text:
How can I install .jar files on my Android?
I downloaded some 3D games, unzipped them, and got .jar files. How can I use these in Android?  I have a Galaxy S running 2.1.

Although Android uses Java, it doesn't support normal JAR files. Instead, it uses an Android specific format called APK. The main difference is that Android does not use the normal Java Virtual Machine, but contains its own Dalvik Virtual Machine that's optimized for Android.

you means to say that i can not install jar file in android 2.1.

@Jeevan Bhatt: Exactly. This can change in the future (if someone writes a JVM for Android) but I wouldn't hold my breath.

I did search on internet and came to know that android support only apk file so i need to convert .jar into .apk by some converter, is it true?

Yes, there are some converters but these are not very reliable. The problem is, Android uses a part of the entire java library and adds it's own libraries to control most of the features. For example, the Graphical User Interface classes can't be used on Android (eg. swing). Also the converter needs to rewrite all UI events, such as touchscreen/keyboard functionality. Apparently some converters can do this for MIDP applets (J2ME) used on older phones, but normal Java apps (probably) will not work. You can try the converters, but most likely the result will lag, be buggy or crash.

I'd like to partially disagree with Ryan Conrad & onik.
I have a Samsung Spica and it came pre-loaded with an app while it was running v1.6 and now running 2.1 (both official Samsung India versions) - called Java ME Apps.
I am running multiple Java apps (meant for non-Android phones) through it.
Both are JAR files and once run via the Java ME app, both run as expected.
So to sum up, there is a way to run JAR apps on Android. I do however, agree with everything else mentioned w.r.t. APKs and Dalvik.

Android doesn't actually even "use" Java. The language that the code is written in is Java, but the Android SDK takes the compiled bytecode and converts it in to the Dalvik bytecode.
So, it is really a misconception that Android runs Java. Android runs Dalvik, which the core libraries are based on the Java framework, but the end resulting binary files are not the same, and the virtual machines are also completely different.
Just like the Dalvik VM will not run Java bytecode, the Java VM will not run Dalvik bytecode.
Converting libraries to Dalvik is probably possible, if all the features are available in Android (or additional libraries), but anything that has a Java UI, will not work.

I actually disagree. Google did not wrote there own Language called Java, they just simply i believe took the OpenJDK and name it Dalvik etc etc for marketing.

have you ever compared dalvik byte code to java byte code, its different.

@Google: That is, literally, completely wrong. Google used Java syntax (and some libraries), but as Ryan Conrad noted, the bytecode is completely different. They didn't just "rename" the Java JDK for marketing purposes. See Dalvik's Wikipedia entry for more.

If the jar file is for JavaME
There is MicroEmulator which emulates JavaME with help from JavaSE. This makes it possible to convert these jar files to an apk and install it on your device. The process is described here.
NetRunner provides a similar functionality.

Flow, that MicroEmulator link seems to have changed to something else I suppose. Could you please update the answer.

No, you cannot install JAR files on Android. To install applications from JAR, we need J2ME support which is not in Android phones.


text:
Is it possible to show "all calls" on my Samsung Galaxy S?
Under phone -> logs -> menu key -> view by there are options for all logs, dialled calls, missed calls, received calls, sent messages and received messages.
Is it possible to show "all calls" instead?
Is this more of a feature request than an answerable question?

There's an "all calls" option in "Call History" on my phone. (Running 2.2 but on a HTC with their UI, which may be different, as pointed out below.)
When I hit "view", the option buttons are:

All Calls
Incoming Calls
Outgoing calls
Missed calls

Is this what you're after, or have I mis-interpreted your question?

I'm not sure what phone you've got, but it sounds like you don't have a Samsung? It sounds like your one doesn't have Samsung's TouchWiz interface, but possibly has a different interface, like HTC's Sense?

You are correct, I didn't take that into account. I have a Desire HD with HTC sense.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Email app displays messages in "Sent" by "From:" instead of "To:"
I configured my Email app to point to an existing Yahoo Mail account.
When I go into the Sent folder, I see that the Android-composed messages display the recipient (To:), but the older messages display the sender (From:)
I checked the headers on several messages. It seems that Email app is selecting first occurrence of "From:" or "To:".
So my older messages say...
From:
To:
...and the "From:" is displayed in the message list
The new messages I composed in Froyo have:
To:
From:
...and the "To:" is displayed in the message list.
Is this the expected behavior? I know that some things are different in mobile world, but classically, the "Sent" folder has been special cased to show who the message is being sent to, because that is the most useful information to display in this context.

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


text:
Screen orientation on Samsung Galaxy 9000
When I have my samsung galaxy 9000 (with Android 2.2) on a flat surface (table) and start an application, then the application is shown in landscape mode, even when the start/home screen was in portrait mode.
This does not happen when I hold the phone in my hands.
Is there a way to disable this behavior?
Update: I think I got something wrong: the home screen is never rotated, so the problem is simply that the galaxy thinks it is in landscape-mode when it is lying flat.

Maybe your table isn't perfectly perpendicular to all rays extending from the center of the Earth's mass that pass through it.  ;)

@Matthew Read: I don't care! It's called smartphone so I want it to behave smart ;-)

You want your phone to go into landscape when you intentionally angle it, right?  How is your phone supposed to know whether it was angled intentionally or not?  If calibration doesn't work, your table isn't level.  How is this a problem anyways?  You're standing, leaning over the table, looking directly down at your phone, and unable to turn it 90 degrees or rotate yourself 90 degrees?  Weird.

@Matthew: when it's level, I want it to be in portrait mode (not landscape). Why: the main screen/apps-menu is always shown in portrait mode, but as soon as I start an app, it switches to landscape. Of course I can rotate it, or tilt it to switch to portrait mode, but it's annoying.

Try recalibrating the orientation sensor from Settings -> Display -> Horizontal calibration. My phone does this too occasionally, since when the phone is lying flat, the difference between portrait/landscape is very small in the sensors.

You can disable auto rotation all together , the phone stays in portrait mode than, but won't switch to landscape when you are holding it, either.
If you would like to do this anyway: slide down the notifiction bar at the top and disable the 'auto rotation' option ( on my phone this is the icon to the right).

Thanks, I know that option, but it's not what I want. I'd like apps to be started in the same orientation as the home screen is currently being displayed.


text:
What Android phones are ANT+ hardware enabled?
I'm trying to gather information regarding ANT+ hardware support in Android phones. Basically, what Android phones have ANT wireless hardware?
ANT and ANT+ (http://thisisant.com/) as wireless protocols are quite promising, especially with potential open-source support for ANT+ ready-made fitness devices (see http://www.thisisant.com/news/stories/ant-enabled-live-google-data-feed).
For now, only Sony Ericsson has officially stated they have it in X10 mini pro, X10 mini, X8, and upcoming Xperia Arc (and AFAIK "plain" X10 is not included) - http://blogs.sonyericsson.com/developerworld/2011/01/06/use-your-sony-ericsson-phone-with-ant-enabled-health-and-fitness-products/. Also, it is known that Texas Instruments WiLink 6 and WiLink 7 module support ANT as well (some sources state Motorola Droid and Motorola Droid X have it, and therefore interesting too).
Sony Ericsson support seems to make its way to users, here the list of phones regarding Android ANT+ API (http://www.thisisant.com/pages/developer-zone/android-api). Still waiting for any official or unofficial support for non-Sony Ericson phones.
List of supported phones from the directory of mobile phones and devices - http://www.thisisant.com/directory/
ANT+ enabled phones: Any device with a USB Host feature and a connected ANT USB stick.
Any other? Please, share if you find others!

had to use ANT+ directory to get updates this time

This list gives the most correct answer, as it gives "what Android phones have ANT wireless hardware" regardless of if the software piece has been turned on: http://forum.xda-developers.com/hardware-hacking/hardware/ref-devices-ant-hardware-t2879990
For which devices have the hardware and the software to support apps, the best place is the ANT+ Product Directory: http://www.thisisant.com/directory/filter/~/60/~/
However, this does not include devices which have not gone through certification to prove they work correctly, such as the Xiaomi Mi3 or OnePlus One.

For the Tour de France Google created some custom firmware to run on HTC Legends so that they could track the riders in real-time.  It seems those phones also have the ANT+ capabilities.  I believe that those chips are fairly common in many phones.  The protocol is apparently similar to Bluetooth so it's not much additional work for the chip manufacturers, like TI, to put it into their chips.
I think the biggest obstacle is the drivers for the ANT+ protocol don't come with the phone.  That was the custom part of the firmware that Google provided.
Check out this article here for more about the Tour de France.
Have a look at this link as well.

seems those HTC Legends were not standard ones, HTC Legend you can buy uses Quallcom chips instead of TI WiLink :( see this thread - http://groups.google.com/group/mytracks/browse_thread/thread/9b0ce586697fb4aa/adb97744e9d091b0

I hope when SE gets their things done with public firmware, someone will be able to figure out how to use it with custom firmwares on other WiLink phones as well. But it's just a hope, and I'm not 100% sure SE Xperia X8/X10mini/X10pro uses WiLink :(

As well as the phones with embeded ANT support it is now possible to use ANT via a USB ANT stick.  The phone needs to have working USB Host mode support but that is true for most modern phones.  I posted some details when the anouncement came out a few months back as a developer of some ANT related apps.

Thanks, from your linked page it looks like to use a USB ANT device in addition to working USB Host Mode support on your device, you need to install the ANT USB Service and ANT Radio Service (both free from Play Store)?

Yes you need the two software packages from the store to get things working.  You then of course need some apps with ANT support built into them like my IpBike.

In order to enable ANT+ in Android devices there are mainly two options.
One is to have a smartphone with ANT+ built-in, another is to add an ANT USB stick and connect it to the smartphone using a USB OTG (OnTheGo) cable.
However, also the Android applications have to be written to support the external ANT USB stick. At the moment, only applications that use the official ANT Alliance APIs are able to communicate with the external accessory. This situation will probably change in the near future, but this is the state of the art, concerning ANT+ and Android.
For more info, check this how to: http://www.selfloops.com/resources/tech-guides.html

You can also go to the official ANT+ website at www.thisisant.com and then under the 'directory' tab (www.thisisant.com/directory) select in the filter options the following checkbox: CATEGORIES > Mobile Phones/Devices

If you need it for sports and want to buy now, maybe worth looking at Sony acro S. At least it is more protected (water-proof) than most phones. Anyway going for ANT+ enabled phone right now means you miss a lot of other interesting options though :-( (too many more capable newer models around are still coming without ANT+)

really?
so, you recomend me to wait?
but, if newer models without ANT+ are better, how they can receive beat rate signals?
(I mean, without attaching any adapter)

depends on what you need, just saying that most latest-greatest are not with ANT+ right now. for active usage external USB dongle is a dubious endeavor too. so for now, if you need ANT+ for sports in your phone - list is very narrow (and for some people even old and cheap SE Active would suffice)

yes right, I agree

I can see this is an old thread, but there have been a few new phones announced recently with ANT+ support.
This list is updated regularly: http://www.thisisant.com/directory/filter/~/60/~/ and now includes the Sony Z1 and Z Ultra (two new flagship phones) and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

To add to the list, supposedly Samsung is going to release a firmware to enable ant+ on their s4 and others
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/10/samsung-mobile-devices.html

Add Nexus 5, Nexus 10, HTC One and LG G2. root is required though.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.z2software.antplus

Good that there is an app activating ANT+ on certain devices, but it's rather expensive IMO.

ANT+ is enabled by sw upgarde only in phones that contains TI 1271/1281 connectivty devices

And which phones are those, perchance?

Currently supported mobile phones and devices:

Nokia 7.2 (HMD)
Monterra (Garmin)
HTC Rhyme (HTC)
GALAXY Note 3 Lite (Samsung Electronics)
GALAXY Note 4 (Samsung Electronics)
GALAXY TabPRO 12.2 (Samsung Electronics)
GALAXY Note 3 Neo (Samsung Electronics)
GALAXY TabPRO 8.4 (Samsung Electronics)
GALAXY TabPRO 10.1 (Samsung Electronics)
GALAXY NotePRO 12.2 (Samsung Electronics)
GALAXY S5 (Samsung Electronics)
GALAXY Grand 2 (LTE) (Samsung Electronics)
GALAXY J (Samsung Electronics)
GALAXY Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) (Samsung Electronics)
GALAXY S4 (Android 4.3 and up) (Samsung Electronics)
GALAXY Note 3 (Samsung Electronics)
Xperia T2 Ultra (Sony Mobile)
Xperia Z2 Tablet (Sony Mobile)
Xperia M2 (Sony Mobile)
Xperia Z2 (Sony Mobile)
Xperia Z1 S (Sony Mobile)
Xperia Z1 Compact (Sony Mobile)
Xperia Z1 (Sony Mobile)
Xperia Z Ultra (Sony Mobile)
Xperia SL (Sony Mobile)
Xperia acro S (Sony Mobile)
Xperia X8 (Sony Mobile)
Xperia x10 mini pro (Sony Mobile)
Xperia S (Sony Mobile)
Xperia x10 mini (Sony Mobile)
Xperia ray (Sony Mobile)
Xperia pro (Sony Mobile)
Xperia neo V (Sony Mobile)
Xperia neo (Sony Mobile)
Xperia mini pro (Sony Mobile)
Xperia mini (Sony Mobile)
Xperia ion LTE (Sony Mobile)
Xperia ion HSPA (Sony Mobile)
Xperia arc S (Sony Mobile)
Xperia arc (Sony Mobile)
Live with Walkman (Sony Mobile)
Xperia active (Sony Mobile)

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

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


text:
How to change the wake up Button on the Motorola Droid Pro to be any keyboard key?
I really hate that the sleep/mute key button is the same that wakes up the phone; I would want to be able to wake it up by pressing any key on the phone. Any ideas?

Perhaps a solution can be found among the answers of this related question: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/1080/how-can-i-customize-the-actions-associated-with-my-moto-droids-hardware-buttons

Or possibly even this one http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/730/is-there-a-way-to-make-my-htc-incredible-phone-use-the-optical-joystick-button-to or this one http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/671/how-to-check-htc-desire-is-off-without-turning-it-on


text:
Can the Samsung Galaxy Tab be used as a wifi-hotspot?
Is it possible to use the Samsung Galaxy Tab as a wifi-hotspot so that non-3G iPads can use the Samsungs connection to the phone network?

The Galaxy Tab comes with Android version 2.2 (Froyo), this version of the Android OS comes with the ability to work as a WiFi hotspot for up to 5 devices built in. This lets you share your Tab's 3G connection out to other devices over Wifi.
I've tethered wifi only devices like my Kindle 3, and a wifi Skype phone to my Galaxy S's wireless hotspot in this way and connected them to the internet with no problem, so I can't see any reason you'd have trouble doing that between a 3G Galaxy Tab and a Wifi iPad.
(it is possible for your phone company to block this facility, to date I think Verizon in the US are the only company to block it)

end of first paragraph -- I think you mean "WiFi" not "3G"

@matt well spotted, glad someone's proof reading!

I think Sprint charges an extra $20-$30/month for the WiFi hotspot feature. At least on the HTC/EVO that's what it is. I got it on the HTC/EVO so it will provide internet for any future Galaxy or tablet I might buy.

@Neal if there's one thing I'm constantly reminded of, it's to never be surprised by the greed of phone networks!

Yes you can.
Settings >  Wireless and Network > Mobile AP
This feature is built by Samsung, and different from the tethering feature that comes with Android 2.2 (Froyo). Using this one you can turn your Tab as a password-protected hotspot

is it possible that the Mobile AP could be deleted off of the phone because its not under Settings > Wireless and Network > Mobile AP i have the Samsung Galaxay S though a southern provider called Cellular South down here in MS.

@user3176 On 2.3 the feature is another level down under Settings > Wireless and Network > Tethering > Mobile AP. Also if you bought the device through your service provider then it is possible that they may have disabled that feature. Some networks (especially in the US it seems) disable the tethering features on their devices.


text:
How can I access Transport for London from my device?
How can I use TFL information on my device?  Is there an application or other good way of accessing TFL?
For those who don't know, TFL == Transport for London, a webpage of London public transport when you can find what is the best way of getting from point A to B at a given time.

Did you search in the Market for "TFL"?

@Al Everett: Yes. I used even one high ranked free application but it failed to work.

I'm developing Pubtran London, if you have any feedback let me know.

@fhucho: It looks very good. Thanks. Showing on map/choosing destination on map would be nice (yes, I know that it's probably not your day job and well... probably it is your hobby given the lack of pay version).

This is the highest rated app I found Appbrain: http://www.appbrain.com/app/pubtran-london/cz.fhejl.pubtran.london
Here's the search I used: http://www.appbrain.com/search?q=tfl&sort=highest-rated

The one that used to be called transport for london is now called london underground and now has pay and ad supported versions.
http://www.appbrain.com/app/london-underground-free/com.visualit.tubeLondonCity

Transport for London has an out of date Security Certificate for Android. Until it is updated, you will not be able to access the site.

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


text:
Can someone describe how publishing an Adobe Air file on Android works?
I'm familiar with Adobe Air and I noticed it is on the Market. Does it accept .AIR files for install? If so, how does Air make adjustments for the small screen? Does air have access to all the neat features of Android? Such as access the contacts or the SD card? Need some help understanding how my Air application will perform on Droid. Should I still develop Android specif apps, or is Air ready for prime time?

This is relevant to Android users who want to run Air apps, so I've answered below.  However, for development questions please use http://stackoverflow.com.

I assumed that this site covers Android development as well. It just says Android Enthusiasts... Oh well, I got confused. Still a relevant question through.

Please read the FAQ. Development questions still go on Stack Overflow.

Possible duplicate of: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/2513/how-do-i-run-an-air-app-on-the-device

Could be a duplicate, but the answer doesn't answer my question completely. Sure the Phone SDK is different than the Adobe SDK, it still doesn't tell me if other air applications will run on droid or how they will perform. I don't want to use air on my droid if clicking on an Application is going to hurt my phone (in a matter of speaking).

You still need to develop Android-specific apps, but you should be able to reuse most of your code if you a rewriting a desktop Air app for Android.  So users can't just grab a regular Air app and run it on their phone, unfortunately.

So I couldn't download say Jade from adobe air and run it on Droid. The application has to be modified to work specifically with android... That doesn't seem like an easy feat to me.

Jade wouldn't work, no.  I assume there are simple apps that might work without modification, but with anything complicated you can't really expect it to just run -- the resources, input methods, etc. available on a phone are very different than a PC.


text:
Why does Google Talk never appear on the "Recent Applications" list?
I frequently will get a message on Google Talk.  I will drag down the notification bar, click the message, and answer.  However, if I then press "Home", and it occurs to me that I wish to send yet another message to this person, I am forced to go find the Google Talk app icon, launch it, select the relevant conversation, and enter my message.  Why does Google Talk not appear on the Recent Applications list, accessible by holding down the Home key?  Every other app I have does...

What phone do you have?  This works fine on my Galaxy S.

I have...  a Galaxy S.  Vibrant.

Google talk and Gmail each behave this way. I found this out by asking here actually. So when you drag down the notification bar, GMail and Google Talk will not appear in the recent apps list. However, you will see them in recent apps if you navigate to them using an application launcher.
I'm not certain if the same is true for Google Voice.

This is because the Recent Applications list only displays the applications activities. In Android, an Activity is the "window" of the application. Google Talk and GMail always run in background, as a "Service", not an Activity.
The application activity is killed by Android when it is not used, and this is the case with those applications, even if they still run in background.


text:
Is there a way I can get a Windows 7 Phone  UI on my Android device?
Is there an App/Widget/Custom Rom that gives you a Windows 7 Phone-like User Interface?
Of course I don't need the Microsoft-specific stuff such as XBox Live, etc.
But instead of app icons for phone/msg/settings/etc, you have the nice big ... windows... that you can slide around instead.
I hope its not too subjective. Basically I want the Windows 7 UI on my Android phone (even just in the home screen).

I don't know of anything like this.  It's almost definitely phone-specific as well -- I wouldn't expect a custom UI developed for a Droid to work on a Galaxy S, for example.

There is an alternative launcher that purports to give the look-and-feel of Windows Phone 7. I can't imagine it's more than "skin-deep", however.
Some information (and a video) here: http://phandroid.com/2010/12/09/turn-your-android-phone-into-a-windows-phone-7-with-this-metro-ui-launcher/

Ah yea, so there is something out there. Thanks. It looks like it could use more work. Also I don't think it's worth the $3.


text:
Lag fixing using OCLF - could it do any harm?
I am wondering if the lag fix proposed by xda-developers could harm the device in anyway.
Quote from Google Code "Original use was for 'One Click Lag Fix' for the Samsung Galaxy S series, to create a loopback EXT2 device on top of Samsung's RFS in order to improve response time for applications."
Link to forum page about this: here.
How does it work exactly? What does "create loopback EXT2" mean?
I know the forum post clearly states it's been tested on a huge number of devices and it's working, but I want to understand what it does exactly and if there is any compromise by installing it?
Thank you.

Basically, it tricks the Android OS by using symbolic links and a large file formatted as ext2, rather than partitioning or formatting your device storage.  In this way it's very safe.  I've used it several times on several ROMs on my Galaxy S with no problems.

Thank you, Matthew. I'll give it a try then. Out of curiosity, if it's such a great solution why isn't it adopted by Google for future releases? This is me trying to understand if there are no strings attached / compromises and only good will come of it. :)

@Francisc: because it is basically a hack to allow you to use ext2 without repartitioning the device. This means there is two file system drivers to manage a single partition, the ext2 driver and rfs driver. Even though there are two drivers in play, the hack is a still gain since ext2 driver is much more efficient at managing files than rfs. Google would never adopt such a hack, they instead would simply partition the flash storage using ext4, which they did in Nexus S.


text:
Display On when plugged in
Is there a way to keep the display "ON" whilst the device is plugged in?
I am running Android 2.2 Froyo on Samsung Galaxy S.

What device do you have?

Samsung Galaxy S

Settings > Applications > Development > Stay awake

This function is missing in Froyo 2.2 update 1.

@Cooler77: I see it on my Droid. What device are you using?

Does this limit "Stay awake" to when the device is plugged in, or will it also keep it awake when it's on the battery?

@Nathan Fellman as the feature description says "Screen will never sleep while charging"

@mlevit: then I have no choice but to vote this answer up...


text:
How to reduce number of screens on HTC Sense android phones?
I was wondering, is there a way to reduce the number of screens available with HTC sense phones to say 5? Just I find that 7 screens is excessive for my needs, and I heard I can get a decent performance / battery boost from having less screens.
So is there a way to reduce the number of screens without using a custom launcher (which I think gets rid of HTC sense?)
Currently I just have my two side screens blank, but that looks off when you zoom out, however I have found that even that has produced a noticeable improvement on my Desire HD
Thanks!

Unfortunately you can't change the number of screens and still use the HTC Sense UI. At least not in any of the versions I've seen.
You can uninstall it or turn it off, but then you won't have free access to all of the HTC widgets, if you like those.
If you really want the performance kick you'll get from less screens in total, and therefore using less RAM, you'll have to go back to Vanilla Android.  Simply using less widgets, as you've done, will certainly help somewhat.
I feel you pain too, I really only need 3 screens for my favorite widgets and folders, but I kind of like some of the HTC widgets.

ah ok. That's a pitty. Hope HTC will add it in future upgrades!

In general, the less widgets you use on your home screens, the better performance your phone is going to have (less processing for widgets).
If you want to reduce the number of homescreens, then I suggest switching to another home launcher such as LauncherPro which will let you change how many homescreens you have. LauncherPro has some similar widgets to HTC's Sense too.

use Go launcher ex.
i'm using it for nearly as long as i have the DHD.
very customizable, lots of themes and widgets even own locker screen (go locker)
and: it's free!

The OP asked "without using a custom launcher"!


text:
How to reset Nexus One to Android 2.2.1 or 2.3?

Possible Duplicate:
Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?

I have a Nexus One (with the radios for the AT&T network) which has an old beta version of 2.2 on it. It doesn't receive over the air updates, and I'd like to get it running something more recent.
Where can I find a download for Android 2.2.1 or 2.3? There's a link to an updater on Google's site that's given by numerous blogs but it's always broken. It's kind of bizarre to me that this phone is stuck in an OS limbo since it won't receive updates and there's no place to download the latest.

Not to state the obvious but have you tried doing a factory reset? How did the phone get the beta version of 2.2 onto it, that might help other people help with suggestions?

You might have more luck installing a third party ROM as it's not always easy to get the original AOSP (Android Open Source Project) running on your device. Having the Nexus One is good for you since it'll be one of the first phones to actually get ROMs.
If you want 2.3, google for the "Oxygen ROM".
Otherwise, I think there's an original Nexus One ROM right on XDA Developers.
I also found another board topic that has several Nexus One Stock ROMs and you can even customize and "bake" them yourself.

Why not stick CyanogenMod on it? Essentially the same thing with a few extra bonuses ;)


text:
Override detected WIFI parameters
I am trying to connect to our corporate WIFI network. I know that the type of the network is 802.1x because tech support told me so and I have colleagues that can connect to it using their iPhone with that type of authentication.
My problem is that my phone (Android 2.1) detects the network security as WEP and I can't override it. I tried to manually add a network with the same SSID and the correct configuration. However, when I look at the wireless networks, it says that only the detected network is in range, and that the one I added manually is out of range.
How can I fix this problem?

You should probably talk to your IT department.  They would certainly be able to help you, probably faster than you could get help on here too.
They may also have some settings that are restricting unauthorized devices from connecting.

I wasn't able to connect to 802.1x networks when I had 2.1 on my phone.  I don't think they were supported.  I can connect now that I have 2.2 though.

I don't know if connecting actually works, but the wireless settings have an option for that. I doubt they would added that feature if it didn't work, at least in some scenarios.

Probably true...


text:
Enable data roaming only for specified providers?
I'm living in a country A. My mobile phone provider is located in country B. Unfortunately, I have to enable data roaming to work both in country A and country B. This doesn't costs my roaming costs, because the providers in country A and B work together.
Unfortunately, I'm living also very close to country C. And a lot of time (during shopping, working etc) I go to country C. I always have to explicitly disable data roaming then. Sometimes I forget to do so and then I causes a lot of roaming costs.
So is it possible to allow data roaming only for specific providers? From the Android OS I don't think so, but it should be possible to do it progamatically? Every time the provider changes I would check if it it in the allowed list and if not I would disable data roaming?
Edit: Does anybody know if there are already apps which can do that? Otherwise I would start the development of suach an app.

At the moment we have the same problem in the UK with the Orange/T-mobile merge...

Ok, so do you haven't found a solution yet?

What if you used tasker/locale with this plugin?  You could then turn off data using APNdroid.


text:
Sending Map from PC to Archos 43 using Chrome to Phone?
Has anyone used this feature successfully? (C2DM feature explanation here - warning, it is a technical document)  As a user, how do you do it?
The only app that I can find that looks like it does this is Chrome to Phone.
Given the name, is the phone function crucial to pushing a Map to your Android device?
I'm looking to send directions from my PC to my Archos 43 that is paired up with a Bluetooth GPS.
Thanks!

Chrome to phone is a great app.  It's one of my most used apps.  Install Chrome to Phone from App Brain or the Android market.  Next install the Chrome Extension.  Finally find the directions on Google Maps and click the chrome to phone button.  This will open up either the web page, Google maps, or Google Navigation (can't remember) on your device assuming your device is connected to the internet.
However, since this is not a phone I suspect you won't have an internet connection while you are driving which could be a problem if you are trying to use Google Maps/Navigation.

The latest version of maps will download all the data needed for your directions so you dont have to have a data connection. There is also a plugin for firefox if you use that browser. Chrome to phone also requires android 2.2 or later, but there are others that support android 2.1

Yes, it does require Android 2.2.  Good point, I forgot that maps can download all of the data for directions now.  @Ryan Conrad Do you have links for the others that support android 2.1?


text:
Difference between VLingo and the built in Voice functionality in Android?
My wife is contemplating an Android phone, and loved the demo she saw of VLingo on a Blackberry.  I keep noting that this is all built in and free on Android.  I imagine since they are cross coding anyway, might as well offer it for Android at least (It IS offered for Android, as well as iPhone and Blackberry).
So a couple of things:
What are the differences between VLingo and the built in functionality?
Are there other alternatives?
I like the Google technology currently used, and am playing with VLingo on my Blackberry, and am not so impressed yet.  I am waiting to be wowed.

I don't see how there can be a single, correct answer to this. You're asking for opinions, which is not the kind of questions we prefer on this site.

Agreed, this is subjective and should be closed.  And if VLingo hasn't actually been released for Android, this isn't really even an Android question.

I am asking for pro-cons.  Which is not exactly opinion.  And it was released for Android.

@Al Everett am asking for pro-cons.  Which is not exactly opinion.  And it was released for Android.   @Matthew Read : I edited to say that it has been released for Android.

@geoffc Pros and cons are absolutely subjective opinions, that doesn't make sense.

"Why would you" is definitely asking for subjective input. If you, perhaps, edited the question asking for objective details of the differences between the two products that would make it a better question.

@aL Everett Question topic changed.  I will edit it again to change it to list of differences.

I tried VLingo for a while on my Evo and wasn't impressed.  It did not seem to offer any value to me above that provided by the built-in voice actions.  I uninstalled it after trying it for a couple of months.

I can see why an iPhone, or BB would want such an app, I am trying to figure out how it improves upon Google included code!  Thanks for the response.   I think if I had to choose voice recognition code, I would choose Googles over most anyone, just knowing how they scale things...

@user921: Can you be more specific?


text:
Is it possible to set CPU speed with Tasker?
For example: I would like to set my CPU to higher end for when running a specific application, such as psx4droid.  Is this possible with Tasker?
Or if not Tasker... any other app?  SetCPU doesn't have the option.

It seems to me that you could get there by having tasker either directly set the system variables necessary to overclock or to access the commands that setCPU uses.  To do that you can use the "Execute" plugin that executes commands like you would in the terminal emulator.  A lot of this is over my head but you probably understand terminal commands and such better and may be able to make sense of my ramblings:

Install the Locale Execute Plugin
Create a new profile for when you run psx4droid
Add a task to set the CPU
Add an action and choose Plugin/Execute
Execute the command necessary to reset(overclock) the CPU.  Here's a link to explain how to format the commands. Unfortunately I don't know what command does this.

Theoretically, when you open psx4droid it should run that profile you created, changing the CPU settings.

Google search on "Locale Execute Setcpu" turned up this result from Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/tasker/comments/ea7cq/overunderclocking_setcpu/

Ha! Perfect! Let me know if it works.  I didn't realize there was a Tasker devoted subreddit.

Try this thread on XDA Tasker CPU Control Profiles

And what will one find when they follow that link? Answers of nothing but a link to another site are generally not useful. What happens if that link stops working?


text:
How can I set a Screen Lock Timeout?
I'd like to have to enter the PIN not immediately after pressing the standby button, but only after some time, e.g. 30 minutes.
I know there is Password Delay, which is better than nothing. But it works only if you keep the application running and the application itself is not password-protected. Update: newer versions of Password Delay work okay (no more need to keep it running, application is now password-protected).
Are there better solutions? Or do technical limitations of Froyo prevent better solutions?
For Reference: tested.com (found via https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/780/what-is-a-good-lock-program-for-android-phones) mentions Lock Delay and AutoLock, but these work only on 2.1 or below.
And How to disable screen lock on my HTC desire Z? proposes No Lock, but this is a solution of a different problem (complete disable the lock, not just delay it).

The Lock Delay author mentions that Google has locked down the API relevant to locking in Froyo. Could be the reason why there aren't apps available.

I have a HTC Desire running Froyo, and I can go to Settings | Security | Lock phone after and choose the timeout to "Immediately", 3, 5 10 or 15 minutes.
Doesn't the Galaxy Tab have this setting?

no, the Galaxy Tab has just Set screen lock in the section Screen unlock setting. A colleague with a HTC also showed me that his device has a setting more in this section.


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Galaxy S and Skype - Why am I getting an "Insufficient memory" error?
Galaxy S running 2.2.  try to install SKYPE but get the error - "insufficient memory" when there is loads on the phone and i can install any other app quite normally.  Any help appreciated.

What model do you have?

I'm guessing Skype installs to the SD card by default, in which case you should check out this question: What does the 'Failed to move application. Not enough memory' error mean when choosing 'Move to SD card'?


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Is there a way  to schedule hibernate/shut down on an HTC Desire HD?
I'm planning to get SleepPhones, a sort of comfortable headphone which I plug into my HTC Desire HD. I would play music which puts me into sleep (hopefully) for up to 60 minutes.
Is there a way hibernate/shutdown the phone say after 90 minutes or perhaps at 2am every day to save power?

You should be able to use either Locale or Tasker to setup a condition (i.e., at 2 am) to do something (turn volume down, stop media player, or turn off wifi or other services).  But as far as I know, neither program will let you shut down your phone.


text:
HTC EVO with Evernote App - pictures upside down
I'm trying to use the Evernote app to take a photo and upload it.
I create a note, take a picture of a business card.  I'm holding the camera sideways, aiming down at the card on the table in front of me.  When I see the note in the Evernote app on the EVO or on Evernote site, the business card is upside down.
I've even tried rotating the pictures in the gallery and attaching them, but they always come out upside down.
I'm new to the phone, so could be I'm doing some really wrong. Or maybe Evernote has a limitation for the "free users"?
Update: I just uploaded pics to my PC, and they were upside down there to.  So the rotate/orientation on the EVO must own be for display there, not in the actual photo-file itself?
I'll try flipping the camera the other way... seems like I tried that last night, but will try again.

Try turning the camera 180 degrees.  Clearly Evernote is confused about where the top and bottom are.
Also, I have found when editing in the gallery then uploading to Evernote, if I only rotated the picture the edits don't seem to take. It does work however if I rotate it, then crop it (I don't really crop anything out, but just go through the motions) and save it.  On those photos, Evernote recognizes the edits.

Like I said in the post, "I tried flipping the camera the other way" i.e. 180 and 90 as well. I tried some the next day, and they worked okay, just looking for rules and consistency.


text:
How may I submit a WiFi hotspot to Android's database for a better triangulation?
As we know, in order to locate our position indoors, Android utilizes the nearby Wi-Fi Hotspots' location for triangulation. But how may I submit the Wi-Fi hotspots in my neighborhood to Google's/Android's database to benefit from better triangulation? I live in Turkey, and Google Street View Cars-which are claimed to collect these Hotspots in USA-don't exist here. For further info in triangulation take a look at similar threads here:
Why does google maps need WiFi?
How does Android get the coarse location?
Thanks in advance.

TL;DR version: Just use the GPS.
Long version: Turn on Wifi positioning ("Location & Security > Use wireless network"), turn on GPS ("Location & Security > Use wireless network"), use Google Maps (or other GPS applications), then walk/drive around your city.
When you turn on both of these services, before the GPS acquires a "fix", Android will send the Wifi's MAC/SSID and Cell Tower base stations CID/LAC around you to Google's server and Google's server will send back your location information; after the GPS acquires a "fix", your device will send the Wifi MAC/SSID, Cell Tower CID/LAC, and your GPS location to Google's server and Google's server will collect this information to refine their own Wifi database.
note: I believe the device could also be sending other data, like signal strength and possibly ping latency; but I'm not sure about the specifics of these.
Also from Google's support forum:

by Christopher (Google Employee)
If your location is being incorrectly
  detected by a Google Maps or Latitude
  using Google's cell ID (cell tower) or
  WiFi (wireless network) location
  database, you can help provide updated
  info to correct Google's database
  using Google Maps for mobile. At this
  time, you cannot provide individual
  updates to Google's location
  databases, though they are being
  updated and improved constantly over
  time.
Open Google Maps on an Android
  2.0+, Windows Mobile, or Symbian S60 phone and enable GPS. While Maps is
  simultaneously connected to a GPS
  satellite and a cell tower or WiFi
  router, you will be providing updated
  anonymous geographic data for the cell
  tower or WiFi router to which you're
  connected. Please note that this data
  is anonymous and may require a
  significant amount of data from you
  and other users before changes are
  made to Google's location database.
Android: You must enable Settings >
  Location & security > Use wireless
  networks and have previously given
  consent for anonymous location data
  collection. You can check if you've
  given consent by un-checking and
  re-checking the 'Use wireless
  networks' setting.

"Please note that this data is anonymous and may require a significant amount of data from you and other users before changes are made to Google's location database." So walking near to HotSpots isn't a guaranteed way to send  their locations to Google's Database. Yet it is the only one that I can make use of? Do you think there is a minimum duration of walking near to them so that their locations will be saved from Google? If not, how may I check if my Wi-Fi's locations are sent? Is there any way to query Google's db to check for my HotSpots? I asked a lot. thanks for your help.

@Comptrol: No, your data is always send to Google's database when you are using Wifi positioning and GPS simultaneously; however, your data may not be immediately used until several other users confirmed that the particular hotspot exists on that particular area. Google's will "cluster" all the data points for a particular MAC/SSID from various users and calculate the most likely position of the Wifi station. If you want to help map your location, tell everyone you know that have GPS-enabled phone to drive around your area.

Note that Wifi was originally never meant for positioning, therefore there is no way for a single device sitting in a single location to determine the position of a Wifi's access point (or even estimate the distance between the device and the access point).

"Is there any way to query Google's db to check for my HotSpots?" I don't think so, as far as I can tell. However, Google Gears have Geolocation API that allows developers to query their database, you might be able to try to send a query that consists only of your own hotspot, though I never used Gears, so I can't tell you if that would work or even be possible.

although Wifi was never meant for positioning, its limited range (10s of meters, compared to cellphone towers' 100s to 1000s of meters) means that a good triangulation isn't necessary for a coarse location. A lot of the time, just being able to pick up the wifi signal already gets your rough location reasonably accurately.

Apart from Lie Ryan's great answer above, I think this Wireless Location Bug Form is quite suitable for correcting mislocated Hotspots and as a result for submitting new ones. Has anyone tried this? :)

Please use this form if a Google
  product reported a very incorrect
  location (e.g. wrong city, state, or
  country) while your device was
  connected to a WiFi or wireless
  network and using Google's WiFi
  Location database. You'll need to use
  a computer on the same wireless
  network you were connected to when
  your location was incorrectly reported
  to submit this form.
Note: Submitting this information may
  not immediately correct your specific
  router or access point's location in
  Google's WiFi Location database but
  will be used to improve the overall
  quality of Google's products and
  services, including the WiFi location
  database.

I have used it once and it didn't seem to change anything. Even after six month or so I was located where I lived before. :) The link shows now: This form has expired.

Why don't you just update the SID of your wifi AP? I believe location will then be free from previous data.

How do you update the SID? The answer is too short. Might be best to re-edit to give a summary on how to achieve this?

If you have access to your router, you can clone its wireless MAC address.
I did it on mine with DD-WRT, and now I get the correct location.
All I needed to do was to change part of the MAC address.
Two things that can go wrong, though:
1. Your router may not enable you to do it (and you may be unable to install DD-WRT on it)
2. The wi-fi network that's causing the wrong location is not from your router.
Other than that, its a quick fix.

Cloning MAC addresses just tends to cause problems later on, and is very rarely a good solution to a problem. Especially in this case, where just using the GPS in Google Maps near the wifi point (with wifi switched on in your device) will get the new AP registered, and the more devices that use GPS near your building, the quicker the database will update.


text:
How to access bootloader and what functions are available?
How can I access the bootloader on a Android 2.2 (or on other version)?
Is the bootloader vendor or model specific?
What are the options offered to the user when accessing the bootloader?
(I know that the bootloader without interaction "boots" the android, please do not specify that)

The bootloader is vendor AND model-specific.  It is not consistent across Android versions.
A common way to get into the bootloader (also called "recovery mode") is to hold a volume button down and reboot the device, releasing the button when you get to the bootloader.  On my Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant, the easiest way is to hold both volume buttons plus the power button, releasing the power button once the phone reboots and you see the "Vibrant" logo, and releasing the volume buttons after the bootloader comes up.
On my Vibrant, the options include doing a factory reset and installing "update.zip" from the root of the internal SD storage.  Your mileage may vary.  Something like TWRP can be installed on many devices, which provides additional options including backing up and restoring your phone's ROM (OS, kernel, data, etc.).
You should be able to Google "<device> recovery mode" to find instructions for your particular device.

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


text:
Does android switch to a different APN when in hotspot mode?
I've tried turning on the portable hot-spot mode on my nexus-one and got a message from my operator saying that my plan doesn't cover data traffic made through the web.operator.com APN, as opposed to mobile.operator.com (my "usual" APN). That made me curious. Does that mean that android switches APNs when the hot-spot feature is active? And if so, is this a built-in feature/configuration option or an operator customization?
Update No, the phone doesn't switch to a different APN, but I'm still not sure what triggered the message from my operator...
Update There's kind of a persistent rumor that European Nexus-One phones get tweaked OSes, see the xda-developers forum threads [1] and [2], or google nexus-one forums [1] and [2]. One of the most likely tweaks seems to be the tagging of hotspot traffic, in order to be able to charge for it differently.

Also see http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734138 for a discussion about how they might. Mechanisms other than APN change might include

Time to live
Request header
Data volume

Answer seems to be probably not.

Now that's an interesting read!

Yes, Android phones indeed switch to another APN when the hotspot mode is activated. I have deleted all default APNs and replaced it with just one, hey presto, managed to transfer 128GB of personal hotspot when I only have 1GB.

How did you do that?  It won't let me delete the existing verizon APN or create a new one.


text:
Gingerbread with ext4: will it burn my flash?
2.3 Gingerbread will use ext4 instead of YAFFS.
My question is: YAFFS is for flash based filesystem, but ext4 is not. Will it lead to premature death of the device due to wear leveling?

Not likely, the flash storage itself usually have built-in hardware wear leveling, YAFFS2 is only advantageous when the flash storage does not have hardware wear levelling.
However if you're reformatting a flash storage, do check that the flash storage have hardware wear leveling; most flash storage that originally ships with ext4 (e.g. Nexus S) should come with hardware wear leveling, but if the device originally ships with YAFFS2 or other file systems that does not do wear leveling, they might not have hardware wear leveling. On these file systems, you might need additional steps to ensure that a lower level driver do software wear leveling if you want to safely install ext4 (or other filesystems that does not do wear leveling).

Where did you see that all Gingerbread devices will use ext4?
The Nexus S uses ext4 and that is because the Galaxy S devices uses a very slow and laggy file system developed by Samsung called RFS. Google decided to change the file system on the Nexus S from RFS to ext4.

Here: http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2010/12/ext4-filesystem-hits-android-no-need-to-fear-data-loss.ars AND http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/12/saving-data-safely.html

@Alexandru Luchian: his question was "Where did you see that all Gingerbread devices will use ext4?", which is clearly not true. I don't believe there will not be any Gingerbread that does not use ext4.

You are right. But still, in the context of the question - most of the new devices will ship with ext4.


text:
How to optimize energy consumption during GPS tracking?
Very often I use my phone and the app MyTracks or GPSTrackerLite to track my hiking/biking tours.
This really works great and I'm thrilledy by the lot of possibilities in combination with google maps, facebook etc.
However there is one problem: If I'm tracking the battery lasts only a few hours. This is enough for most hikes, but for daytrips, it isn't sufficient. Do you have any tips how to save energy? For example using plane mode? Would this decrease the energy consumption? Are there any other functions I could disable?
I'm using HTC Desire.

See my answer here on some ways to save battery power on your  phone.

Thanks, I read it. Do you have experience with underclocking in combination with tracking? How many CPU power is necessary to ensure that GPS tracking is working correctly?

@Roflcoptr I have no experience with it, but I would think that so long as the app doesn't become unresponsive then it should be OK.

Ok thanks, I'll try it the next time I'm going on a tour.

I never used those tracking apps, but maybe you can decrease their polling frequency?. This will decrease the accuracy of the tracking, but generally you don't need the app to track every meter you move.

Thanks for the suggestion, but the accuracy is bad engough without decreasing the polling frequency ;) However, if the weather is very nice (and the GPS signal better) the polling frequencey could be increased.


text:
Bigger Notification Bar?
Is there a way to make the Notification Bar thicker?
I recently bought this case and it makes it incredibly hard to pull down the notification bar.
I was wondering if there was a way to thicken the notification bar, without completely hacking the phone?
I have a Motorola Droid X

I recommend telling the makers of the case about your problem -- hopefully they'll fix it and you might get a free one.

You know, silly me, I hadn't thought of that. I'll see if I can contact their customer service dept. I doubt they'll change the case though... :)

If you have a launcher like LauncherPro or ADW Launcher, you can just hit the menu button in any homescreen and click NOTIFICATIONS. That however doesn't help if you're in another app and want to bring down the Notification area, unfortunately.
In LP, you can also configure a swipe action to pull down the Notification area.
There's also HelloStatusBar which is an app that when clicked will bring down the bar. One workaround maybe to launch it and then while in another app, long-press HOME to make it show in the recently used app list.
If it works, I would recommend exsbar which allows you to assign the long-press search button or long-press camera button to this function.

Note: in ADW, by default, swiping down in the desktop will open the notification area

No, you would have to modify the core files in android in order to do that.

dang it, I figured that's what would have to happen... openHome or an application like that wouldn't help either would it?

I don't think openHome would work, no.  You might be able to get an app that triggers the notification bar to drop down somehow, but I don't know of one.

Yeah, I didn't think so. Guess I'll just have to write one :) Thanks!


text:
Moto Droid - Screen Going Crazy / SD Card Contents
So about an hour ago I was texting and noticed that when I would try to hit certain letters using the on-screen keyboard that it would think I pressed the keys to the left or right of a certain area.  It seemed like a deadspot to me and already I was disappointed but it wasn't a giant issue as I could just use the hardware keyboard til I got it fixed.  Now, however, after ~1 minute of being booted up, the screen just starts going crazy, loading random applications, zooming in on stuff, flickering left and right like I was swiping it.  I was wondering if anyone had any experience as to what can cause this (other than hardware failure) and if you think doing a factory reset will help at all (assuming I can get through the options fast enough before the screen goes nuts).
Also, before trying a factory reset, I was wondering what all is stored on the SD card by default.  I'm not really worried about apps (I'll just re-download them) or contacts (synced with Google I believe), but more media (pictures / videos [both that I took and downloaded] / music).  Now common sense would suggest that media items would all be stored on the SD card, but I know from experience not to assume things like this.  If you could fill me in it would be much appreciated.

Very strange but something very similar started happening on my Moto Droid 1 close to the same time (11:47 EST).  Rebooting didn't seem to do anything, but I pulled the battery and then when I started it up things were back to normal.  I don't see how they could be related but it is a strange coincidence.

This just recently started happening to me as well (OG DROID, first run from the initial release in Nov. 2009). I'm running CyanogenMod with the freeform pattern lock; because of this, I noticed that the screen seems to think something is swiping back and forth along a line that matches up with the top edge of the hardware keyboard when it's slid out.

Pictures, videos, downloads, and music are all stored on the SD card by default. You can get at them by popping your SD card into any card reader. (probably have to get an adapter)
App settings are stored on the phone. But if those apps support google's backup service those settings will be restored on your new phone.

Thanks.  App settings I can fiddle with as need be to get them right, I'm not terribly worried about that.  My major concern was losing all the pictures and stuff I took.

I decided "F it" and pulled the SD card and did a factory reset.  The problem still persists so it is most definitely a hardware issue.  I guess I'll have to take it in :/.

Yep, definitely hardware.  Too bad :(

I had a Droid 1. Screen got very jittery when I used a non-OEM charging cable, unless I held the back of the phone in a certain way. Also noticed this when running Cyanogen ver 6.0 .
Went back to the stock ROM. Finally starting doing it again. I ended up sending it back and getting a warranty replacement. Factory reset did not fix it. Warranty replacement works fine.


text:
Are IPv6 Privacy Extensions supported and how can they be enabled/disabled?
I just read about a potential privacy issue with IPv6 addresses on phones. While the article mainly talks about Apple devices, Android is mentioned so I wonder:
Does Android support IPv6 privacy extensions and how can they be enabled/disabled?
According to this question, Android currently has partial support for IPv6.

Interesting question.  I'm wondering how the problem noted in the article is actually a real concern, though.

@MatthewRead When the EUI-64 address is used, the IPv6 address becomes (in theory) unique to the device. It identifies the device and possibly the manufacturer (of the NIC, at least). Though, so does the User-Agent string, and nobody cares much about those because they don't necessarily uniquely identify the device.

If your device is rooted go to the terminal after each boot and enter

sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.default.use_tempaddr=2
sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.all.use_tempaddr=2

For automatic activation you could also add these lines to /etc/sysctl.conf

net.ipv6.conf.all.use_tempaddr = 2
net.ipv6.conf.default.use_tempaddr = 2

Isn't there an app for that?

Not yet. ;-)
Seriously I don't think this is worth an app. it is merly a setting that should be configurable in the Wireless settings window.


text:
Alternative market app without country limitations
I want to download Apps from the US for researching purposes. A co-worker of mine could do that by installing an alternative Market. He did not have a rooted phone and probably got that app from the original market.
The icon of this app was similiar to the original market's one but blue instead of green as far as I can remember.

I think SlideMe is the best Android alternative market available right now. There's an app that you need to install in order to buy apps directly via your phone.
There's also GetJar - a number of devs are releasing their products on GetJar before or along with releasing them on the Android Market.

I think you are right about appbrain, I think I had them confused with GetJar.  +1

Tried app brain. I can see foreign apps. That's good so far. But when I hit "download" I get forwarded to my Android Market which only shows me German apps ;( I don'T want to buy stuff, just download for research.

SlideMe and GetJAR only provide apps that developers actively added to their market. However I am talking about a Market App which provides the whole content of the official Android Market in all countries.

At this time, I don't believe there is one.

What you are looking for is http://code.google.com/p/market-enabler/

Market-Enabler is an application to fake the phone's location and access markets from other countries. Android market is separated into regions (country and carrier specific) and some apps are just enabled for a specific country and not available to the other countries.

I've had mixed results with this one. Didn't always work, don't know why...

Rooting required?

As far as I know rooting is required.

The Amazon Appstore for Android lets you buy apps via Amazon, but apparently you can only do so if you have an American account (I haven't tested that).


text:
How can I be informed through my computer if a new SMS is received?
While I'm working with my computer, my mobile lies next to me and every time I receive a new SMS or WhatsApp message, I have to grab the phone, read the message and answer it.
So it would be really nice, if there is an App or another possibility to connect my mobile phone with my computer via Bluetooth, WLAN or USB so that I can read and send SMS messages from my computer desktop.
This would have several advantages:

It is easier to copy page content. A lot of time I'd like to send a SMS to someone with content on my computer. So I don't have to type it anymore but just copy & paste it
My working process isn't disturbed as much it is if I have to grab my phone
It is easier and faster to write with a keyboard than the mobile phone pad

So my questions are:

is there any app/program that can do that?
if not, would it be at least technically possible or are there any restrictions that prevent such an app?

Equivalent question on superuser: http://superuser.com/questions/86076/send-sms-from-pc-through-android-phone (but not really a duplicate ;-) )

KDE Connect can do this and much more :)

If you have Android, try Texdro. I tried a few of the other related apps and this worked the best for me. It allows you to send and receive texts from your computer. It also allows you to silence SMS notifications on your phone while the program is running so you can just be notified on your computer (or you can be notified on both). The free version of the app allows you only to connect via WiFi and the Pro version adds USB and Bluetooth options. I will probably be purchasing the pro version when I get some handy $$, mostly to support the dev, because WiFi connectivity works fine for me.
Texdro - Desktop SMS for Android on AppBrain
Android Market QR Code

This appears to no longer be available in the Market, and I can't find it elsewhere.  The developer's site is down as well.

There is this similar question in SuperUser: https://superuser.com/questions/86076/send-sms-from-pc-through-android-phone
gtalksms allows you to send various commands (including sending sms) by sending a GTalk message to yourself which will trigger various events; note that you need a 3rd party Gtalk software (e.g. Pidgin) since the official Google Talk client does not allow you to send message to yourself, or alternatively you can use a different account for your phone. Download link (open in Android) or scan QR:

also, if you're using Android 2.2 or higher and have the ChromeToPhone apps (open in Android) installed, you can send arbitrary text in your clipboard (Copy-Paste buffer) to your phone using FoxToPhone (open in Firefox) or ChromeToPhone (open in Chrome) extension. Using FoxToPhone, right click on the Send to Phone button and click "Send clipboard", and whatever text in your clipboard will be send to the phone's clipboard, which you can paste to any textbox in Android by Long Press > Paste. Download app (open in Android) or scan QR:

Nice utils to bear in mind, but OP wanted to not have to pick up his phone as much as possible...

@Sparx: I haven't tried sending sms yet, but gtalksms can send and read sms without touching the phone.

Sounds like Android Notifier delivers part of your request -- notifications and text of messages on your PC. I don't see the capability to reply, unfortunately. That seems a good feature though, perhaps you could request it of the developers.

You can do this with Google Voice, although it's perhaps not ideal since people would have to text your GVoice number and not your actual phone number.  There's the web interface of course as well as a great Chrome extension (if you use Chrome).

Google Voice is only available in the US right now.  This solution might not be applicable.

I'm in Canada; it's simple to get it outside the US.  Harder to use it for phone calls than for texts though.

Mighty Text is another solution, It provides SMS from your computer, sync'd with your Android phone.
Official website
Play Store App page

I used to use another app but then I found Mighty Text. It has the best interface I've seen so far. Love using the Chrome extension.

I know that pdanet allows this, but I have only used it while tethering my phone. However I feel like there should be someway to just use the SMS capability without using your phone as a modem.

An alternative that has not been mentioned yet, and that I find rather handy, is one of the SMS backup utilities.
E.g. SMS Backup (which is open source SMS Backup), will backup your SMS to a label of your choice on GMail. In that way you get them in your standard email client and the GMail web interface as soon as you receive them on your phone.
The advantage of such solution is that it fits in your usual email workflow. Also you get the great GMail search capabilities and the fact that your text are available everywhere through the GMail web interface.
There are other apps that do the same thing (e.g. SMS Backup+ and Backup to Gmail, personally I use SMS Backup

I haven't tried out the Messaging capabilities, but MyPhoneExplorer connects via Wi-Fi to your PC (software needed on device + PC), is freeware and allows you to sync your contacts / messages etc. to your PC. One of the options available also  is to pop up a notification when an incoming SMS appears on your PC.
There's also support for a Chat based conversation via SMS.
Check it out - see if it works for you.

EasySMS lets you read/write SMS in your web browser. You can connect via wifi, USB, or Bluetooth.

Another "remotely control the phone" type option would be Airdroid, which will handle SMS and pretty much everything else.  It's also free.

I've got the full version of RemoteSMS and there's been no looking back for me. I don't mind sending texts or even the occasional email on my Nexus One, but I'm sitting in front of my computer all day, anyway, and typing on a keyboard is such a dramatic improvement.
I've never tried the limited free version, but such an edition exists.
I could list the features, but I'll just direct you to where all of that information (plus screenshots) already exists:
RemoteSMS Full Version
RemoteSMS Free Version

MAXS (Modular Android XMPP Suite) notifies you over XMPP if a new SMS is received. It also allows you to control various aspects of Android, includes a SMS/Call/Battery notification and reply system. Additionally it is able to send and receive files to and from your Android device. There are many other features too.
Using XMPP as transport, the "desktop app" can be every XMPP Client. Which is one of the big advantages of MAXS, as it does not need a dedicated desktop app. Although there may be one in the future.
Note: According to the FAQ I have to disclose that I am involved into MAXS. MAXS is an open source GPLv3 licensed Android app. Everyone can contribute.

See Remote Notifier in the F-Droid free & open source repository or on Google Play. It's open source and contains no ads/malware.


text:
What's the reason that the alarm clock isn't working when the phone is turned off?
I know that the alarm isn't working when the phone is turned off, but my question is: Why doesn't this work? What were the developers/engineers thinking?
I always used my mobile phones as alarm clocks and even very old mobile phone support alarm clocks when they are turned off.

My old piece of crap Motorola v360 used to be able to do this, I think in Android the Alarm is running on top of the OS and not on a low level like these simpler phones.

You really mean off, like powered down, not just not connected to a cell network?

I never turn mine off.   I use Tasker to turn notifications off overnight, and if I really don't want calls, I use airplane mode.

There is no power to the phone when it's off.  It's actually off.  Some phones have a minimalistic charging mode that just shows a battery animation, but I have yet to see an Android device that boots into a clock-only type mode.
The Android OS is designed to use minimal power when not in use.  If you have a problem with the battery dying overnight, it's probably due to a third-party app.

Can it really not spare the amount of power required to run a digital watch for three years on a tiny button battery minus the overhead of the LCD screen?

I'm sure it can, but most Android devices are apparently designed for people like me who want the phone to be off when we shut it down.

So if it would be able to do it, it should be possible to write a custom alarm clock that can do it?

@Roflcoptr: No, this is not software problem so you cannot simply write a software. You need hardware alarm clock to be able to turn on an Android phone that is turned off.

I bought the desktop dock. Works well.

Your old mobile phone wasn't really "off" when you turned it off.

Not necessarily.  If the phone had a separate RTC chip you could power off the phone part and have only the RTC powered. When the RTC alarm would trigger it could wake the phone's main micro-controller. I'm surprised Android devices don't feature this kind of hardware.

Uhh, yes necessarily. If it was running an alarm clock it was on, not off.

After setting your alarm, instead of powering off the phone, turn airplane mode on. This way the operating system is closed to an idle state with the clock running.
HTC could link holding the power button to turning airplane mode on and going to standby.
An then when the user holds the power button again to turn the phone on, the phone would actually perform a restart. The power on/off function would appear the same as before.

I disagree; there are some applications that use a non-trivial amount of power that we would complain about if there were no easy way to save them. This way when we turn off the phone, it uses almost no power at all; the only power used is that by the battery.

I'm not sure I understand your comment. Do you mean, in Airplane mode there are application running which consume non-trivial amount of power? Or do you mean something else?

I did an "experiment" with my phone (Samsung Nexus S, Android 2.3):
Settings --> Date & Time --> Automatic --> OFF
Then I manually set the time to a wrong value (real time + 5 minutes).
I switched the phone off. With off I mean really off, not standby, the status when the alarm does not work.
After a few minutes I turned it on again.
The time displayed was still the wrong value I set before, i.e. the updated current real time + 5 minutes.
This means that the phone should have an internal clock that works even when it is off. In reality it may not have one, but it should store the delta between the current time obtained from the network and the time I set; however this seems to be quite unrealistic.
So, this makes me think that Android phones have an internal clock with its own battery, and this should be able to make the phone boot at the appropriate time.
Could be something missing in the Android OS itself?
P.S.:
Does anyone know if it it possible to make the phone wake up at a specific time? If it was, we just should make it boot five minutes before the alarm is set...

Interesting idea, but this would only work if no PIN is required, or if you also implement your pin somewhere. or isn't it necessary to enter the PIN to make the AlarmManager working?

Please don't use your answer to introduce new questions. This is not a discussion forum. If you're not answering the original question, create your own.

Having an RTC (Real-Time clock) hardware that is running while the phone is powered down does not imply that the RTC can wake up the phone from power off. For the RTC to wake up the phone, it needs to be able to bootstrap the CPU, in essence, having the same machinery as the power button. Also, there needs to be a mechanism for the OS to set the RTC's wake up time, and then it had to store this time inside itself. The mechanism for an alarmed RTC is much more complex than a regular RTC, which is just a simple binary counter. A regular RTC cannot be used to wake up the OS.

However, you've got a point; a CPU is orders of magnitude much more complex than even an alarmed RTC, and addition of alarmed RTC would be very nice, as it allows things that are impossible without one.

Of course it has an internal clock, otherwise you'd have to input the time every time you power off.


text:
How can I make my Droid2 push Facebook-originated contacts to Google?
On my Droid2 (Android Version 2.2) (System Version.2.3.20.A955.Verizon.en.US), I fully utilize the phone's ability to log into a Google, Facebook, and Twitter account, and link the contacts together. Often it chooses the wrong name to display, but that is another question entirely. I have already set the option in ...
(Contacts) -> [Menu] -> "More (+)" -> "Settings"

... to automatically push any newly created contacts to my Google account. If I create a new contact traditionally, via ...
(Contacts) -> [Menu] -> "Add contact"

... then it works exactly as expected, creating a new contact in both my Phone Contacts and Google Contacts. However, sometimes there are people I know whom I have no contact information for until I friend them on Facebook. At this point, the only contact I have for them is my Facebook contact. I don't like having to rely on only a Facebook contact, and I always take this opportunity to start a Google Contact for them, duplicating what Facebook has already told me. This is where the unexpected behavior begins.
If I select a contact from my phone which is purely a Facebook contact, and click ...
... [Menu] -> "Edit"

... it brings me to the traditional contact editing screen, presenting me with all of their Facebook information as immutable fields, allowing me to manually duplicate this data into what I would expect would be both a Phone Contact and a Google Contact.
But it's not!!! After manually re-typing in, say, their birthday, e-mail address, and cellphone number (information traditionally available via Facebook), and I click ...
"Save"

... the resulting contact reads as ...
Linked profiles (2)

Facebook: John D.
Phone Contacts: John Doe

... with a Google contact nowhere to be seen!! Even if I initiate a manual resynchronization via ...
(Home Screen) -> [Menu] -> "Settings" ->  "Accounts" -> "[my Google account]" -> [Menu] -> "Sync now"

... the information is still not pushed to my Google Contacts!!
Does anyone know how I can fix this?

So far, my only work-around is to recognize a new Facebook contact, navigate away from it, manually create a new completely empty contact by the same name, link the two, then begin duplicating the data. This is cumbersome and should not be necessary.

Another work around is to use yahoo mail to export your Facebook friends then import them into gmail.  It's not a very sustainable workaround for keeping things in sync, but would make the initial sync much easier than manually duplicating the contacts.


text:
Quick way to enter three dots (ellipsis)?
The Samsung keyboard has a Quick Symbol key, where ".,?" are on the same key and accessed similar to the T9 method (don't know if this is standard for Android keyboards).
A good idea, but how can I quickly enter an ellipsis (three dots)? The best I could come up with is:
dot space del dot space del dot

Quite clumsy, but much faster than tapping dot and then twice wait until a next tap wont change the dot anymore. There surely must be a better way?
Update
On the Galaxy Tab there is no option to choose another keyboard layout; apparently on other Samsung devices there is (see GAThrawn's answer). Here you can see what options I can choose from:

I recommand you to install AnySoftKeyboard (available in Android Market), it a bloody good keybaord, by pressing 1 sec. on [.] key there is an additional key wit the three dots !
What I also find great in this keyboard is that you can install your country keyboard what the standard Androïd keyboard does not provide... Test it ... you will adopt it !

I'm able to change the keyboard layout of the standard Samsung keyboard under Input language; but I do like AnySoftKeyboard. It even features no-delay umlaut keys, which would have been my next question...

Switched from AnySoftKeyboard to GO keyboard, as there is a layout featuring buttons with the German umlauts and also the "vanish" button which makes the keyboard disappear (could find this with AnySoftKeyboard).

You know you may get an additional set of related characters on holding a key pressed for a while on Android's native keyboard. I have a Nokia 6 with clean Android Nougat. You can enter the dots of ellipsis character (not three dots/periods/full stops/decimal points) by first switching to the numeric mode (using the ?123 key at the bottom left) and then holding the dot key (between the space bar and the Enter key at the bottom right). Since the dots of ellipsis is the only additional character envoked this way, it is simply entered on releasing the key…

it might be worth cropping that screenshot a little ;)

It sounds like you're using the Samsung Keypad with "Portrait keypad type" set to 3x4 Keypad, and "XT9" switched off?
For starters, your device has a lot of different keyboard types pre-installed, if you switch to a different keyboard or mode, you can just press "..." with 3 presses on the "." button.
Before I go into your other keyboard options, you can teach the phone the "..." sequence as a new learned "word". Go into Settings -> Locale and text -> Samsung keypad, you should now see an option XT9 make sure that this is ticked, and then you can go into XT9 advanced settings and scroll down until you see XT9 my words press Add word and type in the three dots as if they were a word and save.
Now when you're typing you should be able to do it as dot (wait) dot dot which is slightly faster.
Alternatively change your keyboard mode, go into Settings -> Locale and text -> Samsung keypad, Portrait keypad types one of your options here is Qwerty keypad this keypad looks a lot like a normal computer keyboard, and you can just press dot dot dot without any need for pauses.
Finally you should also have the Swype keyboard pre-installed on a Galaxy Tab, to turn this on go into Settings -> Locale and text -> Select Input Method and pick Swype. This looks a lot like the Samsung Qwerty keyboard, and you can use it the same way to do dot dot dot, it also a totally different and fast (once you've had some practice) way to enter words by swiping your finger across the keyboard. Swype should pop up a tutorial to show you how to do this when you first switch it on.

I don't have the option Portrait keypad types under Samsung keypad, no way to choose another keyboard. With Swype I haven't practised much yet, I will give it a try; the AnySoftKeyboard mentioned by @Cedric works nice though.

@pesche fair enough, I like Swype, not everyone does - use what you like the best. It might not be exactly called Portrait keypad types on yours, but you should have an option called something similar that lets you pick between the different Samsung keypad layouts.

see the updated questions for the options available to me. Where do you have the keypad types option?

@pesche It's above Input language on your second screenshot, I've also got a few more minor options on that page. I am looking at this on a Froyo Galaxy S's Samsung Keypad settings, but I'd have assumed that the Qwerty option would have been there on the Tab as it makes far more sense on a large screen than T9. in the Portrait Keypad types I have "Qwerty Keypad", "3x4 Keypad" (this is the T9 style) and  "Handwriting box 1" & "Handwriting box 2" options.

Quicker way to switch to Swype: long-press any text input box and a menu should pop up with "Change input type" or something like that.


text:
A3000 chinese mobile - Dual-SIM or Dual-GSM support since Android 2.2 (again?)
My question topic is Android support for dual SIM hardware. More specifically I'd like to find out if it's the Android 2.2 release that added support for real dual SIM and dual GSM support, and to which extend both cards are online or usable as data channel.
A question about https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/865/dual-sim-android-phone already came up here, but it didn't investigate the issue completely. And the mentioned mobile (Tiger G3) was also most likely incorrectly reported as Android phone. From all pictures I've seen it's a regular chinese MTK/NucleuOS phone.
I want to base my question on the STAR A3000 as hardware example. It's verified that it is really running Android, and dual SIM capabilities seem very plausible:
http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=A3000
I'm linking to a search listing and not a shop or review directly to avoid the impression of spamvertizing. It's also a more long-lived link that way. But foremost I want to highlight that there are two hardware versions. The original A3000 runs Android 2.1 and offers no dual SIM capabilities. All newer listings advertise both Android 2.2 and dual SIM support.
The trouble with chinese mobiles and resellers is that not all details are super reliable. You'll have to cross check multiple sources, and better assume the lowest common denominator. In the above shop search some Android 2.2 dual sim A3000s are for example still depicted with the original hardware version. I've seen a few images (and there's a youtube video) with the dual sim slots, so I presume this verified. There's also a rumor (on dealextreme) that both hardware versions are identical and there's just a black cover above the second sim slot for the first version (looks plausible from pictures). So that's why I assume that Android 2.1 didn't support such features, and the Android 2.2 kernel maybe introduced it.
The hardware in this phone most likely supports not only dual SIM, but dual GSM. This means that both SIM cards are connected the whole time, to two different networks. All previous MTK chips and mobiles support that.
However I've seen one picture of the A3000 Android 2.2.1 version which shows a configuration screen with an option along the lines "[x] Select SIM card at bootup". This would suggest that it's not a real dual-GSM setup, but just dual-SIM - which only allows switching. Yet all the listings from my first link suggest that the phone and Android is "dual sim dual standby". So I'm confused.
Back to the question: Did Android 2.2 introduce proper support for dual-GSM? I know none of the big brand vendors supports anything like that, so it must be a fringe feature, maybe not even in the OHA documentation. Any chance something like this was mentioned in some sort of release notes? (Really I have no clue, no Android phone yet, still gauging.)
My main interest is keeping my main phone number, and using a secondary SIM and contract for data connnections preferrably. Or the other way round.

Another note. I know there was also the General Mobile DSTL1 once, which was the first (and for a long time only) Android 1.5/1.6 phone to advertise dual-SIM. I don't know to which extend it supported real dual-GSM functionality. But it's interesting that old Android versions allowed it. So I'll extend my question into why no Android 2.0 and 2.1 phones with dual-sim existed. Did the feature possibly come and go twice in Androids lifetime?

A3000 is a real dual standby Android phone. It allows selecting a SIM when you call or send an SMS. And also you receive calls to any SIM. When you talk to one SIM, the second shows busy too. I've just got this phone (this morning) from alibaba.com and now I'm testing it.
Hello from Siberia :)

+1 Ah, very cool. Maybe you can elaborate a bit when you had some time to check it out thoroughly. I'm also interested in if the default data/internet connection can be configured to the second sim for example.

+1 Hey, it sounds promising. Does it support Market? (I've met a Chinese tablet, called ePad, which does not - it was too slow for any app.)

I have it for a week, and I believe I have managed to test most of its functions. WiFi works, BT works, bouth sims works perfectly, camera 2.0Mpix, flash works, market works, better to charge in external charger because small nokia or usb cable (samsung) not always works. g sensors works (labyrinth). too slow for abduction or NFS. you can chose use gprs from sim1, sim2 ar non of them. without microSD it is useless. TV (analog) works. generay its too slow for games, but seems a good phone.

GPS not exist, only A-GPS. 3D engine very weak. CPU hard to describe, it shows only one cpu 207.66MHz, but averyone sais that there is second core with 400Mhz

No, there's still no dual-SIM or multi-SIM support in Android itself. There's nothing to stop manufacturers extending their ROM to support two or more SIM cards, and several have done this. There are some phones where you have to reboot to switch SIMs, like in the old days with dumbphones, and some phones, such as this one, where you can actually be on standby on two networks at once.
The only limitation is that third-party apps (such as dialers you download from Google Play) can only see one of the SIM cards - because that's all the standard Android framework can expose.


text:
Can I easily redownload all my apps if I get a new phone?
I am considering buying a new phone. Is there a way to easily redownload all of my apps onto the new phone without having to search for each one individually?

Yes you can.  There are a number of utilities around to do backup and restore, as well as other options.
I recently moved from the HTC Magic to the Desire HD.  The way I did it was to use a free AppBrain account.  This has a few advantages, in my opinion:

You can search for, read about and
tag for installation, applications,
on your computer, with a larger
screen/keyboard etc.
You can organise
apps into groups if you have multiple
android devices.
You can share your
apps with other people.

You can check out appbrain at http://www.appbrain.com/
If you just want straight backup and restore, Titanium backup, as mentioned by others, is a good choice. ( http://www.matrixrewriter.com/android/ )
You can also find both of them in the Android Market.

If you're getting another of the same phone running the same firmware then you should be able to use Titanium Backup, pull the backup to your computer, get the new phone, install Ti Backup, replace the backup files from your computer, and then run batch restore of your apps.  I have not done this before, hopefully others will have more input.

If you don't backup data and only backup User apps (instead of System apps) you can do this on any phone/hardware.  Sounds like Casebash wants only that anyways.  I've done it and it's great.

Someone should back me up on how this works, but...
Apps you have installed are synched with your Google/Gmail account, and will download upon initial sign-in to your new phone.
My Droid just recently broke, and I was close to the upgrade time, so I got a Droid 2 Global.  I know, of course, my contacts and calendar are synched with my Google account, however so were my apps.  The Verizon rep didn't touch my old phone, yet all my apps began downloading as soon as I signed in for the first time.  Also, to my surprise, my Cyanogen background also showed up (I was running CyanogenMod 6 when my original Droid died).  So, in theory, this should also work for you.  Verizon uses a proprietary tool called BackupAssistant that normally takes care of synching most things on your phone, but I specifically deleted it as I don't want my info backed up to Verizon.  I believe the app sync is built into your Google account.

Is there anyway to check whether my apps are in fact backed up? Apparently it can be disabled

I can back Ryan up here. My previous Android phone (an HTC Magic running stock Android 1.6) was stolen, so I had no chance to back anything up, or prepare for switching phones in any way. When I got my new Galaxy S running Android 2.1, as soon as I went into the Downloads part of the Market, it listed all the paid and non-paid apps that I'd had on my previous phone.

I recently upgraded from DROID to DROID 2 Global.  My apps automatically downloaded.

I tried upgrading, but only a small portion of my apps were automatically downloaded. Fortunately, I had been using App Brains before, but I strongly recommend backing up your applications

In my experience, they don't all always re-download. I find that I've had to go back and manually install some again. And I also had some apps that I had uninstalled, install again when restoring using the Google account sync. If you're rooted, go with a solution like Titanium Backup. It's much more robust.

Matt has a first-hand experience with accidentally having Google backup all his applications: Cancel All Market Updates/Downloads at Once

I've never gotten this to work myself.  Titanium Backup works great though (see Joe's answer).

The only issue with Titanium Backup is that your phone needs to be rooted. If it is not rooted and you are not prepared to root the device, then a suitable alternative would be to use My Backup Pro:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rerware.android.MyBackupPro&hl=en
http://www.rerware.com/

If I remember correctly @Liam W has experience of this particular app

Yep. Firstly, unless you have downloaded pirate apps (by which I mean you have downloaded each and every app through the Play Store), the downloaded apps will be in your 'purchase history' for the Google account (doesn't matter whether you have actually spent money on the app or got it for free). When you undergo initial setup on a new Android device and after entering your email address, you are normally given a choice to download all your previous 'purchased apps'.
However, just to be on the safe side, you should make a backup of all your existing apps through a backup utility (dozens of them on the Play Store). This has the additional advantage that (depending on the utility) you may also get all your old app data too. If you use the first method (the one with the initial setup and email address), there is a probability (depending on your sync settings and the apps' readiness to backup to Google) that your old app data will not be available to you.


text:
how to take a screen shot and send it via MMS?
can I somehow take a screen shot of a google maps in a easy way and then send it via MMS?

HTC Desire on 2.1 (not rooted)

Only if you're rooted. See this answer: How to take a screenshot with an Android device?

yep, I read that one. It led  me to ShootMe which works sometimes even on non-rooted phones (not for me) http://www.appbrain.com/app/shootme-%28screen-grabber%29/com.bw.picme.local

Have you tried ShootMe for other screens besides maps?

I cannot start the application. I says that the phone is not rooted. And I was so happy when lots of users reported that it works on un-rooted phone for them.

Try Map It!
It won't let you send anything from the Maps App, but the Map It! app uses Google Maps and lets you draw routes and put push pins into the map, then take a screenshot of it and send it via email or MMS.
It's useful if you want to send a picture of a particular place on a map or some kind of mock up to a map, but it's no good if you're trying to send the route that you already mapped out in the separate Maps app.  To do this, I believe, you'd have to draw the route by hand on the map in Map It.
Also, you should note that it puts an ad at the top of the screen (in the same way other apps do this), and when you take your screenshot, it will show that ad too.  There is an Ad Free version that I haven't tried.

have you tried it?

Yes.  I should have specified.

I wanted really just a screen shot of a map with a pin :-) But I cannot make it send via MMS. Email without any problem. When I choose Send from the menu then MMS then I get "Complete action using" menu with no mms option in there.

That's weird, it brings me right to Handcent.  I really wish they'd incorperate that into Google maps but good luck getting them to do it.  You'll probably have better luck email the dev of Map It and getting him to fix the problem.