text:
Google+ Background Data Usage
My 1GB data pack (3G) was running out a bit faster than normal, so I started investigating using the Data Usage tool (Android 4.1.2 Nexus S).
That's when I found out the Google+ app had used 300 MB in 3 days, and all of it was background data.
Here's the graph:

Graph (click to enlarge)
I don't remember using the app much at all, yet it almost burned through my data pack. I've set the Instant Upload settings to only upload when connected to Wi-fi, and roaming uploads are disabled too. I disabled background as soon as I figured it out, but I still don't know how and why it used up so much data. Any pointers?

Do you have instant uploads on? Also, most data looks to be used in a short period. After that the graph is almost flat. Just see what did you do with G+ in that period. I personally have never had any issue like this.

Instant Upload was set to upload only when connected to Wi-fi, so that's not the problem.
I can't remember doing anything with the app in that time, it's background data so it's not that I was interacting with it directly.
And the graph is flat after that because I turned off background data when I figured this out.
Thanks anyway.

You are not alone. Please, read: http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!msg/google-plus-discuss/A8jv6QU2q1s/maC6U02QJs4J

Google Photos auto-backup may sync automatically the local photos to account.turn of this feature if you don't need it.

Just check "limit background data" and the app will not use your data volume if it is in the background.

The questioner already disabled background data. The question is what functionality of the app is making it use so much data to start with.


text:
how do I set a ring tone for a specific contact?
I've searched for this here and don't see it. I've set a custom, contact-specific ring tone before but don't recall how. It doesn't seem to be under the contact, which is where it should be.
Phone is a 2.x.

OK I found it:
Go to the Contact.
Do not press Edit.
Hit Menu.
Hit Options.
Select Ringtone.
Set Ringtone.

Seems wacky that you don't edit the contact to change the ringtone.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Opening a GPS location from an SMS
How can I format an SMS in order to send the GPS location? The recipient should be able to tap the text and open the coordinates with their favorite location software (e.g., Google Maps).

As far as I know there is no standard for sending coordinates (such as a URI scheme like gps://[latitude],[longitude]), but you could use direct links to Google Maps. The format is https://maps.google.com/maps?q=[latitude],[longitude]. This enables most phones to create a link from the text, and the coordinates are easily available for copy/pasting to other apps as well.

I believe it's even better to remove the first maps. to get it shorter: https://google.com/maps?q=

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


text:
How to get Gmail-like/non-generic notifications with stock Android app?
When I get a email notification from the stock Android Email app I just get a generic notification on the line of:
+------------------------------------------+
| [Mail icon] New email                    |
| 1 unread (Account Name)           18:34  |
+------------------------------------------+
How do I get email notifications with the sender and subject like with my Gmail app?
+------------------------------------------+
| [Mail icon] John Doe                     |
| Yet another boring meeting blah.. 18:34  |
+------------------------------------------+
Is there some setting I've missed out on?
Has this been fixed in later versions of the Mail app (currently using 2.3.4)?
Saving the above, are there any third party apps, free or paid, available? (K-9 is no good was webDAV is disabled. My email account is on an Exchange server.)
My details:
I running Email.app version 2.3.4 on CyanogenMod 7.1.0 (Android 2.3.7) on a rooted phone.
I only have one (work) email account (an Exchange server) on the stock email app which I like to (and in any event have to) keep separate from my personal Gmail account.
Edit
Part of my question is what is other users experience of Android's stock email app like? Is it just my crappy phone or does everyone get the same notifications?


text:
Brightness changes too frequently after I updated to 4.2
I have a Nexus 7 and after the update to Android 4.2 setting the brightness regulation to auto I noticed that it changes way more frequently than it used to do in the previous version of the operating system.
Is there a way to have automatic brightness regulation less aggressively?

Unfortunately it is a known bug introduced on Nexus 7 with Jelly Bean 4.2. In previous version 4.1.2 auto-brightness was criticised as slow in reaction on light changes and now in 4.2 it is just opposite, over-reactive. From one bad to another bad. But I agree with you that even previous not so good behaviour was better than what we have now. Someone cure it by sticking small semi transparent tape over light sensor. But it is only temporary and ugly workaround, we can hope for correction in the next version, or downgrade to previous 4.1.2 version.


text:
Extracting images from an APK
I've tried to extract the images of 2 different APKs, from the drawable folder.
One of them contains PGT files, and the other one contains mostly TEX files and one ACT file.
Couldn't open neither.
Is there any other way to extract an APK's images other than just opening it using WinRAR?
Or maybe there's a way to open those PGT and TEX files? (Couldn't find any.)

Android uses Draw9patch for some images: http://developer.android.com/tools/help/draw9patch.html

@ce4 Is it possible to convert those to viewable format?

I have no idea, sorry


text:
What is the LG Motion 4G processor speed?
According to the specs for the LG Motion 4G phone, it states the CPU speed should be 1.2Ghz. http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=3779
But someone on android forums has reported that this is not true, and the phone actually comes preloaded at 1.5Ghz.
Which is it?

I just got a new LG Motion from MetroPCS, and before updating the system or anything, I used the app CpuSpy and it told me the CPU is 1.5Ghz.

When I downloaded the app called CPU-Z, it said that my LG Motion has a 1.51 GHz MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 dual core. It also said that the CPU is called krait and comes with an Adreno 225 GPU. So, I believe that Metro PCS got their specs wrong about the LG Motion, CPU-wise.


text:
SMS backup apps, SMS Backup+, SMS Backup and Restore
I've been using SMS Backup+ and when I restore not all my messages are restored, even though I can see them there in gmail. I've used SMS Backup and Restore before but it doesn't have a feature to automatically do it. Does anyone know how to fix SMS Backup+ or any other apps that work properly and have can automatically back up? I don't care if the backups are done to the SD card or online. One benifit of having it in gmail is that I can easily check to make sure it was done right. What do others think?
UPDATE: As of April 10 SMS Backup+ still doesn't restore all messages for some reason. I'm using an Xperia Z2.

SMS Backup and Restore does have the ability to automatically backup SMS's on a schedule and can email the backup to you.

@ZnewmaN where?

see my answer it has a picture by picture step to getting there.

Configuring SMS Backup schedule in SMS Backup & Restore:

Open SMS Backup & Restore and click the Menu button in the upper right corner:

Select Preferences:

From the Preferences Menu, Select Schedule Settings:

Configure schedule settings however you want:

Ok thanks. Each backup is full so is it ok to select delete old backups because there included in each new backup?

I would think so or to select to keep a few.

I only wanted to find a tool that could transfer my 3100+ SMS messages. So two weeks ago, I downloaded AST Android SMS transfer to transfer SMS from old phone to the new Galaxy S3, and it works well. But it's not a free program. I also use it to backup text messages to my PC in a .csv file, it's so convenient to check my messages.

That's a big issue I have is that it's not at all easy with SMS Backup and Restore or SMS Backup+ to check the integrity.

None of the programs you mention will restore MMS messages. Perhaps those are the messages that are missing?

I think it was I needed to reboot my phone and give it time. But that's a very good point you made about MMS because I certainly do have those and didn't even notice they were missing. Do you know if Backup and Restore does incremental backups or full backups?

To backup/restore both sms and mms for Android, I use a paid pc tool called Backuptrans Android SMS + MMS Transfer. You need to connect your Android to computer via usb or wifi then the software will save your sms and mms messages with attachment files on computer. Restoring MMS messages from computer to Android is also simple.


text:
S/W Upgrade mode problem
I have a LG P999 and I want to flash the baseband however when I go into S/W upgrade mode (Volume down + power button; without battery) my PC does not recognize the phone :(. When its connected and on fully the computer sees it, but not when I hold the volume down button and plug it in. Is there any solution to this? I have also tried holding both volume buttons down installing the APX drivers but that did not work. I have all the drivers for the phone.
Thanks

Why do you connect your LG P999 without battery to computer? AFAIK, there is a special state of the phone exclusively for service personnel. I observed this when they did so and got this explanation. There could be a special USB driver part of LG's B2B application that would enable them to configure/read info about the phone. For end users like us, fastboot, recovery, adb are the three states for which LG has released drivers. For your requirement, try what you did with battery in the phone.

Also, I have heard and used Home + Volume down + Power combination and not Volume down + Power combination.

Are you talking about download mode? AFAIK you have to press and hold menu key while connecting your phone to your computer via USB. Volume keys are used to boot in recovery mode. I have not tried it on the phone you mentioned though.

If your computer didn't recognize your phone while in recoverymod, may be because you didn't enabled USB Debugging in phone settings  (settings-->applications-->development )
Enable it and try again.

It is enabled but its still not showing up in the device manager. It only shows up if I connect the phone when fully on


text:
Google Authenticator used by native apps?
I recently turned on two-step verification for my Google account and installed the Google Authenticator app on my Android device. Based on what I have read everywhere (even Google's official info: http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1173270), I was under the expectation that I would have to generate an application specific password for some of the apps on my Android device - gmail, youtube, etc. However, that hasn't happened. Everything continues to work fine on my device including gmail, youtube, sync functionality, etc. I have restarted the device, forced it to sync manually, etc...no problems, and I'm never prompted to enter a verification code, never set the device as trusted, etc.
How does this work? Are the Google Android native apps using the Google Authenticator service behind the scenes to generate codes?

Native Google apps don't use password (which you entered before activating 2-step authentication) everytime to log in. They only need it for the first time. After the first authentication, an Auth. Token is downloaded which is used for subsequent logins. As this Auth. Token isn't your main password, verification code isn't required at all. So, your apps continue to work without asking anything.
To invalidate this Auth. Token, you'll have to change your main password. Do it and you'll be asked to enter password in Android device. And, this time, your main password wouldn't work. You'll have to generate and use application-specific password. Native Google apps don't prompt for verification code. They only seek passwords which would let them authenticate.


text:
Android 4.1 unable to connect to Google Play but other wifi functions work - how to fix?
I'm using a Rikomagic 802III running Android 4.1.1, connected to my TV.  Until today, I was able to connect to Google Play, and my widgets were showing data.  Now, when I open Google Play, I get an error, after it indicates "Connecting", "Cannot Connect".
I've got some other widgets, like Google Analytics that also say "offline".  However, I am able to browse online through Chrome, and my account is linked.  When opening my analytics app, I briefly saw some exception error but haven't been able to reproduce.
When I go to Google.com in the default browser, I see an error indicating" This certificate isn't from a trusted authority" but it all appears to have Google info:

Common name: *.google.com

I seem to recall some kind of Google certificate related issue on my desktop where I would see a similar error, and was told it had something to do with the system time.
Has anyone experienced anything like this and/or know how to fix it?

Turns out that the solution for this problem is the one I alluded to above.
The system date/time preceded the certificate's issue date, and I suspect that was causing the problem.
Setting the date to the correct date (or sometime between the certificate's issue and expiration date) seems to have solved the problem.


text:
Using Activesync with folders in inbox
I recently purchased Note II and am using the stock email. This is a exchange connection and use rules to push email to folders. I can see the folders and get notifications when new mail arrives however if more than one email arrives and is pushed to different folders the notification does not indicate where the email is and so the search begins. The folders do not show unread emails only all emails in the folder read or not. Any ideas.

Created this enhancement request in the code review. The more stars the better chance it will be looked at. http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=40977&colspec=ID%20Type%20Status%20Owner%20Summary%20Stars&start=400


text:
Phone is rooted but has no SU application and can't access SU command on adb shell?
All this time, I thought that once I've rooted my phone, it means that I will also have SU access to it. This is true for the first device I rooted. When I rooted it, a SuperUser application appeared on my phone. I was also able to use the command su on the adb shell.
However, just recently, I tried to root a different phone. After rooting the phone, I check my applications for the SuperUser app but it's not in the applications. And so I downloaded the SuperUser app on the market. But when I opened it, it says, there is no SU binaries installed on the phone. Also, when I inputted su on the adb shell, it can't determine what is su.

What could be the problem?
How can I gain SU privilege?
I thought that once a phone is rooted, it is automatic to have an SU application or at least access to the su command. Am I wrong with my assumption?
How can I use the su command?
What is the real state of the phone I rooted? Does it mean the phone is not really rooted? Or is it still rooted?

Thanks!

I do note, while tablets are on topic on SU, phones arn't. I've voted to close/migrate this to Android.SE, and you may wish to ask future questions on Android phones there.

Your device isn't rooted at all. Without su binary, you can't assume command as root.

Thanks. Sachin! I checked the instruction that I followed again and it seems that I still need to the one more step to root the phone. That is to install a desktop application that will eventually root the phone. I think what I do before is only to flash an insecure kernel on the phone? (I'm not sure if I used the term "flash" correctly) What does flashing an insecure kernel means and why did it not root the phone? I thought it is also the same to rooting.

@Arci Flashing an insecure kernel means replacing existing stock kernel (on NAND) with this one. It has nothing to do with root access. There are many processes of rooting. So, I guess, flashing insecure kernel was suggested to make root exploit easy. Do follow all suggested steps.

"Rooting a phone" - Acquiring super user permissions.
"Installing the SU application" - Making it so you can acquire super user permissions any time you want.
The first thing you should do after rooting a phone is install the SU application so you can have root permissions any time you want them. Most automated rooting processes do this for you, but if you acquire root permissions manually, you probably have to install the SU application manually too.

Thanks for your reply! I didn't acquire the root permission manually. I tried to change the kernel into an unsecure kernel by using Odin with the PDA option checked. But after that I gain no su is still not accessible on adb shell.


text:
How to get setting information before booting Android devices like in BIOS?
Is there any method by which we could get the system information before booting android OS.
Like wise in PC/laptop, we can get into BIOS setting before booting and get the system information. Do Android devices have such thing?
If yes, how can I go through before booting? Is there BIOS like setup in android? Shed some light.

Can you state what you want to achieve? Just see that information, or adjust something -- on every boot, occasionally -- and if, what to change? This would allow for a more precise answer.

There is no BIOS type thing in Android, although there is the Logcat and DMESG.
There is an app on Google Play that allows you to change your boot animation to show you the live logcat as your device boots.
If you want the System Info, as per your question, you would just have to Google your device, or use a site such as GSM Arena to lookup your devices hardware.

I search and find that dmesg command = get kernel log and logcat command = get android system log both show the log related to system. Is there any thing which install before installing OS like in PC system i.e BIOS. If we have to install other OS in mobile how it detect it.

No, I said that.

I got something that is SPL / Bootloader(Second Program Loader) is like BIOS on a computer . What is SPL and can it work like BIOS ?

BIOS stands for Basic Input Output System. It is the computer system that does the very basic set up of computerized system. Some BIOS's can be altered by the user and some can not. Take an HP computer vs. a custom built machine with Asus motherboard for example.
In regards to a smart phone, there is a "BIOS" however you can not change it or update it, etc. It is hard coded into a chip on the phone.
The bootloader is the second step in the boot process. Many Linux machines use GRUB or LILO, etc. I imagine that SPL is the bootloader used by a smartphone.
I am not including i-phone type equipment in this explanation. I-phones run on magic and Skittles!! LOL

Could you support your answer with sources, or is that your own experience/imagination?


text:
Limit the Internet bandwidth of Android device
Is it possible to limit internet speed of Android device
for example

Nexus 7 only internet speed has 300 kbps / 1mbps
Nexus 4 only internet speed has 150 kbps / 1mbps

Do you mean over your WiFi network? Typically you'd configure this on your router. (Yes, I realize this is an old question...)

While not for the faint of heart, how about the Linux command Traffic Control? Check out the man page for a quick run-down.
You'll need root and the Android Terminal Emulator app (or similar). I think this guide will be helpful, especially the script quoted below (although because I'm not rooted I haven't tried it myself). You can either try to run the script using sh or using BASH, or simply type the commands from the script directly in terminal after replacing the variables with your desired values. Let us know how it goes.
#!/bin/bash
#
#  tc uses the following units when passed as a parameter.
#  kbps: Kilobytes per second
#  mbps: Megabytes per second
#  kbit: Kilobits per second
#  mbit: Megabits per second
#  bps: Bytes per second
#       Amounts of data can be specified in:
#       kb or k: Kilobytes
#       mb or m: Megabytes
#       mbit: Megabits
#       kbit: Kilobits
#  To get the byte figure from bits, divide the number by 8 bit
#

#
# Name of the traffic control command.
TC=/sbin/tc

# The network interface we're planning on limiting bandwidth.
IF=eth0             # Interface

# Download limit (in mega bits)
DNLD=1mbit          # DOWNLOAD Limit

# Upload limit (in mega bits)
UPLD=1mbit          # UPLOAD Limit

# IP address of the machine we are controlling
IP=216.3.128.12     # Host IP

# Filter options for limiting the intended interface.
U32="$TC filter add dev $IF protocol ip parent 1:0 prio 1 u32"

start() {

# We'll use Hierarchical Token Bucket (HTB) to shape bandwidth.
# For detailed configuration options, please consult Linux man
# page.

    $TC qdisc add dev $IF root handle 1: htb default 30
    $TC class add dev $IF parent 1: classid 1:1 htb rate $DNLD
    $TC class add dev $IF parent 1: classid 1:2 htb rate $UPLD
    $U32 match ip dst $IP/32 flowid 1:1
    $U32 match ip src $IP/32 flowid 1:2

# The first line creates the root qdisc, and the next two lines
# create two child qdisc that are to be used to shape download
# and upload bandwidth.
#
# The 4th and 5th line creates the filter to match the interface.
# The 'dst' IP address is used to limit download speed, and the
# 'src' IP address is used to limit upload speed.

}

stop() {

# Stop the bandwidth shaping.
    $TC qdisc del dev $IF root

}

restart() {

# Self-explanatory.
    stop
    sleep 1
    start

}

show() {

# Display status of traffic control status.
    $TC -s qdisc ls dev $IF

}

case "$1" in

  start)

    echo -n "Starting bandwidth shaping: "
    start
    echo "done"
    ;;

  stop)

    echo -n "Stopping bandwidth shaping: "
    stop
    echo "done"
    ;;

  restart)

    echo -n "Restarting bandwidth shaping: "
    restart
    echo "done"
    ;;

  show)

    echo "Bandwidth shaping status for $IF:"
    show
    echo ""
    ;;

  *)

    pwd=$(pwd)
    echo "Usage: tc.bash {start|stop|restart|show}"
    ;;

esac

exit 0

Checkout BradyBound. It's a system wide download speed shaper/limiter. Few things to note:

The app requires root access.
It works by dropping packets using iptables. This wastes some traffic - how much depends on the type of traffic (e.g. long running download, web browsing).
Rate measurement is done by number of packets instead of bytes so the speed limit won't be accurate.
This only limits TCP traffic (it makes no sense to drop UDP packets).

Note also that I'm the author of this app.

Any plans to implement upload speed limit and not just download ? Google photos sync is extremely annoying for a shared network.

Any chance you could lower the required API version? I'm using Android 4.2.1 and cannot use your app...

A second request for upload limits too?

Well There is no such app at the moment but google is planning to introduce this in the near future.. Bandwidth Throttling Feature

No, not data usage, I mean having an internet usage limit in android device

do you mean usage through the browser? but should not include apps internet usage such as gmail etc.

All android apps...

if you use the application above it will limit the internet usage. you can define a limit and once that limit is reached the applications would not be able to access the internet. I think that is what you want. if not, please clarify in detail.

do you really need an app in the phone? or you may want to use alternate methods as well such methods are without the phone app.

bandwidth throttling was implemented with Android 13 as INGRESS_RATE_LIMIT_BYTES_PER_SECOND - https://android-review.googlesource.com/q/topic:bandwidth-limiting


text:
How to properly close running apps while avast! Mobile Security is installed/ running in the background?
I've just installed avast! Mobile Security on my Samsung Galaxy SIII. Runs perfect so far, but I can't close my programs running in the background anymore. I used to do this by pressing the button below in the middle long - now this does not open up anything.
How can I close them now? If I don't: will this have a negative influence on my battery (faster emptying it)?
Many thanks and BR

I don't know what Avast is doing there (I do not use any AntiVirus app, as I see no benefit from it). But as to the second part of your question: You should not really need to explicitly close an app, as Android normally does a good job taking care itself. For details, please see the Process LifeCycle description as described on the Android developers page -- for a short look, see this graphical description:

Image taken from BottomLessInc Blog
You can see three arrows going from the "Paused" state: Directly to "destroyed" (explicitly "closed" the app), or via "Stopped" -- and back to "Running". In simple words: When you "leave" the app in the background and afterwards return to it, it goes back to "Running". If you don't return, and the system decides it is no longer needed. "Destroyed" you can take as "ended and cleared from memory", "Paused" as a kind of "Stand-By for immediate access", and "Stopped" like "Ready to be cleaned up".
Again, this is a very simplified explanation. If you need more details, the "big keyword" for this is "OOM Killer" (OOM = Out Of Memory), which is the part of the system taking care you won't run out of ressources. See e.g. this blog article for more details.


text:
Are Nexus the only one that receive OS update directly from Google and not from Telecom / Phone Manufacturer?
According to a comment made to this article as shown below:
They already do that. Its called the Nexus One, secondly the Nexus S, and thirdly, now the Galaxy Nexus..... they all receive OS updates directly from google.
Is it true that there are only 3 Android phones that receive the latest OS updates?

Nexus One
Nexus S
Galaxy Nexus

The rest will have to wait for their Telecom or the phone manufacturer for the latest Android OS updates?

Also the Nexus 4 phone (by LG) and the two tablets: the Nexus 7 (Asus) and the Nexus 10 (Samsung).

@Jack They definitely receive the latest updates the quickest compared to other phones or tablets - which makes sense really

Yes and No. There are Nexus/Google devices that are nevertheless branded by the carrier and therefore receive a different ROM then the stock ROM. This usually takes longer then the stock ROM.
But yes, besides of that, the Google manufactured branded devices are the only ones who receive the updates directly from Google. All other devices get their updates from the manufacturer and/or the carrier.
Oh, and the Nexus One won't receive Android 4.2 (officially). Plus, no one gurantees you that your non-Google device will get the latest Android version. That's a big advantage when buying a Nexus device: It will be up to date for a while.

can I interpret "will be up to date for a while" -  as long as present hardware supports future software demands? Or something else a prospective Nexus device owner should be worried of?

No, hardware support is no criterion if there will be a official update. It's up to the manufacturer if he is willing to put the time and money in a update or if he is just "phasing out" the device. But the Nexus devices are the one who will get a update most likely and early. There is nothing to be worried of.

Yes. Its because they are Google branded devices.
Google only develops android OS for devices which is under Google Brand. i.e. compatible with those Google devices hardware.
Other phone manufacture will create similar OS versions for their devices with different User Interfaces and with more/less add-ons and functionalities.
Or they just port Pure Android Open Source code to their device(Pure Google experience).
And also there are so many Custom OS available. And you can flash it in your device( in your own risk).

This isn't quite correct. Google develops Android with the intention of it being used on devices made by other companies, and the other companies use the same OS, with a few new drivers (presumably) and some added crapware.


text:
How do I configure calendar " leave in X minutes" notifications to use non-driving travel times?
I think the Calendar reminders that let you know when you have to leave in order to arrive in time for an event have the potential to really make my life easier, but the travel times are all calculated as if I were driving. That's actually a relatively rare case for me; I'm far more likely to be using public transit or walking. I'd there an way to configure Calendar to use transit, walking, or biking times instead of driving times? Even better would be a way to override this setting for an individual event.

Well, I think you are talking about the Google Now notification, right?
If so, you have to change the option on the Google Now app, not on the Calendar app.
To do so, you go to Google Now(tap the search bar on the top of your home page) then you'll see the card that estimates your arrival time to your destination, you can see like three vertical dots, tap there and hit Settings, now you set Transportation Mode to Public Transit.
From now on, the card will notify automatically the time you need to arrive by public transportation.


text:
Is there a an app for recording voice notes that syncs to cloud storage?
I have been using Note Everything for making text and voice notes.
However, the problem with it is that it stores everything locally, and if the phone dies, like mine recently did, I lose all the notes. It does have a backup function, but I have to take steps to save the backup files which I often forget to do.
What I really want is an application that will always sync every voice and text note with a server somewhere, so that it doesn't matter if the phone is destroyed.
I do not need to share these notes with anyone else, and I would rather that whatever service I used the default was that all my notes were private. However, if I could also access my notes via the web, that would be ideal. Critically, though, it needs to have both voice and text.
Are there any applications like that?

We really prefer questions that ask about a problem to be solved ("How can I do X?") rather than those where a solution is already determined (an app).

Use Evernote. It features cloud sync and it lets you access your notes from almost all platform. You can create audio notes directly from homescreen using its widget, too.

I'm using Catch Notes for this functionality: notes saved offline and synced, when internet connected (and some notes I'm editing from my PC via web browser, their synced later).

You can configure Note Everything to do regular backups of all your notes (they will be stored on SD card then). If you additionally want to have those data sync'd with "the cloud", you might want to take a look at specific synchronization apps, like e.g. FolderSync. This way you can keep the app you are already used to (and which is wonderful, by the way -- I use it myself), and still have your data secured on a) SD card and b) some other machine (be it "the cloud", or your local computer at home).

Evernote is the most versatile you'll find. You can save and sync voice, text, images, and almost everything else, all for free. (Providing you use under 60mb per month, and even using it frequently as I do, I rarely exceed 10mb)
Evernote also crosses platforms and will work on your android, windows ios and other devices, and allows for web access for any other device with internet.

Evernote was already suggested in another answer.

I use the notes recorder app. It's free and does the job as an audio recorder well. All sound files are immediately uploaded into the cloud where it becomes accessible on other platforms.

Record  - Android Apps on Google Play
Record  - Web App


text:
How can I run a sequence of applications or actions on certain triggers on Android?
Is there is free application or some trick to run sequence of applications on android?
For example I want to start the following sequence:
    Wi-Fi --> Tor --> Browser

You should try Tasker for simple interface and quick setup.
If you are willing to do something by code and very specific, a good alternative is onX by Microsoft, you can write your code to do exactly the things you wanna do. Also there are some ready recipes that you can quickly setup.

For newer phones, you can use Automagic, which has almost all of the functionality of Tasker (at the time of this writing, and expanding) and has a much better interface for editing your sequences. It also makes use of the newer Holo themes on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and later.

The simpler automation apps can probably only start a single app, or maybe more, but not in sequence. The more advanced apps that can perform this is either the trusted old Tasker (paid), or the newer Automate (free).


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Second google account never shows up
I want to add a Google account to use as the primary (paying) account in Google Play.
I have tried to add the account in the Google Play app or in settings under Accounts and sync. I get no error, but after the sign in process, the account is never listed.
I am using two step verification. I am running Android 4.0.4 on a Samsung Galaxy S2 (build number IMM76D.XWLPY).

try rebooting the device and adding the account again. Also if that doesn't help use mobile data to add it.

I tried many times. Eventually it worked. Unfortunately I don't really understand why. What was also irritating was that when I succeeded it insisted on starting to sync contacts/mail/calendar, so I had to turn those off manually as fast as I could


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Turn notifications on and off based on time periods
Is there a way to configure Android to turn off notifications at a specific time and turn them on at a specific time? Pretty much I don't want to hear notifications at 3 AM from anyone or anything.

Possible duplicate. Take a look at this topic, it might help you

@Markissimo No, not really. That other question is more about "Makro Mode", i.e. "first run X, then Y, then Z". This here is about "Change setting at X (time), and change back at Y (other time)". Though the best answer (Tasker) is the same in both cases :)

Closely related: Can I silence only certain notifications during the night?

There are several automation apps in the playstore which deal with this kind of subject. Some of them are simply time-based (which would match your question), such as e.g. Timeriffic1 -- others additionally can react on other conditions like location, calendar and more (e.g. MyProfiles2). The top end of flexibility can be reached with Tasker -- there's almost nothing this app couldn't do. It needs some time to get used to, and costs some money, but for sure it's worth it.

There are a lot of more apps like the mentioned ones, so just take them as examples for further "investigation" in the playstore. There also is a German listing on AndroidPIT (Automatisierung -- Profile-Switcher & Co -- Google Translate Version) to give you a faster start looking for alternatives.

If you use Cyanogenmod there's Settings->CyanogenMod Settings->Sound->Quiet Hours.

Is it possible to schedule when those quite hours are throughout the day? The reason I ask is because I am looking for something that would snooze notifications, meaning still be able to receive them eventually, just not while I am busy doing something so that I do not get distracted.

"Do not disturb" mode should be present in stock and skinned Android versions. It can be accessed through the Settings. You can set which apps can send what notifications at what time.
The main benefit is no third-party app needs to be installed.

The nice thing here is that you can very easily set it to stay in "do not disturb" mode for a specific amount of time, so you don't need to remember to turn it off manually.

On my Samsung Galaxy S4 has a blocking mode that you can only receive calls or notification of calls in between certain times...unless you put people on a contact allowed list...not sure how this will work with texts.


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How toolbox symlinks work
On my Android emulator, the /system/bin folder contains several symlinks that point to the toolbox binary:
# ls -l /system/bin
ls -l /system/bin
[SNIP]
lrwxr-xr-x root     shell             2012-08-23 07:01 ls -> toolbox
lrwxr-xr-x root     shell             2012-08-23 07:01 lsmod -> toolbox
lrwxr-xr-x root     shell             2012-08-23 07:01 lsof -> toolbox
[SNIP]
-rwxr-xr-x root     shell      181002 2012-08-23 07:01 toolbox
[SNIP]
#

My understanding is that 'toolbox' is a binary that is able to do everything that ls, lsmod, lsof etc... can do, and that calling 'ls -l' ends up calling 'toolbox ls -l'.
But what I don't understand is how this works: if 'ls' is indeed a symlink to 'toolbox', then 'ls -l' would become 'toolbox -l', which of course doesn't work.
What am I missing ? (or said differently: what makes 'ls -l' become 'toolbox ls -l' ?)

What you're missing is: The application (in your case toolbox) can evaluate how it was called. To make an easy Linux-example: Say you have a script called myscript, and call it with the parameters para1 para2 (i.e. myscript para1 para2), and the script has a line:
echo $0 $1 $1

It would output exactly what you called it: myscript para1 para2. Now make a symlink: ln -s myscript mylink, call mylink para1 para2, and guess what it will "echo": the command line you called. So parsing the command line, based on the symlink your toolbox was called by, it can determine which functionality you were pointing at.

OK, now I get what I was really missing: I was thinking that when calling mylink para1, then $0 would be equal to "myscript". Of course, it doesn't work that way at all: $0 is equals to "mylink", so the script can indeed know what the context is. Thanks a lot !


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Why does unlocking the bootloader wipe phone?
I understand that unlocking the bootloader will wipe my Android phone, but have been looking around for why.  Seems to be by design, but what is the reasoning for that design?  Is it some security concern, some obscure technical reason, or just for lulz?  I'm looking for something solid to chew on here, something more than because "that's how it is".

I only found this out afterwards... so it's not a bug... :-)

It's a security concern. The Android documentation doesn't provide a lot of elaboration, stating simply:

The procedure must be confirmed on-screen, and deletes the user data for privacy reasons.

However, the privacy concern is relatively straightforward to extrapolate. Once the bootloader is unlocked, the device can be flashed with unsigned images. This means that it is relatively trivial to root the device, and there are actually multiple ways it can be done, such as:

Flashing a system image with root tools built in
Flashing a boot image that runs adbd with root by default (an "unsecure" image)
Flashing a recovery image, then using that to overwrite the system or boot partitions with ones that allow root access

Once root is obtained, all of the information on /data essentially becomes accessible. This could be emails, contact information, or many other pieces of personal information that you likely don't want in the wrong hands. Therefore, it makes sense to wipe all of this data during the unlocking procedure to ensure that there is no off-the-shelf "official" way of bypassing the sandboxing restrictions implemented by the Android operating system, which would thereby allow someone to steal personal data.
Of course, there may be ways to root without wiping on some devices, but they rely on exploits rather than official methods like a bootloader unlock, meaning they are basically bugs.

Thank you for the detailed response.  Very much appreciated.

Interesting, I unlocked my bootloader (rooted, downgraded RUU, got S-OFF, and installed CM) and files (pictures/music) on my internal storage were not wiped.  Does unlocking the bootloader only wipe the system partition?

@CatShoes: I believe it performs a standard factory reset, which typically wipes the /data partition but not anything considered to be "external storage" (such as an /sdcard mount point, where pictures/music/video typically live). Did your installed apps get wiped out, for instance?

Yes, all installed apps were removed, but not my pictures or music which were on the phone storage, not the SD card (not enough space).

Figured it out, these documents are on my "internal" SD card.  I was under the impression that would be wiped as well.  I didn't realize the internal and external SD cards are "lumped" together for this

It deleted all my Photos etc... WTHAT TO DO TO RESTORE??!! Have an HTC One and need the Whatsapp Chat Backup :@

Hey from the past, we have Android 8 (oreo) already. What if the device is encrypted? Does this still be a reasonable solution?

Its a good question as to the motive in why they insist on this when getting manufacturers to make the handsets for carriers.
The reason, I think, why carriers enforce "locked bootloaders", is really simplistic, in the event of handsets being stolen, and a tech-savvy thief can unlock it, it wipes the personal data in place thus ensuring that contacts etc are removed.
And, in a what I would perceive, a twisted roundabout-way, the victim will not get billed for unsolicited texts/calls etc to their own contacts (i.e. billing for calls etc) made whilst the handset is stolen, that is, if it is still in original state, i.e. locked, that is, provided the relevant authorities have been informed.
So the desire for the thief to infiltrate and get at the handset to work with another carrier would force the thief to unlock the boot-loader.. I would be inclined to believe its for that reason, carriers are in fact, protecting themselves and covering their position in maintaining the contractual clauses with the customers...(this is only hearsay based on what I have read about carriers)
And yet carriers, still maintain their stance in selling handsets with locked boot-loaders despite uproar from the community, i.e. lack of openness, difficulties in modding etc and do try scare off using this tactic "Unlocking boot-loader voids the warranty".
Some carriers would even get the manufacturers to make the handsets impossible to unlock - for example, Orange's San Diego, which was released earlier on in 2012, circa February, Intel-based chip-set running Android - it took 8 months to get it rooted, and by then, the community declined..the detrimental side effect was that the price of that handset dramatically dropped a lot and lost its value due to zero openness and the developer community lost interest in modding for it!
All a boot-loader is - its a piece of code, and if received instructions via fastboot -i 0x0fce oem unlock [SOME_HEX_KEY] or similar, to unlock, the boot-loader code is instructed to wipe the /data partition - nothing more. It does not physically damage the screen, functionality, RAM, charging etc.. FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt)
With what I have written, hopefully makes sense.

With all due respect, I have a hard time believing that the market failure of a phone (Orange's San Diego) was a direct consequence of lack of dev community support. Citation?

@CatShoes - here's the quoted price on the UK Market for that handset, and here's the main modaco site - for this, 3 pages...  - that's saying a lot about the handset... not popular!

@CatShoes, I have clarified about the San Diego for example, as I knew there was struggle with handset unlocking/rooting to an extent it took a long time to get it, in October 2012, in fact! In nutshell, its the community that drives the sales! :)

I still don't see how the lack of community support drove the price down.  The article mentions both that the price is reduced and that it can't be unlocked.  However, that does not mean the price reduction is the result of the phone be locked. I am more inclined to believe that the price drop is the result of the phone having been on the market for 10 months, given the turnover time that mobile phone models seem to have.

/me shrugs, be surprised! I know of a good few people over in Modaco... that's all I can say ;) Users opinion that it was difficult, hard to unlock, at the time, people regretted buying it..

Fair enough, difference of opinion is all.

Why the downvote? Really, if you're a user of StackExchange sites, the principle is downvote and leave a comment citing why you think its warranted and perhaps an edit may be needed! Otherwise you are violating the spirit of StackExchange!


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Ridding Android phone of Snapfish
Something 'gifted' my Samsung Galaxy 2 with a sharing action of Snapfish.  Because it is adjacent to my Brother print button, I found it by accident.  Other than being there and telling me it actually sent a picture to some unwanted destination, I can find no program or file named Snapfish.  Where is it hidden?  I definitely want to be rid of it.

Probably came bundled with the Brother software.

Snapfish is a photosharing and printing app by HP. They also seem to have an Android client

If you can't get rid of the app you can always edit the share menu to remove the option.

I had assumed that the client could be identified and removed. But I can work with just removing it from the share list, so thanks for the link to the discussion that names an app to do that!


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How can I change the ringing noise when I place a call?
I'm not asking to change the ringtone for contacts (what plays when they call me). Now am I asking how to change the outgoing ringtone--so that when people call me they hear a custom ringtone while waiting for me to pickup.
I just want to change the sound when I place a call and it rings while waiting for the other party to pickup. I'm using CyanogenMod 7 on a rooted T-Mobile MyTouch 4G. The reason I want to do this is that the ringing noise is quite loud. If I have the Phone Call Volume all the way up, so I can clearly hear people on the line, then the ringing is loud enough to be painful. If I have it turned down so the ringing noise isn't overpowering, I can't hear people on the line after they pick up--and don't want to have to turn the volume up and down every time I place a call.
(I did consider using Tasker to change the Phone Call volume when ringing and when the other person picks up, but I didn't see the right states/events to be able to do that).
Is there a way to change what ringtone is used, so I could just pick a quieter tone?

I believe this is typically determined by the network switches involved, not by the handset (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringback_tone has a bit of explanation)

Your question is a touch confusing, especially due to the use of the word 'ringtone', but I think this is the crux of what you are asking:

I just want to change the sound when I place a call and it rings while waiting for the other party to pickup.

The answer is no.  That sound is generated by the communications network, and your phone is just playing it to you.  Your phone has no native way to differentiate between that sound and the sound of the person on the other end (or their voicemail).
In theory, an application could be written that would listen to all the sound during a call and adjust volumes depending on what it hears.  I performed a fairly exhaustive search, and found no applications that currently do this.

Music, what played at line hold/conference waiting are set by operator, and at most cases it not allowed to change it (except corporate virtual phonebox).
Music, what caller hear, when waiting for connect, can be changed by operator, but it usualy costs money for people, whom you call.
You can only decrease call volume.


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Does Rooting Exploit a Security Weakness?
According to the Wikipedia page for Android rooting,

The process of rooting varies widely by device, but usually includes exploiting a security weakness in the firmware of the device, and then copying the su binary to a location in the current process's PATH (e.g. /system/xbin/su) and granting it executable permissions with the chmod command. A supervisor application like SuperUser or SuperSU can regulate and log elevated permission requests from other applications. Many guides, tutorials, and automatic processes exist for popular Android devices facilitating a fast and easy rooting process.

Now, I wanted to know what exploits are being used in this process so I started looking around.  I did find a couple references to Android exploits (notably RageAgainstTheCode), but a couple questions on here (this one and How does su regulate app permissions?) give me the impression that no actual exploit is being performed.
From what I have gathered the process works like such:

Unlock bootloader (wipes device for security concerns)
Install custom recovery (will allow flashing arbitrary ZIP files)
Flash SuperUser or SuperSU zip file in custom recovery.

As I understand it, the custom recovery is able to flash the ZIP file because it exists at a lower level (so to speak) than the ROM, and as such, can modify the ROM to install the su binary and SuperUser app.  That is, no real exploit is being used to attain root.
Am I grossly missing something here? Is some exploit being performed implicitly during one of these steps?
As a note, I'm talking about a user rooting a phone, not about a malicious piece of code getting root access.

First, there's nothing like THE rooting process. You partly answered your question yourself: rooting a device can be done in different ways. The two best known methods include:

using an exploit (SuperOneClick & Co do this: You install an app, klick it, and get rooted)
via a custom recovery (which is directly bootable and thus can access the device directly, so you can install any ROM -- which in turn may already be rooted)

So answering your question: Yes and no -- it all depends on how you root your device. Listing up all possible exploits might get a bit lengthy, so better let's skip that part. You might also check the questions in the "related" section of this page for more details (especially What are the steps for rooting an Android device, in general?).


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How can I set my volume to be beyond 15 on my samsung galaxy S?

Possible Duplicate:
How can I make my Samsung Galaxy Nexus volume go louder than what stock allows?

The volume on my media music player sounds very low on my headphones. Wondering if anyone knows a way on how to increase the set volume from 15 to 30.

There are several apps allowing you to boost your volume above the set limit -- simply search the playstore for "volume booster". One examples would be Speaker Boost.
Without "external help" you also could try playing with your Equalizer (if there's any such pre-installed on your device -- otherwise you might get it at the playstore as well).


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Google play fails to install application with RPC:S-5:AEC-0
Someone has reported me that he cannot install or upgrade applications on Google Play. It fails with error RPC:S-5:AEC-0
What does that mean? How to fix this?

I found this working answer on Androidcentral: Remove and re-add the main Google account

User @rds has given the correct answer about how to fix this problem, but I can tell you that this issue happens mainly after stopping Google Services Framework (this is a practice that some people recommend in order to be able to get OTAs when delayed to be available for your phone).
I had Android 4.2, but I was trying to get a recently released bug-fixing 4.2.1 update, so I just did this (stop Google Services Framework), but after updating Android and restarting my smartphone, I got that infamous [RPC:S-5:AEC-0] error when trying to get some updates for my apps.
First I tried, unsuccessfully, what @Anthony says. Then I did what @rds says (removing/adding my Google account) and the problem has gone!
Let me add: this is not the first time I get that error, but it is until now that I realize both the reason and the solution, so I'm sharing this with you.

I agree. That Android Services Framework was the root cause in my case. I did that clear data for all things Google, uninstalled all updates, removed and re-added Google account but to no avail, until I realized that I blocked various Play Services including Services Framework from start-up using AutoStarts. I simply unblocked them, restarted, and voila! everything came back  to normal. What a mess!

Go to Settings>Apps>Google Play Store>Uninstall Updates
Then reboot phone.

Go into SETTINGS
Select Apps (select the 'ALL' tab)
Select 'Google Framework Services' and Clear Data (please only clear data; Do not delete Google Services Framework completely)
Select Google Play and Clear data there too (the same process as above)
Reset your tablet by switching on and off

Try resetting your home router just to be on the safe side.

Didn't work for me sadly.

The server error RPC:S-5:AEC-0 can be worked around by going to the 1Mobile App Market and downloading free apps only via that service. Not ideal, but at least it's enabled me to get BBC News, BBC Media Player and Skype.
I've done a fair bit of searching and just can't find an answer for this server error problem.
The SO-question Android error while retrieving information from server 'RPC:s-5:AEC-0' in Google Play?
might provide some help. Several of the answers suggest removing and then re-adding your Google account to the Play Store will fix the issue (a reboot may be required).
A similar advice can be found at AndroidCentral:

added my second Google account. I then went to the Play Store > [MENU] Accounts and selected the new account I had added, followed by switching back to the previous account. This resolved the issue for me.

Alternatively it's just waiting for Google to fix the issue.

I have this issue with my tablet and found that saving all my important info and factory resetting the tablet. once I had done this I set up a new g-mail account. so basically starting a fresh. this worked and did not show the error msg any more (RPC:S-5:AEC-O). HOPE THIS HELPS

This is a really extreme solution. It certainly works, but is probably the thing to do if everything else failed


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How frequently is it okay to let the battery discharge fully or as low as possible?
I know that atleast once or twice a month a full battery drain and then a 100% charge helps increase the battery life and also gives more accurate battery readings.
I was wondering, how frequently is it okay to let it drain as low as possible or to zero?
Like is it okay even if done most of the times(or all the times) or it should not be done more than like say max 5-6 times a month or so??
Thankyou!

Fully discharging a lithium-ion (or lithium-polymer) battery is generally not advised, actually. It was common for older NiCad batteries, but the chemistry of Li-Ion/Li-Po batteries is rather different. Related questions: When should I start charging my Lithium battery?, Battery Life and First Time Charging on Li-ion Batteries. Myth?

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_charge_when_to_charge_table

once or twice a month a full battery drain and then a 100% charge helps increase the battery life

That is incorrect, a full discharge is never beneficial to LiON battery capacity. The battery life of a LiON battery is dependant mostly on temperature, discharge rate, and age. In fact, low charge state actually is harmful to LiON battery capacity; although modern batteries have circuits that tells the system to shutdown before it became really harmful to the battery, it is best for LiON battery to be plugged in as often as is convenient.

also gives more accurate battery readings.

As for calibrating battery meter by full discharge-recharge, that is partially true. Modern smart battery comes with a microchip to keep track of the state of charge. The following is a quote from HP regarding Smart Battery System in their laptops:

Repeated short discharges and recharges cause increasing inaccuracy between the state-of-charge of the battery and the Power Meter readings. Periodically, the battery needs to be calibrated to "relearn" its usable capacity so it can synchronize its charge status with the Power Meter. ... The user simply has to periodically discharge the battery until the 5% capacity alarm is received. The need to perform this procedure will vary with individual use. In general, a Li-Ion battery should be calibrated a minimum of once every 3 months. A battery that is seldom discharged completely should be calibrated about once a month.

and the following is from Battery University:

How often does a battery need calibrating? The answer depends on the application. For practical purposes, a calibration should be done once every three months or after 40 partial cycles. If the portable device applies a periodic deep discharge on its own, no additional calibration will be needed.

The need for calibration comes from the mismatch between the battery's chemistry and the microchip that estimates the battery's state of charge. This mismatch develops over numerous partial discharge, although unlike the memory effect in NiCad battery, it does not affect the battery's actual chemical capacity and is reversible by letting the battery relearn its bottom and top charge state. Do not do calibration too often since deep discharge does permanently harm LiON's actual capacity.

For this question you might want to check with the Wikipedia article on LiIo batteries. Quoting:

Avoid deep discharge (depletion) and instead charge more often between uses. The smaller the depth of discharge, the longer the battery will last.
Avoid storing the battery in full discharged state. As the battery will self-discharge over time, its voltage will gradually lower, and when it is depleted below the low-voltage threshold (2.4 to 2.9 V/cell, depending on chemistry) it cannot be charged anymore because the protection circuit (a type of electronic fuse) disables it. [...]
The rate of degradation of Lithium-ion batteries is strongly temperature-dependent; they degrade much faster if stored or used at higher temperatures and may even be stored in a refrigerator.

The first point already answers your question: You'd better avoid to "deep discharge" your battery. Best is to always keep it on 50% or up, but 20% should already "cry" for a charger. There's no memory effect or the like, so no need for that.
You might refer to the so-called "battery calibration" -- which today is called a myth by most, as explained by Google developer Dianne Hackborne.
If you think a "full charging cycle" (that is what you describe) might be useful from time to time (also see Lie Ryan's answer for this), make the interval between them as large as possible. IMHO multiple times a month is much too much -- once every 3 month should be enough. In that timeframe it might even accidentally happen you nearly "run out of juice" unwittingly, so you can use that "chance".

Dianne debunked the myth of doing battery calibration by deleting batterystats.bin; in her post, she is not addressing calibrating battery by doing a full discharge-recharge cycle. In particular, she does not claim that all kinds of battery calibration is a myth.

@LieRyan you're absolutely correct -- though that's what most people think (especially those not having read her post personally, which I did yesterday and got my surprise). First time I read about the real need for any calibration claimed by the producer is right now in your answer, quoting HP and Battery University. Thanks a lot for those sources!

Does that mean connect the battery to the charger when not in use?

It means there isn't a "connect too often" – but you should avoid full discharge whenever possible.

Lithium batteries were invented to avoid the issue of the 80% charge on the balance of power....
Charging at anytime has NO effect on the battery...
Older batteries could only charge 80% ow the empty cycle...but NOT true with Lithium ion or polymer batteries...
Charge anytime, any amount...no problem


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What causes the error "No certificate found in USB storage." when trying to import a certificate?
I have a Samsung S3 with Android 4.04 and to get on my WiFi at work I need to install a certificate .p12 file.  So, I navigate to "Security and lock screen"-->"Install from device storage."  BUT instead of giving me a field to specify the location of my cert ( on /mnt/extSdCard )  it just says "No certificate found in USB storage."
There are some USB devices ( called "UsbDriveA" through "UsbDriveF" in my /mnt folder) but I cannot copy the cert onto them because they are read-only.
So, how do I get this certificate imported?  I tried using "Android Certificate Installer" from the app store and that didn't work for me either: it launches a browser and the browser fails to prompt for the cert password.

I figured out a workaround.  The workaround is to download a File Manager tool and then double click the .p12 cert, which opens up and prompts for the password.   I still don't know why the control panel doesn't do what it suggests, but at least I found a solution.

If you don't know which file manager to use - I successfully applied the workaround via OI File Manager - OI FIle Manager seems to be open-source and comes with sane permissions.

My guess is that it wants the cert to be in a particular spot (and possibly to have a particular name).
From Google's support pages, we see that the cert has to be at the root of your phone's INTERNAL storage, not external.


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Using sponge to act as a stylus pen for Android phone and tablet?
I am amazed that one can create a DIY stylus pen for Android phones and tablets using the sponge as shown in this video.
Is it true or it is simply just a fake video?

Any material that will conduct the electricity stored in the body to the screen will work.

You need material like conductive foam

It is true. But not all touch screen phones work well with this.
The capacitive touch screens that we find in most android phones these days work by detecting electrical disturbances from our body. The 'sponge' used in these DIYs are electrically conducting foam and they transfer the charge of our body through it, thus registering touches.
On the other hand, these sponge tipped styluses obviously won't work well with resistive touch screens unless you apply some amount of pressure.

ANY conductive material will work! A battery in your fingers; a piece of tissue, wet at the tip; AND an alcohol prep pad! just to name a few...

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


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How to share a Google+ public post outside of the Google+ app?
Most apps share their content out to other apps based on intents on the phone. The Google+ app's share feature only seems to generate another Google+ post. How can I share a  Google+ public post outside of the app from the app itself? For example, to send a link of the post to Twitter, Messenger, Facebook, etc.
I can't believe Google would cauterize sharing from a service as important to them as Google+ when most other popular social apps can share freely among each other. Copy & paste of the URL is dated and onerous on Android.

Tap the post you want to share
Open the overflow menu (three vertical dots)
Tap "Link"

You'll receive a message: "Post link copied to clipboard."

You can now paste that link to whatever sharing mechanism you'd like

Not the same as using the Android Share function, but, again, Google+ is not alone in doing this. I don't know when this function was added to the G+ app.
Of course, it only works for Public posts.

Excellent news, thank you.  It's worth noting this technique only works on public posts, as it should.

The simple answer
You cannot.
Expanded Answer
The share button on Google+ posts in the app is called the 'resharing' button - it is just like retweeting on twitter (as most people probably know).
There is currently no way to share Google+ content to other Social Networking/Messaging/Chat apps etc - this is by design of the app, and cannot be changed.
The only way to do this would be to ask Google to implement this feature, or to decompile the app and add it yourself (which would be obviously very difficult).
The Conclusion
So, I know that this isn't what you wanted to hear, but I am afraid that no-one will be able to give you a 'correct' answer to this question, as there is no way to share Google+ content outside Google+ using the Google+ application.

Thank you. It's a shame, that fact, because that limitation makes me shy away from G+ on my mobile device in favour of other services in which sharing of content is more open and easy. Even with the official Twitter mobile client I can share out to many other services in addition to simply retweeting.

One thing I've found since making this post and assigning a bounty is that G+ Public posts aren't visible unless user's are logged into their Google account through a Google service like Gmail, Google+, etc.  So in a way, there's the question of: why would a user want to share out a public G+ post when it's still behind the Google wall in a way, and not necessarily immediately accessible to the masses from other platforms.

While it may be difficult to share a "post" (including comments), sharing the URL of a link which was posted should be relatively easy: a simple way to achieve this is to have an app which appears like a web-browser (and thus appears in the "open with" menu when you tap to open a link), and then automatically opens a "share with" menu using this link as the content to be shared (just as if it were a URL "shared" from a web-browser app).  I haven't found such an app yet, but making one would be straightforward. (yes, this can be done slowly by opening link in browser / then sharing)

In order to share a link from Google+ (not a link to a G+ post, but a link shared from a post), you can use an app which appears as a web-browser, and then passes the URL on as a share intent, opening the share menu.
I described this in my comment on Liam W's answer, and finally did find an app that does what I described, called Browser Intercept - Share URL.  Works like a charm!

As everyone stated, this is a feature inexplicably missing in the google+ app.
(If I were Vic I would have resigned in shame too)
Google+ only copies the link to the clipboard.
But we can use Clipboard manager to share the content of the clipping to other applications.

And you can be notified when a link is copied to the clipboard:


text:
Installing downloaded apks from external site
I have just downloaded APK files of a software from a website to my laptop. My question is if I install this on my phone, will it be installed in the phone memory or in the SD card memory?
I couldn't find any related question, so asking here.

Any apk files installed in your device usually stay on its internal memory. The apk configuration defines whether the app should stay on the mobile's internal memory completely, or it may shift a few resource files (images, etc.) to the sd card. The main files (technically: the java class files and layout files) remain on the internal memory of the device.
This may be changed if your device is rooted, and you have partitioned your sd card to allow installations on it (technically: EXT4 extension replacing the FAT32 extension of a part of your sdcard, which won't be accessible to the user from the device as a Mass Storage).
Apps2SD is an app which eases the process of shifting apps capable of transferring resources from apk to sdcard, so as to free up some memory on the internal memory. The app does not help install apks on sd card.
Hope this helps.

It very much depends on the app you want to install, and what the developer of that app decided to be the preferred install location. See: App Install Location on developer.android.com:

Beginning with API Level 8, you can allow your application to be installed on the external storage (for example, the device's SD card). This is an optional feature you can declare for your application with the android:installLocation manifest attribute.
[...]
If you declare "preferExternal", you request that your application be installed on the external storage, but the system does not guarantee that your application will be installed on the external storage. If the external storage is full, the system will install it on the internal storage. The user can also move your application between the two locations.
If you declare "auto", you indicate that your application may be installed on the external storage, but you don't have a preference of install location. The system will decide where to install your application based on several factors. The user can also move your application between the two locations.

The linked article contains a lot more details, but they are rather targeted at the developer. Above quotes however are the ones referring to your question. For a final answer, there are two choices: a) simply try and see, or b) ask the developer.

It will be installed on your phone memory(internal SD card).
But you can move that app to your External memory card using this application.

Not really. It depends. Especially on Froyo and above, the app is sometimes moved to the sd card

I think he referred phone memory as RAM. Because he tagged RAM in his question.

Wrong tags.. his question however clearly mentions about "phone memory OR sd card memory" and RAM has nothing to do with these.


text:
Using an Android device as a web server
How do I use my Android device as a web server by with an IP address and port? Just like a Wifi file transfer app in the Play Store?

Could you elaborate a bit more on what you want to achieve? Taken literally, this is impossible (the device is hardware, which cannot be transferred to software (yet)).

Check ths app in link the app give ip and port which shows all files inside the sd card..

And? If that does what you want to do, your question has answered itself. I still don't get what you're asking for. The tags you provided help neither to get a clear idea (also a bit confusing). One more guess: maybe you don't mean "transfer", but "How to use an Android device as web server"?

Exactly.. I want my android device to work as a remote web server..

OK. Updated your tags accordingly to avoid confusion. Answer follows.

Android itself does not provide such a facility (as to my knowledge). But there are a bunch of web servers available in the playstore. A German overview on AndroidPIT sums up some of them (grouped into suitable targets): Webserver (Google Translate's English variant: Webserver).
Some examples include static content webservers like e.g. kWS - Android Web Server and ServDroid.web, plain "HTTP file servers" like File Expert and WiFi File Transfer, more complex things even offering scripting support such as PAW Server for Android, or all-in-one solutions like Servers Ultimate.

If you mean enable web server on phone - there a lot of servers on market, but for file transfer (s)ftp is more usable.
ES File explorer last versions support this, as example, or
WiFi FileTransfer, that less functional on device, but easier for use (freeware version has 4 Mb file size limit).


text:
Why are there so many tty files in the /dev directory?
It is confusing that there are so many tty files in the /dev directory...

By the way, what does each file in /dev stand for? Do they stand for physical devices which are part of my Android device? For example, which file stands for the raw storage device in the /dev directory?

That's because there are so many devices available. Entries in /dev are not restricted to physical devices, but also include logical ones. You just named one: TTY. You don't really think you've got 63 "connectors" somewhere to attach keyboards etc. to? Also, /dev/random is nothing physical, but rather "software" (a random-number generator provided by the system itself). Same applies to things like /dev/null, /dev/zero, and several others.
For more/deeper details, you might refer to following articles:

Linux Filesystem Hierarchy
Device file (Wikipedia) -- recommended for this topic, as it explicitly included Pseudo-devices
Linux System Administrator's Guide - The / dev directory

Not all devices at /dev are physical, some of them are logical and may be temporary needed by kernel/software (and some of them are symlinks, like log_modem -> /dev/ttyACM2).
And, as I see, you have default linux tty count. It's not used (reserved and may be used), but it's no problem.

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


text:
Phone added contact unfindable
My phone's contacts are synced with my Google and Facebook accounts. Whenever I add a contact through my phone it gets synced to my Google Account. Wonderful... Ok I usually send them a text message to let them know my number and then through my browser I'll add a picture and so forth, all that good stuff. Now under the 'Messages' application on my phone. (Where all my sms activity goes on) I can see this contact with their new picture and our conversation. However If I go to the 'Phonebook' application (the app that manages my phone's contacts) and I do a search for that name, nothing comes up. They are clearly already in my phone since through the Messages app I cannot add them again, but they are not find-able.
What am I doing erroneously??

Are you sure you have setting to display ALL the contacts?

In the People Application
Press the drop down next to phonebook and you can fine tune your contacts better. I had the phone tag checked and not the all contacts checked. I opted to switch to all contacts and have my phone filter out those without phone numbers automatically.
The alternative is to add a phone tag to each contact I want in my phone.


text:
Where can I get the QR code for an app on the Play Store?

Possible Duplicate:
What’s the easiest way to create a QR code for a link?

I searched the site, and I've searched google with no answer. Posting QR code images on a webpage is convenient, because a person can just point their phone at their screen to download a new app. Where can I get the QR code for an app on the Play Store?

There's also this question on Stack Overflow: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4755574/create-qr-code-to-app-in-market

The QR codes are not provided on the play store. You can create the QR code yourself by pasting the url to the app in a generator like goqr.me.

If you want to create a QR code of the play store apps from within the android itself, first install QR Droid. Then open play store from your android, click on any app and use the "share" option in the play store. Then select "QR Droid" in the list. This should get you the QR Code.


text:
Why does GPS not work in a train?
GPS signal strength is Zero while I'm in a (electric) train.
Why is does my device not get a GPS fix in a train?

In some trains you sit like inside an Faraday cage, as they even metallized the windows -- thus no signal can get through. That's also why you have special "mobile phone" zones in some trains: Here they placed something like a little "repeater" inside this section of the train, capturing the signal from outside the cabin (and transmitting it back the same way, of course). However, they don't do that for GPS.

And, AFAICT, they even couldn't, as that would affect the signal run time.

Even if they could, that would somehow defeat the purpose: you wouldn't get your position, but the position of their GPS antenna – where you cannot tell how far from your place it is and it which of two directions (towards front or rear of the train). Still, it would be sufficient in many cases, as for the speed of the train direction and distance to the antenna might be quite irrelevant :)


text:
How can I install customized Android OS?
I want to install customized Android OS in my Samsung Galaxy III.
Can we do that or not ?
If we can not do with Galaxy III, then is there any other phone on which we can do the same?
Thanks In Advance

I want to customize android OS for specific requirement . For that I need to install that OS instead of the default OS provided with the Galaxy III by Samsung. Is it possible ?

customized OS means I am going to do code change in android source code and wanted to install that in a mobile again.

Are you talking about the galaxy 3 or the galaxy s3?

Yes, you can, but you need to use a compatible ROM (if you don't want to break your phone). But before flashing it's recommended to read forums, where potential and actual problems with ROM are described.
Example: XDA Developers forums, Android Development subforums for you device (ROM are hardware specific).
Every phone with unlocked or possible to unlock bootloader.

You will have to create your own custom rom, e.g. customize the AOSP build, which is the most standard Android version you can imagine, no extra's from HTC or Samsung etc.

Have you tried using a custom launcher first? Nova and Apex (among others) give you a stock AOSP feel with many extras including the ability to use custom icon packs. You can get a customized look and feel without the warranty concerns that come with rooting and custom ROMs.


text:
How often does Android refresh the battery statistics listed in the Settings?
Does anyone know how often Android refreshes battery statistics? This screen is Settings > Battery. This may only apply to Android versions >4.0.

final: it took me 1 minute to get my app visible in the list

I believe it is real-time. Meaning, the stats are always updated as the battery is being drained (or charged).

To my knowledge it is. And the term "battery stats" might be a bit misleading here -- it's rather a statistic on how/which apps "sucked on it" ;)

You can check the source code of battery history and battery history part of Settings. I hadn't got time to properly check it out, but from an initial scan, I think it's updated every time the app is started. The file from which the app generates the statistic however, batterystats.bin, is probably collected at real time as the system starts and kills apps and system services are turned on and off.

first link says at line 323 Returns the total time (in 1/100 sec) spent executing in user code. I think this is it, right?

@Lumma: I believe that's referring to real/user/sys time


text:
Use speakerphone mic (i.e., high gain) while headphones are connected
With a Galaxy Note 2, when answering a call with headphones (but not a headset) connected, the audio output goes through the headphones and the inbuilt microphone works as though it were a normal call (so it's too quiet when it's a few inches away). When I switch to speakerphone, it ignores the headphones entirely and audio output switches to inbuilt speaker.
Basically, I'd like to talk to people with my phone on my desk and a pair of conventional headphones.


text:
What do the names means in settings > application manager > current app?
In settings>application manager><your app> we got some infos about her.
What do they means? I am quite confused.
I really need to know it but somehow its quite hard to guess. Where can I get that full descibed information about this stats?
The most important things to know (first):

Total
Application
Data

Thanks in advance.

Total = Application + Data
Application = Size of APK file of the app
Data = Space consumed by /data/data/<Package_Name_of_App> (it contains data stored by the app)

Other stats details:

If Force Stop button is active, it means the app is running in background. You can use this button to stop the app from running.
Cache section shows how much data the app has stored in /cache partition.
If Clear Defaults button is active, it means the app is set as default to complete an action like sending email, open URL etc. You can tap this button to clear default(s).
On the same page, you can get list & small description about Permissions the app has. If you need explanation of Permissions, check this article out.


text:
Samsung Galaxy S3 random reboot during clipboard use
I have a UK sim-free Samsung Galaxy S3. It's had official OTA updates only, and is not rooted or modified in any way.  It's running Jelly Bean.
Since getting the Jelly Bean upgrade it's possible to get the phone to reboot by using cut and paste functionality.  I've achieved this with both the Gmail app and Chrome.  I've seen it on other people's phones too.  I've performed a factory reset and the problem continues.
To reproduce, load up Chrome and then long-press on any webpage with text, select a little text, and then either press the highlighted text or the copy to clipboard icon (two overlapping rectangles).  After between 1 and 20 attempts, my phone will reboot.  Sometimes it will reboot when I paste something; for example a URL into the URL bar at the top of Chrome's screen.
I've not been able to reproduce this on the stock browser, despite a number of attempts, nor on any other apps (apart from Gmail).
I'd be interested to hear if any other people are affected by this.

When I read your question it sounded like a Chrome bug to me.
I looked around, and YES, it's a bug on Samsung's multi-entry clipboard feature, and it's been reported here.
Here are two things you can do to fix this:
(1) If your phone is rooted, delete the contents of "/data/clipbord/*".
(2) OR, Do a factory reset.

factory reset? I would think that's a pretty lame solution... the best the OP can do, is root it and carry out option 1 instead of losing their data and apps... :)

@t0mm13b Edited my post. Added "OR". :D

that's cool :) No worries :)

Has that been fixed yet?


text:
No incoming messages on whatsapp if internet isn't turned on
I have an HTC and I downloaded my whatsapp from the market place but now I don't receive any incoming messages unless I turn on my internet. Is there a way for me to get my messages without having the internet turned on.

um... troll question?

How, pray tell, do you expect to receive messages without network connectivity. Giving the benefit of the doubt here: Do you perhaps mean Wi-Fi?

The description explicitly says it "uses 3G or Wifi" to communicate with your friends.

I guess he probably thought that whatsapp would (or should?) function as a SMS client

Your HTC, huh? Yeah, I wish they'd hurry up and release a second phone.

@Power-Inside: That's the only logical explanation.

WhatsApp uses Internet to send / receive messages (or images, videos, etc.)! There's no way you can send / receive messages without Internet!!
Quote from WhatsApp website:

WhatsApp Messenger uses the same internet data plan that you use for
  email and web browsing...


text:
Wildcards in proxy bypass list
My LG LS840 Viper 4G LTE (Sprint) recently upgraded to 4.0/ICS. Under 2.3/GB the proxy settings had been disabled entirely, but I am now able to set up per-network proxy settings for the various WiFi networks I attach to. Except—
Is there a way to add wildcards to the proxy bypass list? On (say) “Work WiFi” I can add example.com to the proxy bypass list, but not *.example.com. If any of the entries in the list have an asterisk, the Save button is disabled.
Is this a limitation in Android, or one which Sprint & LG have imposed on me? Is there a work-around?
ETA: A coworker running into a similar issue wit Cyanogenmod suggested .example.com (leading dot, no asterisk); this work-around works for him, but my phone rejects this form as well.

Looking at this CyanogenMod source code (which, according to the file history, does not actually have any CyanogenMod-specific changes), I see that the initial dot in proxy bypass list elements is just ignored, and an initial wildcard is implied — that is, you can write either example.com or .example.com in the list, and this entry will match example.com, a.example.com, a.b.example.com, … (note that any number of subdomain levels can be matched, unlike, e.g., with *.example.com in an SSL certificate).
If your phone does not actually work this way (e.g., you add example.com to the proxy bypass list, but www.example.com still goes through the proxy), either this code was modified by the phone vendor, or a particular app is using its own implementation of bypass list matching instead of the system-provided code.


text:
Forgot security lock pattern on Jelly Bean device with Wifi and 3G data turned off
I forgot my security lock pattern and my Wifi and 3G connections are switched off. I can hard reset the phone (Galaxy Nexus) from recovery mode, but that would wipe all my data.
ADB is also turned off so I cannot recover my data unless there is a way to turn on ADB while the phone is locked. I understand that ClockWorkMod recovery turns ADB on automatically when it is installed.

Do I need to root the phone to install ClockWorkMod?
If yes, can I root the phone while it is locked?
Is there any other way to recover the data from the phone before I reset it?

Since the FBI cannot bypass the screen lock, i guess you will not. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/fbi-android-phone-lock/

@Intrepidd This is the correct answer. It's not doable. The phone must either have USB debugging on or it's bootloader should have been previously unlocked. I'll mark this as the correct answer if you post it.

@Intrepidd FBI can't but you can bypass it. :P

@Zak Just trace the smudges on the screen if you can.

@avirk Those are long gone :)

See also: Cannot unlock tablet as have no internet connection?

Since the FBI cannot bypass the screen lock, I guess you will not. Check out http://wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/fbi-android-phone-lock

If your bootloader is not unlocked already, you will need to unlock the bootloader in order to flash the ClockWorkMod recovery.  Unlocking the bootloader wipes the device.  So as far as I know, that won't be an option for you.
Perhaps you have seen this toolkit to root the Nexus.  It looks promising, but I would bet it won't work without USB debugging / ADB enabled.  It may be worth a shot anyway.  If it doesn't work, you will still be in the same boat.
Alternatively, you could just keep trying lock screen patterns.  Hopefully muscle memory will kick in.
EDIT:
To use the toolkit, you need to know your build number.  See this thread for some info that might helph you figure out what your's is.  If you can't narrow it down enough, you might be able to use the Android *.*.* Any Build option for your carrier.  Since you mentioned Jelly Bean, we can assume the build will be 4.1.*  This doesn't give you the exact one you need, but it will help some.  Based on the FAQs for the toolkit, it looks like you should be able to use the Android *.*.* Any Build, but you must select the right version for your carrier. If you want more info on this, post your carrier and region (US, Korea, etc.) and we can probably narrow things down a little more.

I would vote you up for that excellent toolkit, but I still don't have enough reputation. This hasn't solved it for me yet, mainly because it asks for the build number when it starts up, and I can't get the number because my phone is obviously locked and I'm afraid to pick a random build number, fearing that I might brick my phone.

@Zak I updated my answer to give you a little information about the build numbers.  It might be enough to solve your issue.  If you are satisfied with my answer, you can always choose the check mark to mark it as the answer to your question.

Normally after five unsuccessful attempts you will be prompted with forget password option. Your Google email and its password will be asked and upon successful verification you will be able to unlock. This will work even without Internet connection. At least this certainly works in ginger bread loaded LG P500

This doesn't work on my Galaxy Nexus (Jelly Bean)

You can reset it very easily with just few steps. I have tested it myself.
1: Enter wrong pattern 5 times and wait for 30 seconds.

2: Select “Next” and enter your G-mail account username and password or you can answer your security question as well. Now just login in your G-mail account and when you authenticated to your G-mail account then the screen will unlock.

Make sure you use the same account that was used to activate the phone and double check the password by logging in to that Google account in a browser.

This won't work with Wifi and 3G data connection turned off.

My bad forget about your data connection. Well did you not set up any security question?


text:
Can I hide a specific Google Now place card?
Google Now is very cool, and I like how it shows places you may be interested in nearby.
I'm wondering though, is there any way to tell it "No, I'm not interested in that place, please don't show it to me again"?
Note that I don't want to turn off the nearby places cards entirely, I want to see those, I just want to dismiss specific places and not see cards for them again.
Can I do this?
Note also, if there is a way, it doesn't necessarily need to be in Google Now, ... if there's even a way to go on the web and add the place to an ignore list or something or anything.

You can swipe them away, but I don't think that prevents them from coming back.

No, it definitely does not. I keep swiping it away, and it keeps coming back.

An individual place can be swiped away, but there is no way to tell Google Now to never show you a specific place again.


text:
rooted android JB 4.1.1 razr m , Map network drive with VPN
So I established a VPN using openVPN app on my phone. My phone has an IP and everything on the network. What I would like to do now is browse the network drives remotely and possibly download files to my phone or open them using quick office. Is this possible?? I have done a bit of research but all the questions concerning mapped network drives are for computers.
I usually just use "net use" in my .bat file to automatically connect to network drives with a user name and password when I have a VPN running for the same network on my laptop.
Any help would be much appreciated!

Check out this superuser link: http://superuser.com/questions/145191/how-do-i-map-a-drive-network-share-using-the-linux-terminal


text:
Where are all the statusbar icons stored so that I can change them?
I have a rooted phone and would like to change my ugly status icons to the ICS ones...
I used this app to do so but I could change only the battery icon. When I wrote to the developer, he replied that the icons do get replaced but my phone is still using the old ones from another location where they might be stored too as backup or something I guess.
How do I find this alternate place where they are stored?
Is there a fixed predefined place for it?
Here is a snap of the reply from the developer -
" Changing icons and files in your system is something that Android was never meant to be capable of doing and because of this it makes it difficult to work on every Android device. The themes and icons provided in the app were pre-created and meant to work on the majority of devices. The app searches your system for matching icons and if no icons match in your system it does it’s best to find the best match. You can see what icons will be changed when you go to install a theme or icon pack.
Even after the icons are changed the theme might not work with your system. Many devices have unused icons used in other devices. On many of the problems we hear about the icons actually did change but your system used icons from a different location. If you have the T-Mobile Theme Chooser and are using a theme or your system is using icons from a different location then the theme will not work. Also, if your device isn’t deodexed the theme will not work. "

Edit

I read about odex and deodex from here. Can I install only the deodexed file of the statusbar instead of the complete rom? and how do I deodex it?

The Status bar icons are found in SystemUI.apk  which is placed in /system/app/ folder. Use APK tool guide and decompile the SystemUI.apk file and follow this guide to make some mods as you wish.
I have used this apk to change the signal icons, mobile data icons (H, E etc), Battery 1% Modification etc.

Are you running the stock ROM for your phone? If not, try a custom ROM like CyanogenMOD or AOKP.I've had far better results with themes running a custom ROM.

no! there is no cm for my phone! I have a micromax a52 and the xda developers,or rater any developers couldnt root the phone for 6 long months! they could not find the boot.img file at all! they got it through some undisclosed ways/sources and finally rooted it! so basically a simple root itself was quite difficult to achive and so no custom rom is yet available! and i dont think CM would ever even be!

The icons are stored in the /system/framework, inside an apk called framework-res.apk which is referenced by framework.jar file.
Caveat Emptor:

Interfering with it could cause the handset to boot-loop due to
mismatched discrepancies, if the apk was recompiled, the
framework.jar file could have difficulty in loading the resources
(hence part of the filename has this -res.apk).

Also, it would need to be re-signed with the system ROM's certificate which would be tricky to achieve if the keys are not present.


text:
How to migrate applications to other user account without downloading the applications again?
I created a new user in Nexus 7 but it doesn't have any applications already installed in primary user. I don't want to move/share any app data like scores/progress. I want the apps/games to appear as newly installed in new user. The reason for this is to create a guest user so that I can safely give my tablet to friends/kids who just want to play games.

If your device is rooted, you might want to take a look at Multi-User App Share. This app permits the owner to "share" installed apps with other users (which shares the apps only, not their data), so they don't need to be installed again. According to the app description and comments, this even works for paid apps (at least partly -- this feature is not yet fully tested).
For the other part (without root), see the answer of Penguinolog.

If you have root, I have created an app – AppShare – that will do exactly what you want, similar to the app suggested by Izzy but a bit more polished and user-friendly (at least I think so!).
Paid apps will most likely require you to add the Google account that you purchased the app with to the secondary (guest) account or else they will probably fail the licence check. This may vary from app to app though.

You will have no problems with free apps though, and you should even be able to disable system apps such as Gmail etc.

If application installed to you main profile, install on second profile will be with fake downloaded, but second profile requires market.
If second account hasn't market, you can manually backup apks to PC and install to second user, but it's illegal for payed apps and some apps will not work because of license issues.

Go into the new profile and enter play store...hit the top left 'play store 'icon go to my apps.... scroll to the one you want ..hit it and it gives the option to install.. hope this helps... took me ages to work it out.. :-)