Getting the most from your battery

I came across this article recently, whit possibly the best explanation of how to improve Android device battery use.

http://m.androidcentral.com/keeping-your-charge-how-improve-battery-life-your-android-phone

App Development Tips & Tricks

Here's a few tips and tricks in developing Android apps using Eclipse.

1. Don't try to run a project while you've got an XML file open and active - Eclipse will create an *.out.xml file and fail to run. Delete the out.xml, close (or make inactive) the XML file you had open, then run the project again.

2. Eclipse usually rebuilds a project when you edit any aspect of it. but it will only recreate the apk file when you run it in the emulator (or on an attached device). If you want the recreate the apk without having to run (as I do sometimes when I've made minor changes and I just want to update the apk) there's an option in Eclipse for that: in Eclipse --> Preference, search for Build. You'll see Android-->Build, and uncheck the Skip Pacakging... option.

3. If you don't use a version/source control system, you can revert to a previous version of code by using the Local History option. Right-click a file within a project and choose Replace With --> Local History and browse for the file. Otherwise install something like Subversion.

Top 10 or so Android Apps

I was asked for my recommendations on the top apps a new Android user should install. So here they are (in no particular order)!

1. FreePower Widget (free). Home screen widget that lets you toggle on/off key settings like Wi-fi, GPS etc. Nicely customisable. Every phone needs this on the home screen.

2.1 QuickPic (free). I've never been satisfied with the stock photo galleries. QuickPic is a great little galley app with a host of options.

2.2 Photo Days (free). Another gallery, but what I love about this one is that it groups your photos by date. A godsend when looking for specific photos for a particular month.

3. RemindMe (free). A very simple reminder app. Nothing fancy, just does a good job of reminding you!

4. WhatsApp (free for a year). Multi-platform messaging app.

5. QuickSettings (free). Quickly turn on/off important settings.

6 Dolphin Browser Mini (free). A nice, simple, tabbed browser.

Getting more technical now:


7 Tasker. This task manager lets you automate the process you'd otherwise have to manually do. For example, I've set it to dim my screen around 6pm, turn on Airplane Mode at 11pm, turn the volume to vibrate at 8pm, and send an SMS to my bank every morning. Though it is a paid app, it's worth every penny.


8 Go Launcher Ex (free). This home screen replacement lets you discard the often limited or staid home screen functionality for something far more productive.

9 Ed's Backup Utility (free). Lets you backup your phone's SD card to your PC. An absolutely brilliant app that lets you schedule the copying of (new) photos over to your PC when you're connected to a particular wi-fi network. A little tricky to set up (since you'll need to know local and remote folder paths) but well worth the effort if you value your photos.

And finally, a couple of essential apps for a rooted phone:

10 AdAway (free). A very effective ad blocker.

11 ClockSync (free). I don't know why my provider's clock is always a couple of minutes off, but this fixes it by querying atomic time.

Reason To Be Rooted, Parts I, II and III

1: You can then install an ad-blocker like AdAway.
2: You can use a clock syncing app like ClockSync
3: You can uninstall pre-installed 'bloatware' apps

Your next Android...

Here's a good article on what to look for when choosing your (next) Android phone. Personally, I'd look for RAM, onboard storage, good battery life, and a front-facing camera.

What to look for in your next Android phone

Android & IPhone dominate smartphone market

"With 38 percent a piece, Android and iOS devices double the next closest platform, RIM, who sits at 19 percent of the pie.  As good as things are for Android today, they look to get even better in the future.  According the findings, more developers are looking at Android (29 percent) for 2011 than any other OS (SEE BELOW).  "

http://www.androidguys.com/2010/12/14/millennial-media-android-remains-tied-iphone-smart-phone-os-share/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+androidguyscom+%28AndroidGuys%29

Speeding up a sluggish phone

Here's a good article on what you can do to speed up a sluggish, overloaded phone.