Continue reading »]]> Rooting.  What is it?  Why does it seem so popular? Should I root my phone?  What happens if I do?  These are several very good questions, so let’s get right into them.

Rooting is a term describing a method of circumventing limitations placed upon your Android phone by the carriers (to prevent certain actions/services which may cause them loss of income), which gives you complete Administrator access to your phones OS enabling to you to add/remove/modify to your hearts desire.

Rooting seems to be the hot topic with Android phones.  There are hundreds of posts by people that have performed the modification; dozens of developers creating custom ROMs to run in place of the stock software.  It can be compared to “jailbreaking” an iPhone.  The main difference is that rooting opens up the complete Android OS.  There are claims of amazing performance improvements.  Better battery life.  Additional features.  Sounds too good to be true, right?  Well there is a catch.

The biggest and most important one is YOU CAN IRREPARABLY DAMAGE (BRICK) YOUR PHONE.  Now, there are several very good instructional forums, and even videos on the process.  If you follow one of those, you shouldn’t have any problems but always backup your phone first!  The second catch and almost as important is ROOTING WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY!!  So if you are concerned about getting service for your phone, then maybe rooting is not for you.

The most pertinent question is “Should you root your phone?”  I don’t believe there is a definitive answer.  My opinion is this:  If you are happy with your phone as is, then no.  If you are NOT happy with your phones performance, or are a gadget head who tweaks everything you own, or are just curious and think it’s worth the risk, then go for it.  There is lots of help to be had on the Net.  Almost every scenario you could run into has been discussed in depth on multiple forums.

What happens when you root depends on what ROM you load.  There are many variations of ROMs out there.  A ROM is software containing a modified version of the OS.  The best way to figure out which ROM is best for you is to check out the forums and ask questions.  Or, you could be really adventurous and just experiment.  I recommend the first option.

Some good references:

LifeHacker

The UnLockr

On a personal level, I have been debating this since I purchased my Hero.  The claims of better battery life and faster performance make the process very tempting.  On the other hand, the caveats of voiding the warranty, possibly bricking my phone, and having to possibly un-root my phone for any service calls or OTA (over the air) updates keeps me from leaping into the fray.  I continue to research and evaluate.  If and when I decide to root, I will document the process for the readers here.

I would love to hear from any of you, especially Hero owners, that have rooted.  Tell me your favorite ROM and why, and what process you used to root!  Till next time…

Ciao!

About Me…

I’m a complete and total card carrying techno-geek and proud of it.  LOL!  I’m also a father of a beautiful young lady who is turning into a techophile in her own right.  I have been into technology ever since I had my first computer, a TRS-80.  It was love at first sight!

I am into everything from computers, game consoles, handheld devices and everything in between. My current passion is wireless tech and cellphones.

So basically, my blog is about technology I find interesting, how it affects my life, and my life in general.  Sound interesting?  I hope so.  Ciao!

My Tech Life

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If I could keep time in a bottle… But alas, all good things must eventually come to an end, and so has this series of articles.

I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of Brenda Cares Corner.  I have received much insight and will continue to be an avid reader.  Unfortunately, due to real world time constraints, I am unable to continue my articles in a timely manner.  Rather than let the quality of my work slip, I have decided to pull the plug on this endeavor.

I thank all of my readers for their support, and I hope they will continue to support Brenda and her staff.

Thanks again for reading and God Bless!  Ciao!

Continue reading »]]> When the average owner of a Smartphone thinks of ways to improve his experience with his device, the keyboard isn’t usually his first thought.  Personally, it wouldn’t have even been my fifth, six, or even fifteenth thought.  Enter Android…

Android, with is open structure and customizability, has opened those hitherto unthought-of avenues of customizing (And yes, I said “hitherto”. Deal with it. Lol).  We have choices!  One of those choices is in our on-screen keyboard.

Now this may not be that big of a deal to those of you with hardware keyboards on your phones, but to those of use without them, it is HUGE!  We live and die by our on-screen keyboards.  Since almost the inception of Android phones, there have been replacement keyboards.  Up until this point I have never really given them any thought.  Frankly, the built in keyboard of my phone (HTC Hero w/ Sense) was just fine.  It is a bit cramped in portrait mode, but is very useable in landscape.  I can thumb type at a fairly decent rate on it.

Back in March I saw a developer asking for signups to beta test a keyboard app.  I signed up just because, and promptly forgot about it.  Until last week, when I received an email from said developer informing me the beta had been released, and would I please download and install it.  So I did.

The app in question is called Swype.  It has totally changed the way I use my phone.  How?  Swype has made it possible for me to text, one handed, faster than I ever could by thumb typing!  You enter text by sliding your thumb or finger over the keyboard and hitting the letters that compose your word.  The recognition engine is phenomenal.  You don’t really even have to be that accurate in your sliding, Lol. I find that Swype accurately guesses my words approximately 95% of the time which is amazing!  Every time I demo it to someone, they are like “Wow!  Where’d you get that?” They want it.  Then I have to crush their bubble and tell them it’s Android only, which of course is my opening into my “why you should have an Android phone” dialogue.

Bottom line, get this app the moment it becomes available.  If it’s not free, trust me it will be worth the price.  Your thumbs will thank you for it!

Ciao!

My Tech Life

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Living the Android Life

Taking a break from the usual oh-so-informative (no snickers) articles I usually write to just chat with readers.  So grab whatever coffee concoction you drink, pull up a chair and let’s talk Android!

What’s new in Android?  Well frankly, a lot!  First of all, there was the delivery (finally!) of v2.1 to Samsung Moment and HTC Hero owners after what seemed an eternity of push backs and false promises!  If you have either of these phones you are doing yourself a great disfavor if you haven’t upgraded yet; definitely worth the trouble.  Did I say trouble?  Yes, unfortunately all is not well in paradise.  There is nothing that makes me regret the upgrade, yet, but annoying nonetheless.  I’ve experienced intermittent random freeze ups, occasional app crashes (where I had almost none before), occasional sluggish performance when entering text.  But, the gains from the upgrade still outweigh the annoyances Mucho Grande!  I’ll delve more into that in a separate post.

Next, v2.2.  What, already?  Yep.  Doesn’t make much sense to me either but hey, what do I know? I’m just a consumer right?  So anyway, v2.2 is looking awesome!  The specs on the phones that have been announced running v2.2 are incredible (pun intended)!  Wait for it…. Wait for it…. Bam!  You knew there was a monkey wrench coming right?  Well the rumor is that handsets originally running v1.5 thru v1.6 will NOT be getting upgraded past v2.1.  Now is hasn’t been officially confirmed, but it makes sense.  I mean the Hero’s hardware JUST barely handles v2.1.  It would totally choke on v2.2.  So if you want the latest Android version, you need to….

Upgrade your phone!  Have you seen the new set of Androids hitting the stores?  They are incredible (yeah I know I used this joke already, work with me…)!  The top two contenders in my book are the HTC Incredible and the HTC Evo; Verizon and Sprint respectively.  My personal favorite is the Evo.  This is the God phone of the current crop.  Largest screen, one of the fastest processors, dual cams, v2.2, I mean seriously!  I plan on obtaining the Evo next month and my faithful Hero will pass down to my daughter, who is the repository for my entire “tech.”

What else is hot for Android?  iPhone OS 4.0!  Nope, not a typo.  I mean it.  Seriously, think about it.  Apple couldn’t have timed the reveal of 4.0 better.  With Apple showcasing all their “improvements” it just brings into glaring light, the fact that they are just now doing what Android has done from day one!  Multitasking (kind of. It’s still not true multitasking), folders, still no flash.  It does look sweet, but that’s what Apple excels at: making beautiful, polished, functionally reduced products that appeal to the consumer mass.  But I digress.

Android is moving and shaking things up.  I’m glad I chose Android for my Smartphone.  Aren’t you?

Ciao!

My Tech Life

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Living the Android Life

One of the coolest aspects of my Hero is the GPS.  I love the way it interacts with many apps seamlessly to increase their accuracy and even their functionality; of course, having it on does decrease battery life, sometimes significantly.  I’m going to delve into a couple of my favorite apps that use GPS.

The first app is one that gets a lot of flack.  Frankly I think most of it is a bleed over from hatred of all things Sprint!  (That is understandable as I have a distinct love/hate relationship with Sprint.) I’m talking about Sprint Navigation.  Love this app.  It does exactly what it is supposed to do.  Get me from point A to point B.  It does it smoothly and with a little bit of pizazz.  And it came free with the phone, what more could you ask?

After the initialization (which can be slow depending on your relative location to GPS satellites), Sprint Nav is very simple and straightforward to use.  All you have to do is enter your destination, choose “navigation”, and you’re on your way.  It directs you in real time, vocally.  The voice, by the way, is a pleasant female version that is easy to understand, even with the music playing.  Another cool feature is that the display actually shows your position on a realtime map so you can actually see upcoming exits, turns, etc.  It performs very similar to popular GPS devices such as the Tomtom.

The second app is the new Google Navigator.  It is basically the same type of app as the Sprint Navigation, but it takes advantage of the power boost and features of the Android v2.1 upgrade.  This means that it’s not available for phones using v1.6 or lower.  Navigator also has more options:

• Footprints – a neat way to record a road trip or a vacation.  You can store pics, places of interest, and such.
• Navigation – the actual GPS portion
• Voice search – self-explanatory right? Lol
• Search – no voice? Search the manual way…
• View Map – like having an old school fold out map in your phone.
• Make Call – just what it says.  Just convenient, so you don’t have to drop out of the app to make a call.

Navigator is pretty slick, but it’s got too much going on for my use.  It’s also not as easy to use as Sprint Navigation.  But it is a great app that I am sure I will utilize at some point; especially the Footprints option.  Use it like travel journal.

Nutshell…. If you want an easy to use, simple GPS app, go with Sprint Navigation.  If you want a slick, option rich app, check out Google Navigator.  Either one will get you there.  It’s up to you how!

Ciao!

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Living the Android Life

If you pay even the slightest attention to technology news, you’d know that the hottest topic right now is the iPad.  Now wait a second, don’t leave just yet.  This article isn’t about the iPad.  It’s about the “new” or should I say revived genre of computing that the popularity [say what you will, can't deny the iPad is a hot product right now] of the iPad has turbo boosted!  More specifically, how this genre is affecting the future of Android.

Android, from the beginning, was designed to power mobile devices.  Smart phones are just the beginning.  Mobile computing devices were always in the “vision”.  But until the surprising success of the iPad, the focus was primarily on the net book/mini notebook segment.  There hasn’t really been a serious contender in the slate genre.  Microsoft was always expected to be the one to create the first successful touch screen slate computer.  They have made a few close attempts but nothing close to the iPad.

Enter Android.  Already, there are maybe a dozen working production models of tablet/slate computers running various incarnations of Android.  The iPad has only been out a few months!  True enough that the majority of these “Android pads” are being produced by the kings of knock offs in China.  Does that make them any less impressive or useable?  Unfortunately, in a lot of cases it does.  The companies [the knock off guys] rush to get their counterfeit to the market before their competitors do.  Hence not a lot is done in the R&D phase of product development.  The end result is a half baked product that frankly is a piece of crap.  Take my advice, don’t buy knock offs.  Seriously.  Unless you just have disposable income and want to send one to me for review.

On the flip side of that coin, there are a few legitimate companies that are making real contenders to the iPad.  Below are a couple that may see production, or are currently in production.

Archos, HP, and Dell are some of the companies with slates in development and/or production.  I’m excited about this.  An ultra portable, touch screen computing device that runs Android?  I would buy one, but probably not a first generation device.  Any Android pad has already got some big shoes to fill.  Not to say they can’t be filled, but the iPad is a tough act to follow.  Good news is from what I’ve seen so far, the manufacturers are on the right track!

Pros I’ve seen on models so far: upgradable storage, USB, cameras, replaceable batteries.  These are all things that an Android pad will have to have to be successful in my opinion.  These are non- negotiable for me.

Cons so far: small screens, ugly aesthetics, old versions of Android (1.6? Seriously?), low end specifications or processors, small built in storage.  The iPad has a 9.8″ screen.  The average Android pad (so far) has a 7.6″ screen roughly.  Yes this will make a difference as currently this genre of device is primarily used as a media consumption unit.  Movies, music, Internet and the bigger the screen, the better.  The processors have been around the 600Mhz range, which isn’t turtle slow, but next to an iPad would look like it.  To the manufacturers, guys take a cue from Apple [gasp] and spend some time on how the product looks!  Please.

I’m really looking forward to having one of these devices, as long as they live up to their potential.  Apple makes a beautiful product, but Android has the ability to blow them away!

Is anyone else getting a de ja vu starring Microsoft and Palm, circa early 90′s?  Just me?  Fine.

Ciao!

My Tech Life

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Living the Android Life

I do a lot of web surfing on my phone.  Heck that’s one of the primary reasons I went with a smart phone, the ability to access the web in a “useable” fashion.  My Android phone does this pretty decently.  The built in web browser displays the mobile versions of most pages without hiccup.  I said most pages.  And what if I don’t really want to look at the “mobile” version of the site?  Well folks, we have options!

What are those options?  I’m talking about three very good ones in particular:  Dolphin, Opera Mini, and Skyfire.  These are all web browser alternatives that are available for all versions of Android.  Yes including v1.5.  I’ll be discussing each one separately for comparison [you know how we do right?].

Dolphin was the first alternative browser I came across.  I saw a pretty good send up of it on a blog somewhere, so I downloaded it.  It turned out to be a very good choice.  Dolphin is my “default” browser now.  It handles pretty much every page I thrown at it.  It’s decently fast and easy to navigate.  Pressing the menu button brings up all of the functions.  Dolphins’ home page is also loaded with useful links.  I use it as my homepage.  I’m able to subscribe to RSS.  I also can “save” pages for reading offline.  Haven’t tried that function as of yet, so I’m not sure how well it works.  You can also share pages via several social sights including Facebook, Twitter, and Gmail.  Pages are displayed tabbed for easy navigating. Overall it’s a solid browsing experience.

Opera Mini is an old favorite of mine from many platforms (Windows, Playstation Portable, Palm, etc.)  That being the case, my expectations were set pretty high for it when I heard it had been released for Android.  I think maybe too high.  Not to say Opera Mini is a bad browser.  It’s actually a pretty good one.  It just doesn’t deliver the Opera experience I have grown accustomed to. First the pros:  Its decently fast, displays actual web pages, not the mobile versions, fairly easy to navigate (operates like a desktop browser for the most part), and page zoom via double-tap.  Opera was my “go to” browser when I wanted to see the actual web site, not the mobile. It handles online forms decently.  Sometimes data entry can be sketchy but usually it’s doable. The cons:  can’t set as default browser.  No idea why.  Otherwise it would replace Dolphin for me.

My current favorite browser is Skyfire.  It’s fast, clean, tabbed, has everything that Opera Mini has.  I love the interface on Skyfire.  It is just more intuitive for me.  Did I mention its fast?  In my tests it is definitely faster than Dolphin, and a bit faster than Opera Mini.  But then again, we are talking smartphones here so does a second or two really matter that much?  Another feature I like is the explore button.  Bored?  Hit the explore button.  Skyfire also handles video in the browser great!  Of course, just as I was typing that, the video I was watching crashed. LOL!  Now without sounding like a fan boy, I have to say that Skyfire is arguably the best alternative browser available to all versions of Android.

Now these are just my opinions.  As always I recommend you download them and have your own experiences.  You may not agree with me!  Then again, you may… great minds do think alike. LOL!

Ciao!

My Tech Life

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Living the Android Life

It’s an assumed fact that the majority of smartphone users are currently users of Twitter.  So it stands to reason, that the majority of Android users are Tweeters, right? Yeah, I know that street corner logic is skewed at best but I’m gonna run with it.  It’s my post.

So that being the topic, I thought I’d share with you a few of my favorite Twitter apps.  I like them all for different reasons, and it should give you a decent overview of what’s out there.

My current app of choice is Hootsuite.  I like it primarily because it performs almost all of the same functions as my desktop application (Tweekdeck/Hootsuite).

My Tech Life

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Living the Android Life

Actually, that’s just what the apps I’m talking about in today’s post do, waste time.  In a good way.  Work with me here…

What I’m talking about are games.  I was perusing my previous articles for this column and I noticed one subject I hadn’t really touched on yet; entertainment.  So I picked a couple of my favorite games to share with you.  Yes, I know “entertainment” covers much more than just games, but I’m starting with games because almost everyone has at least one game on their phone, right?

Splat!: Bugs II – this game is perfect for killing time while waiting for anything.  I hate waiting for appointments, in lines, in traffic [DON’T TEXT AND DRIVE], where ever.  This app is one of those pick it up and just play games.  No crazy setup or long intro, and practically zero learning curve!  What do you do? Why you smash bugs!  That’s it!  Crush the little buggers!  The better you do, the more they come.  It’s like a never ending infestation, LOL. The graphics are decent and the sound effects are very squishy.

2 Player Reactor – This one is one of the cool 2 player games.  Perfect for while you’re waiting on your food at a slow restaurant or your drinks at a boring bar.  It is reminiscent of the old Simon electronic game in that it tells you what to do/look for and then you have to beat your opponent in doing it. You might think the screen on your phone is too small for a 2 player game, but surprisingly it’s really not an issue on my Hero.  There is plenty of room to comfortably play and not have to sit with our foreheads plastered together in heated competition!  Once again, just press and play.  No setup, no learning curve.  Perfect.

Jewels – This game is one of the many “Bejeweled” type clones flooding all the app stores lately. The difference is that this one is pretty good.  Not as good as Bejeweled [yeah I’m biased] of course but it is probably the best clone in the Android Market.  Plus it’s FREE.  Can’t beat Free with a stick!™ [that’s mine, don’t steal it, LOL].  The play is very similar.  Make linear combos of 3 jewels or more to clear them off the board.  Combos of 4 or 5 get bonuses.  It’s actually a very simple, addicting game.  Easy to kill an hour and not even realize it.  I play it during my oil changes and it seems like they only take about 5 minutes!

Bubbles – If you are ever stuck somewhere with a bored but fairly well behaved small child [why is that the exception and not the norm? Sorry, don’t get me started, LOL.] this “game” is perfect for occupying their time for a few blessed moments!  It’s really only a game in the loosest of terms.  There are no points, no goals and no obstacles to over come.  It’s basically the digital equivalent of blowing bubbles.  That’s it.  It’s pretty fascinating though.  I have to admit, I’ve found myself playing with it on a really slow day, LOL.

SO those are a few apps that you should download and explore when you have some time to waste.  I know in today’s world, time is precious, but hey, if you cant waste a moment or two, then what’s all the hard work for?

Ciao!

My Tech Life

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Living the Android Life

I don’t know about you, but I’m excited about the future of Android.  There is just so much potential to really become the ultimate mobile platform.  From cell phones and mobile computing devices, to automobiles and appliances it’s not that big of a stretch to envision all of those run by some version of Android.  WinCE (Windows Compact Ed.) originally had a large foothold in many of those sectors, but stagnation has that lead significantly lessening.  Android is the most able successor, even with its fragmentation issues.  Apple is too proprietary and Palm, well… if they could just pull their act together they could be a real contender.

One of the things I’m most excited about currently is the new crop of Android phones hitting the market!  Now my regular readers know that I currently own a HTC Hero and I love that phone (I almost feel funny calling it a “phone” as it is so much more.)   But as we all know, time marches on and technology continues to innovate!  So it’s inevitable that I will eventually move on to a new handset.  Oh man the choices, THE CHOICES!!!

Where do I start?  First I’ll say that this info was gleaned from many sources so its reliability varies.  That means that not every device I mention here will see the light of day.  Also, unless indicated, it is assumed that these phones will be released running the latest version of Android.  I’ll indicate the ones that have been “confirmed” where I can.  Good enough?  Then let’s take a look at the ones that I think are the most interesting!  Let’s roll!

Dell Mini 3 a.k.a. Dell Aero

AT&T

3.5” Touch screen 360×640 resolution

5MP cam

Supports Flash Lite

Integrated GPS

-      This one interests me for 2 reasons.  One, its made by Dell.  Anyone who’s had anything to do with computers in the last 15 years knows Dells reputation.  Two, its supports Flash Lite right out of the box!  I’m hoping that means it will support web based flash media.  AT least that is what Adobe appears to be saying it will do.

HTC Droid Incredible

Verizon

3.7” WVGA OLED Touch screen 480×800 Resolution

8MP cam w/ auto focus

8GB Internal Memory

1Ghz Snapdragon processor

Sense UI

GPS

-      This one sounds, well, incredible!  From the huge screen, large memory, to the blazing processor!  This is like the Hero’s bigger, smarter, better looking brother, LOL.  My only hesitation is that it’s on Verizon, otherwise this would be a done deal for me.  I love HTC products, and to be honest I think the Sense UI is the best Android front end out there (I’m sorry but Motoblur is a hot mess!).

HTC Evo 4G

Sprint Nextel

4.3” WVGA Capacitive Touch screen 480×800 resolution

8MP cam w/ auto focus

1GB Internal Memory (comes with 8GB SD card)

1Ghz Snapdragon processor

Sense UI

GPS

- This is the phone I will most likely purchase.  It has very similar specifications to the Droid Incredible, plus a larger screen.  The only caveat is having only 1GB ROM, which isn’t a deal breaker for me.  Plus it’s a Sprint phone and I am currently on Sprint so it would be an easy upgrade.  It just looks good.  Oh and is has WiMax.

There are a few more models out there by Motorola, Samsung, and others but they are pretty much low to mid range mass consumer items that frankly are not up to snuff.  Of course that’s just my opinion.  Feel free to disagree!  In the meantime, I’m going to be picking out my next phone!

Ciao!

My Tech Life

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