text:
Can I use Asus Transformer power supply and dock as with regular laptop?
I couldn't find this information in all reviews, so I am asking here about it -- I would like to get such experience with Assus Transformer:

I put everything together -- I plug power supply into the dock, I put tablet part into dock
Tablet part gets power from AC outlet, not from battery
I need to go, I pull out tablet from dock, I leave dock and power supply on desk
Tablet part works on its own battery
I get back home, and cycle repeats -- (1)

The crucial part is, I don't charge tablet directly, but indirectly, via dock, which itself is powered with power supply -- of course this is my wish, the question is -- is it actually possible with Asus Transformer?

The Transformer has a port that specifically connects to the dock?  I.e., it doesn't connect to the dock via USB?

Yes I know that, but can I plug in power supply into the dock, instead of tablet? All pictures and movies shows Transformer completely unplugged.

I'm not making statements, I'm asking questions. Note the questions marks.

Yes this is possible. Power adapter can be plugged into tablet or dock.  It is possible to charge the tablet from the dock while the dock is being charged, remove the tablet, use tablet, return to dock for charging.
Hope this helps
Pete

Not true. I left my Transformer on the docking station all night plugged in and then took it to work. By the time I got there (max of 1 hour) it was dead and would not even turn on. The tablet was dead, the docking station was charged. What good is that if it won't charge the tablet?


text:
Running a tasker task via SSHDroid (or adb shell)
I'm trying to run a tasker task manually from ADB Shell, via SSHDroid. I'm
running the following in putty (Windows SSH client):
am broadcast -a net.dinglisch.android.tasker.ACTION_TASK -es task_name
Silent
On which I get:
Broadcasting: Intent { act=net.dinglisch.android.tasker.ACTION_TASK
dat=Silent }
Broadcast completed: result=0
However, despite the existence of task "Silent", nothing happens.
Could it be because SSHDroid doesn't have the
net.dinglisch.android.tasker.PERMISSION_RUN_TASKS permission? If so,
how can I fix that? If not, what else can be the cause?
Thanks!

This was solved thanks to Bossman's awesome proxy APK. Install it and then run via SSH:
am broadcast -a pl.bossman.taskerproxy.ACTION_TASK --es task_name TASKER_TASK_NAME_GOES_HERE
It works flawlessly :)

The reason is because SHDroid does not have permission to execue Tasker actions.
You could contact the developer of SHDroid and ask him to add the permission to the application. I haven't found exact contact info for him, but I found his blog.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
How can I backup my contact list without rooting my phone?
Up until now, I was always storing my new contact phone numbers on my SIM card because that way, when I buy a new phone, I have all my numbers transfered automatically.
However, it really is nice to be able to store pictures and more information next to a phone number.
I am thinking therefore, on beginning to store new contacts on my phone.
How can I backup and restore all contacts on a new phone without rooting my current phone ( which is a Samsung Galaxy S, by the way ) ?

What OS is your phone running? And what provider are you on? (My Galaxy S is Sprint, so I don't even have a SIM.)

Did you try it over the build-in Android <-> Google Account synchronization? That keeps your contacts always synched up and moreover you have them available also online within Gmail. From there you can even export them in different kind of formats as an additional backup if you like.
More details, perhaps...: In contacts->menu->more->contacts storage (translated from my non-english-speaking phone...), you can select Google.  That will store any new contacts you add there, but as far as I know does not handle pre-existing contacts on your phone.  What I did to sync up these old contacts was contacts->menu->import/export, and exported the contacts to a file on the SD card.  I then used the gmail app on the phone to send this .vcf file to myself as an attachment (menu in the gmail application to attach a file) and used gmail from my PC to import the contact list from that message, merge any duplicates etc. etc.

Syncing up to GMail also has the advantage that the moment you get a new Android phone and sign into with your Google account, all your contacts will be on the new phone in seconds, without you having to do anything. If you're ultra-worried about backups, you can export from Gmail into a .CSV file that almost any contacts program can read.

@Juri: I must be missing something obvious here. I have a bunch of contacts already on my phone/sim. Can I sync these with Google ? Or do I have to re-create contacts on my Google account ?

@Edelcom: No you don't have to create them in Google. What I'd suggest you to do is to first copy all of your SIM contacts to your phone (directly in Android). Then go to Settings > Accounts & sync. There should be your Gmail account as well. Click on it and then you should see a list of possible sync options which also includes "Sync Contacts". You should first maybe backup your Gmail contacts by exporting them to some format (directly from within Gmail). This site may help u as well: http://www.google.com/sync/android.html

@Juri: I'm sorry, but this does not work. I already have done this. But the contacts on my phone (without a Google icon next to them) or NOT synchronized with Gmail - nor would I expect them to be synchronized (or I am looking at a wrong place, of course). The few contacts which have a Google icon next to them are synchronized without problems.

strange, but are they on your SIM or phone storage?? Guess you have to copy them first to your phone and then they should sync properly. Never experienced such issues..

They are on the phone indeed! Strange!

I also have a Samsung Galaxy S. If I open contacts and hit the "menu" button, one of the options I have is "Import from SD card" (also, "Export to SD card") -- that should backup your contacts.
I installed Funambol Sync to sync my contacts to my laptop -- that's another good option if you don't like Google having your data.
If you turn on USB debugging (Settings > Applications > Development) you can connect your phone to your computer with a USB cable and copy the export file to your computer so you know you've got it backed up.

I don't have this option, just export/import to and from SIM.

What OS version/build is running on your Samsung Galaxy S?

@Edelcom, do you have an SD Card?

Yes, I have a SD caard, and I am running Froyo 2.2.1.

There is an application(Backup and Restore) that comes with android phones to back up all your contacts, messages, call logs,etc. Use that and backup all your contacts. Its going to place the file in SDCard. You can even store that in your Computer. So later you can use the same file to import the contacts.
I don't know why Root come into Picture..

probably because titanium backup requires root

The Samsung Galaxy S comes with SIM Toolkit which allows you to move contacts from the SIM to your Google Account.  Once done then your contacts are automatically backed up.

Where do you find this ? Looked for it in my applications, but nothing.

For a quick backup of your contacts to your SD card, you can use the Export functionality of the contacts app. This is on a HTC Desire S (running 2.3) - I'd imagine that this is common functionality though:

Open the People application
Press the menu button
Select Import/Export
Choose Export to SD card
Choose which account you want to export - in this case you're probably wanting the Phone contacts, but you could choose SIM instead.
Copy the created backup folder to your computer, the internet, etc.

The People application is HTC (Sense?) specific.

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


text:
is Android DHCP server when tethering?
I am on cyanogenmod 7 and wonder when I do usb tethering if Android is DHCP server?

Yes. Specifically, CyanogenMod uses Dnsmasq for its DHCP services. You can see it being invoked on this line in the TetherController.cpp file of their source code.


text:
Is there a way to log network traffic on an Android device without rooting it?
I would like to know if its possible to log network traffic on an android device and to see what app is causing each bit of traffic without rooting the phone.

A surely working, but hard to achieve solution would be to set up an access-point where you log all the traffic and connect your phone to it.

This is easy to achieve with a desktop that has a "host-mode" or "AP-mode" wireless device.  For example, Mac OS X devices with AirPort can be put into access point mode, by enabling Internet Sharing.  From there, you'd use something like WireShark to trace all the traffic coming from your Android device through the Mac.  Windows and/or Linux hosts would work the same way, as long as your wifi adapter supports AP mode.

At lest some devices seem to have a setuid root copy of tcpdump installed


text:
EXT4 partition not recognized by system
I partitioned the sdcard with my linux box but it is not mounted by the system. I did fdisk in the phone's terminal and:

Command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0: 7948 MB, 7948206080 bytes
4 heads, 16 sectors/track, 242560 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 64 * 512 = 32768 bytes

             Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks  Id System
/dev/block/mmcblk0p1   *          33      226176     7236608   c Win95 FAT32 (LBA)
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/block/mmcblk0p2          226177      242560      524288  83 Linux

I have CM7 for Milestone, it should be supported. Tried with mount -a but there is not even a /etc/fstab. Any ideas? Thanks!
Thanks!

0.08-11.04.05 RC4: - 07app2ext script included in /system/etc/init.d - works via bind mount but is compatible with symlink versions. (warning - do not put more than one app2ext script in init.d as it could result in loss of apps)
Checked source from /update-cm-7.0.0-0.08-11.04.18b-Milestone-signed/
system/etc/init.d/05mountsd mounts /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 in boot: $BB mount -o noatime,nodiratime,barrier=1 -t auto $SD_EXT_PART $SD_EXT_DIRECTORY; That's reason for empty fstab. Next system/etc/init.d/07app2ext will create directories if needed, move some files if needed and finally bind mount directories from /sd-ext into /data/
Solution: Are you sure you created filesystem instead of only partitioning?
Check logcat for errors.
Try to mount with mount -o noatime,nodiratime,barrier=1 -t auto  /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 /sd-ext.

CM does not support apps2ext since version 6.
I've heard some users say that you can use the simple2ext app to do this, though. Should be straightforward.


text:
How to set As Lower Brightness as in Clock application, without rooting
I noticed that with the Froyo "desk clock" application, when you put it in low light mode, it forces the back-light far darker than you can manually make it in the settings.
My question is: is there an application or a non-root hack that can make the back-light really dim just like in the desk clock application?
As that clock can set brightness lower without rooting, there should be a way to do that without rooting.

I don't know anything about the particulars of this situation, but I'd just like to point out that just because a system app can do something does not mean that other non-root apps can. Apps signed with the system-keys have access to far more permissions and APIs than other apps, enabling manufacturers to do many more things than a typical 3rd party developer. For example, some phones can take screenshots with a simple key combination, but you need root to accomplish this from a 3rd party app.

I just noticed this same thing last night when I was setting my clock.

The Clock app is setting flags on its own fullscreen window that override the system default screen brightness, but this only affects that app's window.
See the source for DeskClock.java
 551             winParams.flags |= WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_FULLSCREEN;
 552             winParams.dimAmount = DIM_BEHIND_AMOUNT_DIMMED;
 553             winParams.buttonBrightness = WindowManager.LayoutParams.BRIGHTNESS_OVERRIDE_OFF;

The flags used are documented on the Android Developer site, in particular:

float BRIGHTNESS_OVERRIDE_OFF Value
  for screenBrightness and
  buttonBrightness indicating that the
  screen or button backlight brightness
  should be set to the lowest value when
  this window is in front.

So, the DeskClock is not using anything special to dim the screen, but it can only affect its own window.

Does it mean that low brightness of clock has no effect on battery? I mean lower battery usage

According to the accepted answer for this question, it will help battery usage for OLED, AMOLED, and Super AMOLED, but not LCD screens.

Does that code indicate that an application with such ability (dim beyond original limit for all apps) can be built?

Try Screen Filter.

If you want to read books in low light, use Foxit Reader, it can dim the screen nearly as clock.


text:
Will installing a file manager app void the device/Android warranty?
One of the frustrating things about HTC is that I cannot manage my files which have been downloaded. On the marketplace, there are some apps which allow you to do this such as:

Astro File manager
eFile
Root Explorer

If I install a file explorer app, will that void my warranty with HTC or Android?

No, you won't invalidate your warranty.*  Keep in mind that Root Explorer requires root, though, and rooting will invalidate your warranty.  I personally love Root Explorer, so I recommend the non-root version: Explorer.
* I haven't read your warranty, but I've never heard of a condition that bizarre. This is not legal advice; I am not a lawyer.

No, using a file manager will not invalidate your warranty. Rooting often will though. On my phone, I personally use Astro File Manager.
If you want a solution to manage all your files from the desktop, our company produces a solution called SnapPea. It's an easy way to manage contacts, apps, music, and videos from your Windows desktop.

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


text:
Is there some SSH server for android?
Is there an ssh server for Android (such as openssh for Ubuntu) that will allow me to access my device console via PuTTY?

Yes, there are a couple of options for this, including:

SSHDroid (does not require rooted phone)
QuickSSHD (see this Google thread for some discussion)
Dropbear (requires rooted phone, see this Droidforums thread for some discussion)
SSHelper (does not require rooting; free software -- under GPL; it incorporates also code from other projects; might eventually appear in the F-Droid repository)
some other free (= libre) software projects of an ssh server have been mentioned in the discussion of their potential inclusion into F-Droid

Some of these apps will require you to root your device. SSHDroid, QuickSSHD and SSHelper, at least, do not (there may be others as well). There are certainly multiple choices for you to investigate depending on your requirements/desired features/etc.

Requiring or not requiring root is mostly a function of what port the server listens on: the traditional ssh port of 22 is privileged and so only available with root.  Also, the userid of the shell you will get would be restricted to that of the application in a non-root installation.

Do anything of these, or are there any others that don't show up in the applications list?

Here's what I could find by trying to look for definitely free (=libre) SSH servers for Android -- I searched at f-droid.org, where they consider free (libre) software for inclusion: http://vps.arachnoid.com/android/SSHelper/ under GPL (incorporating code from other projects), discussed at http://f-droid.org/forums/topic/sshelper/ . See also http://f-droid.org/forums/topic/droidsshd/ for the discussion of some other projects of SSH servers.

Unfortunately, from the Google market pages, it's often not clear what the license for the software is. I usually seek for free (= libre) software because I appreciate the ability for me and others to hack and imrpove the software. Could someone please help me determine whether there are free (libre) SSH servers? Whether the mentioned ones are free (libre) or not?

It's a pity that SSHelper (mentioned above) requires Android 3.2, so it won't be compatible with the official OS of some devices (like mine Samsung Galaxy S, which has Android 2.2, upgradable to 2.3 offcially).

I went on to check whether the other software in this list is free (=libre). As for SSHDroid, it seems not to be free/libre: "will only run if you either give them money, or let them show you ads" (a comment on Google Maket); "even checks if there is an Ad-blocker installed" (a comment at F-Droid Forum).

I also had a look at DigiSSHd which is "based on Dropbear SSH Server and OpenSSH SFTP Server", and is under GPLv3. It's a pity that it seems to work only with the proprietary DigiControl, but I'd like to avoid using proprietary software.

As for the open-source nature of DropBear app: they add pre-compiled binaries (dropbear SSH server implementation) into the Android package; which is not very nice (but OK) for reproducing the build and adapting their work. E.g., commits in a fork: add new binaries, CyanogenMod's dropbear is included as a git submodule. That way, building new binaries is simply a matter of
invoking a script.

You can also use an SSH server without a frontend app -- starting it with a command or through a configuration file, as described in Howto: Connect to Device with SSH.
According to that page, CyanogenMod included an SSH server (dropbear) in some releases. ("Cyanogenmod 9.0 RC2 no longer includes Dropbear.") Or you could probably put it into your system yourself.
It seems that by default it is assumed that the server is run by root (i.e., you'd need root acces to your system), but it must be possible to set up it to work without root.

Looks like that page was moved here. It would be handy if someone prepared the Dropbear binaries, since Android doesn't ship with a C compiler, and cross-compiling is a bit of a pain.

@Daniel, I am reviewing your link in order to make it work for Android 5.1, but I have no place to download the 2 dropbears executables from. Do you know of somewhere?

@SopalajodeArrierez sorry but I don't know of any. You might need to cross-compile yourself.

This answer is a bit late to the party, but you can also compile static openssh binaries (ssh sshd ssh-keygen etc) for android using the buildroot project. Or dropbear if you prefer.
https://buildroot.uclibc.org
https://buildroot.uclibc.org/downloads/manual/manual.html
I have done this on my linux box, for openssh and many other programs. This requires a rooted device.
My device was arm based - you would have to check if your device is supported by buildroot if it is not arm.


text:
problems with sync of contacts to google
my samsung galaxy europa seems to sync ok with my google account. but the contacts do not appear in my google account on the web [whereas updates to calendar and email do]. any advice appreciated.

Is it updating Google contacts that doesn't sync, or is it that new contacts created on the phone don't sync?

By default the contacts you see on the web are your most used contacts.  You have to choose all contacts to see everyone.

Is your phone configured to sync contacts with your Google account?
To verify this go to Settings --> accounts & sync, tab on your account and verify that the Sync Contacts option is checked.
If this option is checked then the contacts are synced to your account but you are probably using a configuration in your gmail web account that only shows you the most used contacts instead of all contacts.


text:
Creating partitions through script in init.rc
Context/Resume:

I'm changing the android platform to create two partitions in a SD Card. I need to do this as early as possible. I'm currently trying in init.rc
It would be nice to obfuscate the access to one of the partitions. If I could keep it hidden would be better

And...the long story:
I'm trying to create new partitions on an SD card in a
device, and I need to be done as early as possible.
 I thought that the init.rc should be the best location for this, so I
tried to add a script call to perform the task, but I'm unable to
create these partitions (or get the reason it fails).
 First of all, is this premise valid? Should I be able to do this?
I call the script by:
service myscript /system/bin/logwrapper /system/bin/myscript.sh
   disabled
   oneshot

at init-time.  And the content´s of the .sh file is
fdisk /dev/sdcard < mykeys.input

where "mykeys.input" is the sequence of commands used to perform the task
of creating the partitions.
Is this the recommended way of doing this?

Why not format the SD card using a computer?

Hy. The hardware i have have a little twist. This card is hardwired in the device< i know i know...it sucks but i must work with what i got  >
ps: It´s actually soldered in the board.

Oh, I see. Is it a Galaxy or Nexus S? My Vibrant has "internal SD" that isn't actually an SD card, but often referred to as such.  It's treated as if it were a card, though; downloads go there, for example. Anyways, just curious: Why are you trying to format it?

I need to create two partitions:
-One of them will be available to the user
-Another one will be used to store downloaded data from a custom store. It will have some specific permission, and may contain some restricted information ( the app will handle this )

service myscript /system/bin/logwrapper /system/bin/myscript.sh
   disabled
   oneshot

If you declare the service as disabled, it wont run unless you later explicitly start it.
But do you really want to repartition the card every time you boot the system? I would think you would want to partition it once, and then perhaps mount the partitions in the init script.

Hy Chris. Thanks for the tip. Lame mistake, but still i could not execute the commands in the script. ( At least they had no effect at all ).
And, yes, i will make some logic to prevent the re-partitioning.
If you have an advice to do this ( once ) in any other way i would appreciate.
Thanks!

Is /dev/sdcard the correct device name?   What happens if you run the script commands manually, after boot - do they work then?   Also don't forget to format (make a filesystem)

Chris ,i´ll try this. But do you know if a should be able to access the fdisk in the script?

Hmm, maybe you need to specify the full path for the fdisk binary?  You seem to be doing so for everything else.  Another thing - some of the stuff that runs in init like adbd is statically linked; I haven't looked into if that is a requirement, or just a precaution to make debugging still work if the dynamic libraries aren't available in a broken install.

Answering our question: I have no permission to execute the script. The device is not rooted. I suppose that it will not be a problem when running it through init.rc.

If you can change the flash device, ie install a new init.rc, the device is effectively "more than rooted" - you can change init.rc to make ro.secure 0 to temporarily make the adb shell run as root, then change it back after the experiment.  You ARE changing the init.rc in the compressed ramdisk image in flash, right?  Because just remounting the ramdisk writable and changing it won't let you do anything that survives a reboot.

Oh, BTW, many versions of the adb shell use "permission denied" as a generic error message for everything, including not finding the file you've tried to run...

Chris, i think that i found the problem.
I will confirm that everything is ok and post the answer for those who may have the same problem.
Unfortunately i dont have enough reputation < for now, i hope > to vote you up, but i am really thankful for your help and is because of people like you that this a great place for developers.
Thanks!


text:
Set recurring notification for sms message
I have a Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro Mini and would like to know if it is possible to be alerted to a new SMS message every few minutes until it is acknowledged.
Sometimes I am away from the phone and miss the initial alert.

It doesn't stay up in the notification area?

The two more popular SMS apps in the market - Handcent SMS and GoSMS have options that allow you to set reminder tones and LED flashing to alert a user to unseen messages. Lots of configurable options in both apps.

Xperia mini pro has LED light that blinks in different colors. This LED blinks in regular intervals till you see your notification area.
This LED blinks for Mails, Messages, Missed Calls, etc. I guess by default it works. There is no need to enable it manually.
Coming to sound alert there is an application Notification Plus which does this job.

This small app may be what you wanted : https://market.android.com/details?id=os.checknew


text:
Issue with the Apps that are installed on SD Card after reinserting the SD Card
I am using an Xperia X10 mini pro (Android 2.1-update1). I rooted the phone and partitioned the 8GB SD Card into two parts.
1. ext3 2. FAT32.
I installed Link2SD to move the apps to SD Card. This has been very useful as this application has an option to move the installed/updated apps to SD Card automatically.
But recently it happened to remove my SD Card from phone and inserted another 2GB SD Card for some other purpose. I started the phone and the apps that are showing on phone aren't working as I installed them on my SD card. So I put my 8 GB Micro SD card back to phone. Now the problem arose. I was not able to access the apps installed on SD Card. I had to reinstall all the apps that are there in my phone.
Is it how it behaves ? Don't I remove my SD card from phone ?
I did a little amount of Experimenting on this and found that its happening only on inserting another SD Card. My mobile is searching for the apps on the newly inserted SD Card. As there are no apps found it might be deleting the links on phone memory. This is my guess only.
Still the question stays "How to overcome this kind of scenario ?"

Did you use safely remove option (unmount) while removing SD card from your mobile?

@Power-Inside: Yes. I removed the SD Card by choosing the option Unmount SD card.

http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/8879/why-my-app-disappear-at-reboot/9255#9255

@Pitto: How to add PIN for the phone card?

For me (Froyo) is Android settings --> security ---> set up sim card lock

I hope that's your problem otherwise is some mess done by link2sd :(

Have you tried rebooting the phone after re-inserting the SD Card?  Some older launchers (e.g. Eclair stock) simply don't refresh their app drawer when you remount the SD Card, even though the apps are re-mounted. You can check that the apps are indeed back by going to Menu -> Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications and seeing if the "missing" apps are listed there.  If so, a reboot (or even killing the Launcher app) will fix it.

Try rebooting the phone after re-inserting the SD Card.
Some older launchers (e.g. Eclair stock) simply don't refresh their app drawer when you re-insert the SD Card, even though the apps are re-mounted. You can check that the apps are indeed back by going to Menu -> Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications and seeing if the "missing" apps are listed there. If so, a reboot will fix it.
Alternatively, you can simply restart the Launcher app by going to Menu -> Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications then scrolling down to "Launcher" and tapping on it, and then tapping on the "Force Close" button.  Now if you press the Home key, the Launcher will restart and should have all the apps back.

It didn't help me. I tried both the ways. It asked me to format the SD card. Again I had to do Partitioning and reinstalling the apps.

Sounds like the Link2SD app doesn't like you removing the card. I'd reach out to the developer for confirmation.


text:
Can't do wireless tethering. HTC Hero with 2.2 ROM
Recently a friend of mine showed be his Desire HD, and it has an option on the Wireless settings section, which is something like "USB and Portable Tethering". So when it's activated, it creates a wireless network.
He also has Android 2.2 (not a custom ROM). I've searched every option in my phone, and I don't have "portable tethering" only usb.
I tried downloading an app called "Wireless Tethering", but it creates an ad-hoc and it doesn't work very good.
So, can I do something, or I have to change my ROM to another 2.2 or even 2.3?

I don't think there's much you can do beyond trying other wifi tether apps.  You could also try using CyanogenMod (for the GSM version of the Hero, or the CDMA version).


text:
Is it possible to backup settings and apps for SGS with Samsung Kies?
I want to backup my phone (Samsung Galaxy S) before having the carrier upgrade the Android version.  I don't want to root it because then the carrier won't upgrade it for me.
Is it possible to backup all the settings, SMSes, phone contacts (i.e. not those on google contacts), apps etc using Kies?

Even if you phone is rooted, you can always switch back to an state/fw without root so that your provider won't see the rooted phone.

@Flow: where can I see how to do that?

Kies allows backups, but not the application settings, only limited content such as contacts, bookmarks, music, photo and videos. You can see the Kies tutorial on backup : Open Kies v2.0, "Help menu->Kies Tutorial->Backup & Restore mobile phone data" section for details and a movie. You can also try MyBackup free from market, which does not require root. Wish you luck!


text:
Accessibility option in Android 2.1
I own Xperia Mini Pro which has Android 2.1-update1.
I noticed Accessibility settings in my phones settings.
What are these settings and why these settings are required ?
I opened these Accessibility Settings. I can see an option "Accessibility" with a unchecked check box in disabled state. It always in disabled state. I don't know when it is going to be activated.

You need to install apps that are classified as "Accessibility Apps". The most used ones are part of the Eyes-Free suite (Talkback, Kickback, Soundback, Accessibility Preferences, Eyes-Free Shell, Talking Dialer, Rock Lock, Walky Talky, Intersection Explorer), plus several useful 3rd party apps such as IDEAL Web Reader, IDEAL Magnifier, and K9 Mail.
More info - https://eyes-free.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/documentation/android_access/enabling.html


text:
Adobe flash for Samsung Galaxy 551 with Android 2.2
There is any way to view flash animations on web with a Samsung with Android 2.2???
I already tryed to install the Adobe flash apk from market but it is disabled for my phone.

See also: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/4315/how-can-i-run-flash-on-a-pandigital-novel-hacked-to-run-android-2-1-eclair/4317#4317

You don't say what model your phone is? Is it on the Adobe's list of supported devices at: http://www.adobe.com/flashplatform/certified_devices/ ?
If you look at the Adobe's published minimum requirements for mobile Flash, they list Android 2.2, a Cortex A8 (ARMv7) processor, and a Hardware Vector FPU (floating point maths processor).
I'd have thought the two processor requirements are probably going to be more of a problem than the processor speed requirement, as they mean that Flash is going to be trying to use hardware instructions in the CPU that won't be available in older/lesser specced CPUs, this would definitely stop Flash working. Do you know what processor your phone has?
EDIT: According to this Wikipedia CPU page the Galaxy 551 has a Qualcomm MSM7227 chip which is ARMv6 compatible. As Adobe state you need an ARMv7 compatible processor, it looks like you won't be able to run Flash on your phone.

I have a Samsung Galaxy 551. (I bought it on Brazil, where i live)

@stick According to this Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSM7000#MSM7227_and_MSM7230 the Galaxy 551 has a Qualcomm MSM7227 chip which is ARMv6 compatible. As Adobe state you need an ARMv7 compatible processor, it looks like you won't be able to run Flash on your phone.

Note that in some older phone which aren't supported by Adobe Flash, it may be possible to install Flash Lite.  It isn't close to full Flash, but can only play simple movie.

The CPU usually cant support it.. there isnt a hack around it except that if you really want to view flash, you can download rockplayer for your CPU type, and play the downloaded flv files.. (flv files work in software decoding mode).


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Always open links from apps in a new browser tab
I often catch up on feeds (twitter/facebook/rss/email) when off line. There are often web links included that I want to check out, however, as far as I can tell, Android limits each link source application to one tab and, more annoyingly, if the same app sends a second link it creates a new tab in place of the old one with no browsing history+ - so I can't just go back and forward through the links i've tried to access while off line.
Is there any way to:
Force the browser to create a new tab for each link clicked on an app - even if it means many tabs related to the same app being open at the same time.
Or add these sites to the history of the tab (even if not loaded successfully) so I can get to them via the back button.
Store links (ideally with information about their source) for later investigation?
Nb Since I'm on android 3 these are real tabs - with no limit to their number i've found - rather than the 8 cards/slots on earlier versions.

I'm minded to raise this as a bug. It seems daft.

I assume you don't want to use an alternate browser?

I'd not considered it in all honesty. Do the others behave differently?

I would hope so, but I use the stock browser :P I can experiment later.

@matthew Both Opera (mobile) and firefox act as you'd expect rather than as the stock browser does (making me think it's a bug, not a feature). If I move to either though, it'll be Opera since firefox is plain ugly on a big screen.

Good. Whether a bug or a "feature" definitely ask that it be fixed/changed. (I don't like FF either.) If FF/Opera counts as a solution for you, feel free to post it below.

As stated in the comments under the question, Opera mobile acts in a much more sensible manner, creating a new tab for each link clicked.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.opera.browser

Oh the joys of the ever moving android world. Opera did, the behaviour was added to the stock android browser but I'm now using Chrome for Android Beta which does it and a lot more.


text:
How can I tether my phone's Wi-Fi connection to a PC over USB?
Today in my work the people from security are going to block internet access and only admit enterprise local pages. Luckily, there is a free Wi-Fi connection which I have access from my Motorola Milestone. Is there any way for me to tether the Wi-Fi connection over USB to my computer?


text:
Free system information for Android such as Everest for Windows
There is any apk that shows the system and hardware information about my Adroid phone??? I mean an aplication such as Everest (or msinfo32) does for Windows.

See also this older, and more specific, question: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/5320/is-there-an-app-that-will-list-my-phones-info-in-an-easily-copy-paste-able-forma

SysHard Info - show system and hardware information on Android
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kinocat.andinfo

Quadrant also give me the same information that Android System Info.

Try Android system Info.
You will me amazed how much information this application provides.

Elixir is one of the most widely downloaded comprehensive system info app for android.

Quick System Info is what I use (and was preinstalled in my LeeDroid ROM)


text:
Is there any way to replace the back button using an application?
I own a new LG Optimus One. The buttons on the set are somewhat stiff. When I press it it feels as if it might break/get stuck somewhere in the near future. I was mainly concerned about the back button as it is used very frequently and has the maximum chance of having problems.
So I have been looking for an application that can help me use the back button. So instead of pressing the existing back button I would use the touchscreen to get it done. Any ideas?

This is possible if you're rooted. There's two applications that I know of which give you a little persistent overlay on the side of the screen, then pop out a full set of soft buttons when you press the overlay. One is SoftKeys, the other is Button Savior.
I haven't seen anything equivalent for non-rooted devices, but there is an app called SoftHome which adds a home button to your notification bar. It doesn't have a back button, however, just home.

Thanks. The home button should be enough in the worst case.


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Sync only Gmail "My Contacts" group on android 2.3
I have more then 2k contacts on other contacts, but i only want to sync the  "my contacts".
Any hints?

Looks like a duplicate of this question: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/2472/sync-only-my-contacts-from-google-on-samsung-galaxy-s

Not a duplicate.  MotoBLUR has its own contacts app that doesn't have the same options.

You cannot select which contacts to sync, but you can limit which groups are visible in the Contacts/Dialer apps:

In the Contacts app go to Menu -> Display options.
Under the "Choose contacts to display" section, tap on the arrow next to your Gmail account to expand it.
Uncheck all groups except "System Group: My Contacts" and tap the "Done" button.

Now only the selected contacts should be displayed.
[Edit]
Found the official Motorola video on Youtube talking about their Contacts app.  At the 1:00 mark they start talking about managing groups. It sounds like you should be able to create a new group and assign your contacts there, and then select to display only that particular group.  Give that a shot.

Didn't work,  in my contacts app, after menu, i only have:
Add Contact, Search, Display Groups, My Info, Manage accounts, more  (Settings, share name cards, import/export)
In any of these options, i found the choose contacts do display options.

I was listing the options of stock Android 2.3 Contacts app.  Sounds like your Atrix is running a Motorola's own Contacts app (BLUR?) Have you tried looking in the "Display Groups" option?

yea, i tried, but isn't there.
You know any way to remove BLUR?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Zq48ZOM8EM8#t=61s this is the official Motorola video. Looks like you need to create a Display Group, assign some contacts to it, and then you should be able to display only that group.


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Benchmark application for Android?
There is any application to measure and publish benchmark results from Android devices?

Quadrant and Linpack are the two I use.  Linpack is purely for measuring CPU performance, whereas Quadrant also takes into account I/O speeds, graphics performance, and the like.


text:
News features from 2.2 to 2.3 version of Android

Possible Duplicate:
What's new in Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)?

Which new changes/features are present on the 2.3 from 2.2 version of Android?

Where it is duplicatted?

The top half of the Android 2.3 Platform Highlights page has a summary of the user-facing changes and new features in Gingerbread.


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Samsung Galaxy Ace wont connect to my home wifi
I am trying to connect my new phone to my home wifi, it connects i put the password in, it says remembering connection... authenticating then comes up with disabled. I've tried using the app which said it'd solved the problem but it hadn't. what should i do?

Does it work on other WiFi networks? Have you tried changing your router settings? What band and protocol is your router using?

I've only had it a day so as yet have not tried it on other networks - i've followed the directions exactly so i know i'm doing it correctly.The router is (sky broadband) a Netgear and i believe protocol CHAP

also i haven't changed my router settings as i honestly wouldn't know what to alter!

Sorry, let me be more clear - Is your router using 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or a combination?  Does it broadcast at the 2.4GHz or 5.0GHz frequency?

Looks like OP lost interest -- but just in case: There are at least two Q&As here which might prove helpful: Problem with connection to home Wi-Fi - how to debug? and Why does Wi-Fi fail to connect to certain public networks?. So please, check them out if the problem still/again exists.

I use to have this problem too. I recommend restarting your router and then try to connect to the Wi-Fi again. Lastly reboot your phone. You can find more instructions here: http://www.technobezz.com/android-wont-connect-to-wi-fi/
I hope this helps to resolve your issue.


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Loud Tick with Headset
My phone (Samsung Galaxy S) has a loud "tick" on some actions (opening and closing applications or menus) It is fine when I don't have my headset on, but with earphones in it is unbearably high pitched.  Is there a way to control this noise so it it doesnt' happen when I've got my headphones on?

On Android 2.1 Eclair, one can turn these clicks off by navigating to SETTINGS > SOUND & DISPLAY:
Scroll down to AUDIBLE TOUCH TONES & AUDIBLE SELECTION and uncheck both options.
Hopefully, there are similar options on your SGS.

It was under Settings > Sound > Audible Selection Thank you!


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Are there alternative ways of downloading free applications from Android Market?
I can't download applications from the Android Market very well. The most common problem is that it sends an HTTP request and the remote server replies, but no data follows: the TCP connection just stalls. The Market app shows an animated progress bar (before "0%" or sometimes always "0%") indefinitely until I cancel the download.
Sometimes using another network connection helps. (Note: I don't have data plan yet and use only WiFi):

Connection over Wi-fi access point to my laptop that is running VPN and doing NAT: stalls
Connection over Wi-fi access point to my laptop that is running VPN and doing "-j REDIRECT' to tcpsocks that is connecting throught "ssh -D" from my server: sometimes works
Ad-hoc Wi-fi connection to my laptop that is running VPN and doing "-j REDIRECT' to tcpsocks that is connecting throught "ssh -D" from my server: stalls
Connection over Wi-fi access point to my laptop connected to university network and doing -j REDIRECT to tcpsocks that is connecting through the ssh -D (connections originating from my server): sometimes works, very very slow
VPN connection from the device throught the access point (without using laptop): works
Connecting through the ProxyDroid (running redsocks internally) redirecting to ssh -D (connections originating from my server) started on my laptop over Ad-hoc wifi network: stalls
Connecting through the ProxyDroid (HTTP mode) redirecting to proxy server running on my laptop (with by chain of proxy servers finally originates connections from my server) started on my laptop over Ad-hoc wifi network: stalls

The only workaround I found is to capture the request from device with Wireshark and execute it (using netcat) on my desktop computer. It downloads the apk file from the Market which I can put on the device as usual. Obtaining such links is hovewer inconvenient (especially when it uses HTTPS).
Trying to use ProxyDroid does not help.

How can I debug stalled downloads from Android Market?
What are alternative approaches to obtaining apps from Market? Would using the Android Market in the emulator be better?

Using the emulator would definitely be easier than sniffing the traffic, except for the fact that the emulator doesn't come with the Market.  Did you ever have the Market working before, or is this not a new development?

It works or not mostly depending on network connection (however sometimes it differs in the same configuration). Sometimes is also downloads, but very very slow.

BTW looks like my connection problems resolved: http://superuser.com/questions/325379/why-small-tcp-connections-succeeds-but-big-ones-fails/325459

If you can download from your PC without stalling*, you can then copy the .apk over to your phone and open/install from the file-system.

*Q: how to initate android download in a PC browser?
A: I don't know, but it's possible for other markets, anyway)

Yes, but it is not easy to obtain direct link to apk file. All markets assume that device itself will download apk file.
I want direct links to apk files that I can download in tricky ways (for example, firstly download to my server, then to my PC and only then copy to device).

Have you tried using AppBrain http://www.appbrain.com/ it has all the apps from the Android Market but it also lets you push installs from your computer.

Direct links to apk files: yes or no? I assume "push install" means "tell the device to download apk". If downloading apks from device is broken then it will not work.

well no, but i figured it was worth trying, i assumed you were looking for things to try. it seems like you should just wipe the phone, your problem seems pretty unusual and not something that you should have to deal with regularly

It depends mostly not on phone but on network connection. I want it to work with unusual network connections (listed in the question).

oh im sorry, i misunderstood that to mean that those were things you had tried to fix the situation, not that those were things you wanted to have happen.


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What are the benefits of moving apps to the SD card?

Possible Duplicate:
Other than portability, are there any other advantages (or disadvantages) to storing apps on external storage?

I'm trying to decide if I should make the move.  I was hoping moving apps to the SD card would have them magically show up if the OS is wiped but from a little reading it looks like even apps on the SD card are unique to the OS they're installed on.  I'm not really seeing another good reason to move them.

The main benefit (I think of) would be to save space on the internal memory of the device.
That is also the main reason I have my apps in the SD card with my old Treo (with palms there was this option too, depending on the launcher you used).


text:
How to call from console?
How to make or receive a call from console?
Expecting something like this, UNIX-style:
make_call +3750291234567 < played_data.wav > recorded_data.wav

wait_for_call < played_data.wav > recorded_data.wav 2> call_info.txt

Preferably this should have no side effects like sounds from the device. The phone is Xperia X10 (for which the call recording is reported to be working).
I want calls to be scriptable like other Linux things I've got used to.

It's an excellent question, but I really think (based on my answer below) this is not the best place to ask, since android.stackexchange.com is more for user-oriented questions, and this question is most definitely a hardcore "developer" question.  You're better off asking on stackoverflow.com, or maybe even sites like XDA.

You're not going to be able to achieve this using just userland tools, like what you describe -- at least not while Android is running.
The reason is because the RIL opens the radio device (generally some device node under /dev/*) as a low-level linux service, and while that has an exclusive lock on the device, nothing else can read from or write to the radio.  The RIL then communicates to the Android platform for all radio-related events.
It could be done with some extensive modifications to the underlying Linux kernel (it's open source, so definitely a possibility if you don't mind getting your hands dirty in C), or by replacing the RIL daemon (not as easy, because the rild is not required to be open source, therefore you don't know what the underlying implementation is without reverse engineering).  Doing the latter will break Android's ability to use it properly, unless you somehow come up with a compatibility channel to proxy communication between the new RIL and the existing RIL - and even then, there's a good chance that Android will become confused when it tries to make a call (knowing that the modem should not currently be in use, but getting a response from the radio saying that it is in use).
Failing that, you might also be able to achieve it by replacing the Phone app and using all-native platform APIs.  But I'm kind of thinking that it won't work (at least based on my knowledge of how HTC radios work).  In an HTC device, when you place a call, Android notifies rild, which places the call, and then rild tells the radio that it should route all call audio through the handset speaker and route all sound picked up from the microphone into the phone call.  The Android platform does not handle call audio routing itself.
All of the above requires rooting the device and installing a custom-built ROM at a minimum.

Are there ready-made applications to allow at least partial thing, for example, making or waiting for call without sound redirection?

You should be able to make phone calls easily in the command line, assuming you have root.
The command is service call phone 2 s16 "+18001231234". This will automatically start calling that phone number.
However, this is all done in the foreground. If you had the phone, you would see the normal call screens show up. If you were trying to launch a phone call behind the scenes without the user knowing, I'm not sure how you would do that.
Also, this is only for sending calls, not receiving. And you can't pipe a sound file to the call in lieu of using the actual microphone, nor can you record the incoming sound.
More information: Android – Call/Dial from the adb shell command line

Just initiating a call is already better than nothing. The next question is waiting for call and accepting/rejecting it.

Where to find a full description of what to do with "service call "? I only trial-and-errored "service call wifi 3 s32 0" to disable Wi-Fi (but not re-enable it).


text:
How to configure Amazon Cloud Player (Amazon MP3) to ignore podcasts in list of on-device music?
Amazon Cloud Player (aka Amazon MP3) displays all mp3 files, even those that are podcasts (which I use the DoggCatcher to listen to).  Is there some way to tell the Cloud Player to ignore podcasts so that my list of downloaded music is only music?

Haven't tried it as the cloud player's not available in my country yet, but does the trick that makes the normal music player ignore folders work?
Try creating a file called .nomedia in the folder that your podcasts are saved into, and see if that makes the Amazon player ignore them.

Thanks for the suggestion.  I placed it in some of DoggCatcher's folders with mp3 files and Cloud Player still displays the files.

My guess is that Cloud Player isn't checking for the .nomedia files and therefore isn't going to ignore what you want it to ignore :( You could try sending the developers an email or a comment on the market

Sent an email to Amazon.  I am now using Amazon MP3 to download files and using another more configurable music player to play music from only Amazon's folder.

This answer works for me... have you cleared the Cloud Player's cache since you added the .nomedia files?


text:
How can I reliably screen or block callers on a number-by-number basis?
Last night I got a telemarketing call on my Verizon Droid X. I was horrified, to say the least. I absolutely do NOT want telemarketers wasting my time and minutes with their B.S.
I looked into screening blocking calls through Verizon, but it seems Verizon only lets you block a total of FIVE numbers. I think this is unacceptable.
I went to the app store and there are a number of such applications available. From reviews and comments it's really hard to choose.
Is there a way to solve this problem? An app? A procedure? Something within the phone itself?
I'm using the soak release of Gingerbread, 2.3.3. I don't care about price. I just want something that is fast and effective.

Not an answer, but are you on the Do Not Call list? I hear it's effective in the US, as opposed to Canada where telemarketers use it as a phonebook.

I don't use an app.
What I do is have a "Spammer" record in my Contacts. Whenever I receive a telemarketing call, I add that phone number to the Spammer contact.
I give out my Google Voice number exclusively. Within GV I have that contact blocked, so any calls from one of those numbers receives the "ding-ding-ding This number is not in service" message.
In those rare cases where the call is to my actual cell phone number, it quite obviously displays "Spammer" on the screen and I simply slide to ignore the call.

That's pretty clever.

How about for SMS?

I don't do much SMS so can't really speak to that. GV blocks those, too.

This was my approach, but instead of using my Google Voice number to dump the calls, I just checked the "All calls to voicemail" for the contact (I have this option on ICS - not sure if earlier versions have it).  Occasionally, a call will still slip through without immediately going to voicemail, but I can still see the caller is "Phone Spam" and ignore it.

If you are in the US, I would highly recommend getting a Google Voice number. Anytime a form asks for your phone number, give it your Google Voice number instead of your real phone number. This way you can screen calls or block calls inside of Google Voice, along with other benefits such as transcribing your voicemails and unlimited texting.

Does this prevent callers who dial your cell # from a brute-force call center (i.e. dialing all possible number combinations one by one, incrementing digits)?

@Robusto: No. Do place your phone number on the do-not-call registry, though.

If you use google voice as your voicemail provider, you can make it screen your calls by number.  You make a contact for the # then under the settings for that contact you turn on call screening options.

Root Call Blocker seems to fit the bill perfectly.  As the name implies though, it requires the handset to be rooted.  I use it personally and so far it's been doing its job well.
There are plenty of alternatives on the Market for you to try.

Thank you. I checked it out, but couldn't tell from the information whether it will work on Droid X (Gingerbread).

I would try contacting the developer and asking if it's compatible with your handset and OS version: http://fahrbotmobile.blogspot.com/

I would recommend two apps. Call Blocker, which works really fine and blocks calls as well as inconvenient text messages, and Tasker -- a very powerful tool that does a lot of things besides blocking undesired calls.

A new app in the Play Store: WhoAreYou

Completely FREE Visual Caller ID, Call Blocker, and Text Blocker.
  Know exactly who is calling or texting you - even when they’re not in your address book. WhoAreYou is a completely FREE visual Caller ID, Call Blocker, and Text Blocker.

See a name, visual picture, city and state on almost every call and text.
Use it as a call filter and call blocker to effortlessly block calls from telemarketers, spammers, and ex’s from ringing your phone.
Also use it as a text filter and text blocker to get rid of those unwanted, annoying text messages. Block SMS / TXT messages with ease!
Reverse lookup any number in the US or Canada

Lifehacker review


text:
OTA updates to CM nightly
I know that premium version of ROM manager allows OTA updates to the nightly builds and there is also the old(deprecated) cyanogen updater on google-code.
Is there any way to do an OTA without using ROM manager? How does an OTA work? Does it actually just replace the existing firmware.

Of course you can do OTA updates manually, without ROM Manager Premium.

On the handset open up a browser of your choice and navigate to http://download.cyanogenmod.com/
On the left column, under the "By Device" section tap on the codename for your device (e.g. "passion" for Nexus One)
Optionally, you can filter the download list by type (Stable Vs. Nightly) by tapping on the type right above the list of downloads.
Tap on the filename to begin download.  Obviously a WiFi connection is recommended because the ROMs are fairly large, at around 100 MB.
Once the download completes, reboot into Recovery (Clockworkmod, Amon-RA, etc.)
Perform a NANDroid backup, so that you can do a restore in case something goes wrong in subsequent steps.
Wipe Cache and Dalvik-cache partitions (you'll need to find the relevant menu entries in whatever recovery image you are using.) This step is not mandatory, but can help resolve stability issues, so always I perform it.
[Edit] 7.a. Note that if you are upgrading to the same ROM (i.e. flashing a newer nightly of CyanogenMod) you don't have to wipe data. This way all of your current apps and settings are retained. Only if you change to a different ROM altogether (i.e. going from CM to a Sense port) would you need to start over by wiping the /data partition.
Select to flash a Zip from SD Card from the "download" folder (could be a different directory, depending on the browser you are using.)  This can take a while, and the progress bar might appear to be stuck, but don't cut power to the phone or you'll risk corruption.  Once the "success" message appears you can move forward.
Optionally flash an alternate kernel image (for overclocks, etc.)
Reboot your phone.  This step will take longer than usual, since the caches are being rebuilt.

ROM Manager Premium automates most of these steps so that you don't have to muck around the recovery too much, but you can always to this yourself.  It's still Over-The-Air, since you're not hooking your phone up to a PC to transfer the files.
[Edit]
Furthermore, you can even automate the notifications of new builds being posted for CyanogenMod via RSS feeds.  The trick is that the CM download page doesn't provide its own RSS feed, so you have to create your own via one of the free services:

Get your device's link (e.g. http://download.cyanogenmod.com/?type=nightly&device=passion for Nexus One Nightly builds.)
Go to one of the free RSS-from-website creation services and create an RSS feed for the link above.  You might need to tinker with advanced settings to get the listing.  For example, I created this RSS feed for Nexus One nightly builds.
Subscribe to the newly generated feed in your favorite RSS reader (e.g. Google Reader
Use an Android RSS reader app that has notifications feature (e.g. NewsRob) and set up a notification for this feed.

I know how to do it manually. But I guess the method you mentioned requires reinstalling all the apps and syncing back all the settings (which is a huge pain) . Though Titanium Backup Pro might help speed it up , but a "true" OTA update would be completely seamless.

With the method I posted there would be no need to re-install anything. All of the apps, data and settings are retained.  In step 7 you are only wiping the caches that get rebuilt on first boot-up. Only if you wipe data (or do a full factory reset) would you need to re-install and restore settings. If you are just installing a new Nightly build, there is no need to wipe data. You only need to wipe data if you switch to a completely different ROM (e.g. CM to Sense, for example.)

Oh that was a new piece of info ...if I am upgrading to same ROM , i dont need to wipe data!!! Thats awesome man, thanks for the info.

I'll edit my answer to add this note.

If you want to update CyanogenMod nightly builds Over The Air you'll need the premium version of ROM manager, this is the way to obtain donations to the project.
An OTA update is basically a download of a full ROM or a patch of some files that is saved to the storage of your phone and once it’s downloaded it installs automatically the full ROM or the patch to the phone. This system is used in many Android phones to deliver updates without the need to connect the phone to a computer to update the system.

So I guess whether its a full ROM or patch , I can write a script using ASE or even a full app similar to ROM Manager Premium which will take care of OTA? Since the phone is already rooted , updating the ROM over the fly wont be a big trouble perhaps? Or are there some checks to prevent me from doing an OTA update?

As I understand the process, all you have to do is download the new file (a ZIP file) and save it to the SD Card, once you have the file you reboot the phone into recovery mode an flash the new ROM or patch. So, yes, it'll be possible to do this by your own means.


text:
different way of securing applications
In my phone instead of unlocking screen by providing "symbol", I'd like the phone to unlock to most of my applications without the "symbol". But for selected important applications (eg. gmail) I'd like it to ask for the symbol. It would be useful eg. when I borrow my phone someone to play games. Is there application which would help me to achieve something like that?

Sounds like you are looking for an app which allows you to password-protect other apps.  There are many on the Market, but I haven't used them so cannot comment on their reliability.


text:
How can I play audio over an open phone conversation?
I would like to be able to play an audio recording over an open phone conversation. I.e., while the phone is connected (an outgoing call) a prerecorded audio file is played over the open phone connection.  How can I do this?

I believe what you're looking for is a voice mail?

@LieRyan Could be for putting someone on hold or something as well.

No, the best that you would be able to accomplish is playing a sound through the speaker so the microphone can pick it up. There are no api's that can accomplish that.

There is no need to use any api, you can play the sound over phone's speaker so that microphone will pick it up. I guess I am just repeating the same answer but with emphasis that there is no need for any API here. Also see my answer below.

@jim, Try using AudioTrack API in Stream mode. see below code snippet
            AudioTrack track = new AudioTrack(AudioManager.STREAM_VOICE_CALL, mySampleRate,
            AudioFormat.CHANNEL_CONFIGURATION_MONO, AudioFormat.ENCODING_PCM_16BIT,
            myBuffersize, AudioTrack.MODE_STREAM);

This should work

Android Enthusiasts is designed for end-user questions about the Android operating system. This may well be an answer for a programmer, but it is almost certainly not an answer for a user.

Are there any apps that do this?  If not, perhaps there's an opportunity here.

@MatthewRead, are there any such apps now?

I should comment that this is also not possible.. You simply end up with no audio playing or it only plays on the phone that has the application installed.
Would suggest testing before posting.

When i need to play something recorded over the phone, i usually turn on the phone speaker and press up the volume to max. Then people on the other end can hear it, but it works best on HD voice carriers (the audio sounds much better on the other end) :)

If you have a phone or secondary device that you can play the audio file on and both devices have auxillary ports, simply buy a cheap aux cable, cut it open, and plug both wires in the other way, so the phone thinks that the other device is a microphone. This works better that simply playing it through a speaker because there is much more clarity and no background noise.

As per my experience, you can play your recorded audio in a music player app. Though the app stops playing when phone is connected, for most music apps, if you restart playback, it continues to play.
If you want the audio to be played automatically, may be you can use voicemail.

I agree - auto play would be cool. Google are you listening or do we need a pull request?

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


text:
Is there any contact information on the SD card?
I found an sd card that was definitely in someone's android phone. Is there any file within the card that would have it's owner's info, so that I might contact them somehow and return what they've lost? Just going out of my way to be a good samaritan here....

wow, thanks for the quick reply! My first thought was to just keep it, but when I looked inside (just over the surface) there seemed to be a lot of information, so I kinda felt bad for the guy who lost it. I left my # @ the place I found it in, so if someone comes looking for it, they'll find it. If not, I'll reformat it after a week or so.

If you used skype not some long time time, it saved all contact data into SD card...

Not by default, no. You can export contacts to the sdcard, but that would only contain "the owner" if they have themselves in their contacts. But you would also probably have no clue which one is them.
While it is a grand gesture on your part, I think you are the new owner of a used sdcard.

I agree.  Google most likely went out of their way to not store any user identifiable information on removable storage for security and privacy concerns.  Although you might find some left over app data or cache, I'd be very surprised if it contained anything useful for tracking down the previous owner.

As Ryan said, you can export the contacts to the card, if you were to put the card in your phone you could potentially look at the contacts and maybe they have someone in their phone listed as  "mom" or "girlfriend" or something that would help you identify them.

I have a BB, so.....

the exported file would already be on there probably saved as "contacts.csv" or something of the sort. if it's not there, then they never exported and you would be spending more time then the cost of a new sdcard trying to find data to identify the owner.

I assumed you had an Android phone, my bad.

Android by default doesn't save any personally identifiable info to the SD card, the system backs up/syncs important data to the web, not the SD card but there may be a chance that an app has saved something useful to there . Most apps store their main settings (which is where things like login names/email addresses would be) in the phone's internal memory, only using the SD card for storing larger files and cached data.
The most obvious would be to look for pictures, but depending how they use their camera, etc that may not be any help. They may have files with identifiable info in the Download folder, from saved email attachments, web pages, etc.
For some common apps that may be likely:
If they've used an app like LifeSaver to back up their call log or message log to their SD card, then you could open that and look for frequently contacted numbers. This would be a text file in a folder called LifeSever or LifeSaver-F that can be opened in Notepad.
If they use Dropbox, they may have saved files with useful info into the Dropbox folder.
Possibly the photos could be helpful

I don't think I saw any folders under that. I did go through a few pics, and if a magically bump into the guy I'd probably recognize him.... thanx again

I just found someone using Spotify data on the SD card at path:
/Android/data/com.spotify.music/files/spotifycache/Users/<10-digit-user-id>-user
Then check the URL:
https://open.spotify.com/user/<10-digit-user-id>
That was their Spotify account.


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Android widget to lock my android phone
Is there any android widget which allows me to lock my phone?
The 'power' button on my android phone is broken? I can't use that to lock my phone screen.
Thank you.

Short answer is no.
[Extended Answer]
This would require the use of PowerManager.gotoSleep(long time), and the use of that method requires the android.permission.DEVICE_POWER permission. DEVICE_POWER is only available to applications signed as system applications. Only applications that ship with the device and signed by the manufacture would be allowed to use the method.

I read http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/9826/how-to-lock-screen-besides-pressing-nexus-s-right-side-power-button and I am able to find and install a Lock Screen Widget. Why a Widget can do that despite what you said?

a "lock screen widget" does not actually lock the device. the lock screen cannot be replaced (currently) in android. These applications attempt to override the lock screens. they are nothing more then applications that have no title bar. I have yet to find one that works without any lag when turning the device back on. If you feel that that these fit your needs, then great, but they do not actually lock the device.

@RyanConrad +1. You are right. I have tested such widget apps and they do lag. So its better not to have such wdgets.


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How can I uninstall Lock Screen Widget from my Nexus One?
I am trying to Lock Screen Widget, But I am getting the following error from 'adb logcat' as I uninstall it.

W/PackageManager(   96): Not removing
  package
  com.droidmania.lockscreenwidget: has
  active device admin

Can u please tell me how can I uninstall it?
Thank you.

You might need to remove the Lock Screen Widget app from Menu -> Settings -> Location & security -> Select device administrators screen before trying to uninstall it.


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Phone randomly black screens, forced to remove battery and reboot
I have looked through the site, and it doesn't seem this has been answered yet.  Once a day, at some point I pull my phone out of my pocket and it refuses to wake (black screen only).  It isn't off, because the power button does nothing. I have to remove the battery in order to reboot the phone.  I have looked for an app to help me find the cause (i.e. Log Collector) but it doesn't help because this isn't as simple as an FC, I am unaware when it happens until I pull my phone out.  Is there a way to debug/find the culprit?
My info: Samsung Galaxy Gio GT-S5660, Froyo, rooted
Note: I am running SetCPU (no profiles) and Tasker, they are suspects but I haven't been able to get an app to give me a continuous log.

This needs some new tags, but I don't have enough reputation to create any :).  Also, I thought setCPU might be the culprit if the phone refused to wake b/c of the minimum CPU speed being too low, but I am currently set at 245min/800max, so I don't think that is the issue.  I suspect Tasker, but I have not way to find out for sure yet.

I found this post: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/4614/phone-keeps-restarting-shutting-down-randomly-is-there-any-logging-to-help-debu but it doesn't address this issue in particular.

I would definitely suspect the clockspeed modification. SetCPU has never played nice with my Samsung Galaxy S.

I bumped the minimum up to 320, and so far no problems.  I'll stick with this for a while and see if it works.

Is it possible that the device is overheating? It's coming out of your pocket, after all.

I think I had the same problem recently. When I pressed the phone's power button to wake it up, the display would turn on, but stay completely blank. It happened multiple times a day for me and I got frustrated, so I tried three things and one of those seems to have fixed the problem. Knock on wood.

I reformatted my external SD-Card.
I removed almost all of my media files from the phone.
I disabled JuiceDefender's CPU frequency scaling

My prime suspect was the SD-Card, because the problems started to occur, when I inserted it, but I cannot be sure.

You mention removing CPU scaling in Juice Defender...that makes me suspect it as the culprit, and the CPU scaling from setCPU on my phone as the culprit.  I'm currently trying shutting down 1 thing at a time to try to find the answer, but it takes time since it doesn't always black screen on me.

@Mingo I hope you will find the definitive answer :-) I was too impatient to try one solution at a time. BTW: my battery life increased after I disabled CPU scaling. Probably because the CPU can sleep more now.

As it turns out, this issue is a bug in the WiFi, causing it to randomly freeze up the phone, requiring a reboot.  Shame on Samsung!  I'm only un-accepting this answer so future Gio users don't get confused as to why this doesn't solve their problem. As this point, waiting on Samsung to update the fw and solve this, or for Cyanogenmod to notice and develop for the Gio.

I had the same problem with my Gio and I found out that it's because i leave WiFi ON for a while without working with phone.
This is a bug in Android-2.2 Froyo and it's solved in 2.3 Gingerbread which has been released on December 6, 2010.

When I had this happen on my HTC G2, it ultimately turned out to be a hardware issue. If disabling the SetCPU doesn't fix it, then I'd check your warranty coverage and make sure to get a replacement before it expires.


text:
What is my phone doing at 1 o'clock in the morning?
I have recently installed JuiceDefender (JD) and along with it JuicePlotter (JP). JP gives me a nice graph about my energy consumption over time. I noticed that around 1 A.M. my phone uses up more battery power than the rest of the night. I don't think that I have something explicitly scheduled at that time. I have Samsungs 2.2 Froyo (rooted) on my Samsung Galaxy-S (I9000).
How can I find out the cause for this?

You can use a logcat viewer, such as LogCat Reader (I've found that one works well), and just scroll back through the logs until the time in question.
A less precise solution would be to go to Settings > About phone > Battery use and that will tell you what has been using most of your battery.

I have finally found some time to quickly look at the log, that I recorded. I guess, I will need some more time to comb through the log...

yeah, it can be tedious with all the information there, but that definitely should contain your problem.

When you get Gingerbread on your Galaxy S, then the battery usage graph shows what's using power over time
Settings -> About Phone -> Battery Use and then press on the graph at the top for a more detailed view broken down by app over time. (you can also get there through Settings -> Applications -> Battery Use and then pressing on the graph at the top).
(Don't know if this is a Samsung or a Gingerbread feature but is part of Samsung's official Gingerbread 2.3.3. release for the Galaxy S which was released a few weeks ago in many countries/networks)

I rebooted into windows and checked, if Kies wants to install Gingerbread on my device. So far, they do not offer me to install it, but I am looking forward to it.

If there's anything happening at a "given time", or otherwise should show some "significant change", it might also be worth to take a look at SystemPanel:

SystemPanel (source: Google Play)
Even the free version allows you to live-monitor your Android system (where "live" means the app must be running), while the payed version adds a "monitoring service" which stores collected information, so you can refer to it later. As above screenshot shows, it lets you clearly see the peaks for CPU (click the image to enlarge), but also for battery and other ressources. It also allows you to pick the "top processes" and see how they behaved over time.
Clearly a candidate to investigate the problem you described.

Yupp -- good luck with it! Though I hope your problem has been solved meanwhile, so it's rather "good to know" and "just in case" for you I guess ;)

Yes, the problem no longer persists after a factory reset and reinstalling most of the programs (I never figured out, what happened though). Also I moved on to another phone and SystemPanel + Better Battery Stats should enable me to get the most out of the battery life.


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What kind of hardware can be used to speed up the writing on android phones?
This might be a border line question for this forum, but I will see and learn whether it is relevant. At least I do not believe that anyone here would feel that it is not interesting as it is very close to the interests of Android Enthusiasts.
Imagine the following scenario. You want to type 300 characters (something like three SMS) and you want to do this as fast as possible. Given my typing speed on the touch screen (even utilizing various speed up input software), I am still typing at something like the fourth of the speed as on a normal keyboard.
This scenario could arise in the following places:

As a passenger in a car/train/airplane
While walking (actually while biking in my case, but this is not recommended)
While sitting in a sofa/chair
While lying in bed

I have come across various wireless keyboards, which could be utilized. The problem is that if I need one hand to hold the phone (in order to read what I type) and one to hold the keyboard in most of the scenarios above, I am left with at best a few fingers to type on the keyboard, which would hardly be better than using the touch screen.
Therefore, I am thinking about a keyboard with a holder, which would need to be really tall in order to be close enough for me to actually read what I type. I imagine that the time it takes to set up something like this, would mean that it would not pay off for just typing the 300 characters.
My conclusion so far, is therefore, that there is no current solution to this problem, which would make me faster, apart from buying an android phone with a built in keyboard. Are there any alternatives I have missed?

"(actually while biking in my case, but this is not recommended)" and illegal in some jurisdictions!

As much as I personally like Swype, SlideIt or SwiftKey (or ThumbKeyboard on my tab), no VK can ever come even close to replacing a real hardware keyboard.  Accuracy issues because of screen issues (lack of true multitouch), poor prediction software (especially on slower phones) always make me spend more time correcting what I thought I typed than actually typing.
Unfortunately swapping the phone is usually not an option for most people. I did some googling I found a mini bluetooth keyboard with case that could potentially work for you.

The problem with this keyboard is that it only works partially when I sit at a proper table. I would then lay the phone down flat on the table and use both hands.

That was one of the first hits on my short Google search.  You are probably looking for a similarly small keyboard, but with a "snap-on" plastic case instead of the leather one.  I've seen a couple of keyboard like that that include a stand, but they weren't compact.

They would then still require me to sit at a proper table, or else I could only use one hand and the whole thing would share so I probably could not read what I was typing...

I realise that this isn't an answer to your hardware requirement, but are you sure you need new hardware?
I believe that the current Guinness World Record speed texting record holder used the Swype keyboard on an Android phone, so it's not exactly slow.
Swype is pre-installed on a number of Android phones (primarily Samsung models) but unfortunately is otherwise in a limited beta that you'll need to register for. There are some similar soft keyboards like SlideIt that are available in the Market

This is exactly what I was going to post, +1 for the Swype record.

I like the answer. Unfortunately, I regularly text in four different languages and last time I checked it was really inconvenient to switch languages.

@David Ahhh ok, that does complicate matters for any soft keyboards, as you won't be able to take advantage of the predictive abilities without a lot of hassle.

Yes, and sometimes one email (if that is what I am writing), contains text from two different languages. I have to say that I have gained a lot by using those soft keyboards, but still I am not quite up to speed of that girl in the video. I would be close, though, with a proper keyboard.

If you truly want to speed up the typing speed, there are certain factors you have to take in account:

Screen size
Touchscreen type (number of simultaneously recognized distinctive touch points, latency, etc.)
OS (how fast can it recognize the touches, etc.)
Underlying base hardware (how fast can it run the OS itself, and how fast can it process the raw touch information into usable digital data)

If you want to truly speed things up, you will have to get a new phone, preferably some flagship device (these tend to have the latest, "most innovative" specs, including touchscreen, plus the latest OS). I understand that you would rather not do this, but otherwise you cannot speed things up (you could try replacing the touchscreen, its controller, etc., but it is all risky, and software support would be lacking).


text:
Why USB Tethering goes off after a while?
I use 3G, Android 2.2, LG P500 phone. I've tested it on Windows 7 and Windows XP, the result is the same. After several minutes the connection dies and I need to switch off/on the USB Tethering option to restore the connection.

I've found solution. I.e. I found how to organize stable internet through my Phone using 3G. It could be done by LG PC Suite, Tools->"Internet Connection Using Your Phone". It works without needing to switch anything in Phone. But I still wondering why simple USB tethering doesn't work.

I am having the same issue with the mytouch 4g on tmobile-usa. On both my x64 and x86 windows 7 machines the internet connections die after a few minutes of browsing. The network remains active on the phone however. I am not sure how this is being accomplished. The symptoms are identical on both of these machines regardless of whether i tether over wifi or usb. I can however tether to my x64 ubuntu machine and the internet stays active indefinitely. I would very much like to know what is going on here so that I can find a work around for my windows 7 machines.

If you've found a solution, you should post it as an answer then accept it. This will help future readers of this site who have the same issue find the solution.

I've found solution. I.e. I found how to organize stable internet through my Phone using 3G. It could be done by LG PC Suite, Tools->"Internet Connection Using Your Phone". It works without needing to switch anything in Phone. But I still wondering why simple USB tethering doesn't work.

This is most certainly due to network restrictions.
For instance 3G connections on Orange (UK) are dropped if you hit it with "too many" requests in a short period of time. This is very easy to do with a PC, just open a dozen tabs on a browser and the 3G connection is dropped.

is there anyway you know to determine the actual number of requests that is too many? i suspected it was something like that but if i knew how many was too much, then perhaps i could find a way to throttle chrome (or whatever browser) to only request so many things at one time

I'd say ask the network operator. Thing is some of them  don't actually (officially) support tethering, e.g. Orange UK. So asking might put you on the spot (depending on the guy on the phone, they might not care)

haha yeah well im on verizon in the us, im pretty sure i signed a contract that states specifically that i will not be using the phone for tethering, so i kind of figured that asking is out of the question. verizon does officially support tethering, but only if you pay $20 extra a month.

That's exactly why the drop the connection when they see PC like usage :)

haha i know, i just wish i could find a way around it, i very much need that $20/month, whereas i think verizon will probably be ok without it.


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How do I sync calendars using Funambol?
I have set up a local Funambol server and created an account. Then I installed Funambol Sync 9.0.1 on my android device (HTC Desire, CyanogenMod 7.0.3 stable (Android 2.3.3)) directly (by APK) because I don't have (and don't want) The Google App Pack.
I configured it and it syncs contacts fine. However, it only gives me the option to sync contacts: my user interface looks different than the screenshots on here. When opening the sync app I have only one big button that is labeled "Sync Contacts", I don't have a list like in the screenshot. Also, the 'Settings' don't have an "Account" tab.
I wish to sync calendars (at least). What could be the cause of this? Have I installed it incorrectly?

I got it to work now. The problem was that

calendar sync appearently wasn't supported by Funambol Android client v9.0.1 (which is not the latest version, whatever their download page says)
the most recent version v10.0.3 has a bug that prevents a calendar from being created if none exists on Android v2.3 and above.

You can either wait for the next snapshot or patch it yourself: in the Funambol Android Client sources in file src/com/funambol/android/source/pim/calendar/CalendarManager.java find the line (280):
if (Integer.parseInt(Build.VERSION.SDK) == 8 ) {

and replace it with
if (Integer.parseInt(Build.VERSION.SDK) >= 8 ) {

and compile.

Judging by the reviews on the Market, it looks like the ability to sync to your own server was removed in one of the latest versions of Funambol Sync.

Where did you find that? I read all the comments, and the only comment concerning the calendar sync says that it's available with firmware 2.2.1 and higher. I do however have 2.3.3, so shouldn't it be available?


text:
Is there a complete conversation convergence app?
I was very impressed when I saw the first demo of WebOS quite a while back. I loved the way they integrated SMS, email, and social media all into one stream. Their point was that the most useful view was one oriented around the people, not the media. I think that's a very good point.
I've heard that FriendStream on HTC is pretty good but I have a samsung device.
I'm a big fan of Tweetdeck which brings together four (currently) social networks. You can post to all four at the same time, for those soap box moments :-)
I'd like to see an app that brings together EVERYTHING! even the voicemail and call log!
Am I asking the impossible?

Asking for the "best" anything is a fairly subjective question. Better to be specific about your needs; whether they can be met is at least objective.

Fair point, likely to incite flames. Edited

Not flames so much as it's off-topic. From the FAQ: "You should only ask practical, answerable questions based on actual problems that you face. Chatty, open-ended questions diminish the usefulness of our site and push other questions off the front page."

Many have tried.  It's arguable whether anyone succeeded yet or not.
The big ones are Motorola's MotoBLUR, HTC's SenseUI, Samsung's TouchWiz - they all try to bring together the disconnected social aspects of different applications such as e-mail, text messages, and various social networks.  Each does it differently, with varying degrees of success.  Unfortunately these aren't stand-alone products.  They usually come pre-installed with their respective manufacturers' devices, and overhaul more than just social aspects.
There are also 3rd-party apps and widgets that attempt to do this merge.  One of the best that I've used is SlideScreen. I didn't like the fact that it replaces your launcher, but it sounds like exactly what you're looking for.

I have only used Slide Screen for a short bit (it's a good app, though not quite for me since I don't live the social media life), I'm quite sure there is an option to use SlideScreen as a standalone app (i.e. does not replace the home screen).

I might have used it way back when they didn't have that option.

The SlideScreen project is now defunct.


text:
Is there a RAW (canon) image viewer or gallery hack for android?
I have a samsung galaxy and it has a brilliant screen. I would love to use it to review photos taken on a DSLR while out and about but I haven't managed to find any way to view RAW images in android. My camera is a canon so I guess it would need to have specific support for cacnon's raw format.
Are there any photographers here that can recommend some apps?

Searching the Market, I found RawDroid Demo. It says it'll open raw files from DSLRs including Canon. I haven't tried it and it doesn't seem to have many downloads, so I'm not sure if it will work.

Cool it was added to the market yesterday! :-)

Just for completion, at the point of writing RawDroid is basically a batch converter from raw to jpg. You can then view the jpgs in the usual way. It's a very first release however and I'm sure the app will be updated to have more functionality in future


text:
How to install Hebrew on a Samsung galaxy s vibrant
We have a Samsung Galaxy S vibrant, bought in the US from T-mobile. It's unable to read text messages in Hebrew, write in Hebrew, or anything else. We tried to install the language through the languages section in the settings, but we couldn't find an option for Hebrew. We tried to install a language pack through the market, but it didn't work.
How can we install full support for Hebrew?
The phone is Samsung Galaxy S vibrant, bought from T mobile in USA (NYC).
firmware version is 2.1 with update 1.

If you root your Vibrant, you should be able to get Hebrew characters support, as described here. Basically you are just overwriting a system default "fall-back" font with the one that has Hebrew.  This will get your phone to recognize the incoming text.  Next you can install a virtual keyboard with a language pack, such as AnysoftKeyboard and the Hebrew language pack.

Unfortunately I don't think you can. It looks like Samsung hasn't released a Hebrew version. See this related question: Does Froyo include full Hebrew support for all devices? as well as Is Hebrew support built into Android?


text:
Android Browser Privacy Settings: "Clear cookies" and "clear cache"
I have a couple of questions about privacy and Android phones, though it probably relates to the windows phone as well and welcome the thoughts of any developers.
Do the 'clear cookies' and or 'clear cache' functions actually remove hidden tracking cookies that use either Flash based cookies or the client side storage area inside the web browser?
If not, how do you delete them without resetting the entire phone?

To reset the Flash based data storage (technically like cookies), you have to wipe the data for the Flash Plugin. Home => Settings => Applications => Manage Applications => Adobe Flash Player => Clear Data.  I would do the same procedure for your browser application, too, if have nothing valuable saved in the browser settings/passwords.
I wish Adobe had provided some form of privacy configuration application as they started to include with latest Flash Plugin for desktops.

Note that the HTML5 client-side storage isn't in either of those locations.
To clear that, you need to go into your browser, press the Menu button, select, More, then Settings then scroll right to the bottom where you can see (under the Advanced heading) Website settings, now you should be able to see which websites have stored data on your phone (shows as a rectangle that fills up, the more they store), as well as what other permissions you've given websites, like which ones can use your location data.


text:
Exclude App from Android 2.1 on Android Market for Performance Reasons?
I published a computationally intensive app for Android 2.1+ that has been very well received.
But there have been some negative reviews and comments pertaining to performance. These are from people who want to use the app, but can't because they say it's running way too slowly.
It works smoothly on my Sprint Evo 4G (Android 2.2). Moreover, from the many positive comments, I can see that many people do not have performance issues running this app on their devices.
Let's assume there are no programming issues and the code is maximally efficient. I am considering blocking the app from Android 2.1, and making it accessible only for 2.2 and above.
Have other people encountered this situation? Are there really some 2.1 phones out there that are very slow, say, using the speed of the Evo as a benchmark?

While newer versions of Android tend to mean newer phones and tend to mean faster phones, that is not a guarantee. Particularly when you factor in modded ROMs, even the T-Mobile G1 can run Android 2.1 (IIRC).

Are there really some 2.1 phones out there that are very slow, say, using the speed of the Evo as a benchmark?

Yes, absolutely.  I can't play Angry Birds on my HTC Hero running 2.1 because of poor performance.  The game plays fine on my wife's newer Evo.
My advice would be to see if you can buy an old used handset to test your apps on yourself.  That way you'll be able to head off any negative reviews by targeting devices where you know your app performs well.


text:
Android HTC G7 without Google applications
I recently got an Android HTC G7 phone which claims to be Android 2.2. But I do not see any Google applications installed (market, maps etc). Is there a way to install these libraries and get started?

The G7 is not actually made by HTC, it's a cheap knockoff.  I don't believe it actually runs Android.

There is no phone from HTC named G7, the HTC G7 Desire is in fact a clone of the HTC Desire phone which runs Windows phone 6.5.
How to identify a Desire clone:

Dual SIM
Run Windows instead of Android.
The rear speaker is on the left side
of the camera.
The 3.5 jack connector is on the
bottom of the phone side by side with
USB connector.

Real Desire:

Single SIM
Runs Android
The rear speaker is on the right side
of the camera, just like the flash.
The 3.5 jack connector is on the top
of the phone (top right corner)

This is a video of the clone.


text:
Updating Droid X running leaked Gingerbread to official release without root
I have a stock unrooted Droid X running a leaked version of the Gingerbread update (system version 4.5.588). How can I update to the official release (system version 4.5.596) without root?

If you're running a leaked ROM, you've already voided your warranty. Why don't you want to root?

Can I root without wiping my device?

@Skywalker Generally speaking, yes. I haven't looked very far into methods of rooting the Droid X, though.

i used z4root to root my brothers Droid X (I don't know of it's availability any more, but i am sure you can find it if you google it). It was as easy as installing the app, and clicking "root". No data loss at all.

zroot isn't working for me with the official gingerbread release.

GingerBreak does work however

There should be someone who has the official release that you can download and just upgrade like you did with the leaked version.  Like this post here.  It says it's for rooted users, but I don't see anything in the instructions that should require root.

"When you finish with this process, whether you are coming from Froyo or a leaked GB, you will be on official .596 with root access." This doesn't help someone who doesn't want to have root at the end of the process.

You going to want to sbf your phone back to .340 first. Here is a great forum post showing how. I did it with my linux box, you can do it with windows but drivers can be an issue from what I have heard. Once you sbf your phone you can pull it down OTA. Warning this erases everything and you will loose root. The official release has not been rooted yet to my knowledge.
I have done it 2 times now I was running lexlite gingerade and sbf to install leaked gingerbread and then I sbf to install the offical release.
*Edit: * Looks like I was wrong it has been rooted there is just no easy root method. See @CaseyB post.
Let me know if you need any more help.


text:
How can I send a text message to a group that has more than 10 contacts in it?
I made a group that has around 18 contacts. I wanted to send a text message to everyone. When I was prompted to select contacts from the group, it would not let me select more than 10. Anyone know how I can get around that limitation? I have a Samsung Infuse.

This is generally limited to prevent easy spam methods. I would think you'd need a different SMS app.

Try Goggle Messenger app for texting.

Handcent should let you send more than 10 messages at once.  It has a nice interface for selecting multiple contacts too.  I haven't tested this (I don't want to send 10+ people a random text :) ).

I tried out Handcent by sending to a group of more than 75 people and it worked without a hitch

If you are constantly sending group messages you may want to check out some of the Group apps for Android.
GroupMe - creates an independent phone number for the group to text for those without data. - https://market.android.com/details?id=com.groupme.android&feature=search_result
Disco - a google owned or backed group messaging app - https://market.android.com/details?id=com.disco.android&feature=search_result


text:
How to delete gReader stored RSS feeds from Phone memory manually
I was just fiddling with gReader when I noticed that by default the application saves the feeds to the phone memory. So I immediately changed that to SD card memory. However, on doing this all the existing feeds were lost and I had to do a resync. I have a feeling the app didn't delete the existing feeds from the phone memory. Any idea how I can delete those feeds from Phone memory manually?

I would suspect you shouldn't be able to do this without clearing the app data unless you have root.

This question appears to be off-topic because the Google Reader app and service are no longer available.

From your Home Screen go to Menu -> Settings -> Applications -> Manage Applications and find gReader.  Then click the Clear Cache and Clear Data button.  This may lead to you having to sign back in but it will synch with your feeds so you won't really lose anything.