text:
Is there a way to use bit.ly account when shortening links in Twitter app?
I have a bit.ly account, and I want to be able to track my shortened links. However, using the Twitter, it allows me to choose what shortening I use, but I can't seem to find an option to have any shortened links linked to my bit.ly account.
I know that my twitpic account is used to upload pictures (and I've set twitpic as the default), but I want to know if there is a way to do this with bit.ly

I don't think there is a way in the Twitter app, but if you really want that functionality, Seesmic has it.

Oooh, sessmic! I thought that was only for rooted phones! Cheers for that!

A word of advice: it's terribly slow. At least on my Galaxy S.

And HootSuite has their ow.ly shortener
See other options @ comparison of twitter apps


text:
How do I set Google Latitude to auto-update with location regularly?
When I use Google Maps it sets my Google Latitude location, but once I turn Maps off it stops. I'd like it to update with my location on a regular basis. I don't want to drain the battery by always using the GPS, but it'd be nice if it updated, say, every half hour or so.

I found this from the Google Mobile Help forum after a little searching. It's from 8/15/09 so I actually see something a little different on my phone Settings > Location > Google Location Services. I haven't tested it but hope it helps.
Quoting the site:

Hi everyone, Apologies for not
  updating this thread specifically
  sooner. There is a new version
  available in Android Market (version
  3.1.2). Just search for "Google Maps" if you have at least the 1.5 system
  update (Cupcake) and install this over
  your current version of Maps.
Please let me know if you experience
  background location updating issues
  with this version. As long as you have
  enabled automatic location detection
  in the Latitude privacy menu and have
  enabled location detection (Settings >
  Security & location > Use wireless
  networks), Latitude should update your
  location while your phone is on. This
  means your location should never
  appear older than ~1 hour to any of
  your friends.
Thank you all for your patience! Chris

Using Latify, you can configure location updates using a specific interval. It will syncup with Google Latitude using either GPS or WIFI at the defined interval, even when the application is not running.

Just downloaded Latify - looks really neat!

Check out Backitude. It takes over the Latitude updating for you. Good reviews.

source: Stack Exchange

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

sort: votes


text:
Voice Control for Android 2.1
I have a Bluetooth speakerphone for my car (BlueAnt). It uses a phone's built in voice control. When I try to use it, it says that voice control is not supported by my phone (AT&T Samsung Captivate, Android 2.1). Is there a way I can get voice control (over Bluetooth) on my phone?

I believe that feature was added with Android 2.2 as my Moto Droid recently got the ability to do that.  Unfortunately, I believe you are out of luck until AT&T pushes an update to your phone, unless you are willing to install a non-standard ROM.

I don't think there is a Froyo ROM available. I was hoping for a work-a-round. Oh well, thanks!

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/


text:
How do I sideload, i.e. install non-market apps, on at&t phones?
I'd like to try out some Android beta software I found online, but when I tried installing it on the device I got a message that said that installing non-market apps has been disabled for security reasons. Can I bypass/disable this restriction? I am using the at&t Captivate (Samsung Galaxy S) with Android 2.1.

No need to load a custom ROM. You have two paths possible -- You can simply use special software on your PC to sideload apps or you can do some edits to the configuration databases on the phone to bypass the block permanently.
This page covers both methods -- http://samsungcaptivate.wikia.com/wiki/How_to_Sideload

If don't want to root you can use
http://www.androidcentral.com/sideload-android-apps-all-you-want-sideload-wonder-machine
Its much easier than side loading with adb

The first step is to root your device:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=739304
Then you'll want to try out some custom ROMs. That thread recommends using ROM Manager from the Market. I would start there.

Yeah, don't need to root; you can use Android Central Sideload Wonder Machine, to side-load from your PC as Saiboogu stated.


text:
Are there any ways to prevent 'com.htc.bg force close' issues?
I have a HTC Legend, and on occasion, I get an error "Process com.htc.bg has stopped unexpectedly".
According to other forums, this could be caused by issues with internet connectivity relating to updating Facebook contacts.
I have removed the syncing of Facebook all together (only syncs when I force it to), but I am still getting these errors.
Has anyone else worked out what is causing these issues, and how to resolve it? The processing crashing is usually just a popup, the process restarts ok without any issue, but on occasion the entire thing locks up, restarts, or the home screen reloads (as if coming from a restart)

I have also experienced this problem with an Exchange account.  My solution was to remove the account completely and re-add it.

I don't have a Legend, nor HTC, but some googling turned these out:

http://androidforums.com/htc-droid-eris/59163-process-com-htc-bg-has-stopped-unexpectedly-please-try-again-wtf.html
http://www.incredibleforum.com/forum/htc-incredible-help/224-error-message-com-htc-bg.html

apparently it's related to Facebook Sync.

I have found this as well. After the first few syncs and a few restarts, the issue has not occurred again.

I had this while using "go launcher ex notifications" seems it was running two notifications at the same time, made a conflict, so I uninstalled and it seems fine. HTC desire.


text:
Prevent Browser From Obscuring Page
The default browser (at least on HTC Sense) has this annoying habit of sliding the address bar down over the top portions of websites while the page is loading. After the page loads, the address bar is still there but it doesn't cover anything anymore. This is particularly annoying on sites like stackoverflow where it perfectly covers the top navigation area. Any way to make it stop?
More Information:
I wasn't aware of this before but this behavior is due to the fact that the phone's status bar decides to make itself visible while a page is loading. The amount of page covered is equal to the height of the status bar. This has to be a bug. Either the status bar isn't supposed to become visible or the height calculations don't take it into account -- the page needs to be shifted down by address_bar_height + status_bar_height.

Not a solution for this problems specifically, but have you tried using StackMobile? It's a mobile-friendly ubersite for all Stack Exchange sites.


text:
"My Calendar" and "PC Sync" -- How to Delete?
These two (empty) calendars appear in the list of calendars inside the stock calendar app (at least on HTC Sense setups). I'm not entirely sure what they are but they are both unused and cluttering things up. I know I can hide them but is there anyway to just make them gone? When I select Remove Calendars, they don't show up in the list.
Why would anyone want to sync a calendar to a PC anyway? That's the big advantage to a cloud calendar like Google's...
More Information:
I have installed HTC's desktop Sync app (not for syncing, for development related things).

PC Sync appears regardless of whether you have installed the sync app

You can't delete them but you can uncheck them so no information from them shows in the calendar.
Many folks are still using Outlook for calendaring and need the ability to sync with the desktop.

That must be an HTC Sense thing; no such calendars ever existed on my Droid.
It doesn't look like you'll be able to get rid of them short of rooting your phone.

For calendars. Go to the calendar. touch any day. then hit menu. then hit more. then select calendars. then un-check facebook. (at least one calendar has to be selected btw. it took off all the birthdays.
for contacts. hit people. hit menu. select view. then check just phone.
however when you search some things. facebook contacts somehow still are searched. So i dont know how to remove them COMPLETELY.
thanks to Micah Reuben Charles Perez
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=15423&post=112530&uid=41158896424#!/topic.php?uid=41158896424&topic=15423


text:
3G Radio Always on When Screen On?
According to JuicePlotter, my HTC Evo's 3G radio is always on when the screen is on -- even when doing absolutely nothing.  I tested this by turning the brightness down to 1 and opening the settings menu and just leaving it there.  The screen was set to never shut off.  I got pretty significant battery drain.
I ask because I want to improve my battery life when reading downloaded books with the Kindle app.  It seems to me that the radio should be in sleep mode when not in use.  I'd rather not switch to airplane mode because I'd still like to receive calls/texts.
To clarify:

I have a strong signal at all times
When the screen is off, JuicePlotter says the radio is off (and the battery lasts practically forever)
When in airplane mode with the screen on, JuicePlotter says the radio is off (duh) and the battery life is much better.
Android reports that my display only consumes between 5 and 10% of power
Android reports that Cell Standby consumes 30% (and that's with great signal)

I think these tests demonstrate that the display itself is not the problem, the radio is.  So again the question is:  why does the radio use so much power when the screen is on but it's not being used?

Are you referring to the FM radio or 3G radio or Wi-Fi?

I clarified (3G radio)

Good question. I didn't realize how nuanced this behavior was. Thanks for asking. Hope this can be solved.

With cdma phones the data and voice use the same radio. Its going to run all the time anyway because its constantly syncing data, towers, location... If you want to stop it without turning off voice you should turn off the apn. Doing this will not put your radio to sleep but it will reduce your power consumption.  Check into apndroid or quick settings, and tasker to set triggers and automation.

But it is off when the screen is off (yet of course it still receives voice calls, SMS, and syncs).  When the screen is off, the radio only turns on once every half an hour or so for approximately 1 minute. I have carefully set up syncing so that it only syncs at most once an hour.

Are you using juice defender? If so have you run the tests w/ out it enabled? Juice defender by default sets the apn to turn on with the screen.  I'm not sure what the default behavior of the evo is w/o jd enabled. Either way, managing the apn will take care of the issue. You may need to disable jd if you can't tweak the settings to stop the screen trigger. I couldn't figure out how to stop that trigger w/o causing other problems. I recomend using tasker to set triggers, for ex. Have it turn off the apn when you open kindle. You can actually get more specific than that if you need.

+1 I will definitely try this.  I don't use JD though, just the plotter.  And I think I have my terminology wrong.  It seems I should have been saying APN instead of 3G radio.

At the very least if you use the quick settings app you can manually toggle the APN with just a few clicks.

@colithium You misunderstand what is going on.  The radio is active for brief period of time keeping updated with the towers any time that it is not in airplane mode.  What you are thinking of is waking up the application processor periodically to make checks which the radio processor cannot accomplish by itself.

The radio is not "on" all the time.  Just as in any other cellphone, it makes very brief contacts to the towers to update its registration with the network; this consumes a small amount of power, but the power management design of the radio and the coprocessor which runs it are pretty well done, so it can power up the circuity it needs just long enough and then power it back down again.  Without that we wouldn't be getting multi-day battery life even from simple candy bar phones.
The screen in a smartphone itself consumes some power, but any any time the screen is on, the application processor - which runs linux and android - is also going to be on, and that consumes a lot of power compared to keeping the radio processor registered on the network but not actively exchanging data.  With the screen off and nothing holding wakelocks, the application processor can try to go to sleep, and only wake up every few minutes to make quick checks.  That's where your real power savings comes from, and yes, scheduling more or less frequent email polling can change this.

This is what it's probably supposed to do.  However, like I said, there is a huge difference between having airplane mode on vs. off.  That rules out the processor and screen battery drain.

@colithium - by enabling airplane mode, you discourage anything that wants to use the network from periodically running.  But yes, as in any cell phone, being registered with the network is going to consume some average power over time.  That does not mean the radio is "on" - it just means that it turns on for a tiny timeslice fairly frequently to stay in touch - a far more efficient process than the application CPU trying to wake up and do anything.


text:
How do I root my HTC Hero?
I'm tired of waiting for my Android 2.1 update to arrive, so I've decided to root my HTC Hero.
Any direction as to how I should do this?
Note: I actually have a T-Mobile branded version, so I do need some workaround because it doesn't let itself be unlocked as easily as vanilla HTC Heros.

There are good tutorials for that over at RootzWiki.

See here:
http://rootmydroid.co.uk/guides/hero/howto-root-your-htc-hero/
Like you, I got fed up with waiting for OTA upgrade from Orange. Using VillainRom 12, which is brilliant. No regrets!

Perhaps you could add a short summary of the steps to take in general. Note: I switched to ChocolatEclair, like it a bit better than VillainRom

UniversalAndroot - Awesome tool that is EXTREMELY! easy. I used it for my Sprint HTC Hero all I did was download the .apk at the bottom of the post, put it on my sdcard. Ran it off my SDCard via Estrong File Explorer and it rooted my device perfectly. After it roots, run Rom Manager and install the ClockWorkMod Recovery Screen. After that, find the ROM you want to flash.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=747598
Good luck!

I was able to root mine with the unrevoked tool. (Sprint HTC Hero w/2.1)

The second half of the first post in this XDA thread tells you how you can root your current firmware.  Basically you just use z4root:

Download z4root from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=833953
Install and run z4root, click Permanent Root
Let it run until it says it has completed
Ensure you see Superuser in your app drawer

Thanks a bunch!  I had been looking for a site with instructions for my version but for some reason didn't find that one!  I'll give it a try this weekend!


text:
What are the main differences between Android and iPhone implementations of application multitasking?
What are the main differences between Android and iPhone implementations of multitasking at the application level?
(Let's not turn this into a subjective fanboy argument please?)

This is not an answer to your question, but it's worth clarifying that both operating systems are fully multitasking [1] under the hood (insofar as they can and do run multiple processes).
Your question is clearly about application-level multitasking ("can I leave one application running while using another?"), which is a relatively new use of the term, and isn't always well-defined, even if it does have some obvious examples (like listening to Pandora while reading email).  Specifically, many applications don't need to run in the background in order to present themselves to the user as if they had never stopped running, so long as they save/restore their state.  Applications which must perform periodic operations (like checking mail or popping up alarms) don't need to run continuously in the background either; they can invoked occasionally by the OS.  The big issue is usually applications which need constant CPU while in the background, like Pandora.
In general, Apple has worked much harder to discourage or prevent continuously-running background applications, whereas Android seems more open to it.  But they are converging, as Apple allows apps like Pandora to run in the background and Android provides richer tools to discourage needless background tasks when polling or saved state would suffice.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_multitasking

Good point.  I'll edit my question.

As far as I can tell.
The iPhone multitasking is much more restricted. The multitasked activity must be one of the following:

Background audio
VoIP
Background location
Push notifications
Local notifications
Task completion
Fast app switching

[Thanks Gizmodo!]
Android, on the other hand, allows for true multitasking in a similar way to a PC.
Before I get accused of being an Android fanboi, let me explain something. The iPhone multitasking model is more than sufficient for most situations and avoids a lot of the problems (ie memory shortages) that accompany the Android system.

True multitasking? I don't think the WebOS or Symbian people would agree...

Android has a different concept of application level multitasking than a PC.  There is more of a disconnect between data, how to view the data, and how to operate on the data.
You can only have one app view open at a time, but the operation on the data can be going in the background.  This makes it tough for application developers to make it feel like the desktop when switching between apps, quitting apps, and starting new apps.  It sometimes feels impossible to kill an app, but it also sometimes feels like it is impossible to switch to one task and back again.  It depends on how the app developer did it.
You can have as many background processes going at once, and they are scheduled like desktop apps.  The Linux kernel will choose how to prioritize which ones get memory and CPU resources.  When the phone decides it's out of memory, it will start killing things to make more memory.  This is done differently than the way Linux or most other OSs normally behave.
The data of a program is always available.  As long as the app has permissions to access the data, it is available.  You don't need a service running in the background for it to be available.
Apple has very specific ways in which you can multitask.  They are a subset of the ways that Android allows.  Only specific types of apps can run in the background and they have to be specifically programmed to do so.
A desktop is very different from both of these things.  Each application's view, data, and data processing logic are often locked together.  I would say that WebOS, Symbian, and Maemo/Meego are examples of this on mobile devices.  If an application does expose it's data and background processing to other "views", it will tend to be a very special application.

For the record, Linux has an OOM Killer in all of it's incarnations, it's not Android specific. However, on a PC you have to consume your swap space as well as your physical RAM before it starts killing things.

Not really, see:
http://wiki.kldp.org/wiki.php/AndroidPortingOnRealTarget#s-3.1.5
It's one of the tough things about Android not really being Linux in that it needs this patched into the Kernel in order to run.  Try running Dalvik on a stock kernel and this will prevent you from proceeding.


text:
How do I transfer my phone numbers to an Android phone?
I just bought a new Android Phone (HTC Hero), but I need to import my Outlook contacts with all their phone numbers.
Any directions as to how to do this?

Nobody's recommending me to use HTC Sync or something similar?

Your aim needs to be to get the contacts in to the Google account that it is associated with the phone. Once the contacts are in Google, they should automatically synchronise to the phone.
The first step is to create a CSV from your Outlook contacts:

From Outlook, do the following:
File -> Import and Export...
Choose Export to a file
Choose Comma separated values (DOS)
Select the Contacts folder
Choose a filename to export to and OK it
Hit Next and then Finish and let Outlook create the file

Now that you have your file, you need to import the CSV file in to Google Mail.

Log in to Google Mail in the normal way
Select Contacts from the left navigation bar
From the top right, choose Import
Choose the CSV that you just saved from Outlook
Hit the Import button

Once that has finished uploading, your contacts should be available in Google Mail. They should automatically sync up to your phone within a few minutes.

This is exactly how I imported my contacts

This is also how I imported mine.

The easiest way would be to synchronise your contacts with your Google Account (you have one of those, right?). If your account is signed in to that Google Account all your contacts will soon appear on that phone.
Something like OggSync might help, although I'm sure there's others.

So how do I get my Outlook Contacts into my Google Account?

Using something like OggSync as I suggested.

For others who are looking to move their contacts from a Nokia S60 phone to an Android phone, these instructions work well:
http://www.upfrontsystems.co.za/Members/gustav/the-perpetual-newbie-experience/how-to-move-contacts-from-nokia-phone-to-android-phone
The idea is essentially the same, but the aim is to create a big vCard (.vcf) file containing all the contact details in place of the CSV file.
The part requiring a command line terminal can be replicated in DOS/Windows. Instead of:
cat *.vcf > contacts.vcf

use:
type *.vcf > contacts.vcf

Works very well.

There is a good comparison of the available software on
syncdroid
I have used the Companion Link trial. The sync worked fine, but the software on the phone was not that good. But there is a new version I did not try. I will try gsyncit next.


text:
What can I do to increase battery life on my Android device?
What can I do to get better battery life on my Droid? Battery life seems awful. Less than 15 hours or so on normal usage.

I played with this for a little while after getting my Droid, and found that there are a few easy things you can do that make a big difference.  There's also a lot of misinformation out there, so you need to do some testing.  I get 20 hours of regular use or 16 hours of heavy use.
Note that these are my results on a Motorola Droid with OS 2.1.  Your results may vary, particularly if you're using a different OS version!

Don't use Live Wallpapers.  They're cool, but they eat battery.
Don't use Sense UI.  That's HTC's home app.  Again, it's pretty, but not friendly to battery.
Prefer the back button over the home button.  The back button lets apps decide if they want to run in the background.  The home screen often leaves apps running when they don't need to.
Don't use app killers!  There's no need for them if you use the back button, and you'll end up crippling other apps because of non-obvious dependencies between apps.
Use WiFi whenever you have access to a network because it uses less battery than 3G.  (Shorter distance, lower power.)  Turn WiFi off when you don't have access to a network, otherwise it will keep looking for a WiFi network it can use (which drains battery).
Reduce the frequency at which apps refresh their content.  Common offenders are social media clients (Twitter, Facebook, etc.), email, and news or weather apps.
Finally, watch your battery usage under Settings -> About Phone -> Battery -> Battery Use.  This will show you what has been using the battery since it was last charged.  (So it shows nothing while charging!)  If anything unexpected is using the battery, consider replacing it with another app or service.

Best of luck, and enjoy your Android phone!

how do you turn the sense UI off on an HTC phone?

@Warren P, you can download Launcher Pro or ADW.Launcher from the market and press Home it should prompt you to choose which you want to use. I know some HTC phones won't let you not use Sense. For them you would have to get a bit more forceful and install a custom ROM. Or at the very least, root it and do some trickery.

Live Wallpapers don't actually make that much difference. They are only active when your screen is turned on and you don't have an app running.

@Warrn P you should ask that as a question ;-)

so don't use your phone?

@James: it depends though, some phones have problems with getting turned on in the pockets due to poor physical button positions, and so the live wallpaper shows up on the lock screen. Although, if that's the case, I guess live wallpaper is the least of your worries.

You should set Wifi to remain on only when plugged in.  By default, this is not the case.  This caused my phone to discharge during the night.

This is the first time, I have ever heard that WiFi uses less battery than 3G or GPRS in general! It seems, that I slept-over some electronic revolution. I've been always taught, that (mostly) paid 3G is often more expensive than (mostly) free WiFi, but it uses much less energy. That's why me (and many of my friends) are using GPRS at home, even though we have free WiFi access there. My Google Nexus must also slept over that revolution, because it doesn't know anything about it and runs much longer on GPRS, than when WiFi is enabled!

Plus: a bit off-topic, but still an argument: my Apple iPad Mini (which I use only at home) has also slept over that revolution, because it can run up to twice longer on GPRS only (with LTE!) than when I run it on WiFi connection.

I would complitely removed proprietary stock firmware and installed open-source CynogenMod. It's friendly with battery out of the box.

Wifi takes less battery, see: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/23959/is-there-any-study-on-how-which-services-sensors-consume-the-battery

Some of the biggest power drainers: GPS, Wifi, and Bluetooth.
In general, it is best to keep these services off unless you are using them.  However, GPS will only be used when an application calls for it, so you could technically leave it on all the time.
Some other tips:

Lower the screen brightness
Turn off 3G (if you have a phone that you can switch between 3G and 2G).
Disable automatic Data Sync or:
Set your apps to sync at longer intervals or don't use apps/widgets that do synchronize often
Turn off any unnecessary vibrations or haptic feedbacks
Disable the keyboards backlight
Avoid using the speakers, opt in for using headphones
Underclock the CPU (rooted users)
Turn off data completely (using an app like APNDroid)
Don't use task killers to automatically kill off processes. They simply will respawn.  Uninstall undesired apps.
Use applications like Locale or Tasker to control your phone's Wifi/GPS/Bluetooth/Sreen brightness/etc. settings automatically with profiles that activate under certain conditions
Set your screen timeout to a short time interval.  Then use Screebl to keep your phone screen on when the phone is only held at certain angles.

I read somewhere that if you use APNDroid the phone will actually use up more battery as it constantly tries to connect to the fake APN. Don't know how accurate this statement is, though.

Don't be feared by @Bry 's suggestion to underclock. The best part of underclocking (i.e. with SetCPU) is to create profiles for when you want 250mhz, and when you want 800mhz.

Some of these suggestions like disable haptic feedback may indeed slightly increase battery life...  But unless there's some hard data otherwise, you'd probably use more battery by hunting through the settings just to find the option than it would save in relevant amount of time...

Removing OSmonitors and task managers is good! I was worried when I first got my phone it wasn't being fast enough, so I installed all that junk. I just removed all of them (like 5 apps) and it's faster and more battery conversationary than ever!

Fantastic answer.  I used it this weekend and improved my normal battery life by 400%+.

What do you like better? Locale or Tasker? or do you use both?

@Jordan I use both. I use locale for setting up general schedules/profiles such as work, home, etc.  I use tasker for very specific tasks, such as plugging in my head phones and presenting a menu of music apps to launch.  Tasker can do the former too, but I find locale easier to setup for that.

@Bryan, Hang on - did you switch them up - your last sentence, did you mean "Locale can do the former too but Tasker is easier to setup for that"

@Jordan I didn't mix them up, but let me explain myself better: Tasker can do the exact same thing as Locale, but Tasker is very configurable and may be daunting to use to a novice.  It is a very scripty/programmatic type of app.  Locale is very simple and easy to use.  You can make the same kind of schedules that Locale uses with Tasker, it just takes a bit of extra work to do it.  If you're looking for simplicity, go with Locale.  If your looking for something highly configurable, go with Tasker.  Or both, depending on your needs :)

Also remember: Locale plugins will work in Tasker.

I followed the advice in your post and my Sidekick 4G lasts a full day with normal use and about 32-36 hours with minimal use and on standby. The only thing I haven't done is underclock my CPU. What I was curious about is, how does using your phone's speaker decrease battery life as opposed to using headphones?

@disassembler I believe the logic is that it isn't just sending a signal to an audio out, it's also producing it via the speakers. The speakers (depending on their volume) might require amplification (more current) that headphones do not need. I can't find a good source to back it up, but it does seem to be the general consensus. But honestly, you aren't going to see much difference between the two. Underclocking will save you way more battery life.

How do I disable AutoSync?

I also like MacroDroid. It’s a free automation app.

There are so many things one can do I don't wanna repeat here: Remove bad apps, reduce brightness of your dis… ahem, said: not repeat, OK. But if you think about what you could turn off/down and what effect it offers: There's a nice table to be found at the German technology site Heise, titled Energiesparplan (Google Translate Version here). They slightly modified a Motorola Droid to be able to get precise data on energy consumption – and ended up with a nice table like this, which already substracts the „base consumption“ and thus gives the data for each component/action.
In July 2012, the same publisher again made something similar with his article Durchhaltetraining (Google translate: Hang on! – this article is available online, but paywalled), this time utilizing the more recent Samsung Galaxy S3; same for the Samsung Galaxy S6 in January 20161 – so I add their values here:
┌─────────────────┬────────────────────┬───────────┬───────────┐
| Action          | Motorola Droid     | Galaxy S3 | Galaxy S6 |
├─────────────────┼────────────────────┼───────────┤───────────┤
| Video recording |            1557 mW |   1683 mW |  2277 mW² |
| UMTS Upload     |            1410 mW |   1033 mW |   908 mW  |
| UMTS Download   |            1349 mW |   1074 mW |  1138 mW  |
| EGDE Upload     |            1179 mW |           |           |
| Wifi Download   |            1158 mW |    549 mW |  1138 mW  |
| Play Video*1    |            1135 mW |    597 mW |   395 mW² |
| UMTS call       |             983 mW |    637 mW |   362 mW  |
| Camera*1        |             934 mW |   1460 mW |  2335 mW  |
| EGDE Download   |             853 mW |           |   635 mW  |
| BT receive      |             751 mW |    487 mW |           |
| Display (max)   |             730 mW |   1568 mW |  1227 mW  |
| GPS Searching   |             550 mW |    263 mW |   191 mW  |
| GSM call        |             511 mW |    297 mW |   310 mW  |
| BT send         |             487 mW |    454 mW |           |
| Wifi Upload     |             479 mW |    488 mW |   987 mW  |
| Display (min)   |             310 mW |    567 mW |   260 mW  |
| MP3 play        |             160 mW |    153 mW |   140 mW  |
| UMTS Standby    |            18.3 mW |   10.9 mW |  16.2 mW  |
| GSM/EDGE Standby|            11.6 mW |    9.5 mW |    15 mW  |
| Wifi Stdby 2.4  |             7.8 mW |    9.3 mW |    18 mW  |
| Wifi Stby 5 GHz |               -    |   14.6 mW |    20 mW  |
| BT Standby      |             2.8 mW |    1.8 mW |   2.9 mW  |
| GPS Standby     |             0.4 mW |    0.7 mW |   0.2 mW  |
| NFC Standby     |               -    |      4 mW |   0.1 µW  |
| Wifi Tether*2   |                    |    372 mW |   542 mW³ |
| Wifi Tether DL*3|                    |   1254 mW |  1871 mW³ |
└─────────────────┴────────────────────┴───────────┴───────────┘

*1 fullscreen, already minus the display
*2 Tether active with 1 user
*3 download from notebook via Wifi Tether
As an additional reference, the baseline: Airplane Mode: 6.4 / 6.4 / 10.7 mW.
Recommendation for cold days to get warm fingers: Take your device with both hands, plug in the charger. Now stream a HD video from youtube via 3G/LTE, play it fullsize, and in the background do some video recording which in parallel gets uploaded via 3G/LTE. CAREFUL !!! Wear gloves … #-)

1: calculations used a different base with this third run, so I „rebased“ the values here to match
2: full HD
3: with LTE

For the second: All glory goes to the Zuul :)

All hail the err... might Zulu Warrior.... _o/

Android comes with a widget to easily turn on and off the most common power drainers.
To get it on the home screen:

long press on empty area of home screen
select 'android widgets'
select 'power control' (it takes up a whole row)

It allows you to turn on/off bluetooth, wi-fi, gps, auto aync and screen brightness.
The notifications bar allows wi-fi, bluetooth and gps to be turned on and off.

I have this on the same screen (and have used steady since i got the phone) with my maps/location apps and it is terrific for being able to instant on the GPS and launch an app while saving on GPS battery drain.

I usually find that the display uses the most battery. Turning down the brightness drastically improves my battery life.

Consider JuiceDefender. This app turns off your data services when the phone's screen is off and then only enables them again for 3 minutes every 15 (this is configurable). By making all your apps sync at once on a schedule you prevent a lot of thrashing on your radios. It can also prevent the wifi from searching for hotspots when you are not close to any stored hotspots. Also, watch out for task killers, since they are always running, monitoring apps, they can end up causing more drain than the apps themselves

I personally prefer the Green Power [free version] which is great for WiFi + data + syncing (and more advanced functionality, which are Pro version). Also, 2x Battery Saver is best if you use syncing + mobile data + no-WiFi. There's also Battery XL which I've heard something good about but have yet to try it.

Android already makes your apps sync at once on a schedule, by choosing when "alarms" (the feature apps use to run on a schedule) happen so that the CPU is awake for the minimum time. It seems like this app would interact badly with what's already built into the OS.

I run Tasker on my HTC and it's made a noticeable difference without me having to think about power-management.  It's kind of a scripting tool for the phone - set a condition and what you want to happen as a result.
Mine is set to turn off Mobile Internet whenever connected via Wifi (and vice versa), only turn on Bluetooth when docked in the car, turn off Wifi when I leave home or work (and forget!) and dim the display after dark.
I've also got it to automatically turn on/off GPS when set apps are running.
It's a set-and-forget app and allows you to automate a lot of the good advice on other answers above. Downside is that it's not free; but cheap. YMMV, but I'm a happy user.

According to the answer here, GPS is only used when the app calls for it, so turning it on and off shouldn't save power

GPS in standby is nothing to be worried about (0.4 mW on a Motorola Droid -- compared to ~700 mW for the display and even more for UMTS data xfer). But the problem is: if it's enabled and in standby, some apps will use it, and most of them just for ads (while when it's not available, they won't bother). And that's what then uses some power (~500 mW).

Android 5.0 automatically disable 3G while you are connected via wifi

I discovered one thing that absolutely killed my battery life:
Setting Wi-Fi Sleep Policy to When screen turns off.  ← Don't do this!
Make sure it is set to Never sleep or else it will power the Wi-Fi radio on/off every time it needs to sync something.
On my Samsung Galaxy S Captivate this can be found under: Settings → Wireless and network → Wi-Fi Settings → MenuKey:Advanced

Unless you never sync or sync at large intervals. Also, on ICS, it takes like 10 minutes for this to go into effect, IIRC.

To add to these great suggestions;

Dont use live wallpapers.
Use a dark background if you have AMOLED.

Good guide here with these points and more; Android Battery Saving Guide

Surprisingly enough I've actually seen posts where the Pink-ish background saves the most power.

Again, disabling live wallpapers has such a tiny impact on battery savings that it's not worth mentioning.  At least a small amount of research should be done with something like JuicePlotter for each suggestion.  Otherwise it just confuses people and encourages them to disable useful features for no reason.

The link is broken.

@muntoo, I fixed the link.

If you have an OLED screen (I know the Droid doesn't), then you can get significant savings by tweaking what is displayed. Jeff Sharkey has recently posted a blog entry describing his experiments with screen colour and the effect on battery usage.

Filtering to show only red pixels only requires 35% of the original baseline OLED panel current, on average. Adding back the baseline current, the best case overall is about 42% of the original system current, effectively doubling the battery life. Also, showing only red pixels doubles as an awesome night vision mode, perfect for astronomy. :)

So a dark and/or reddish background could save a lot of juice.

so wouldn't BLACK be the least output, for OLED? :-)

Indeed, I consider black to be a subset of dark

SetCPU is a great little software available for free on XDA forums and on the market for 1.99$.
It allows to set different CPU profiles in different conditions.
I have set the following profiles and the battery usage dropped a lot:

Default mode is conservative with maximum speed set to 768 Mhz (I have Snapdragon 1Ghz CPU).
Let the CPU run at maximum speed and performance profile when the phone is in charge via USB.
Set the CPU to drop to 500 Mhz and powersave profile when the screen is off.

There are many other possibilities. The only draw back is that it requires root access.

I didn't know you could do profiles with SetCPU. You've sold me on it.

how does this differ from the automatic throttling that Android provides?  (e.g. from System Panel app I see that CPU frequency [not just %] seems to jump all around depending on how much is happening)

Unfortunately battery life on android devices seems to be worse then other similar phones (iPhone and blackberry). This is from personal, anecdotal experience.
Things to do are to check your update frequency settings-> accounts & sync. You can lower your update frequencies.
Additionally keep blue tooth or wifi off when you don't need them. You can find widgets for your homescreen that will let you toggle these quickly.
Also settings-> About Phone -> Battery -> Battery Use
could show you any unusual heavy hitters on your battery.
You can also find applications in the market such as "Spare Parts" that give you more detailed battery use information.
Some people have reported that that applications such as "Advanced Task Killer" can be used to periodically kill running applications if you find that your phone vendor has installed any pesky applications that you want to periodically kill. On my current phone though I've found that Advanced Task Killer just used unnecessary battery power and didn't really help me.

Don't use Google Voice for Text Messages the way that you are supposed to use it out of the box.
If you set up GV to push your SMS notifications as email (rather than maintaining the Voice app and constant polling), and then do all of your replies via email it minimizes the use for GV, saves on battery, and keeps your SMS's free.

If you have a Nexus 5 the following Youtube video entitled "Nexus 5 Top 10 Battery Saving Tips" should prove useful and highlights:

Turning off vibrating Key Press
Turning off auto brightness
Setting GPS to Battery Saving
Using the Default Launcher
Turning NFC off
Use Apps like Tasker for Automation
Minimise the use of Widgets & Screens
Use a custom kernel (requires Root)
Use ART runtime
Turn off "OK Google"

Please note that whilst the video highlights the Nexus 5, it will of course be applicable to a whole host of other Android devices as well.
For a more comprehensive look see also this guide entitled "How to extend your Android’s battery life" published on April 15th 2013, for Android Authority.

If your main power drain is the screen, you might try a magnetic case (or adding a magnet to your existing case) + Holster Snooze to automatically turn off your screen when you put your phone away.

For 4g phones, keep the 4g antenna off until you have a use for it. And if no 4g spot is found, turn it off. 4G antenna is the most expensive power wise antenna out there. And unless you are watching videos even htc recommends turning it off.

The order of energy usage 4G > 3G > Wifi > 2G > Bluetooth roughly corresponds to the range and speed of each antennaes.

If you have root access on your device, it's certainly worth taking a look at Greenify. This app takes care for those processes permanently running in background and waking up your device needlessly: As soon as you switch your display off, Greenify "hibernates" apps you selected to be handled, so they can no longer wake up your device to "do something needless". They get "re-animated" once you switch your screen back on.

Just adding to what people have suggested for underclocking - you can create a profile for an underclocked frequency and enable that profile only when the phone is locked. This will ensure that your phone performs well when unlocked but saves battery when locked.

Turn off always on monitoring Apps, like the fitness applications. Google Fit has a High Precision mode that eats more battery.
Also turn off "Ok Google": Configuration → Idiom and Text → Google voice dictation → Ok Google detection → Turn off all, or at least the "from any screen" config.
Turn off any other monitoring App you can think about.

As no one mentioned this, so if all the other solutions didn't increase your battery lifetime, then a factory reset is your last choice. Based on this question, the user has said that he got tremendous battery performance after factory resetting the device.
Note: Factory resetting without backing up your data you will lose data. So backup all the data(contacts, SMS, app-data etc) before factory resetting and also read this answer

Try to do CPU-intensive tasks like downloading stuff, installing updates, watching video, etc, whilst connected to a charger. This will reduce the wear on your battery so it will perform well for longer.

On all phones that I know of the battery still provides the power while the phone is plugged in; if there are any that bypass the battery, they're a rare exception.  Charging at the same time as high power usage is a great way to heat up your battery and significantly degrade its performance.  For best battery life the phone should only be charged while it's off.

@MatthewRead: You are certainly wrong.  Current is either flowing from positive to negative battery terminal or vice versa -- both simultaneously is impossible.  When the battery is charging, energy is being provided to it and it is not providing power to anything.  It is possible to continue discharging the battery while plugged in -- in this case the external source is providing as much power as its current limit allows and the battery provides the difference.  This would be less stressful on the battery than disconnected usage.  What you're likely observing is (continued)

a high current source which is able to charge the battery even when the phone is drawing high power.  In that case, the voltage regulator chips have to deal with the sum of the used current and the charging current, and that regulator circuit might become hot.  If the battery is placed close to the regulator, the battery could become hot as well by heat conduction, and be degraded either temporarily or permanently.  So your recommendation is good -- charging with the phone turned off will protect the battery -- but your explanation "battery still provides the power" was totally wrong.

And in a system with better thermal design, the battery won't be heated by the regulator, and then eug is correct -- supplying the power demand from the external source will decrease the number of charge/discharge cycles and reduce wear.  On the other hand, if the phone varies between a power level sustainable from the external source and one that requires augmentation from the battery, then the battery will be discharged only slightly between charges, which creates "memory" in some battery technologies, destroying them.  But for most modern batteries complete discharge is the problem.

@Ben Hmm.  If the battery isn't providing the power when the phone is plugged in, wouldn't you be be able to take out the battery while it's plugged in?  Every device I've had suffers immediate power loss in this case.

@MatthewRead: In addition to the high-power battery terminals, there are contacts for control and monitoring.  There's also a difference between the battery itself (which is what you're worried about protecting) and the battery module -- it's entirely possible for the battery module to complete the circuit.  But it doesn't.  I just tried with my Galaxy Note 2.  Pull battery with the phone on, it immediately goes "off" and won't turn back on.  Put the battery back in, shows charging screen.  Phone still soft-off, remove battery, changes to battery missing screen.

Power is on to a significant amount of the phone (including the screen and processor), and it's attempting to communicate with the battery, and taking action based on that failure.

@MatthewRead  To let you know that A lenovo laptop I have doesnot power off even if I remove battery. It runs from the direct current from the charger. So there are possible to have devices like those.

@BenVoigt Everybody doesn't have access to a charger/power banks everytime. Some people do have to keep their battery extending while trekking or traveling for days etc. And most of the people dont charge while they are using the phone. Even the Power backup device will last two/three times. May be you could say that they can avoid doing CPU intensive tasks to increase their battery life.

This is radical but very useful if you are in a remote region without cellular network or in an crowded event where the network capacity isn't enough for everybody: turn off your chips.
Go to Configuration → SIM Cards → uncheck all your cards.
If you have a multi-chip phone, turn off one your secondary chip that it will help.

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
How can I get my Chrome-synced bookmarks in an Android device?
I'm using Google Chrome and syncing the bookmarks with the built-in feature. How can I get those bookmarks in my Android device?

Great question! Never thought of looking for an answer until you asked the question ;-)

Synchronizing bookmarks between the Android browser and your Chrome desktop browser is now a built-in feature of Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0).

It should also work with Honeycomb, though seems to be buggy http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=18937

According to this  answer by goblinbox:

The Dolphin mobile browser is supposed to have built-in Google Bookmarks sync capability.

An alternative would be to use GoMarks

GoMarks is a application that helps
  you sync and manage your bookmarks
  with Google Bookmarks. Ideal solution
  if you on desktop use Google Toolbar,
  GMarks or any other Google Bookmarks
  tools.
Features:

Background sync
Labels
Use Menu->More->Share page to add new bookmark from Android browser

As Dan Herbert mentions:

There is currently no way to do this natively. Android's bug tracker has an open issue for this.

I would add to this answer the link to the Android bug database that is in another answer. I'm not going with any of these solutions and howe it's solved in Android sometime in this century, but I believe this is still the more complete answer for someone looking for a solution. Marking it as accepted.

Updated @J. Pablo Fernández, sorry to hear none of these things worked out for you...

There is currently no way to do this natively. Android's bug tracker has an open issue for this.
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=2907

As noted here, the bookmark sync used in Chrome is separate from Google Bookmarks.  The app that Ivo Flipse suggests works only for google bookmarks.
There is an app (which I haven't tried) that seems to allow access to Chrome bookmarks called ChromeMarks, but it isn't free.
The way that I access my bookmarks is through google docs: go to docs.google.com, at the bottom of the page select My Folders, then select the folder that has the bookmarks you want.  If you want to make access to this page easier, you can bookmark it in the mobile browser and put a shortcut on your homescreen.
This will get me by until it is built into the system (see Dan Herbert's post for more on that).

Two possibilities:

Xmarks Premium (1$/month)
Google Chrome for Android (only for Android 4.0/ICS or higher), syncs Bookmarks for the Desktop Chrome versions via the Google Account


text:
Keeping Android quiet at night
I'd like my Android device to keep quiet during the night, no alerts for mails and talk messages, only calls and of course, the wake-up alarm. How can I do it?

Don't you wake up from vibrate? Then you'll still wake up from calls, but won't be bothered with anything else

Timeriffic is fantastic for this purpose.  You can get the latest version from the app's Google Play store page, or you can get an older version from f-droid.org.

It is also free

I'm using this one and so far it's working great. I might give Sweet Dreams for Android a try.

In Marshmallow you don't need to install any apps as this is a native feature:

Go to settings > Sound & notification > Do not disturb > Automatic rules > Weeknight

Activate the rule and press Do not disturb to choose if anything should be allowed to get through.
You can choose from:

Priority only (in the settings > Sound & notification > Do not disturb menu you can configure what is classed as a priority)
Alarms only
Total silence

For me this is a really useful feature.

This wasn't available six years ago when the question was originally asked.

I am surprised nobody has mentioned Sweet Dreams for Android. Its a free app and can
pretty much do everything but tuck you in at night and make eggs and bacon in the morning:

switch your phone to slient mode automatically during preset times
those preset silent times can be overridden if your phone detects noise (i.e. you are still awake)
it has an alarm feature that can wake you up as well

This app was the winner in one of the Android Developer Challenges as well.
More Info:
http://www.androidguys.com/2010/02/11/adc2-winner-sweetdreams-hits-android-market/

This app hasn't been updated since September 4, 2012. Sweet Dreams

Or... you can use the simplest solution.

Add the Power Control widget
At night, turn off the Data Sync widget (fourth from the left, between GPS and Light)

No email or other notifications will make noise. In the morning, just turn it back on and you'll get all your notifications.

This solution prevents you from having a process running all the time just for that :)

You can set the alarm to be active during 'silent mode', but that would eliminate calls.
Also, you can download Tasker or Locale from the market to create custom profiles based on time. These two apps (and I'm sure there are others) are extremely customizable and you will be able to set up profiles exactly like you mentioned.

Too bad Locale is a paid app nowadays

I use Locale, so if it is during sleep hours, at home, and plugged in, it goes quiet. If I am at work, any time, it goes semi quiet.

Even easier with Tasker:
Create a profile called silentMode

Set it to be active between 23:00 until 09:00
Now, add a task, call it muteAudio, with a tasker's function called 'Silent Mode', Set that to On

That's one profile created. Now to do the opposite logic...
Create another profile called normalMode

Set it to be active between 09:01 until 22:59
Now, add a task call it soundOn, with a tasker's function called 'Silent Mode', set that to Off

Now, both tasks will be activated depending on the clock on the device :)

I use Llama to achieve this. It is free and very flexible and can control a lot of other settings too. It uses nearby cells to identify your location, so it is not as accurate as others that use GPS, but does not require the GPS to be on in order to achieve location based profiles.

If you have Lollipop you can use "Downtime and Interuptions" feature. It lets you define priority interuptions and set the downtime for specific time that you can define for a duration of time. You can also set it as a countdown for one hour or adjust the time by pressing the + or the - sign. You can access this feature by clicking on the volume rocker button and pressing the corresponding tab to use this feature. You can also access this under Sound & notification > Interruptions.

Downtime Feature in Lollipop - Image Source
If you think that you don't want to be disturbed by anthing not even alarms you can set the interuption to "None" as shown in the above screenshot.
Depending on your device, you can set the following types of notifications as priority:

Events and reminders.
Calls from anyone, starred contacts, or any of your contacts (depending on your default phone app).
Messages from anyone, starred contacts, or any of your contacts (depending on your default messaging app).
Alarms are always set as priority interruptions. Keep in mind that if you set your notifications to "None" or "Don't interrupt," alarms won't make a sound when they go off. If you need to use an alarm, make sure you allow "All" or "Priority interruptions."

This will be confusing for many Lollipop users. So read anyone of the following links to get to know more about this useful feature.
Set your notifications - Downtime and Interuptions feature
Master notifications in Android Lollipop with Notification Priority and Downtime
How to Manage Interruptions and Downtime in Android 5.0
Avoid interruptions and set downtime in Motorola

No widget necessary. I turn off auto sync and turn the volume down to vibrate. I have a sleep tracker app called WakeMate on my phone and the alarm still goes off, even when the volume is turned down to vibrate (using the button on the side, not in settings). To turn off Auto Sync, I press (unselect) the icon that looks like a Refresh symbol on the floating toolbar. If you removed the toolbar, you can turn off auto sync by pressing Settings > Accounts & sync > Auto-sync (clear the check box). It prevents the phone from going to get your email and so on. Turn it back on when you wake up and turn up your volume and you'll soon hear the familiar downloading of emails, text messages, Twitter updates, App updates, whatever.

Bedside
Best app. Runs as a clock at night, only thing that will make noise are phone calls. Love it.

Stock sys volume settings:

Alarm vol up
Ringer up
Notifications down
Sys vol down

You can use Quick Settings to quickly change these settings or Quick Profiles to create profiles for one click profile switching.  I use this last option and have 2 shortcuts on my home, one that turns on my bedtime profile and one that turns on the daytime profile.

Another alternative is one of the original taskers:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.cooolmagic.android.toggle5&feature=search_result  (the lite version)
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.cooolmagic.android.togglepro&feature=search_result   (Paid version)
Have being using it since Android 1.6.

A new app I've been using is Silence (Free, but you can pay to get rid of the ads).
It's really pretty simple to set up. You simply add a new event, give it the start and end times, optionally set it to repeat on which days and set your "toggles". It can toggle more than sounds, though:

Ringer + Notification
Media
Alarm
Airplane Mode
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
Mobile Data

You can toggle off any or all of those. Another nice feature is that you tell it what to do with the toggle when the event ends:

Change back (to whatever it was set at before)
Do nothing
Silent (for sound toggles)
Vibrate (for sound toggles)
Set a volume level (for sound toggles)
Turn on/off (for system toggles)

I particularly like the "Change back" setting. If I've already silenced the ringer manually, I don't necessarily want it to come back on when the event ends.
They also recently added the ability to tie an event to an event in your calendar.
I use this to set my ringer to vibrate and turn off wi-fi during the times I'm (generally) commuting on the train (because I sit in the Quiet Car and there's no wi-fi available). I also use it to turn off the sound on my tablet during the hours I'm likely to be asleep.

Samsung devices running Jelly Bean have this functionality built in-in the form of Blocking mode, which will allow you to shut off notifications, alarms, incoming calls, and alarms (any or all of the above) for whatever space of time you select.
For the incoming calls (and SMS/email notifications), you can also select whether to block all calls or allow some numbers through.

But, IIRC, blocking mode also does something weird.  It shows a notification icon 24 hours per day (even during the daytime), I guess to indicate that it is waiting until the nighttime to turn on.

You should definitely look at Sound off Reborn app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.hubalek.android.apps.soundoff). It works in similar way as scheduled do-not-disturb included in Android 6 but it has nice graphic view of your schedule. It also supports even and odd weeks and what is best: it is completely free. With no ads.

'Night clock' free app for Samsung.
Problem solved. Alarm works with phone mute.

Do include a link to the app on the Play Store.

There are multiple apps named "Night Clock". Which one did you use? Please link it here.

authors: فرغل درديرى فرغل عثمان


text:
How do I tether with an HTC Desire on Swisscom?
How do I do tethering with an HTC Desire on the Swiss carrier Swisscom? When I plug the phone and pick share internet, my computer asks me for phone number, username and password; oh, and it says I plugged in a modem.

How are you trying to tether? Are you using PDAnet?

I just plugged it in and choose "Share internet".

Are the correct drivers for your Desire installed on the laptop? I'm using Windows 7 and with the correct (64 bit) drivers installed, it just connects to the Desire and sees it as a connected network adapter.

I wasn't aware it needed drivers. I thought USB network interfaces were all the same, like USB mice, that you plug and it just works.


text:
(How) can I get contacts with no name to display the Organization instead of "Unnamed" on my Android phone?
I have an HTC Evo with contacts that were imported by Sprint from my old Palm Centro. On the Centro, I could have contacts with no name but a business/organization, and the contact list would use that as the display, and I could search on that field. (Handy for calling pizza restaurants!) On my new Android device, that sort of contact shows up as "Unknown", and the Organization name can't be searched.

Is there a way to get the Android contact list to mimic the Palm's (quite reasonable and user-friendly!) behavior?
Is there a quick way to copy the Organizations into the (say) Last Name field, if the above is not possible?
What is the "right way" to deal with contacts that are businesses, not people, on Android devices?

On my HTC Magic, I just put the business name in the contact's name field, then have all the businesses in a Contacts group called "Businesses" for when I want to find one of them quickly. To be honest this is also the way I used to do it on my old Palm, too.

+1.  This is what I've always done.

Good plan, but it's a little late, as I have dozens of contacts that show up as Unnamed!

I imported everything from my old phone and this is really annoying. It uses the phone number (2121235515) instead of the company name ("Apple inc").  Who was asleep at the switch here?  Terrible contacts design and I can't edit this on Google Contacts because these imported addresses don't sync.

@Warren make sure the imported contacts are "Google" contacts and not "Phone" contacts. "Phone" contacts won't sync

On my evo when I add a contact with an organization and no name the organization is the displayed name.  Maybe try going to a contact and hitting edit? This might get the phone to prepare the contact.

I concur. For me as well, when I add a new contact with an organization and no name, I get the organization as the displayed name. But for the existing records imported by Sprint, I get Unknown. So this doesn't solve the problem for me.

For some reason, my contacts were sorted by organization and name, but something happened that my contacts were linked and the organization name dropped off. If you go to those contacts that just show number, click Edit, then Link, and then from the drop-down, select the organization name...too much work for something that was working fine, but that was my work-around.


text:
Prevent HTC Tattoo from losing its mobile broadband connection
My HTC Tattoo loses its mobile broadband connection after a couple of days without a restart. Calling and SMS still work but no data connections. Disabling and reenabling the mobile data connection does not help. Only with a restart the data connection can be used again. Is there a solution to this problem?

I do suppose you went to Settings > Wireless & networks > Mobile network settings and have "Enable always-on mobile.." checked on?

Yes, is checked.

Smartphones, like any computerised device, need to be power-cycled regularly in order to function properly. Lots of things get cleaned up by this. If you leave your phone on overnight to use the alarm to wake-up, just power-cycle your phone as soon as you're up. It will be fresh for the day.


text:
How do I restore my rooted Motorola Droid back to completely stock and unrooted?
I'm thinking about unrooting and going back to completely stock, vanilla Android on my Droid.
How can I do this?

This website has a very good answer:
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-hacks/13466-how-back-stock-no-su-no-busybox-etc.html
Seems to cover all your bases.
Essentially involves:

flashing the stock recovery and boot images to replace custom ones
then either

manually removing all the "root" bits, or
(option B in the post) flashing the official update.zip putting your phone back to stock!

Good luck :)

This is a stab in the dark, that I read somewhere else:

Power + X
Volume up + Camera button
And in the menu select reset to
  factory defaults?
I'm assuming this is going to take you
  back to ver 2.0 without root, without
  any apps, contacts or anything else
  you've done to your phone.
Granted, I don't know this for sure
  but its typically how all devices work
  eyes his old ipod video I've reset that thing so many times with a
  'restore' and it always removes any
  hacks I've done to it.

I'd be interested to find out how this works after the phone has been rooted.

I accidently did this with my eris, so what will happen is that you'll be back to stock rom and factory settings, but still rooted.  Rooting goes outside of the normal boundries, so it's not covered by the factory reset.

This code is used for factory format. It'll remove all files and settings including the internal memory storage. It'll also reinstall the phone firmware, which should remove your root!
Once you give this code, there is no way to cancel the operation unless you remove the battery from the phone. So think twice before giving this code.
Enter this: *2767*3855#
in the dialer.


text:
How accurate is the GPS in my Mobile Phone?
I was wondering how accurate is the GPS is in my HTC Desire Android compared to a dedicated hand held GPS unit or in car satnav?
The reason I ask is that I have read articles complaining that the iPhone's GPS is not very accurate and wondered if it applied to all mobiles.

Also note that apps like Google Maps give you an (in)accuracy circle on the screen. When Google Maps doesn't have a very accurate location fix it will expand a blue circle out to cover the area that  you could be in. When it reverts to just a blue dot then it has a good fix.

I don't think that the iPhone's GPS is less accurate. I am pretty sure what you are reading is that the Apple Maps app is not accurate.

I have an HTC Kaiser (AT&T Tilt) that I had Google Maps installed on.  Google maps gave me the number of satellites that it could see in parentheses at all times.  When I used my phone's internal GPS, I would get about 4 satellites, when I would use an external Bluetooth GPS, I would get about 12 satellites.  When I use my TomTom, I get about 7.  The number of satellites is the biggest deal for getting good location; the more the better.  I never tried an external GPS antenna on my HTC Kaiser to see if it was just the antenna that was the issue or if it was something else.
The program called "GPS Status" available from Google Play Store, will show you how accurate your GPS is at any given time. The number of bins with green bars in them is the number of satellites that your phone can "hear/see" at any given time and then it also gives you the accuracy in meters on the display.

My FreeRunner could see about 7-12 satellites most of the time, depending on cell tower signal (it has AGPS) and location.

@Broam is that a gta02? What distribution?

The GPS chip used in the Android devices (usually SiRF Star 3/4) are of civilian grade.  Civilian grade chips has some deliberate limitations in par with military grade chips. The civilian chips does have some intentional errors called "Selective Availablity".
Hence, whether it is Android or iPhone or Bluetooth GPS receiver or a dedicated unit which could be handheld or the one in car comes under civilian category which cannot be more accurate than 20 meters under the best possible satellite lock (of course, with AGPS it can be improved).  Please check the Wikipedia article which says "...improving the precision of civilian GPS from 100 meters (330 ft) to 20 meters (66 ft)."
iPhone uses BroadCOM's BCM4750 chip and Android phones (Samsung Galaxy S2) uses SiRF Star 4.
Interestingly, a web page claims "The published steady state position accuracy of the BCM4750 is 2m.", which in my opinion could not be correct.  In this research publication it is said as "iPhone 4 exhibits an offset (of about 20 metres)", which seems to be more scientific and correlates with the Wikipedia page.
However, all these talks are about hardware aspect only. It is the software that reads the input from chip, processes it and displays. If it is not doing a good job, well, still it spoils the show.
So, finally my answer would be again be a question "If all these civilian GPS devices cannot be accurate by more than 20 meters, does it mean anything to say X is good and Y is bad? ;-) "
Update Thanks to @Ropo I observe that Selective Availability is indeed removed. Here is the official statement, which says:

Selective Availability (SA) was an intentional degradation of public GPS signals implemented for national security reasons.
In May 2000, at the direction of President Bill Clinton, the U.S
  government discontinued its use of Selective Availability in order to
  make GPS more responsive to civil and commercial users worldwide.
The United States has no intent to ever use Selective Availability
  again. In September 2007, the U.S. government announced its decision
  to procure the future generation of GPS satellites, known as GPS III,
  without the SA feature. Doing this will make the policy decision of
  2000 permanent and eliminate a source of uncertainty in GPS
  performance that had been of concern to civil GPS users worldwide.

Please take a look at a question at StackOverflow as well.

Nice, thank you for leading me to this answer! +1

Just to mention that Selective Availability was removed in 2000.

Assisted GPS (AGPS) chips that you find in most cell phones require some assistance from the cell phone network (the towers) to get an initial fix. No matter how accurate they are, they won't work well without a cell tower in range compared to a stand-alone GPS chipset.

Assisted-GPS is a fully standalone GPS chipset; it does not require the cell network to get an initial fix (though the existence of cell network will be used to improve the time to first fix).


text:
How to stream sound from Android phone to PC?
Is there a way to stream all sound from an Android phone to a PC to be played by the boxes of the PC?
At best wirelessly?

Would bluetooth play all the sounds through the PC?

@Ivo: What do I have to install on the PC to play the bluetooth stuff?

Based on some quick testing I did on my Nexus One running Android 2.2 (Froyo), it seems like all sound is routed through headphones when they are plugged in.
You could attach a male-to-male 1/8" (3.5mm) audio cable from the headphone jack on your phone (or the mini-USB-to-headphone-jack adapter, depending on your phone model) to the Line In jack on your PC.  You may need to do some configuration on your PC to get sound from the Line In to play to the speakers — I recommend sister site Super User if you need help with that.
There's one caveat: although all sound is routed through the headphone jack, some sounds are still also heard through the phone's speakers.  The two most notable of these are the ringer and the camera shutter sound.  Depending on what exactly you're going for, that could be an issue.

Use any DLNA streaming server app on android is one solution. This is my answer to another similar question which might be useful

Yes there are. Some which I found are for gaming live streaming like YouTube Gaming, Mobcrush & Twitch. Some for screen mirroring and streaming like Screen Stream Mirroring Free. Some streaming videos and audios like AllConnect - Play & Stream which supports DLNA/UPnP. Some also make your android a UPnP/DLNA streaming server like BubbleUPnP UPnP/DLNA, MediaHouse UPnP / DLNA Browser, Plex & BubbleUPnP for DLNA/Chromecast.

Of course, this could be done on local network or online via internet connection.


text:
Is it advisable to run a task killer app on Android

Possible Duplicate:
Do I really need to install a task manager?

Should I run a task killer on Android or does Android manage applications well enough on its own?

Please edit the title to use the word "advisable" rather than "adviceable".

Which version of Android are you running?  Froyo (2.2) got a lot more aggressive about managing tasks, but it's possible you might want it on earlier versions.

Android is very good at managing its memory such that task killers should not be necessary. Processes that are not on the screen will use essentially 0% CPU power until they are either re-activated, or have to perform some background work (such as downloading emails).
If you open so many programs that there is not enough memory left, the Android system will start killing off unused programs on your behalf. It is completely self-managing.
The performance of the phone should not be affected by the number of applications running. That said, I do keep one installed, because every now and again, a process can "go rogue" and start using a lot of CPU power and thus give poor battery life (this is rare though).
More background here: http://geekfor.me/faq/you-shouldnt-be-using-a-task-killer-with-android/

More here: http://androidspin.com/2010/08/04/do-android-devices-need-third-party-task-killers/

Even more here: http://lifehacker.com/5650894/android-task-killers-explained-what-they-do-and-why-you-shouldnt-use-them

You don't need a separate task killer to kill rogue apps. You can force close an app right from its entry under Manage Applications.

I agree with the general position that they are unnecessary, however I have recently come to the conclusion, based on personal experience that it depends which version of Android you are running.  Let me explain...
I used to use a Task Killer on my Droid but stopped after I started seeing more and more people explaining why they don't actually work (see the links Al posted above).  After I stopped using it I actually noticed better performance.  I was baffled about how I used to think that using the Task Killer improved my performance.
Then I got a tablet running Android 2.1.  This tablet has a faster processor than my Droid and more on board memory so logically it should perform better, however after loading a modest amount of apps it was very, very laggy.  Out of frustration I turned back to my old fiend Advanced Task Killer and the tablets performance improved dramatically.
Trying to reconcile the inconsistent experiences I realized that ATK  worked great on my Droid when it was running on Android 2.1.  It was after upgrading to 2.2 that I stopped using it and I never made the connection that Froyo made the task killer unnecessary.
The conventional wisdom is still that Task Killers are unnecessary (even counterproductive) and for devices running Android 2.2 I wholeheartedly agree.  For devices running 2.1 or lower, while theoretically they don't need them, it has been my experience that task killer vastly improves the performance of these devices (at least on the devices I used: Moto Droid and Archos 70IT).

In my own experience using a task killer can help your battery if you opened too much applications or you don't need them anymore like the facebook app running in background when you turned off wifi or the data connection (3G/EDGE/GPRS/whatever)

If you don't need something to run in the background, you should exit it, not use a task killer.


text:
Bluetooth keyboard with Android?
Can I use a bluetooth keyboard with Android?

This question needs new answers, the most recent one is from 2011.

Android natively doesn't support the Bluetooth HID profile which would be required for this. So, your options are limited depending on whether you're rooted or not:

(If rooted): This YouTube video shows the Nexus One connected to a Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Keyboard 7000.
(If not rooted): Teksoft provide a Bluetooth HID driver (commercially, costs about 10 Euros), which is reportedly successful.

Note: Individual devices that run Android may have the HID profile added by their manufacturer -- for example, the Dell Streak supports Bluetooth keyboards.

When this answer was written, Android Froyo (2.2) was the most recent Android version. Maybe things have changed?

Android 3.0+ supports several bluetooth keyboards such as the Logitech Tablet Keyboard, which I use successfully with my Android 4.0 phone (not tablet) for note-taking and IM.

It does now. I am using an iTrivia Palmkey on my Galaxy S2 running Gingerbread 2.3.5.

Yes, you can. Just pair with the keyboard and it will work.

Yes, I paired with my folding EC Technology Bluetooth keyboard on the first attempt. Alas I find that one or two very useful characters by default require awkward multi-key presses (see here).


text:
Should I buy a HTC Desire or an Nexus One (in Australia)
I've done some research and there seem to be advantages and disadvantages to each.  I'm fairly confident that I can physically run both in Australia, however which will give me the best experience given the mobile bands and technology available here?
The main things I'm concerned with:

Reception for phone calls - probably fine in the US, but what about AU?
Data speeds - Are 3G and/or HSDPA available?
Handset speed - specs are similar, but which one actually performs, and will it perform within Australia?

dangerously close to shopping recommendation, which we generally don't allow

@Jeff - Yep, I know what you mean - I'm particularly looking for advice RE Australia's networks - I believe we use different mobile band ranges?  I've edited and clarified this in the question now.

My recommendation would be for you to get the Nexus One. Though the Nexus One and the Desire both have the same 1Ghz Snapdragon processor, the Nexus One now runs Android 2.2 "Froyo" that has a JIT compiler that can execute code up to 6x as fast as the Android 2.1 on the Desire. The fact that the Nexus One is the official Google phone means that it's going to be the first to receive the latest software, while other devices (like the Desire) will lag behind or not get updated at all.
The other big deciding factor is HTC's Sense. Though many people like Sense, there are others, including myself, that prefer the stock Android UI. If you can, try and see if you can play with both UIs before deciding which one you want to buy (stock Android 2.1, which can be found on the Motorola Milestone, is similar to stock 2.2, but lacks a shortcut to the phone dialer at the bottom on the home screen).

Not sure this is relevant but Google announced it will be discontinuing sales of the Nexus One is the USA.

This doesn't directly address your three main things, so downvote me if you must, but one big current advantage to the Nexus One is that it's really the Google phone and gets preferential treatment when it comes to Android updates.
In the US at least, carriers who release and subsidize phones often call the shots as to what software ships on the phone and when it gets OS updates, if ever.  The N1, being unlocked and carrier neutral doesn't have these issues.  The HTC Desire has the Sense UI which seems to lag behind upstream Android releases quite a bit.  However, some people greatly prefer the Sense UI to the stock Android UI, so there is a trade-off to be made there.

No, no downvote from me - it's a good response.

I really love the HTC Sense interface AND the fact that I can tether the phone with my laptop out of the box, that was the biggest selling point for me.

I would go the HTC desire. You can run it on telstra's 3.5G networks and get the true 21mbps speed over 3G.
The nexus one is sold online only here - so servicing would be through visiting one of the limited HTC centre's. Buying a desire from Telstra gives you repair/help etc at every telstra store.
Yes the nexus one currently has an android 2.2 update and the official HTC desire upgrade won't be till september - but there is already an unofficial ROM for 2.2 on the desire people are running.

I own an HTC Desire and I like it a lot, it is comparable to the Nexus one the tow things I am missing are the trackball and the Google experience.

do you mean two?


text:
Can I turn off wifi, GPS, etc. on Android phone overnight?
I'd like for my Android phone to automatically turn off some features overnight to save battery, and re-enable them in the morning.  Among the things I'd like to turn do:

Turn off wifi
Turn off the GPS
Use only 2G data networks

I don't need any fancy idle detection.  I'd be happy with the ability to do this from, say, 12am to 6am.
What Android apps are good for this sort of thing?

If you don't mind paying for an app, then this is very similar to the sort of thing that Locale for Android does, you can set it to switch stuff on or off, or run apps on your phone when certain conditions like fine/coarse location, etc are met. There are also quite a few Locale plugins (many of them free) available on the market that give it loads of extra functionality.

Perhaps you could mention that Locale sadly is no longer free ;-)

Good point, I'd totally forgotten that. Updated now.

BEST $ you will ever spend on your Android phone.

I believe Tasker is more powerful and cheaper ($6 instead of $11).  And Locale cutting off all their beta testers wasn't very nice.  http://tasker.dinglisch.net/

You can definitely use Tasker to do this.  It takes a while to get used to their interface, but there is a decent wiki that has step-by-step examples for many scenarios.

I own and use Locale. It's pretty awesome; you can use location, time, caller, charger, and battery level (or any combination) as criteria for adjusting certain settings. It does use a considerable amount of memory and must be running at all times in order to monitor those conditions. But it is well worth it to me. I essentially never have to fiddle with my settings when I go from home, to work, to sleep... It cannot, however, adjust GPS or set the phone to only use 2G data networks (unless there are plugins I don't know about).

I use Tasker to do exactly that, and much (much) more. Whether or not it can switch between 2G and 3G seems to depend on the handset, which you don't mention. Here is an example from the Tasker Wiki, showing how to set the phone into Airplane mode at night.
Note that the GPS only uses power if something uses it, so turning it off is highly unlikely to make any meaningful difference to your battery life.

Maybe SweetDreams can do the work for you. According to a ruleset it will turn off bluetooth, wifi and select the ringtone configuration of your choice during a determinate time range.

Perhaps you could expalin a little bit what it does?

Good point, i'm on it

I use Llama to do similar things on a schedule, e.g. put my phone on silent while I'm at work during working hours, turn off Wi-Fi when I leave home, and so on.
You can set events to occur based on where you are among other conditions such as time/date, screen on/off, battery level, etc. Llama learns locations based on the cell towers that are in range rather than your Wi-Fi or GPS location, so it does not eat into your battery at all. Llama does not require root. I find it very easy to use and now that I have it configured the way I want, I don't ever look at it unless I want to change something.

I use Timeriffic (free) which will turn on/off wifi, gps, change ringer, brightness etc. based on timed schedules.
Unfortunately "Use only 2G data networks" is not in the options.

so far, the best free solution!

Also, if you use Juicedefender https://market.android.com/details?id=com.latedroid.juicedefender&hl=en that has an option for night mode with everything you were talking about and more, JuiceDefender is pretty awesome anyway. Lastly, if you have rooted your phone, Cyanogenmod http://www.cyanogenmod.com/ also has a night mode.

"Quiet Hours" on CyanogenMod 7 is great, I don't have to worry about an email/text message waking me up at night. The calls go through just the same though, so I don't miss out on an emergency/late night call.

You can certainly do it based on your location: http://www.twofortyfouram.com/product.html
I have enquired of their support whether you can use time as one of the switching criteria, I would be surprised if you could not. Even if it isn't available out of the box, there is a plugin system and scripting that I am sure would do it.
I do not own the app so I cannot comment on it's efficacy, but I have seen good references.

edit

Response from developer

Can Locale be made to switch situations based on time alone, such as
  going silent at night regardless of location?
  John

-

Hi John,
Yes!

I own and use this app. It's pretty awesome; you can use location, time, caller, charger, and battery level (or any combination) as criteria for adjusting certain settings. It does use a considerable amount of memory and must be running at all times in order to monitor those conditions. But it is well worth it to me. I essentially never have to fiddle with my settings when I go from home, to work, to sleep... It cannot, however, adjust GPS or set the phone to only use 2G data networks.

Silence can toggle your ringer, Wi-fi, Bluetooth, and airplane mode settings automatically over scheduled intervals.

Features:

Simple, intuitive Holo-themed interface
Schedule events that occur once, or repeat on certain days of the week
Change your ringer to silent, vibrate, or normal mode
Turn Wi-fi, Bluetooth, and airplane mode on and off
Change your settings back automatically when the scheduled event ends

There is also a paid version without ads.


text:
Where can I get Android 2.2 for HTC Desire
How can I get the 2.2 version of Android on my HTC Desire and when?

I just got the update notification (unbranded Desire, Germany).
So the answer to "when" is: Now.

@balpha, thanks! How did you received the notification? Is that an url that you got?  Can you download it over wifi? - sorry about the questions. I just got really excited

@gyurisc just a popup saying that it's there and asks if you want to download over any connection or only when connected to wifi (it's some 90mb). Rest happens automatically, except for a "ready when you are" dialog to confirm the install.

did you keep all your settings?

Hi! I managed to force it by going to the Settings then About phone and then System Software updates. There I did a Check now and downloaded the update over WiFi. I had to try this several times as it said that the download is corrupted. I got lucky at the end and the update is installed.

@Moak It kept all my settings. I could not notice any changes in my setup, so it is fine.

The official Froyo release for the HTC Desire seems to be imminent. Though since it's already been over three weeks since they said it would come within the next two, you might have better luck with an unofficial ROM.

The article linked to (and many others elsewhere reporting the same story) turned out to be incorrect. The information appears to have come from someone quite low down within HTC and was inaccurate. The official statement has now been released as per my other answer.

The initial leaked information was "late June", but this turned out to be incorrect. HTC have released a full statement now stating that the upgrade will be during Q3 (so anytime between now and the end of September). See this TechRadar article for more information.

Here is a good article about putting a custom 2.2 on your HTC Desire, I've heard first hand reports that it worked.


text:
iPhone ringtones and other sounds on Android
My current phone is an HTC Desire and I was using an iPhone before. I am really liking the ringtons and other system sounds on the iPhone and I am now looking a way to have these on my Android phone. Are there any apps for that?

As the iPhone system sounds are the property of Apple, I cannot help you find them. If you do, however, place ringtones on your SD card under /ringtones and other sounds like new mail notification under /notifications. Go back into preferences and you should now be able to select these sounds.

Thanks Kyle! I will try to figure out how to transfer these from my iPhone :)

Zedge is a pretty sweet ringtones/wallpaper app which I am sure includes said ringtones.


text:
Is internet tethering possible on Android phone via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi?
I have HTC Desire and I use different Wi-Fi networks with it, but I don't have mobile internet access. My laptop is usually connected via a mobile modem.
Is there a way to share the laptop's internet access via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth?

This seems like a question for Super User, as it's about computers and not necessarily about gadgets.

I think it is suitable for both sites, but I imagine that it would be turned down there as well, because I mention a device specifically and that would be considered device specific question, thus it is out scope there, because the emphasis is on the device and not the PC. :)

@Kyle: as a Super User mod I would vote for keeping gadget questions here, even if they interface with a computer

@Ivo If you take away the fact that he wants to use it with his phone, this isn't a gadget question at all. This could just as well be one computer sharing its internet via wifi with another computer.

Lorenz Blog has an article which explains how to set up a Wireless Hosted Network specifically on Windows 7.
To do so, the easiest way is to install either Virtual Router or Connectify

(source: londatiga.net)

(source: londatiga.net)
These programs will set up your computer to pass through the Wi-Fi connection
Then on the Android device:

Go to Settings -> Wireless & networks -> Wi-Fi Settings
Open Advance settings menu
Tick the Use static IP option
Enter your desired IP address (ex: 192.168.2.2)  into IP Address field
Enter your IPV4 Address (ex. 192.168.2.1) into Gateway field
Enter 255.255.255.0 into Netmask field
Enter your internet connection’s DNS server (use ipconfig /all command to get DNS info) into DNS 1 and DNS 2. As an alternative, you can use Google Public DNS: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
Connect to Wi-Fi using your password
Disable and Enable Wi-Fi (in case if it won’t connect)
Check the connection using browser or other application.

Note these steps may not work on every computer and every Android device. Please vote down if it DOESN'T work for you and mention your setup.

actually this steps will work if your pc hardware supports connectify. If your android has wifi capability; there is no reason why not to connect to wireless access point.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Is it possible to receive an incoming call while tethering on an Android phone?
Is it possible to have a 3G tethering session and receive an audio call at the same time? Is this the function of the phone or the mobile OS or the carrier-network?

It depends:

You are on a CDMA network (Verizon, Sprint) you can't call and use Internet at the same time (exepect if you use Internet over Wifi) - This is limitation of CDMA only networks
You are on a GSM network (AT&T for US and almost all other operator worlwide excluding Asia). In this case if you have 3G connectivity you should be able to use 3G and call at the same time, if connectivity not 3G but only GRPS/EDGE you can't have a call and internet at the same time (because GPRS/EDGE use voice channel)

+1 There's the problem! I probably keep getting switched between 3G and GPRS (crappy coverage), which explains why it would drop for me

+1 thanks for the answer. We tested it and it seems that you can have 3G while having a voice call

Why exclude Asia. Most of the Asian countries have GSM networks and not CDMA.


text:
Is there any way to make free skype calls from HTC Desire?
Well Fring is blocked. I'm located in China. I neeeeed to make free skype calls to my family around the world. Skype Lite is not an option, has anybody cracked this cookie?

Your best bet is to wait for Fring to solve it's issues with Skype

You could try out Nimbuzz.

At the time this question was originally asked, Skype Lite was the only official Skype client and it was locked into the Verizon Network and it locked voice calling to wifi only (so as not to compete with their cell minute plans).  As of early October, Skype released it to the Market for phones on other carriers.  It was still crippled from making SkypeOut calls over the 3G connection, until a Hacker over at Droid Forums came up with a solution and as I was typing this I realize that it was only for phones in the US, so it looks like it's still a no go.  Sebastiaan's answer, Nimbuzz is your best bet.

That doesn't really constitute an answer - a little more explanation or just plain exposition would be helpful

I can't really explain it any better than the article I linked to does.

Which was why I also said some exposition would have done.  I understand that the answer you linked explains it best but it doesn't make a good answer on here.

Fair enough.  I suppose I was being a little lazy and now it appears it didn't actually answer the question at all.  Whoops.

What you could do is uninstall the latest version of Skype and install an older version. I recently had to do this as I found the most recent versions of Skype were just bloatware and couldn't even do basic stuff (like voice chat) anymore.
Now I have to warn you that you are taking a risk installing a non-Market app, but I believe that Freewarelovers is a reputable site.

Uninstall your current version of Skype. Just go to Market, My Apps,
Skype, Uninstall.
Switch on Settings, Applications, Unknown Sources.
Download version 1.0.0.984 from this link http://www.freewarelovers.com/android/app/skype#old_versions
When the download is finished, just install it.
Remember to turn off Unknown Sources afterwards.

Try version 1.0.0.984 for starters. If that doesn't work keep trying earlier versions!


text:
Why isn't my HTC Hero upgrading?

Located in China I've been waiting forever for the HTC Hero update to Android 2.1. However now everywhere around the world people are getting it.
I do get the occasional update, and then I get prompted to reset the phone, however when I reset it the update does not get installed (missing update.zip on SD card?)
Or maybe I have to relocate to England? Could I fake this with a VPN/proxy? If so how could I set this up?
Cheers

Your best bet is rooting it, in which case your question would a duplicate of mine. If it's locked, you can't install other WWE's, so root is the easiest way to go.

No I would really not like to root the phone.

Does China have an extra Android version or do you have either the US version or the European version?
To let my own European Hero install Android 2.1 I had to tell it to manually check for new updates.

How do you tell it  "to manually check for new updates" Did you end up getting an update.zip on your SD card?

StartScreen/Menu Key/Settings/About Phone/Software Updates/Check now
I never saw an update.zip and I think that simply happened in the background.

I have android 1.5 so i get as far as StartScreen/Menu Key/Settings/About Phone ||||||||

Depending on whether your phone is locked and won't accept foreign updates, you may not have to root your phone, but you will have to unlock it by using the goldcard method.
Luckily this website helps you do it in a few simple steps:
Note: these steps will NOT root your phone.
Download: klutsh's Goldcard Tool

Format your SD card to FAT32 by going Settings > SD Card & Phone Storage > Unmount SD Card then Format SD Card
Launch the goldcard tool as admin by Right click on App > Run as Admin
Connect your phone to your PC and make sure USB debugging is enabled (Settings > Applications > Development > USB Debugging)
Click get CID (Try clicking MMC0 if MMC1 fails)
Click the link to open the goldcard generator, copy the CID from the tool into it. You will get an email.
Enable USB Mass Storage on your phone.
Click 'Refresh' in the app and select your micro SD card.
Click 'Load goldcard.img' and select the file you received by email.
Click 'Patch MMC'
You now have a goldcard!
Now you can downgrade using the Generic RUU.

After these steps you've changed your Android version to a generic one and you can use the generic update to get it to 2.1.
Kudos to klutsh from MoDaCo and the person who made the site!


text:
Android 2.2 on Verizon, specifically Droid

Possible Duplicate:
When will my phone get the Android 2.2 update (FroYo)?

Does anyone know when 2.2 will be released for Verizon phones?  Also, is there a way to install it currently?  I'd like to upgrade as soon as possible because it is really nice but, Verizon is so slow in getting these out.

official rollout should mostly be done by now (August 19)

There isn't a release date yet. Every rumored date gets pushed back. The most recent was a July 13th date that is now pushed to 'August'. This is all hearsay, though.
Only way to currently get 2.2 is if you are rooted and install either a vanilla build of 2.2 or a custom ROM built with the 2.2 source code.
As soon as the official update hits, expect the 'update.zip' to be all over the web within the first day, then we can all download and install it (rooted or not).

How to root a Droid running 2.1
Once rooted, download ROM Manager from the market. This app will download and install many different ROMs for you.

NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE :)

Current speculation is the OTA update will be August 12.
You can also download the official Android 2.2 update file, no Root needed. (Android Tapp has the details.)

A lucky (?) few got it last week, but they found a show-stopper and pulled the plug.  Eagerly waiting.  :)

Update: Android 2.2 is now being sent to Verizon phones now as an automatic update.
Note: They still disable a few 2.2 features, like the mobile wi-fi hotspot option.

Note: this wasn't true at all... until 9/1...