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Number of Wi-Fi channels to be used?
Under advanced wifi settings one can change number of Wi-Fi channels to be used (11, 13, 14). Does anyone have a clue on how does this property affect battery drain? I know it should be configured depending on how your Wi-Fi router is set-up, but maybe one number of channels should be ("defaultly") preferred over another so battery would last longer?

It has nothing to do with battery life; the number of channels is a regulatory issue (for example, in the US, only 11 channels are allocated for 2.4GHz Wi-Fi).
Technically, Wi-Fi is frequency hopping, so the "channel" is a center frequency around which the actual transmit frequency skips.  You can't disable that; it's part of the channel sharing arrangement (Wi-Fi would be unusable if every client on the channel transmitted on the same frequency).  And beyond that, which channel your device uses is determined by what AP you're associated with, so you have no control over it.

a bit unrelated, but could it be that if lot of devices are connected to a wifi router, they congest the channels and than that is what in the end drains the battery more than it should because more packets have to be re-sent?

@pootzko: that certainly happens, but (a) you still need to change the AP to accomplish anything and (b) adding channels means using someone else's spectrum which is (a) illegal and (b) quite possibly worse (consider what might already be using those addresses; they're not restricted just to annoy people, they're given to someone else).

Also note that there are additional tradeoffs: a closer AP may be more congested, requiring more transmissions, but may use less power overall than talking to a less congested but more distant AP. (Most WiFi cards do reduce their transmit power when they can; on Linux you can often determine the current transmit power using the wifi tools.)

@pootzko On a related note: channels 1, 6, and 11 provide the least interference.  Wikipedia has a good explanation if you're interested in why.


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Locus Maps - adding additional zoom levels
The Locus Maps app allows downloading maps and using them offline. When selecting a map region, the zoom levels have to be selected. I've downloaded a map at a specific zoom level (23) expecting that I will be able to use lower zoom levels as well (1-22).
However - I can now only go through the map at zoom level 23, which is awkward.
Is there any way to add additional zoom levels to those maps already downloaded, without having to download the entire thing again from scratch (it's big)?
Thank you!

After searching and searching - I don't think there's a way to do this. The only option is deleting the old map and downloading the map once again with multiple zoom levels selected.

Did you read the Locus documentation for downloading maps? Check this document.
In the end, there is a section called "Download types". There is a type called "External map", and this is what you need for this task.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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SMS to contacts with multiple numbers
I use to forward SMS to many contacts, most of those contacts have multiple numbers with one number as default.
Handcent
When I select a group to send a message, handcent asks me to choose number for each contact with multiple numbers.
GO SMS
It does the same as handcent
Pansi SMS
It picks the number randomly
Is there anyway it can pick default number automatically, or select the 'home' or 'mobile' number automatically?
Or is there any alternate application, as good as handcent, which can do that?

Have you tried asking one of the developers of those apps if that can be added?  Speaking personally as an app developer, I love hearing from users with suggestions to improve functionality or usability since I can't envision all possible usage scenerios myself.

New version of handcent  with its group sms plugin does the job perfectly.

Why down vote, it works perfectly

I did not mark this answer down, but handcent with group plugin (10) still asks to confirm which phone number to add.

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


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Port forwarding for wireless tethering
I have an HTC EVO 4G and I've been using the manufacturer's supplied app for wireless tethering.  It works great but is missing are several key features I require:

Statically assigned IP addresses for connected clients
Port forwarding

Is there a way to enable this functionality?

are you rooted?

yes sir I am....unless you're from the warranty department of my carrier

hahaha no i'm not ;)

One thing you could do would be to set up an Amazon EC2 Ubuntu server instance as an OpenVPN server and then use the OpenVPN client app on your laptop.  Then you have to forward everything incoming to the server to the client interface IP address of the OpenVPN client running on your laptop.
I haven't done what you are wanting to do--the port forwarding part--but I easily could with the existing OpenVPN setup with some iptables tweaking to direct traffic to the client.
This sounds more complicated than it is, but you still need to be somewhat comfortable with the Linux command-line to get thru all this.
As far as the cost of the EC2, it's normally ≈$15/month, but I think they still have the deal where if you've never signed up for Amazon AWS before, then you can get a year for free.
Your own personal OpenVPN server is nice to have for when you are overseas and want to watch USA tv shows online (b/c they refuse connections from outside the USA), or if you are in a place where content or services such as Skype are blocked (such as on planes).  It basically makes selective blocking of services impossible.
If you have specific questions, just send me a message.


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What are the *technical* reasons preventing connection to 4G? How can I diagnose myself?
I have an EVO Shift, and often see an icon similar to 4G! (see enclosed picture with red arrow) in my android status bar.  I have consulted with my carrier ad-nauseum, read the manual, rebooted, updated firmware, updated profile, updated PRL... all to no avail.
The HTC manual says that this icon means that 4G is available, but I am not connected.
This problem can happen at any time; in fact, sometimes it is literally ten or twenty feet from an area where I had max 4G signal strength.  In fact, the last time I took the phone into the carrier's store, the tech saw the 4G! icon, clicked to "scan for 4G service" and the phone suddenly came up with maximum 4G signal strength.  This screen capture is after walking less than 30 seconds outside the door to the carrier's store, where again the phone cannot connect to 4G service.
I am an engineer and love to understand the details of how things work.  So my questions...

I hope to hear from people who understand the intimate details of Sprint's 4G technology and/or the innards of the HTC Shift, and can elaborate on why these erratic 4G connections could be happening (other than low signal strength).
I already know I can use the iproute2 family of commands from a non-root terminal shell; but this is only giving me ip address and link up/down info.  Can I get signal strength measurements in dB?  What about signal-to-noise ratio, logging, or a list of available 4G tower ids?
What apps or Android native APIs I can hook into for better diagnostic information?

This map shows exactly where I had the problem, and Sprint's own coverage map indicates that I should get maximum connectivity here:

While I'm not intimately familiar with Sprint's 4G or your phone (sorry) I have found in my own CDMA troubleshooting that the built in HTC diagnostic tools can be very useful. I found this guide over at XDA as one of the better lists of Sprint CDMA diag codes (even though it's not for your phone specifically). I recommend trying ##33284# or ##3282#, one of these should bring up a utility that lists very specific information about your cellular network connection.

Thank you, these provide much more visibility into my Rx signal strength

See if Cell Phone Coverage Map by RootMetrics is useful to you. It tests your connection and shows dB level and upload and download speeds. Plus it shows the cumulative data for the area based on yours and other users' tests along with comparisons to other carriers.


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Methods to trigger a gallery/music player refresh?
I've search around the internet for details regarding this, and the only way I found was to remount the SD card..
But I have a lot of apps (virtually, all) installed on my SDcard and this is probably what is causing me enormous time to unmount and remount the sd card. Furthermore, just unmounting the sdcard itself takes almost an eternity. (I dont know if this is a bug or if its due to my large no of apps; i have around 90 apps).. So this method is really inconvenient for me
So I wanted to know if there are other methods to refresh my gallery items and music player. Is there any small app that would do this?

You probably haven't been asking the right question in your research.
Have you tried searching 'rescan media' in the android market? A multitude of apps will be returned.
Personally the great app Widgetsoid has this function amongst a multitude of options/settings.

To refresh the list of your music you do following:
Go into settings->manage apps->ALL services. Scroll down and select "Media Storage." Then hit the "Clear Data" icon.
Source: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-4-general-discussion/220965-players-dont-detect-music-my-sd-card-after-ics-update.html

Good to know from the same source: You must then reboot your phone, and at boot the phone runs the media update service in the background. It could take up to an hour for this database to be populated and updated. At that point, you'll see your music again in your players, and your photos and movies in the gallery.


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How can I control the brightness from the notification bar?
My friend has the Galaxy S and is able to control the brightness by sliding his finger over the notification-bar. He said he didn't install anything to have it (but he has a custom ROM, so that doesn't have to mean anything).
I have the HTC Desire running with the Cyanogen MOD. I tried finding a widget or something else that will allow me to control the brightness from the notification bar, but came up with nothing.
Can it be done?

I don't think widgets attach to the notification bar.

Yeah I would think you'd need a custom ROM/theme.

As far as you have cyanogenmod, you can do it ;)
Follow the below settings menus:
Settings-> CyanogenMod Settings-> Interface -> Status bar tweaks ->
Than make sure Status bar brightness control is checked.

This is an undocumented feature in certain Samsung devices. Hold your finger over the notification bar and then sliding it left and right can increase/decrease brightness.
It started with the Galaxy S, IIRC. Also, "auto-brightness" setting must be turned off.

My Samsung Droid Charge also has this undocumented feature. What a great find! Thanks Sparx!


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Will gingerbread system apk apps upgrade over froyo's?
On my froyo , I just found several apk files of gallery, FMradio, etc etc inside "/" directory using filemanager.. I was wondering if gingerbread's system apps can be used to "upgrade" over these froyo system apps.. Would it void my warranty? would it cease OTA upgrades?
If anyone could also give the sources to gingerbread system files apk's it would be good.

It would almost certainly void your warranty, even if you somehow managed to do it without rooting.  They also probably wouldn't work -- 2.3 introduced several features that aren't present in 2.2.  And apart from Google apps, many apps like Gallery/etc. are device specific.


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SD card unmounted when HTC Desire is being charged (even with a "wall charger")
Whenever I plug in the charger into my HTC Desire (2.2) it unmounts the SD card. I can get around it when it's connected to a PC or other device via USB by selecting Charge Only again in the charge menu - it then re-mounts the SD card. However, you do not get the charge/connect as options when it's a wall charger so I cannot get around the problem (therefore losing all my apps installed on the card, music etc while it's charging).
Has anyone seen a bug (feature?) like this? I've been trying to find anything about this problem online but to no avail...
Thanks in advance!

Can you provide logcat output when connecting your wall charger? Somewhere in pastebin. Last relevant lines only. http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Logcat

@Denis you'll have to explain what this is all about...

@Dmitry: Is it the original HTC charger or a third party one?

Strange. I have an HT Desire running 2.2 and don't have that problem. It might be the cable of the charger that is incorrectly registering as being a USB connection (faulty, cheap knockoff that is incorrectly wired?) Try another charger. Blackberrys also use micro USB so ask a buddy to use their charger

It happens with several chargers I tried. Most of the time I use the one from my Plantronics bluetooth headset

Interesting, never had that happen to me. If you can, try what pufferfish suggested - recharge with a different charger/cable (maybe ask around at work?)
Or if that isn't convenient possibly try taking out the SD-card and putting it back in? I've had my SD-card randomly unmount itself once and re-inserting it seemed to have fixed it.

I have removed the card on a number of occasions and that did not help... Thanks for suggestion!

hm, odd... another stab in the dark. Turn phone off, plug in to charge. Turn phone back on... does the SD card still get unmounted?

I will try that when I get to the charger, thanks.

Sorry, forgot to answer here - did not help

Your HTC Desire is definitely has a malfunction. Try to reboot. As a workaround, you can try to configure to do nothing if USB cable is connected. Search for option in Menu => Settings or from notification when connected to PC.

It happens when a wall charger is connected, not just a USB (i.e. when phone understands it's a USB connection and gives you options about what type of connection to establish)

You said "I can get around it when it's connected to a PC or other device via USB by selecting Charge Only again in the charge menu - it then re-mounts the SD card.". I believe that you have USB disk configured as default when connecting USB cable. Try and see if this settings applies when you connect your wall charger. I may apply (incorrectly) in your case, because the phone detects the charger as a USB device. Just configure "Charge only" to be the default.

Default connection type is already "Charge Only"

Try another SD card? Maybe the problem is voltage stability...

Not sure I can get one


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Failure -12 error when installing an apk file
When I try to install this app (http://ziyang.eecs.umich.edu/projects/powertutor/UMLogger-release-signed.apk) on G1 phone I'm getting this error message:
Failure [-12]

What's the problem?

The -12 failure code indicates INSTALL_FAILED_OLDER_SDK, meaning that the app was built for - and requires - a version of Android that is newer than the version you have on your device (source). For example, you should get this error if you had an Android 1.6 device and tried to install an app which required Android 2.1 (or higher). You would need to either:

Update your device to a newer version of Android somehow, OR
Ask the app developer if it's possible to build the app for an older version of Android.


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How to view pictures from Samsung Galaxy Mini on Sony Bravia tv?
Any idea how can I connect my Samsung Galaxy Mini to Sony KDL-22EX320 Bravia tv? I cannot get it to show up as a USB device. The tv manual also mentions the possibility of browsing wifi devices but I have no idea how to set up wifi connection between them. Please note I don't want to connect my phone to tv as described here, I just want to get pictures straight off of my phone onto the tv screen.

You can use the "AllShare" apk, which enable you to use DLNA phone device (Im considering that your sony bravia supports DLNA).

Thanks for putting me on the right track! Couldn't find AllShare and installed
iMediaShare   from Android Market. Although the tv does not show up in the app I could browse multimedia on the tv which found DLNA server via wifi without any additional configuration.


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How can I clear the cache(s) of my g2x from adb?
I installed clockworkmod as the recovery, then installed cyanogen 7 nightly for the g2x.  I used Rom Manager to do so.  The problem I'm having is cyanogen shows the boot loading screen in an infinite loop.  From what I have read on the Internet, I need to clear out the cache on the phone, and it should boot.
I can adb reboot recovery but it does not go into clockworkmod.  Instead, it shows the icon of an arrow leaving a box - I suppose an indication it is trying to install an update.  I cannot get it to boot into recovery mode.
Is it possible to do so?  Or can I clear the cache or reflash the LG G2X using adb?  My poor phone!  I am lonely without it!
(This is a G2X - if the "tmobile-g2(s)" tag is incorrect, please remove it)

I am not sure about the G2X, but when I would reboot in to recovery on my Galaxy S Vibrant, I used to have to "apply updates", which would run the update.zip that was on the sdcard, this would bring me in to the clockwork recovery.
I also know that the adb reboot recovery does not yet work correctly on the Galaxy S Vibrant version, so this could be the same issue on the G2X.


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What will I lose if I manually upgrade Galaxy Tab 7" to Honeycomb 3/3.1?
I have a Galaxy Tab 7" WiFi running Android 2.2.1. This particular device will be used for business purposes (I am working on developing some local custom apps for my department), and I would much prefer to use Honeycomb instead, due to the encrypt device support.
However, reading around I understand I will lose some functionality if I manually upgrade. What will I lose?
Also, as an addendum, if I upgrade but it does not work out, I assume I can do a factory reset. If this is incorrect, please let me know.
Thanks!
Jared

Were you looking at this build or is there another one floating around? That one seems to be more of a novelty than anything else, honestly. Developing for it seems like it would hardly be worth it :-/

@eldarerathis - How did you come to that conclusion?

@Jared: Well it's basically the SDK emulator image made to boot on a Tab since that's all they have to work with. They call it an "Alpha" and say in the description "Using an alpha rom can be very dangerous. Don't just flash, because you see its HONEYCOMB, read everything very carefully first!". It also looks like it doesn't have 3G, screen rotation/gyroscope, GPS, bluetooth, mic support, hardware acceleration, or stable audio output. It's an impressive effort to get it working, but it definitely doesn't seem to be feature-complete or stable.

Actually, some of that information looks like it's in the GSM thread but not the CDMA one. They seem to be the same base ROM, though, as far as I can tell. Same developer at least.

@eldarerathis - Hmm, that's interesting. So you're saying unless I want to walk on the wild side, I should probably stick with Samsung's Froyo on the Galaxy Tab 7"?

@eldarerathis - Believe me too, I am but a new babe in this world, both Android and in replacing/updating device OSes. I want the advances available to admins with Honeycomb, but ultimately, I need the thing to work consistently (and I don't much care for Samsung's custom stuff, I just a need a device that works).

@Jared: I guess the easy way to sum it up would be to say that it's very much bleeding-edge. Also, I've essentially converted my previous comment into an answer below since I seem to have inadvertently covered much of what you asked in the first place.

I realized that I'm going on and on in comments for no real reason but perhaps this is better suited for an answer.
The only Honeycomb build I'm aware of for the Tab is this one on XDA (there are two versions, GSM and CDMA). It is, for all intents and purposes, a bleeding-edge attempt to get Honeycomb running on the Tab. The developer refers to it as an "Alpha" and essentially says to expect things to be buggy.
Since there is no public source code for the 3.x releases of Android yet, the build is based on an extracted image/filesystem from the Android SDK, meaning that it is not optimized for the Tab and probably lacks 3rd party drivers (excepting any official 2.2 drivers that happen to be compatible with 3.x).
The GSM thread lists the following as "not working" under the current build, meaning this is the minimum you should expect to lose:
*Gyro (no rotation, there is an app installed but rotates wrong way)
*Settings window not appearing when expanding from the Notifications menu
*3g data nor phone abilities
*BT,
*gyro,
*hardware acceleration
*SD card on boot
*headphone audio
*mic
*GPS

In general, builds like this show up on devices when a new major release appears in the SDK but they tend to be fairly unstable and also fairly slow. The videos I've seen of this ROM appear a bit more performant (in general) than other SDK ports I've encountered, but your experience may vary.
As for restoring, the "Factory Reset" option doesn't usually touch system files on most devices, from what I know. It's possible I'm mistaken on this and that the Tab does actually restore the firmware, but I'm not incredibly familiar with the Tab. You'll probably want to do a little digging to see what a "Factory Reset" actually means (might be in your manual, perhaps).
That being said, there are instructions for getting a Verizon Tab back to stock here, and there might be similar ones floating around for other carriers. If you can get a custom recovery on to your device then you can simply back up your system before trying Honeycomb and then restore from the backup. The easiest way to do it is probably just to install ROM Manager and flash ClockworkMod recovery from there. There appear to be manual instructions about but they vary by carrier.
Personally speaking: I would not use an SDK port for anything other than showing off to people (which can admittedly be a whole lot of fun). In a production environment I definitely wouldn't risk it, and I honestly never kept them installed for more than about 30 or 45 minutes at a time to play with before restoring to a stable ROM. They were fun sneak-peaks, but I've always found them highly unreliable (though "your mileage may vary" is probably a good catch phrase here).
Edit: A word of caution to Wifi Tab users, this post on one of the Honeycomb threads indicates that the current ROMs (as of 6/19/2011) WILL NOT WORK on a Wifi Tab. I personally can not verify the validity of this statement, but this would not surprise me as other devices (e.g. the Xoom) have similar incompatibility among ROMs.

@eldarerathis - I certainly appreciate your efforts; I'm still working on figuring this out, and wish that Samsung had better update support (obviously, that's a known issue). I'm not actually using a GSM/CDMA device though; it's a WiFi device (perversely, a GT-P1010). Does that change anything?

@Jared: That may actually mean that these ROMs could brick your device :-/ I have a 3G Xoom and I know there's actually some differences under the hood in the firmware. People who tried to install 3G ROMs on Wifi Xooms have all kinds of nasty trouble with them. I'm not that familiar with the tab, but this post claims similar incompatibility issues.

@eldarerathis - You certainly raise many good points that are easy to miss for the novice. I appreciate you helping me understand the issues, especially since I'm sure I would have gone ahead anyways. Hopefully, others will see this question before they go too far.

@eldarerathis - This is an aside, but I probably need to encrypt my apps database on Froyo. Any ideas? Thoughts?

@Jared: To be honest, I'm not really familiar with the best way to handle that (never tried it myself). I feel like I saw a Stack Overflow question about it recently, but I don't think I ended up reading it, ironically.

@eldarerathis - Yeah, no doubt. I'm pretty active on SO, but I didn't see that question (not that that's a surprise). I sure would prefer to use Honeycomb's encrypt device functionality, as opposed to encrypting a file or entries in a db. Not really sure what to do at this point. Sure wished that Samsung had it's act together.


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Is there any custom ROM that includes a feature to permanently kill a process?
As is well known from many blog/forum posts, Android 2.2 (Froyo) changed the mechanism for the API to kill the process such that a killed process will likely/possibly be re-started by the OS after being killed. E.g. there is no way to PERMANENTLY 100% guaranteed to stop an application from running short of un-installing it.
Question: Is there any code out there (likely part of some custom ROM) that allows permanent killing of a process without re-spawning it afterwards ala Android 1.6?
I'm mostly interested if such code exists, NOT whether it is in some specific ROM.
I don't much care about specific implementation way (I can think of at least two - either add a new API for "permanent kill" or provide a blacklist of apps that a modified AOSP API would respect).
UPDATE: Just to clarify - I am NOT looking for a way to prevent an app from being started again due to some event triggering an Intent that the app registered with. I am asking about preventing apps from being started by memory/process manager just because it was recently killed, even if that app has no Intents registered whatsoever, e.g. not listed in Autostarts app for any of the Intent types.
Please note that the above-mentioned notion of "restarting an app just because" comes from 2 sources:

Froyo help section for a well-regarded system app "Watchdog"

Google has changed the kill API that the task killers use. In 2.2 (Froyo), the kill API now just restarts the app. It will come right back, under a new system process.

My own observations, where VERY frequently, my Droid X would have apps listed as running in ATK after I killed them, BUT those apps either don't have ANY Intents listed in Autostarts app, or all the Intents listed for them there are 100% disabled. Oh, and these are the types of apps (e.g. games) that are very unlikely to have a side daemon process responsible for reviving them.

Cyanogenmod ROMs has a feature that by LONG pressing the BACK button you can kill the running process.


text:
What is special/different about CyanogenMod's kernel? (especially compared to. DroidX GB kernel)
In an Phandroid article announcing the first successful attempt to run CyanogenMod on DroidX thanks to cvpcs's breakthrough, I noticed the following quote:

CyanogenMod 7 will unfortunately be limited to running on the DROID X’s stock kernel.

Assuming that this is accurate, what (if any) of the main features of CM7 would be missing compared to normal phones' CM7?
In other words, which features of CM7 depend on CM7's own kernel code as opposed to non-kernel?

CyanogenMod is a tweaked kernel. Because of this it's faster, since the team that make it work pretty hard to make Android more faster and stable as possible and also it's already rooted, so you don't need to go all over the process of rooting again.
I highly recommend you to check the CyanogenMod Wiki

The kernel cannot be described as beeing "rooted". The distro (firmwarea) or recovery is "rooted" as a whole, not kernel.


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Is it possible to download an apk from an email onto an Android 2.2 phone, and then run it
The micro usb on my phone broke and I need to continue development of an application while I wait for the replacement. Can I send my program's apk package to myself then download it onto the phone and run it. If so, how might I accomplish this? Thanks for reading.

Do you not have an SD card?

Absolutely.
The GMail app won't allow downloading of attachments (images and the like are only "previewed") but you could use a third-party email app or the GMail the website to get around that.  Be aware that unless you have something like Download Crutch installed, Android may not let you download APKs through the default browser.  You can just use Firefox or another browser instead.

If you are using Wi-fi you can use a remote file transfer tool like WebSharingLite.
You can start the app, browse it in any web browser with the IP and port and upload your .apk or explore your files.

To install .apks from sources other than the android market, you have to enable the "Unknown Sources" feature in the "Settings/Applications" menu. Otherwise, you will not be able to use any third party apps. For example, nothing from the Amazon app store can be installed without this setting.
Also, Dolphin Mini browser is great, lightweight, and allows direct installation of downloaded .apks.

Also, if your cord is broken and you're looking for a way to transfer files effectively (including .apks), try WiFi File Explorer. There's a free version, but the paid one lets you push files to your phone, and i found it to be perfect for transferring .apks without a cord.


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Text-to-speech reading queue?
Anything similar to InstaPaper/Chrome to Phone, but with reading (text-to-speech) capabilities?

InstaFetch (Lite / Pro) is a InstaPaper client that has both the ability to download the webpages for offline use, and to read them aloud with the text to speech engine. There is both a free and a pay version. (BTW: For text to speech I use Ivona - it is free for now and produces amazing quality.)


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Is there any application that can Pause and Record the video?
I own Xperia mini Pro with Android 2.1-update1. I noticed that my mobile Camera is not allowing me to pause and record the video. I had to record the video continuously without any pause. I know this is little annoying me. And I started searching for video applications which can do this job.

This seems to be a limitation of either the Xperia mini Pro Camera software or the hardware itself. The camera that came with the Stock Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant (SGH-T959) I could pause and resume recording of video. I am now running CyanogenMOD on the device, and I can also pause and resume recording.
So either the developers did not want to include that functionality in the camera software, or the hardware has something that prevents them from allowing it.


text:
Text-to-speech reader for Google Voice SMS text messages?
There are a bunch of apps for reading your phone's "native" SMS text messages, but I couldn't find anything for Google Voice, nor could I find any apps that can generically read text in other apps (which I could then apply on Google Voice).

You may want to consider Tasker (http://tasker.dinglisch.net/). It allows you to generecally read things out loud (amongst a million other things). However, I cannot think of a way of actually getting the Google Voice SMS text into it. I'll give it some more thought and if I beat you to the answer I'll post it here :)

If you have a stock Android phone, or certain more recent versions (I think gingerbread on), then you can use Talkback (either as a separate app or in the Accessibility settings), which does generic text reading on your phone, and should read most things. It does read any notifications which come through, which should include Google Voice (though I'm in the UK so I can't actually test this).
It's designed for blind or partially sighted people, and may not be a perfect fit, but it possibly the best option out there so far.
If you want something that does generic reading, then it MUST be an accessibility app, as only they have permission to read the text from other apps. I don't think Google Voice exposes an external API, which is why you aren't able to find an app which specifically offers this capability.

You can't do this with Google Voice. Apps such as Talkback can only read what you have on your input box. Since Google did not open their API, we can't really make an app for Google Voice. You could always copy the message content to your input box but that kind of defeats the purpose of having the feature of Text-To-Speech.

There's a new app in the market called "Google Voice Text Reader" or "Txt2Speech". This will read your Google voice text messages aloud.  Unlike "TalkBack", it won't announce every single touch / event etc that happens on your phone, just your Google Voice messages.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mikesell.voicereader

If in your settings for Google Voice, you enable the feature to have your voicemail translated to text, then you have the option to: send an E-mail notifying you when you get a text or voice mail, Then your reader will read your E-mail notifications and you will get your google voice messages and Text read to you.


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Updating T-Mobile G1 from 1.0 to 1.6
I have a T-Mobile G1 phone (Dev Phone) with android 1.0. To be able to install some apps, I needed to update it to 1.6. So I downloaded an update file and put it on its sdcard. But the update failed and now the problem is that I cannot boot the phone completely. First it asks for a SIM card.

Although, I don't have a T-Mobile SIM card now, I could pass that stage with an AT&T SIM card.

Now it wants me to login to my gmail account to boot up. But I cannot connect to Internet at the moment.

There is no option for wireless too. When I press menu button it just shows me the settings for APNs.

I believe in the newer versions of android, one can skip logging in to Google. But now I cannot even "adb shell" to copy other update files to the SD card.
Any helps would be appreciated.
Thanks,

Is this phone rooted?

The T-Mobile G1 and the ADP1 are different phones, which do you have? The reason you can't get an ADB connection is almost certainly because the "USB Debugging" settings has been switched off during the upgrade, you'd need to get into the settings and turn that back on again.

You can follow this guide to bypass the activation screen.  It requires reverting back to RC29 ROM (downgrading back to 1.0), and having ADB and HTC drivers installed on your PC.
The reason for installing RC29 is that this version has a flaw that treats anything you type as if it was typed into the Terminal.  You will be exploiting this flaw to enable ADB access and bring up the Settings menu, from which you can enable WiFi and activate the device.

With a Sim Card installed in your HTC G1, turn on the phone.
Plug your T-Mobile HTC G1 to you PC USB and Install Drivers on the Windows XP Machine.
Once it ask you for registration type on the keyboard the following:
  [enter]
setprop persist.service.adb.enable 1
  [enter]
  *Even though you don’t see what you are typing, but you are actually
  executing a Command on your G1 to Enable USB Debugging in Settings.
You will notice that the command worked, because Windows XP will recognize a new Hardware Device. “HTC Dream Composite ADB Intefase”. Install the driver by pointing to the folder where you downloaded the USB Drivers.
Unzip the ADB Tool software into the “c:\adb” Windows XP folder.
On Windows XP, click Start -> Run -> cmd” to Command Prompt
Type c:\adb devices (If your Device is Connected u will see it)
Type c:\adb shell (You will see a $ sign) Just Copy & Paste this into Command Prompt:
am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n com.android.settings/.Settings
The settings screen will appear on the HTC G1 Phone. Now switch on Wi-Fi, connect to the WiFi network you have and connect to the Internet.
Now you can either Login with your existing account or create new account with Google.

After your G1 is activated, you can then flash a custom firmware (e.g. CyanogenMod) or a pre-rooted stock 1.6 ROM that will allow you to re-activate your G1 over WiFi without resorting to exploits.

It doesn't look like the update failed. What it is asking for is your google credentials. If the update you applied failed, you most likely would be at the "android" boot and it would just loop, or you'd have a black screen.
The ADP1 device is SIM unlocked, you said you have the Developer version of the G1. You do not need to have a T-Mobile SIM, an AT&T SIM will work.
Make sure you have the google USB drivers for the device installed.
You could also install a version of CyanogenMod on the device, I believe that allows you to use wifi to authenticate.
I found this tutorial on how authenticate via wifi, but keep in mind, this device is a couple years old now and I don't know if the files needed are still available.


text:
How can I keep settings after flashing a ROM?
I am considering flashing my SGS to a custom ROM.  I do not, however, relish the prospect of re-configuring everything.  Most apps on my phone and most definitions should have no dependencies on the ROM, so I would like to be able to back up all the settings, flash the ROM and then restore them.  This would include:

all installed apps
all app settings (launcher preferences, active widgets etc.)
ringtones, backgrounds etc.

Is there any way to do this?

Titanium Backup from the Android Market!
From the Technical FAQ:

Can it back up and restore applications across different ROMs or even different phones ?

YES, without restrictions.

Although you also have:
Can it back up SMS, MMS and system settings ?

Please note that if you backup and restore all system settings across very different ROMs, you are on your own. Before restoring on a different ROM, it is strongly recommended to enable the "Data migration" option in the Titanium Backup settings.

Doesn't Titanium require you to restore to the same ROM as you backed up?

Not necessarily, from the wiki manual. Migrate system data: Use this before restoring system data from a different (incompatible) ROM, or even different phone model

I've used Titanium after flashing to a new ROM without being required to go back.  With the free version you have to manually confirm each app which is a pain, but I heard that with the paid version you can do it all at once.  Keep in mind that sometimes the ROM has a more up to date version of a particular app, depending on where you started (for instance, Samsung Galaxy S has 2.2 for MMS, keyboard, etc... whereas my custom ROM has 2.2.1 versions).

I can confirm that Titanium does not require the same ROM at all.  I'm sure in many cases it could even be done with entirely different devices.  And the paid version makes things a lot easier. It's one of the few apps I've bought and is definitely worth the money.

Just to confirm it works between different devices and versions, I used it to migrate from an HTC Buzz to a Motorola Droid 2. As said, just be careful with system related stuff (including SMS, call-logs, etc.), which can break things (force-close on SMS, for one). Also, the troubleshooting options provide additional help just-in-case.

Also consider making a nandroid backup before anything!

Good advice, but nandroid doesn't allow settings-only restore.  This should probably be a comment?

@MatthewRead True on both counts. Wasn't sure about amending anothers post. Nandroid is a god send when your attempts at restoring settings through TB go awry. Saved my bacon!

Just a minor update - Appextractor in the Play Store does allow extracting partial data from a nandroid.


text:
Turn off vibration when docking the phone
When I put my phone into the dock, it vibrates very strongly and for too long (IMO). Is it possible to turn that off or at least to decrease the intensity and/or duration of the vibration?
This is about a Samsung I9000 Galaxy S, with the Samsung ECR-D968BEG desktop dock/charger. The phone is running Android 2.3.3.

This app allows you to set duration of vibration

Vibration Notifier Makes Sure that You
  Don’t Miss Important Email and SMS
  Messages

This app allows to have settings based on conditions such as in a dock

With Locale and the Dock Plug-in Condition, your phone can
    automatically perform actions based on
    whether it is docked in the car, desk,
    or undocked. Automatically launch an
    app with the Shortcut Plug-in when
    docked at home, enable Bluetooth in
    the car!

Tasker can also be used to perform actions based on conditions.

Can you expand on that? How, exactly, would one use Tasker to solve this problem?


text:
Android terminal not able to nslookup?
Every time I try to telnet to a domain on my LG Ally it fails, but it works if I use an IP address. So I tried to use nslookup telehack.com and it returns:
Server:       0.0.0.0
Address 1:    0.0.0.0

nslookup: can't resolve 'telehack.com'

I have Android Terminal Emulator and BusyBox installed,
It wasn't working with the default dns, so now I've got my dns entries set to OpenDNS, and it still won't resolve.
is there anything I can do to resolve this, or is it a limitation on the Ally?

I have no issue doing an NSlookup on that domain or any domain for that matter.

What's your network setup like?  Do you have ports blocked or forwarded?

I'm having the same issue.

This is a known design problem  when using statically linked libresolv and glibc.
You have 2 options:

Use Google Android's native libc Bionic library instead of glibc.
Build busybox to search libraries in /system/lib (or make the necessary links e.g. /usr/lib -> /system/lib ). Place ld-linux.so.3, libc.so.6, libresolv.so.2, libnss_dns.so.2 in your /system/lib.

So you want me to haxxor the gibson? what?

enter your terminal, then type 'su' and press enter (note only works if you have a rooted phone)
$ su
#

then enter the following (replace x.x.x.x with your dns servers ip)
# echo 'nameserver x.x.x.x' > /system/etc/resolv.conf
# echo 'nameserver x.x.x.x' >> /system/etc/resolv.conf
# exit

Now test to see if it worked correctly
$ nslookup google.com

It should resolve now.

Note that it is likely that the resolv.conf will be overwritten on every connectivity change by the system.

actually, i have NEVER had this happen on any android device... It just doesn't change (i know this because i have my private dns server (local) hardcoded into the resolv.conf and I have to actually manually set it for other networks (using the advanced dialog))

Check that your terminal emulator environment has DNS set correctly by running getprop net.dns1 and if necessary set it with setprop net.dns1 [yourdns]. The commands may differ by device, some use net.eth0.dns1 or net.gprs.dns1, run getprop without parameters to see all set properties for hints.

the dns is set, I changed it from the default to openDNS and it still doesn't work...

does nslookup now give the correct server address or does it still show 0.0.0.0?

still shows 0.0.0.0

getprop exists and return an IPv6 address for DNS servers, despite the fact that the DHCP server is handing out an IPv4 address for them.  But setprop does not exist.

I've copied (and slightly changed) my answer from a comment I posted on an issue on the Google code page for Terminal IDE, however, it should be the same:
If you are rooted, you can install the latest version of busybox (you may be able to compile it). Then find out where you updated busybox is and run the following commands: (I'm assuming the new version is in /system/bin and the old version is in ~/system/bin)
PATH=/system/bin:$PATH
cd ~/system/bin
mv busybox busybox.old
ln -s /system/bin/busybox busybox

Now domains will be resolved properly.
Please note: due to the way busybox works, you have to be root to be able to use ping (although things like wget and nslookup should be able to resolve hosts properly now). The busybox developers are working on this issue.
I personally used this application to install the latest version: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=stericson.busybox

Which network are you using?
If it's Wifi, can other machines on your network contact it?
If it's carrier data plan...is it being blocked?
Update: 0.0.0.0 seems like a hosts file block to me. Any ad blockers? Adblock plus? Hosts file modifications?
Try USB networking - if you post a comment here asking for it i'll update the question & put in a tutorial (it's involved, and I only know how to do it on GNU/Linux machines)

It doesn't work on 3g(verizon) or on WiFi, same 0.0.0.0 can't resolve.

0.0.0.0 seems like a hosts file block to me. Any ad blockers? (Updating answer.)

I used to have one but it didn't really work... /system/etc/hosts has a bunch of spammy looking URLs pointed to 127.0.0.1

I use this in android from adb.
Maybe there are better ways.
ip=$(ping -c 1 -W 1 example.com|grep PING|cut -d "(" -f 2|cut -d ")" -f 1)

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


text:
Is there a way to clear every application's cache?
The biggest culprit is Google Music, but I would like to clear out all of my caches fairly quickly.
If I'm using my phone as a camera, having everything cached totally eats up my SD card's storage space, so I would like to either turn down the amount of caching for Google Maps, Google Music, and a few other apps, turn up how frequently the cache is cleared, or have some way to automatically clear the caches when I want to.
If relevant, I'm running an HTC Incredible with CM7.

I'm wondering why is this not part of stock Android, so installing a cleaning app is not required.

There are plenty of apps available that will do this. One that supports both manual and periodic cache cleaning:
1 Tap Cleaner

1-Tap to clean all cache, search histories and calls log. A default cleaner is also included.
Are you running out of application storage?
You now can get more available storage space by clearing apps created cache/data files.

you can delete the application cache directories, in /data/data but that will also remove any settings and things like that.
You can also use Clockwork recovery (if its available for that device) and "wipe data", but again, it will clear out the settings too. If the SDCard is the big concern, you can either use ADB or even Windows (when the sdcard is mounted) and delete the folders that contain the cache data that is taking up space.

There would be no side effects for deleting the cache directories? I found that they are located at /Android/data/[app]/cache. Can I just delete that cache directory without any problems?

you could probably run a "rm" command that would just delete the child "cache" directory, but I am not fluent enough to be able to tell you how.

I'm more concerned with what would happen if I just deleted them from Windows or another app. Optimally, I would like to control the caching behavior, but if I can't, I'd like to be 100% sure that just flat-out deleting the cache directories is safe.

deleting them "should" be safe. but there is really no telling if the app really uses that cache directory for much. Not all applications will use that directory. while it is the "standard" place for them to put data, they do not have to. You could test if it would be "safe", by removing your sdcard and see if the apps function correctly.

Quick App Manager is also a good (albeit not-free) choice for bulk cache cleaning. With it you can do one-touch clearing of all application cache.
Quick App Manager

Quick App Clean Cache becomes Quick App Manager, a complete and powerful application manager:

Cache cleaner
History cleaner
Task killer
App 2 SD manager (for Android 2.2 or higher)
Mobile traffic
Plus! A security tool helper that displays non system applications using potentially risky permissions.

Some devices, e.g. the Galaxy S, have a cache wipe option in their recovery.  Clockworkmod Recovery has a "wipe cache partition" option as well, it should be one of the options when you first boot into it.  Some older versions might have it under "advanced".


text:
Multiple Android Market Accounts on a Single Device?
Is it possible to have multiple Android Market accounts on a Single phone?
If so, how do I do that?
(I have been able to add a second Gmail account, but I couldn't find any option to add a second Android Market account)

Nope, at least not as of now.  You can factory reset your device to remove the first account you set up (on some devices, you can just remove all the accounts without the reset) and then add the other one first, if you would like to use it instead. But if you actively want to use both, you're stuck.

Ouch! So how am I supposed to test LVL integration with my application? This is the 2nd Catch 22 in Google's LVL scheme. I can understand how Google could release such a half-baked solution, but then why force developers to use LVL if they want to make their paid Applications available in the Android market? Thanks + 1 + accepting.

@an00b Good question. Hopefully Android 4.0 will address this problem!

This is so frustrating, because Google clearly instructs in the Edit Profile page to enter additional Gmail addresses for testing purposes. But these additional Gmail addresses cannot have Market accounts... and I can "buy" the application from myself (for testing purposes) but I can only do it once! So I can't really test upgrades... See the Catch 22?

I believe that it's not an OS version problem, but rather the facilities provided on http://market.android.com/publish  I can understand Google not wanting to provide more than one Market account per device for security reasons.

This is no longer valid. See: How to change the account for Android Market?

Sure. It was not meant to criticize your answer (it was perfectly fine at that time), but rather meant as "follow-up" for those getting here with the same problem. Feel free to include that hint directly with your answer :)


text:
How To Make Android Based Smartphone Consume Less Mobile Internet Bandwidth?
Control
I want to have full control over applications and have them ask whether or not i allow them to access mobile internet. I also want to disable automatic updates but enable updates notifications to i can know if update is available and deside to update or not.
Bandwidth Optimization
What is appropriate browser that consumes less bandwidth but at the same time still delivers satisfying experience and compatibility with websites?
Internet Usage Profile
Is there a way to set custom profile for smartphone when connected with specific connection method? Example:
1st Internet Data Plan
If i connect with Wi-Fi the apps and services are allowed full unrestricted internet access.
2nd Internet Data Plan
If i connect through mobile internet, everything has limited access - apps, syncronization, background services etc. And requires permission from me.

Droidwall is what you want! It allows you to control which apps can and cannot access the internet, and the new version (the one i linked) enables data types, so you can allow an app to access the internet all the time, just on 3g, just on Wifi, or never.

Unfortunately it requires root. I just bought device and rooting will void warranty.

As a reassurance, i have an HTC EVO, rooted. i have had it rooted since i got it, and have utilized my carrier (Sprint) repairs and replacements without problem. i usually unroot it when i bring it to them, but a few times i've left it, and they haven't said anything yet. Personally, i find reinstalling everything after maintenance worth the root, but i can understand if you wouldn't want to.

Good news! If you have Sprint, rooting is irrelevant, they'll still repair/replace your phone and give you technical support, even if you're rooted!

Unfortunately that is left up to the applications themselves and as we have seen not all apps have been designed to that level of user friendliness. I have seen it in some app ex. "Only sync when on wifi" or "What time would you like to sync". You could try to use an application like Tasker to turn your 3g off and on at different times.
I know I run my phone at max battery saver mode with turns data off after 15 minutes. Which helps a little.

I believe Opera (either Mini or Mobile) compresses data on their servers before sending it to your phone, so that would use less bandwidth than uncompressed data.  Otherwise there's not much you can do, any good browser downloads exactly what the website tells it to and nothing more.
The DroidWall app might provide some of the functionality you want.  I'm not sure if it allows different profiles for Wi-Fi vs 3G.

In ICS and above, there is a data-limiter that can be used to restrict/throttle the data coming out of the handset (Settings > Data usage), have a look at this to see how it works.
But if you're on GB or earlier - maybe watchdog 3g would be a better bet fit for your needs.


text:
Is battery calibration important for Android phones?
I heard that battery needs to be calibrated for a first few usages. I heard that battery needs to be calibrated every 40 charge cycles. I heard that i must not let battery get too low and not overcharge it. I heard that i must recharge battery at the end of every day until morning.
Is this all true? If i only have 1/4 of battery charge, should i place it on charge if i really need or wait until it depletes? I heard that when battery is fully charged, power adapter ceases to charge it but still emits green light. If that is so, then i guess there is no problem leaving it on charge for a long time?

I edited the question since shopping recommendations are off-topic.  But chargers and batteries will work if they have the appropriate specifications and adhere to them.  Find out the specs for the genuine batteries/chargers and compare to the cheap ones.  I usually get genuine parts from eBay, since they are cheaper there but guaranteed to work.

Android handles battery calibration.
Your battery life will be better if you keep it between 20% and 80% charged, and only charge it while it's off.  This is true for all Lithium Ion batteries.  It may not be realistic to adhere to that 100%, I sure don't.  You don't need to charge it overnight.

Luckily most phone manufacturers do something pretty intelligent with android, there is hardware built in overcharge protection, basically when the battery gets to 100% it stops routing power from the AC adapter to the battery, and instead uses the AC power to power the phone.
But because this is true most (if not all) android based devices turn on as soon as they have enough power to, so charging while off becomes impossible.
I would agree that you should really only start charging at lower than 20%, as far as calibration goes i would say once a month seems fair, that is if you have a phone that stays off when plugged into AC. But it is likely that there is no built in hardware to prevent overcharge, so you may want to figure out how long it will actually take to charge before just going and plugging it in for 8 hours, as that could take a toll on your battery.

What do you mean stays off while plugged in? Shut down completely or in standby mode?

Most android devices?  Which ones don't stay off when switched off?  And "no overcharge protection"?  Huh?  That would be very bad, since you couldn't just leave it charging overnight.  I very much doubt that.  (Overcharge is potentially very dangerous)


text:
Better keyboard to type '?' symbol
I was wondering, is there any better keyboard for me to type to following '?' symbol. Now, using stock android keyboard, to type '?', I need to

Press and hold ',' key, a list of symbol choices will shown.
Hold and move my finger to '?'.
Release.

I feel not comfortable on step 2, as most of the time, my finger is quite dry. I found it is difficult for me to hold and move my dry finger on the screen. Is there any way I can.

Press ',' key, a list of choices will shown.
Click on '?'.

In pre-2.2 stock keyboard, typing the ? is a two step process:

Alternatively, you can long press on . and a pop up menu will appear:

In 2.3 stock keyboard, the auto-correct bar will show common punctuations, including ?:

The old two-step ways of using the ?123 page and long-pressing on the . still works, although when you long-press on . now you only need to slide your finger to the punctuations.
In Swype, you can long press on the letter M to produce ?:

Alternatively, you can press Sym keyboard:

If you're using SwiftKey X Beta, the ? has its own dedicated key in the main keyboard:

If you're using HTC keyboard, you can long-press on the letter k:

Swiftkey is a keyboard that aims to reduce the amount of keys strokes you make by predicting the next word in a sentence based on your typing history - that means it gets better the more you use it.
In your case, it also has just one keypress to type a ? as you can see below:

Swype would be your best bet, just swype the symbol to the spacebar and voila! You have your question mark.
http://www.swypeinc.com/i/basic-keypad.jpg
Here's a link for videos of the tricks you could do with swype: http://www.swypeinc.com/tips-tricks.html (Search for how to swype punctuation!)
If you want in, register from here: http://www.swypeinc.com/myswype.html
Best thing is it's free!

I guess Swype will actually be the the worst keyboard for OP since he had problems swiping on the screen.

I'm not sure if he has a problem with "holding and moving" or "swyping", they are similar but different animals altogether. I guess it's all up to him to decide which keyboard fits him best. :D By the way, very nice instructions, very well documented. :D

For anyone interested, it appears Swype is no longer available or maintained.

MessagEase has the "?" symbol directly available in one-touch from the default screen:

Press the "Sym" button, then press the "?" button, no dragging required.  You can also do a medium press of the button to get the symbol without the menu appearing (long press).  You'll see the symbol appear when you've held the button long enough for the medium press.

Sorry. But, what is "Sym" button?

In the stock keyboard, it's between the swype button on the left and the space bar.  If your stock keyboard isn't the same as in the swype tips videos that Cygnum linked, then you'll want to specify your Android version in the question.

I cannot c swype or sum button. i am using nexus s android 2.3

Then it doesn't appear that you're on the stock keyboard.

@B Mitch Swype is it's own keyboard and has a different layout and usage to the stock keyboard, see Lie Ryan's post for how differently some of the common English keyboards are layed out.

Thanks GAThrawn, since it came out of the box on G2, I had assumed it was the stock one.  I've got to stop assuming things.


text:
"mount" on 2.3.4 is Behaving Oddly
I'm on Nexus S, 2.3.4, stock and rooted. BusyBox is v1.18.4 (2011-03-20 15:16:04 CDT). When I try to remount ANYTHING it just
$ mount -o remount,rw /system
Usage: mount [-r] [-w] [-o options] [-t type] device directory

Any ideas how to fix that? Is it a BusyBox issue?

You are not specifying the device to mount, only the directory so it is telling you that you are missing one of the required parameters.
I believe that the busybox mount will let you get away with not supplying the device, if it can figure out the device to mount, but the "stock" mount requires that you supply both the directory and the device.
you would have to do the following:
# mount -o remount,rw /dev/block/mtdblock4 /system
or you could try the busybox mount
# busybox mount -o remount,rw /system
but you should always supply the device to mount, so there is no confusion or issue with mounting the wrong device.

busybox mount -o remount,rw /system did the trick.

You may have root, but that is not a root shell (as evidenced by the $ prompt). You need to use su to switch to root before you can use mount. Since the default target is the root UID, you can simply enter su and it should properly switch to root (a # prompt). I think the reason it's failing is simply because you're running it as an underprivileged user.

Same with # mount -o remount,rw /system

@bot47: Strangely that works for me, but I suppose the other test would be to specify a device. E.g. something like mount -o remount,rw /dev/block/mtdblock4 /system where /dev/block/mtdblock4 is the partition where /system lives (I think Nexus S is mtdblock3 but you can check with just mount by itself).


text:
Durability issues of sd-cards in phones?
I understand, that there are many factors why a sd-card may fail. But I had my last two sd-cards fail in a very short time (about three months). Now I wonder if it is the phones fault, or if I just by bad sd-cards.
I don't have any brand information about the failing sd-card, because I just looked at the capacity and the price (which might be an indication, that it is my fault). But I did not buy the card from a dubious store, so I was hoping they would have some level of acceptable quality.
Is there a quality measure that I can look out for, when shopping for sd-cards?
My phone info: Samsung Galaxy S I9000 with Gingerbread 2.3.3

I had bad luck with any "cheap" cards that I ever bought. They usually end up being "off brands", and some of the slowest performing. The cheap ones usually don't even mention the class rating, which means they are probably a class 2, or worse. I never had them fail in the short time you seen, but they did fail, and after 2 cheap cards failed on me in my android device, I spent the extra couple bucks and went with a "name brand" class 6 (I couldn't even find a class 10 when I bought it). I have had this card for almost 3 years now, it has moved between 3 different android devices in that time, and has seen its share of custom android ROMs flashed to the host device. Not to mention it even had a time, before froyo, it was partitioned to with 1GB EXT4 partition to act as an "extension" of the devices internal storage, and even SWAP at one point on my ADP1. I have had zero problems with it.


text:
Alarm clock with auto flight mode
I'm looking for an alarm clock which is able to turn off Airplane mode if I stop the alarm on wake up. (I turn on flight mode when I sleep.)
Do you know any alarm clock with this function?

you may be able to do what your want, in a way, with tasker. it wont "set off an alarm", but you should be able to trigger the airplane mode for a specific time frame.

You can use AutomateIt to enable/disable airplane mode on a schedule.  This may be easier than finding a custom alarm clock.

Gentle Alarm does that. At night, when you set the alarm, it goes into flight mode. When the alarm kicks off in the morning, it takes itself off flight mode.


text:
Weather update problem
I use 9s-weather app. Its beautiful. But i can't set it up to update weather via 3G or WIFI. Its always want to activate the GPS.
Is it possible to update it without GPS?
Thank you very much.

It wants to know your location so that it can give you weather forecasts for where you are rather than some other random location.  It's just your location that comes from GPS - the weather info will be downloaded via wifi or your data network.
The app has permission to use both Android's coarse-grained (network-based) and fine (GPS) location services.  In your case, it seems that the app is failing to find your location using the network-based service (by seeing which cell-towers and wifi hotspots it can see) and falling back to GPS.


text:
Is there an app that will let me text from my pc with the same phone number?

Possible Duplicate:
Send SMS from PC through Android Phone or to Android Phone

I have a Droid x, and I wanted to know if there is an app that will allow me send and receive text messages from my computer through my phone (meaning receive the messages that are sent to my phone) without using something that will give me a dedicated phone number, I want to use the phone number on my cell phone. does anybody know if this exists. if it does, and there is more than one, which one is the best?

Texter is a Google Chrome extension/Android app that will let you compose, send, and receive text messages in Google Chrome by connecting to your phone.  So it just forwards received messages from your phone to Chrome, and sent messages from Chrome to your phone.


text:
Space issues and rooting
I have a Huawei IDEOS u8150 running Froyo. Ever since I got this device, I've been running into low disk space problems (because of only 150 MB internal space). So I've had enough and moved all the apps I can to SD card. Then again, some were not movable.
So I did a little research and saw this article on loading apps to the SD card by default. It seemed to work rather weirdly, as some apps which couldn't be moved to the SD card before, now can be moved after using that trick. Still, the system apps and vendor bundled apps remained in the internal memory. Also, most of the moved apps still took some space on the internal memory.
The Froyo's app2sd rather seems to be behaving oddly according to me (though I've searched online and found this is normal, sadly).
What I want to know is :

Will rooting enable me to further enhance my Froyo's app2sd function?
Will custom mods be a better option with space management for my phone? If so, which ones?
Right now I have apps that I really need and use and I'm stuck with low disk space. (Please dont link me to anywhere; I've done all I can with cleared caches and I have no more apps to uninstall which I don't need.) I've heard that z4root takes 22MB+ internal space. Is there anything else to root using adb or something that wont require internal space? Or if I use z4root itself, can I remove the app fully after rooting and still have root? What about SuperOneClick's space cost?

I have never been a fan of the froyo apps2sd, I was a huge fan of the original "apps2sd" that used an EXT2/3/4 partition on your sdcard. I am not sure if any custom ROMs still support this. I know it is not "supported" in cyanogenMod. You will have to root to go the "apps2ext" route. but if you dont want to go that route, or can't find any ROMs that support it, I don't really know of any way you can really free up any additional space.
If rooted, you can delete any "bloatware" that is installed on the /system. You can remove z4root after you install it. Another thing to keep in mind, even if you install applications on the sdcard, they can still use the /data directory to store their data, which is located on the devices internal storage.

does app2ext have a function that moves /data/ to SDcard?

not that I am aware of.

ok,anyways, did you imply that the "original" app2sd (app2ext) was more effective than froyo's?

And actually, i'd like to keep my system apps but since its entirely on phone space right now, do you think it will be app2sd enabled once I root my phone? I really need to consider this as im in a dilemma of keeping my warranty.

just rooting it will not give you the "apps2ext" option, you will have to find a custom ROM or script that will enable it.

Some apps2ext scripts do have the option of moving dalvik-cache and /data/data/ to SD Card as well.  The most well known one is DarkTremor: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=715940  It's designed for the Nexus One phone, so I'd be careful and ask the developer if it will work on your handset.


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How can I detect my phone's screen resolution?
Other than looking in the Chinese manufacturer's website, which can be somewhat "misleading" (12.1 MP camera? come on...)

You can visit whatismyandroidversion.com from your phone's web browser which will show you your screen resolution, android version and device id.

Neat way to get it on most/all devices. Thanks.

Since I was not entirely sure if the system information was correct, I simply checked the resolution of a screenshot from my phone. :)

You should be able to use Settings > About phone > Hardware information > Display
E.g. on my phone, it says "3.7 inch WVGA resolution"
(Then of course, you would have to discover what WVGA is...)
The Hardware information screen should also tell you the camera specs too.

no "Hardware information" in about phone section for me :(

what device are you using? I am running vanilla Android (CyanogenMOD7) on a Vibrant and I don't have that option either.

Ah, that'll be HTC Sense only. Sorry, we HTC users tend to occupy a parallel universe sometimes.

I've tried running (stock) Froyo and Gingerbread on the Android emulator which comes with the SDK, and I can't find any UI that tells you the screen or camera resolution. So an external app or manufacturer customization is the only way.

if you follow much the same path that Nick suggested, but instead go to Settings > Display > Display Resolution it should show you the options for your screen resolution.
As for your photos, take a picture, put it on your computer and check the resolution. And let us know if you actually have a 12.1 MP camera!! :)

what device do you have? again, on stock android 2.3.4 that is not an option.

woops! i have an HTC EVO on 2.2 still, which has hd resolution, and mine gives you options of Automatic, 720p (1280x720), and 480p (720x480). Apparently that's a phone specific option? Have you tried running Quadrant Standard? it gives you feedback about all system information (including display resolution!!)

cant believe i forgot to suggest that app the first time. sorry!


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How to get warning if there is an e-mail?
I know how to set vibration when getting an e-mail: How to set vibration ON when getting e-mail (Gmail)?
But how can I set my Android phone to always vibrate/give sound when getting an e-mail?
I'm asking it because once I get an e-mail, my phone will stay silent, even if I get another e-mail. I need a feature/setting that enables this, to have a warning, when a message arrives.

Uncheck the "Notify Once" option in your GMail account settings and you should get a notification for every new message.
(Specifically: Menu -> More -> Settings -> Notify Once)
Edit: Apparently older versions of GMail do not have this option, in which case you would actually need to try a third-party app such as GMail Notifier.

sorry for asking, but where is this "Specifically Menu" :D

I'm using Android 2.1-update1 and I can't find it. In the Gmail app I go to Settings -> and I can't find a "more" menu :O

@LanceBaynes: "More" is displayed when you press the menu button, not in the settings screen.

If I press the menu button then it says: Refresh/Compose/Accounts/View labels/Search/Settings

Then just select "Settings". The "Notify Once" option should be at the bottom of the settings, unless it was added after 2.1 (in which case you'd need an app like GMail Notifier, I guess).

yep, it's not in this version: in the Notification settings there are: Email notifications, Select ringtone, Vibrate..

@LanceBaynes: Ah, definitely should be right at the bottom of that section. I added the GMail Notifier app to my answer since it looks like it is attempt to solve the problem on older Android versions. Must have been added at some point after 2.1...

i tried the gmail notifier out. it works perfectly. thank you!

I reseted my phone, and I can't find the "gmail notifier"??? - where is it?? was it trojaned or what??


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Unlocking an HTC HD2 after installing android
I recently bought an HD2, which originally runs Win6.5.  But currently has a very modern version of Android installed.
Is it necessary to re-install the original OS in order to unlock the phone?

90% chance - no, 10% chance - yes.
The Android operating system is designed specifically for each device, which is why different phones get platform updates at different times. You're at an advantage starting with an HTC phone, as they build several Android phones.
Your best bet is to find an unlock process for an HTC phone as physically similar to yours as possible (physical in terms of hardware; processor, memory, etc.). If this does not work, chances that you will get anything to work is slim.

In this case, it would be the HTC Desire Z.  It's almost identical to the HD2.

to clarify, are you looking to unlock (as in enable the phone to be used regardless of carrier) or root (as in enable root access to change system files)?

if you have t-mobile as a carrier, and you have been a loyal customer for a couple months (i think 3 is the minimum but I could be wrong), and you pay on time. You can call up and ask them for the unlock code. if they ask why, you are going out of the county and purchased a prepaid sim for use in the other country.

In order for the HTC HD2 to run Android, the device needs to have a custom bootloader running Hardspl and radio version, which means your device IS ALREADY unlocked.
As for the device been rooted,  99% of the Android versions on the HD2 are rooted.


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Gingerbread -- how to wake up to 100% battery?
Apparently gingerbread stops charging when the battery gets to 100% . I guess this puts less wear on the battery. But it is kind of frustrating to wake up with a battery of only 70 or 80% given the that the battery life on these devices isn't great. On mine I never get 24 hours anymore, but that's probably due to daemons.
Maybe a charging schedule could be implemented in some way, like "next Alarm minus average charging time" ?

This does not sound like normal charging behavior, quite frankly. I would personally say that either your battery/charger has a physical defect or the sensors are not being read and interpreted correctly (though I have no evidence nor do I know you how to determine this for certain). That or I suppose it simply isn't charging long enough (seems unlikely).

Yeah, it should charge to 100% and then charge again at 95% or something like that, to keep it from going from 99% to 100% constantly. It shouldn't completely stop charging indefinitely when it hits 100% the first time.

Sounds like I've found a bug then! I am using an alternative ROM. Will report back if I find the cause

It should wake up with anything between 95 and 100%. Anything less and either you're charger/battery/phone is doing something wrong.
Turning off the device and letting it sit in the charger (reconnect the charger) should fill the charge to 100% from whatever it it in a couple of minutes (10-30) while you wake up and get you're stuff.


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Removing app from download queue in Amazon App Store
A few weeks ago I installed Amazon App Store and tried to download a game that was free for that one day. I "bought" it for free according to my Amazon account, but I've never been able to download it as the file size is large and download's wi-fi only. My wi-fi's very patchy so I've never been able to complete the download, apart from once when it said there was a "package error" after downloading.
I'm not even that bothered about downloading this game - I just wanted to check it out since it was free - so now I just want to get rid of it from my "My Apps" download queue. There seems to be no way I can find to just delete it. Anyone know how I can get rid of this?
Many thanks

Thanks everyone for your comments. Being unable to remove that one app in my download queue was mildly annoying, but today I noticed that every app I've downloaded from Amazon App Store and have since uninstalled is in that queue now. This happened after I was asked to sign back into my Amazon account via the app. It's ridiculous. I think I'll get rid of Amazon App Store and stick to Appbrain and the conventional Android market.

Go to My apps-> cloud-> hold the app you want to remove (it is valid only for installed or downloaded apps not for paused ore ongoing download).
If you want to remove ongoing download, then you must cancel that. To cancel, you have to go to setting-> running apps-> amazon app store.
You will see 4-6 processes there. You have to stop download process from there. Note: the download process will only appear if that download is running at that time and it may take a few seconds to appear.
After stopping download process, when you will return to that app in app store's cloud section, you will see download cancelled. Now you can hold that entry and safely choose remove from upcoming box.

I would try clearing the data for the Amazon Appstore via Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications -> All.  You'll have to log into it again and whatnot the next time you open it, but hopefully that will do the trick.

I think the question is more related to the download-able list of all purchased apps, not 'about to be downloaded' queue. Your answer would be correct if the question was actually about canceling a bunch of apps selected for download.

@StephenSchrauger Yep, I based this on the phrase used by the OP.  His comment makes it more clear though.

Yeah, the OP's title does seem to imply the problem to which your solution applies.

AFAIK, you cannot remove items you have "purchased" from this list. It keeps them on the amazon side, not on the device. I have wiped all data from my device, and once I reinstalled amazon app store, all of my purchased apps appeared in the list.

You can remove purchased apps by going to Amazon's website and viewing all of your apps. There is an option under Actions to Delete this app, which will remove it from your account. If you want it again, you will have to repurchase it.
This feature has been available for quite a while now (not sure when they added it; obviously after you asked the question).

As of today I don't think this is possible.  You can however find the list of items on the Amazon website.
Log in to Amazon, click the "Your Digital Items" at the top right of the page, click "Your Apps & Devices".  From there you can see all of your app purchases.  Maybe some day they'll allow removing from the list.


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How to import contacts from symbian mobile to android mobile?
I had Nokia 5610 ( S40 v5 ) mobile, and recently i got a new Android mobile ( HTC Desire S ). Now, when i put my sim card in my new phone i get all contacts which were saved in SIM memory, but there were lots of contacts in phone memory. I would like to import those also. How can i do that?

Is there any way to get the rest of your contacts onto the SIM card?

You will need the Nokia PC Suite tool but here is the easiest and fastest way.

Connect Nokia to PC using the PC-Suite
go to Contacts - press CTRL+A (select all)
go to Desktop/Subfolder - press CTRL+V (paste)
that will create a .vcf file for each contact
from a command prompt run the following command in the folderon your desktop where the files are saved:
copy *.vcf contacts.txt
open http://google.com/contacts
choose "Import" link in google contacts.

Really good answer simple and efficient import

the Nokia PC Suite link is 404, does anyone know an alternative source?

i think i found a mirror here https://download.cnet.com/Nokia-PC-Suite/3000-10440_4-10598525.html

If your old Symbian Phone have Bluetooth you can go to address book application, select all contacts and send them through Bluetooth to your new phone.
This will send a vcard file for each contact to your new phone and then you can import this data to your Android Phone.
I think the option to send a given contact via Bluetooth to another phone is:
Select the contact and the Details > Options > Send business card

This worked for me, and seems the simplest way, thanks.

Well, are you sure you won't have to send each contact separately?

If you save a backup of your contacts onto your Symbian phone's SD card, it appears as an NBF file.  This is a zip file, which contains all your contacts in VCF format -- if you concatenate them all together, you can upload them to Google Contacts in one go.
For more details about how I discovered this, I wrote a blog post at the time.

Try using the Nokia PC suit to move all the contacts from the phone to the SIM card. This works in Samsung's Kies.


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What are the differences between android 2.1 and android 2.2

Possible Duplicate:
What advantages or new things have you found when upgrading from Android 2.1 to 2.2 ?

I am going to buy an android phone now i have two choices either to buy a eclair(2.1) version or go for froyo(2.2) version, So i want to know what are the main new features that froyo have so i reject the eclair version phones?

This article explains the differences nicely, and this one claims an incredible increase in speed. If you're a visual learner, youtube is always your best bet. But the general consensus is mainly centered around speed. Other perks include tethering, installation of apps to the SD card, and updated flash.

RE "updated flash": some 2.1 devices had Flash Lite, most didn't have anything.  So really the benefit of 2.2 is Flash, not updated Flash.

Flash lite is as useful as a white crayon


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Will I lose Netflix on my Nexus One if I use a custom ROM?
I'm running stock 2.3.4 on my N1. And use Netflix all the time. If I were to load a different ROM like Cyanogen there isn't any reason I would lose the ability to use Netflix would I?

I use netflix on my Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant with CyanogenMod 7 and it works just fine. Now, that doesn't mean in the future, nextflix couldn't update their app to not support these devices/ROM but it does work now.

How are you running Netflix on a Galaxy S? I thought they weren't supported...

AFAIK netflix removed the "check" for unsupported devices from their last update. I don't know if there is something additional in CyanogenMOD for the vibrant that allows it too or not. but it works.

Interesting. Some quick searching seems to indicate that it only works on 2.3 ROMs on the Vibrant (possibly other SGS phones). Others seem to indicate there's not check at all now, but some devices still refuse to stream (and claim "not supported"). Don't know what to make of that, really.

Yes, i remember reading that it must be a 2.3 ROM, I have CM7 nightly which is 2.3


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Manage specific cookies in Browser?
I would like to manage cookies in the Android browser beyond just "Clear cookie data".
What I want to do, ideally, is have the ability to delete individual cookies from a list sorted by domain name, like Firefox on the desktop.
At least, I would like to be able to clear cookies per-domain, as I can manage storage & location access per-domain.
Is there a way I can do this?
EDIT
How about with a rooted phone?

The cookies, for the default android browser, are stored in /data/data/com.android.browser/databases/webview.db. The problem is that other applications, for security reasons, do not have access to files that do not belong to them, like the database file.
In order for what you are asking to be possible, the Browser application would have to implement this functionality.

I just rooted my phone two days ago. Does that change the situation at all? ;-)

You mean, like using the SQLite Editor included with Root Explorer? Where you can edit the databases directly, if your device is rooted? No xD


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reinstall barnes and noble software on a rooted nook color?
Is there a way to re-install Barnes and Noble software on a Nook Color that has been wiped and installed with gingerbread?

This is the firmware for your device's original software (v. 1.0.1).
Simply download and save to the micro SD card and use it to flash your Nook.
Voila! Job well done. The XDA page Chahk posted is an excellent resource and reassuring, stating that it

Keep in mind that the Nook is really hard to brick. By that, I mean almost impossible.

So there you go! Good luck!

Here is a step-by-step guide for restoring your Nook Color to stock firmware.

I would say that it would be better to put the "steps" here, instead of just linking somewhere else. still link to the source, and give credit, but what if the post is "deleted" or changed. this answer then becomes useless to anyone in the future.


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recover a phone number I didn't save
At the bar last night I got a number I opened a new contact under my Google contacts on my Droid Incredible and typed in the information.  But in my sub lucid state I never saved it, I would love to call this girl but the number is lost to me, any thoughts on how I might get the digits back?

You typed the number in, right? Always helps to get someone to call you right there to get the number, or call them back to make sure you got it right. Added bonus that it goes into calls list...

If you didn't call the number afraid you lost it forever...

In your sub-lucid state, maybe it wasn't a girl.

Sorry but there is no way to recover the phone number unless that persons number called/text you or you made a call/text to that person. If you did that you could go into your call history and see the made/missed call and then add it to your contacts.
A habit to get into is dial the number first and then hang up. That way its in your call history. Then from your call history add the number to your contacts and add additional info such as name, address and email. If you do this and forget to click save at least you still have the telephone number on your phone.

It will probably not help you for now but maybe next time.
If you are in an edit contact screen and you press on the home button before you saved the contact, there are chances that this screen would still be active but you need to get back into the app using the "recent apps" list. In my case (Galaxy S3), if I long-press the home button it shows me the list of recently used applications and if I select one from the list it goes back to it in the state it was before I pressed home.
If I go back to the same application by re-selecting it from the main screen icon then it goes back to the default view of the application.
And this rule is true for a lot of applications, that is why I always use the "recent apps" list when multitasking to prevent the app to start again from the default view.

Try it now anyway because I don't think there is a limit on the time Android keeps the last state of an application. It will loose it only if the OS needs the memory at some point or if you reboot obviously.


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How can I limit the input languages?
How can I limit the number of input languages on the keyboard? I would only like to see the 3 I use. I have a HTC desire S.

I have a HTC Desire, but I'm assuming the menus/behaviour should be similar:

Settings -> Language & Keyboard -> Touch Input -> International keyboard

Select the languages you want to use. That should restrict the keyboard list to the ones you have specified.


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Some of the Applications are getting downloaded more than once from Android Market
I observed one funny thing. I have the habit of installing the applications directly from Android market on PC.
How to install the Apps directly from PC ?
Ans: I have a Google Account. I open the https://market.android.com/ site on PC and login with my Google Account. I have set this Google Account as  Primary Google Account in my Android Phone.
Now if I Click on Install of any application on my PC, I can see the same application downloading on my phone's notification bar.
I saw the application 100% downloaded. And I wait for the application to be installed. Of course after downloading the application my phone will automatically installs the application. We need to watch thats it.
But most of the apps are getting downloaded more than once. I don't know why it is happening ? I saw the application downloaded 100%. But again starts a fresh download without doing anything.
I remember while updating the Google Maps and Facebook had the same issue.

I don't really understand your question, are you downloading from the Market or getting on a PC and side-loading? Which apps are coming twice and which route did they come from originally? How do you know they're downloading more than once, do you have lots of duplicate icons in your app list, or is the notification bar's download notifications, or something else?

@GAThrawn : Is it clear ? Pl check the updated post.

Ah ok that's completely different from what I thought your question was about to start with. I often use the Market website to push apps to my phone, and I don't think I've ever seen them try to download themselves twice.

@GAThrawn : Oh is it ? For me its happening very regularly. I don't know how its happening ? I installed Link2SD which moves the installed applications to the SD Card. I am not sure whether this is causing the issue or not.

I myself got to know why its happening.
First I selected any application from the Android Market and say Install and then Ok. Its going to start Downloading.
I observed this in two scenarios. Both of the cases are pretty much same.
Case I.
If I Minimize/Kill the Android Market application while Downloading using the Back Button then it completes the Download and Starts the new Download again.
Case II.
I Minimize/Kill the Android application while Downloading using the Back Button and again open the Android Market application, then we can see the same application is getting Downloaded twice from the Market. If we do the same thing again then we can see the application is getting download more than thrice.
The solution is Simple. If any application is getting downloading from the Android Market just press the Home key to minimize the Android Market.


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How to vibrate/ring on click of link
How can I make my samsung galaxy tab vibrate or ring when I click a link on a browser? thanks a lot for any help. :)

That feature does not exist, the only thing I could suggest is to submit a feature request on the Android Issues Tracker.


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querying the android market place for GPL license?
Is there a way to get the full list of GPL-licensed apps in the Android Market via a URL or any other method?

I don't think that there's any standard way in the Market for developers to declare what license their app is developed under.
A normal text search of the Market for "GPL" comes up with hundreds of apps that have specifically put the word GPL in their title or description.
Other than that an awful lot of the Android GPL developers seem to host their code on Google Code, everything there is open source and there are ways that you can search that by license type, that might well be the closest that you can get (though you'll obviously miss out on developers who host their code elsewhere).

I don't know the answer to your question, but the closest thing I've found is: http://fdroid.org/


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Changing reply header text in default mail app
When I reply to mail in the default (non-gmail) mail application, the "RE:" text in the header, and the "xxx wrote" text before the quoted message are in Hebrew.
How Can I change them (I would like them to be the standard English texts, as not all of my recipients read Hebrew).
I have a Samsung Galaxy S, and it is rooted, if that helps.

was the original messages, including the subject in Hebrew? Is your default language on the device Hebrew?

The original message was not in Hebrew.
The default language on the device is.

changing the default language to none Hebrew should solve the problem. I know that may be a pain, but the only other option then is to manually change it. these areas of the email messages are "populated" and use the device language to get the values to use.

Changing the default language indeed solves this problem. Too bad I can't change just this part.
Do you want to write your comment as an actual answer so I can accept it?

changing the default language to non Hebrew should solve the problem. I know that may be a pain, but the only other option then is to manually change it. these areas of the email messages are "populated" and use the device language to get the values to use.


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Mute or change user group ringtone depending on current location and time
Here's a sample scenario: when I'm at home and it's after 10pm, all call need to be silent, but family calls are enabled to ring loud.
Is it possible to do this? (preferably using Tasker, but 3rd-party apps is okay)

There is this example: http://tasker.wikidot.com/sleepmode and even have it on my phone but while I was testing it before putting it as an answer I discovered it doesn't actually work correctly. Give it a go while I tinker with it...

Yes, that is the behavior I am experiencing. I have been trying to modify the suggested profiles but with no luck so far. I'll do some more tinkering later today and report here.

I try to follow this example.Only work 1 group (favorit)
-first rule:after 10pm it's set the phone to silent mode(working, icon appears top).
-second rule:when a call comming from favorit group turn off silent mode (working, icon dissapiers),but the this call is silent :( (I think becouse,1rst is the call turn off the silent mode...)
What now is (not?) working:
the phone is in normal state
1rst rule: when an incomming call, who is not in favorite group,switch phone to silent mode.
It's working but I can hear start ring and vibrate the phone about 1sec,before it switches to silent mode...

I found this plugin to tasker: Locale Call Filter Plugin
It's about what I wan't (but not 100%)... :(


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Tethering android devices together
I am very low-tech, but I have a very smart phone!  an android 2.2.1  I have recently discovered a wonderful application called tether, or tethering where you connect your phone & lap top or pc w/ a usb cord and from there the phone acts like a modem & wa-la! you get the internet! I just purchased the newest Android Tablet (3.0), an ASUS... okay My question is really this:  Can I tether my android phone to my Android tablet and get the same or different results? And if so, how? like with what type of cord would I connect these 2 devices, as there are no usb ports on the tablet. There are, however HDMI ports.

Go to Android Settings, the wireless then enable "portable wi-fi hotspot"
Then connect to that wifi using your tablets wifi manager. Then you should have internet

Kurru basically has it right, except that the portable wi-fi hotspot application will most likely require another monthly fee from your provider.
As far as wired tethering between devices, this is not possible. The protocols do not exist for android devices to accept external network connections through cables.
A very easy solution (if you are comfortable rooting your device), is Wifi Tether. I use this app constantly, and works exactly as Kurru described:

Install
Run application
Press "Tether" button
Select "Android Hotspot" from available wireless access points on your tablet

And bam! You're done! As a personal user, i have to say this is the single best advantage to rooting a phone, and 100% worth it.

Here in the UK we don't have such bad mobile providers, but if you do, I'd recommend install http://www.cyanogenmod.com/ or another root package to obtain it

running Unrevoked will work if you have an HTC device, otherwise any root will do. Then follow the link provided earlier for the Wifi Tether application and you're home free!


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Modifying sensitivity of Google Nexus S power button?
I keep accidentally turning the phone off/on by pressing the power button when I pick up the phone or take it out of its holster.
I would like to make the power button require a longer hold before it performs its action. Obviously this would require a different gesture to then perform a full shutdown.
Is there a mod or app that anyone is aware of that can help with this? When I'm using the device during a sporting activity for example, I can't really afford to have to unlock the screen, because even without a screen lock, sliding the unlock slider is often not possible.
I find it incredible with this form factor how easy it is to accidentally shut down the screen, and then you can't just turn it back on without having to perform some additional gesture on the screen.

The only thing you can do is to maybe put a "gel case" on the device. That should make it less sensitive to presses.
The only other option would to modify the source code of the android core.


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"Not Found" apps hanging up my autoupdate... what can I do?
I have a couple of apps that give a "not found: The requested item could not be found" error when I try to update or view them in "my apps" in the market. (PDA Net is one of them). If I do an auto update (update all) the update process tends to hang when it gets to either of them. I still have the apps on the phone, and they work fine but I can't even get to the screen where I would turn off auto-updating for them. What can I do?

You will not be able to update them, they have been pulled from the market by either the developer or by google. PDA Net for example was recently pulled by google. You could see if the developers offer an alternative means to download, either from their website or a 3rd party market, like amazon app store. Then remove then from your device so they no longer appear in your google market. Then reinstall them via the 3rd party market, or by "sideloading" them.


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How to use android phone as a login key to your PC
Is there a way to setup a Linux box to enable authentication by inserting correct android phone with correct software in it to allow user to login?
So when there is a login prompt shown user should be able to just connect her/his android and voila; user has logged in.

This old SuperUser question covers some similar ground and there's a few suggestions that this could be done easiest with Bluetooth, but no actual apps that help http://superuser.com/questions/21364/how-do-i-detect-when-a-user-is-sitting-in-the-chair-in-front-of-a-computer

This probably would work similarly to an RSA Security Token.

it doesn't seem to have released? or is it?

@Power-Inside: I think they're referring to this app: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.rsa.securidapp


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Can I remove MicroSD card with my Android phone turned on?
On my Samsung Galaxy 551 I can remove the MicroSD card without needing to remove the battery and consequently turn off my cellphone. Should I remove my SD without turning off the phone? Will I damage something if I do it?

You should first dismount the card.  You can do this via Settings -> SD card and phone storage -> Unmount SD card.  You can certainly corrupt data and cause application crashes if you don't do this first.

Yes you will be able to remove the SD Card as Mathew said in his answer. First you need to Unmount SD Card from Settings and then remove the SD Card. In this case no need to remove the Battery or SIM card.
But there are some things that you need to take care of.
1. If you have moved any of the applications to SD Card then you cannot access them without SD Card.
2. Make sure that you are not accessing any of the applications that are installed on SD Card.
After removing the SD Card you can see a status message saying "SD Card removed" in the notification bar of the phone.
You might need to restart your phone after inserting the same SD card back to the phone. Some of the applications might not work. I am sure this happens on 2.1 Eclair devices.