: instructions here

Manup and Justanotherdev put alot of hard work into this (modified .xmls drawables and alot under the hood, not just moving files around) so credit us if you use our work!!!! ! And don't rip Manup456 or Justanotherdev off. Pay some respect and contact them first.

Changelog:

JACMan Hero r1.62

Changes in 1.62
1.62 is just adding back Youtube, PDF Reader, QuickOffice and Mail.apk that 1.61 was missing.
All widgets except weather. (I'm looking into why the weather widgets are having a fit) Load them from the resources if you want them. APPS2SD.apk put back in so you can use it like in 1.4. All other changes from 1.6 remain.

Changes in r1.61
outube, PDF Reader, QuickOffice and Mail.apk were removed and weather widget/app was added.Reverted to SYMLINK method for APPS2SD

Changes in r1.6
-Minor changes to the 2.6.29 Kernel
-UnionFS support but we are still going to symlink for now
-Manup456'smodified xml's drawables and graphic and .apks
-All widgets put back into /data/app_S
-modified trigger support
-Modified RAMDISK with noatime, nodirtime, EXT/EXT3 mount support
-Sensor Hardware and LED Light .so updates (still not functioning ATM)
-BT permissions fix for the Dbus "chmod 666 /dev/socket/dbus/" (a step forward BT still not working)
-Fix permissions on /data/app in update-script
-Fixed Browser downloads issue
-Fixed Flash Player issue

***NOTE***APPS2SD requires a class 6 card, class 4 (4GB cards are the worst!!!)cards have been reported more issues with slowness than anyone even those with class 2 cards.

Hero r1.5 Fully Optimized
This should not have been uploaded. APPS2SD via unionFS is broken and can't be fixed in this update, not with any easy method anyway. I've had people report it runs great, if it does that is awesome but just understand APPS2SD support via union will not work. You could go ahead and symlink everything as they wont be broken on reboot on this particular build.

Hero r1.4 Fully Optimized
-Ion Dalvik VM
-Marcus APPS2SD1 (symlink) included out of the box
-BusyBox Included
-Phone.apk fixed
-Dexopt-Wrapper Included
-Fully Optimized out of the box (.Odex'd)
-Superuser.Apk Included
-com.android.term.Apk Included (Terminal App)
-HTC IME instead of HTC CIME
-Rosie.apk and core files for a stable/fast build reside on internal memory even after APPS2SD!!!
-Data/System partition optimized
-PSCII.apk removed

Wipe Recommended

First things First!!!!

For r1.61 we are sticking with SYMLINKS for now. I put Marcus's APPS2SD.apk back in. As soon as I figure out something better that will work...easily for people you will have it. So think of this as a direct upgrade from 1.4...the unionFS support is there but isn't being used.

For r1.4 YOU NEED TO GO TO TERMINAL SU THEN "chown system.system /data/app" before you can download from the market!!!! For VK enable under Settings>Locale and Text and Reboot. Also you might as well disable auto backlight it does not work and will not work.

JACMan r1.61 SYMLINK APPS2SD - MD5:F7A5B6E9F74A2E7AEFC0A304B81CDB31
http://www.slackdev.com/justanotherdev/

r1.4 IS SYMLINK APPS2SD BUILD - MD5:3857F96C6503AE1CE1F54E5B98BD78C2
http://www.slackdev.com/justanotherdev/

Widget's/Weather.apk/Hero Audio Resources available here:
Primary Download Site

Step 1 - Install
Mount your SD card on your current ROM
Copy update.zip to the Root of you SD
Power Off the phone
Power on via Recovery Console(Home+Power)
Apply a Wipe - Alt+W
Apply Update - Alt+S
Reboot - Home+Back

Step 2 - APPS2SD: Part 1 Check for a mounted EXT2 SD card partition

If you haven't partitioned your SD card you need stop here and get that completed. Open Terminal and make sure your EXT2 partition is mounted by typing "df" or "mount". You should see you SD card mounted under /system/sd with the its appropriate attributes.

Step 2 - APPS2SD: Part 2 Run APPS2SD

Launch the included APPS2SD or download it from Marcus's tutorial for 1.6 to move apps to a EXT2 partition on your SD card. You wont get any message that its done just wait about 5 minutes and reboot. (you may see some force closes dont worry)

Step 2 - APPS2SD

Configure you SDcard per Marcus's APPS2SD tutorial and boot,use the included .apk to move everything just like 1.4

Step - 3 Enjoy!

Enjoy a COMPLETE fully optimized Hero build that runs plenty smooth for daily use

NOTE - This ROM can be run with or without APPS2SD.

Known Bugs/Issues With ALL Hero Builds(These will be looked at later):
Reboot not permited from terminal.
LED notifications not working.
Home Screen & Lock Screen wallpapers can not be set from gallery.
HTC widget for photo album and photo frame force closes.
No landscape view of home when keyboard is open.
Attach MMS force close

Tip from "buttkicker" to switch between Rosie and the Regular Launcher.apk. No Rosie UI Switcher needed[b]
Just do this on your phone.
- Go to "Settings >> Applications >> Manage applications"
- Scroll and click on "Rosie".
- Click on "Clear defaults"
- Press the home button
- Check the box for "Use by default for this action"
- Select "Home"

If you like this work visit JustanotherDev on Twitter.

JACked Hero - Modified SuperHero with JACHero and Twisted Modifications Version 1 & 2

2009-06-12T05:35:00.000-04:00

This is a revamped version of JACHero, which means it'll just barely work

This is a version of SuperHero with JACHero and Twisted Modifications

Added VoiceSearch and VoiceDial
Redesigned the app / app_s structure
Other random stuff I can't remember

Used the modified .29 boot from cyanogen for aufs with the unionfs.ko

You must use the modified haykuro spl: Download
Download:
Version 1:http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OCNCAPMH
Version 2: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=D2JZFPW8

Follow the Developer:
http://twitter.com/TwistedUmbrella
http://code.google.com/p/cupcake-frosting/

The Dudes Cupcake 1.3 RC1 Released

2009-06-12T05:07:00.000-04:00

The Dude Of Life just released a new rom with the following fixes:

Switched to cyanogens boot for improved kernel/aufs apps2sd method (till i get my kernel worked out with aufs )
Modified a2sd script to mount auto but not automatically convert to ext3
upgrade_fs binary to convert ext2 to ext3
fix_permissions script from cyanogen
New a2sd script from marcus/cyanogen that fixes permissions and doesn't have any issues with installing applications, lack of free space.
Louderv5 from Meltus once he releases it.
Updated libhtc_ril (from hero, should make latitude happy)
hero port theme with green status bars and hero animations (no rosie)
Waiting for new services.jar update with headphone fix...
Moved 3rd party apps / dev apps to separate update.
Added Wiftether 1.51 from http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/
created odex files and removed classes.dex from system apps (won't fit on original spl...working on it..)For a full overview of his rom checkout my review here included all the changes and screenshots!

Click Here to download

Introducing GV - Google Voice App For Android!

2009-06-11T08:22:00.000-04:00

I have been a Google GrandCentral user for over a year, and a few months back Google Voice was released! Before Google Voice was even released Evan Charlton an Android Developer that created successful android apps like FML, Mileage, and G1 Central released GV to the Android Market!

GV is an Android front-end to the Google Voice service.

This application is free and source is available under the Apache 2.0 license.

Easily configured to route all calls from your Android device through Google Voice.
Or selectively dial contacts (or ad-hoc numbers).
Use visual voicemail to listen to, download, delete, or reply to your voicemail messages.
Send SMS messages from your Google Voice number, and receive the(free SMS!)
Browse your call log (placed/missed/received calls) in a visual way.
View Voicemail Transcripts on the Fly before listening to the actual message
Full SMS support (conversations, replying, much better composition view, etc).
Faster loading
Recursive loading of voicemail, call logs, SMS
Delete call log entries
Restored callback dialing. Due to user feedback, I revamped and restored the callback method of initiating a call. This works when calling from GV as well as when GV is set to route all calls through Google Voice.

Version 2.2.3: Introduces Faster loading, voicemail transcripts, *full* SMS capabilities!!!
Added some nice auto-text features on the SMS composition text area and fixed a bug with the unread-checker service (caused when the net connection couldn't find google.com)

Search for "GV" in the market or click here from your Android Device to me directed to the market!
Follow GV Development Here

Cyrket.com - Android Market Browser for your Desktop/Laptop or Netbook!

2009-06-11T07:26:00.000-04:00

Cyrket.com is a nice site that allows you to browse the android market while on your desktop pc, laptop, and netbook. Some of the features I love is that it is easy to search , QR-Codes, app ratings and recent reviews! My favorite is the QR-Code capability, you can simply find an app on Cryket, open the barcode scanner app found in the market on your android device and point it to the QR-Code and your android device will be directed right to the app you found at your desk. Its great for work and to impress friends :) You can even keep up with the latest apps with your favorite RSS reader!

Checkout Cyrket.com

Introducing Twidgit, The First and Best Twitter Widget for Android!

2009-06-11T07:00:00.000-04:00

Its only been a few weeks since cupcake has been released to everyone and Twidgit The very first Twitter widget appeared in the market by a talented 22 year old named Matt Woodfield

Twidgit is A Twitter homescreen widget that updates with your most recent timeline feed,
views the last 20 tweets, allows you to reply to each & set your status in an instant without having a resource intensive app running that slows down your G1

Twidgit Already has great potential to beat the top twitter apps on the market like Twitdroid, Twit2go, and a few others.

It looks like Twidgit 1.1.6 was removed off the market anticipating a new 1.1.7 release!

Matt just posted this announcement on Twitter!

Here is 1.1.6 if you want to check it out, download like any other app within your G1 browser and install, and longpress your homescreen->Widget->Twidgit Lite
IMPORTANT If updating, please remove existing widget from home screen before install

[EDIT] Lite 1.1.7 released to the android market. Update includes text correction, char counter & tweet timestamps. More coming soon…

Click Here From your Android Device to Download
More info Here
Follow the Developer on Twitter

Tweak Android for Performance, and increase battery by Saving Power Usage with Sysctl!

2009-06-11T05:17:00.000-04:00

For the last couple of days I have been looking at the android os and am trying to find a few ways to optimize performance and increase battery life on the G1. I have found a few sysctl commands that you can expiriment with and let me know the results.

When echoing in the following sysctl settings they do not remain after reboot, so we can adb remount then create a sysctl.conf file on our pc's with these settings, then ./adb push sysctl.conf /etc/ then the kernel should apply the settings every reboot

For examples of a sysctl.conf use google: Sysctl.conf Examples

Open a Terminal and Execute these commands as root

Tweak virtual memory to conserve power when running on battery:

echo 0 > /proc/sys/vm/swappiness #can be ignored if you dont use swap
echo 0 > /proc/sys/vm/dirty_expire_centisecs #can be ignored if you dont use swap
echo 0 > /proc/sys/vm/dirty_writeback_centisecs #can be ignored if you dont use swap
echo 60 > /proc/sys/vm/dirty_background_ratio
echo 95 > /proc/sys/vm/dirty_ratio

Tweak virtual memory for running on Charger:

echo 0 > /proc/sys/vm/swappiness #can be ignored if you dont use swap
echo 3000 > /proc/sys/vm/dirty_expire_centisecs #can be ignored if you dont use swap
echo 500  > /proc/sys/vm/dirty_writeback_centisecs #can be ignored if you dont use swap
echo 10   > /proc/sys/vm/dirty_background_ratio
echo 40   > /proc/sys/vm/dirty_ratio

Detecting apps/services that hog the battery/cpu:
Also while on battery, you should stop all applications that don't really stay idle when you're not using them, if you want to find which apps arent really staying idle you can:

strace -p $(pidof yourapp) # for all your running applications
ps aux | awk '{print$10,$11}' | sort -n # will list all running softs sorted by used cpu time

Additional Tweaks:
By default when Linux runs out of memory it goes through the process list and starts killing off processes that it thinks are using too much memory. This sysctl makes Linux kill the runaway process that made the system run out of memory instead, which is usually what you want.(this will also reduce cpu time and increase battery usage).
sysctl -w vm.oom_kill_allocating_task=1

vfs_cache_pressure to 10 , gives more mem to cache fs dentry and inode to save cpu
At the default value of vfs_cache_pressure = 100 the kernel will attempt to reclaim dentries and inodes at a "fair" rate with respect to pagecache and swapcache reclaim. Decreasing vfs_cache_pressure causes the kernel to prefer to retain dentry and inode caches. Increasing vfs_cache_pressure beyond 100 causes the kernel to prefer to reclaim dentries and inodes.
sysctl -w vm.vfs_cache_pressure=10
You may also try setting this to 200 and see if you notice a difference with battery life and app startup times.

There is an in depth discussion over these tweaks over at XDA, feel free to join in if you have any comments or suggestions Here