Posts tagged Android
Android app: Y5 - Battery Saver

 

Recently I did a factory reset on my Android phone and I noticed an app, that I had taken for granted, was missing.  Every time I stepped into a hot-spot my WiFi would turn on and when I left it would turn off.  This app had worked so well that I though it was feature of Android. I guess not. I had installed the app Y5- Batter Saver.  This app simply did what was mentioned above. Turn on your WiFi when you had saved a hotspot to the phone and when it was out of range it would turn off WiFi and turn on your wireless carries data.  Simple as that! Also it worth mentioning that your phone wastes less battery on WiFi than on 3G/4G connection.

 

Andriod, Cell PhonesJuan ZepedaAndroid, app, battery, saver, wifi, y5Comment
App of the Week: Gesture Search (Android)

Each Tuesday we will feature a smartphone app of the week either iOS or Android compatible. Gesture Search by Google is an application that enables the user to search their phone's contents via writing, using your fingers instead of the conventional typing.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="124" caption="Image from Android Market Place"][/caption]

After installing via the Market the application indexes the contents on your phone. The time required to index may vary depending on the amount of content on your phone. You may also have it index the contents of your phone in the background when using the Gesture Search for the first time. Gesture Search utilizes image processing amongst other technical details to recognize what letter you are writing and provides list of potential  content that may match up what you are trying to spell.

For example,

Step 1: Draw a letter, let's say 'H'

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Image provided by Google"][/caption]

Step 2: Write the next letter. Note as you write the second letter, a list behind it is visible where you could select content that matches what you are looking for.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Image provided by Google"][/caption]

 

Step 3: Repeat Step 2 until the content that you are looking for on your phone is available for selection.

I found Gesture Search easy to use and prefer it over searching manually via multiple screens or using the on-screen keyboard. Note: My phone does not have a slide out QWERTY keyboard.

Gesture search is great for searching for contacts, website book marks, apps and more. I definitely recommend you give it a try.

Unfortunately, you need to launch it each time to use it, which is a good reason to have it on your home screen for easy access. Hopefully, in future releases you will be able to simply "Gesture Search" from your home screen.

 

Download via Market :

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.google.android.apps.gesturesearch

Andriod, Cell Phones, Graphical Interfaces, technologyJuan ZepedaAndroid, android market, app, application, Gesture, google, Search, smartphoneComment
Andriod Keyboard MOD
I love my HTC Evo, rooted with Cyanogen's latest ROM. The one drawback to my Evo and many other android phones is the keyboard. I have tried many different types and styles from Swype to Swiftkey and the stock HTC Sense keyboard but there was always something I didn’t like. I couldn’t change the language with out going into the settings, the emoticons were difficult to get to or  the  manually typed, keys that I wanted where missing and had others that I didn’t care much for. I wanted to be in control of my keyboard and customize it like I did to my Android device. With the new keyboard, I can use swipe commands to shift, change language, hide the keyboard, or delete the last word, I can also add custom emoticons, and much more.So enough small talk lets get to the goods. The customizable keyboard is called HTC IME (input method) MOD, based off of the HTC's Sense keyboard but so much better.  This is what you’ll need: HTC_IME.apk Clicker.apk (needed ONLY if you don’t have a phone with HTC Sense) Applications Manager (I use Astro File Manager)

First you’ll need to download Astro or some other File/App manager from the Android market. Next download the zip with both apks here. Place the apks on your sd card and install them with Astro. Once installed all you have to do is go to the Android settings -> Language & keyboard, under Keyboard Settings you’ll see HTC_IME mod and a check box next to it, check it to make it your primary input method. Below the check box you’ll see the settings menu click on that and customize to your hearts desire.

Try it out if you don’t like it you can always go back to what you had before but if you do like it and would like to donate to the developer jonsil please visit: http://android.hallerud.se/donate.html

If if there is something you don’t like and are feeling up to the challenge here’s the source code: http://www.hallerud.se/htc_ime_mod_dev27.zip

Andriod, Cell Phones, CustomizationJuan Zepedaandriod, Android, Astro, cell, customizable keyboard, hallerud, HTC, HTC IME MOD, keyboard settings, many different types, phone, Sense, touchscreen, web Comments
Want an Easy Way to Root Your Andriod Phone?

As Android phones get more popular people get interested in pushing their phones to the limit.  Like Apple's iOS devices you may in a form "jailbreak" to gain full access.  In Android it is not called Jailbreak . The word "root" is used.  This allows you to back up your Android phone, put custom ROM's and basically fully customize it.  Unrevoked allows you to download some software that will "root" your phone in one click.  I have done this with my Android Droid  Incredible. It was a simple step to gain access to the root structure and modified its contents. Below are the cellphones that are supported by Unrevoked. Have fun and enjoy  but I am not responsible for any damage to your phone.

  • Evo4G
  • Hero
  • Wildfire
  • Aria
  • Desire
  • Incredible

 

Cell PhonesJuan ZepedaAndroid, Apple, google, Incredible, ios, jailbreak, phone, root structure, Want, word rootComment
Black Friday Ads
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="180" caption="Image by Ian Muttoo via Flickr"]Best Buy, Toronto[/caption]

Black Friday is around the corner and it's that time of year when people go crazy over low prices. I have some friends who are doing a tailgate to gather some cheap electronics: flat screen TV's, hard drives and much more. I smell some very good deals. How would I know where to go? Some individuals leaked some ads  to some major stores. Below are some:

Cell Phones, Computer, technology, WebJuan ZepedaAndroid, Best Buy, Black Friday, Christmas and holiday season, facebook, Global Positioning System, High-definition television, Macy's, RadioShack, Retailing, Shopping, Target Corporation, ThanksgivingComment