Top 5 Android Apps I Can't Stop Using

I've been fiddling around with my HTC Tattoo for close to a month now and have had a chance to experiment on it in the last few weeks. Just like the way I distro-hop from one Linux distro to another, I just had to try and look for Android apps that would fit my needs. Here are 5 free apps that I have found useful for my mobile needs:

ASTRO File Manager- Just like FileZ on my Treo, I find I must have some sort of file manager to see what's taking up space, delete file I no longer use. ASTRO is a lot more useful than your vanilla file browser because of one simple feature -- cut and paste! I can cut (or copy) a file and move if somewhere else. Even more useful is the ability to choose multiple files to cut (or copy) and paste. It just makes managing files on the phone itself a whole lot easier. Another feature I appreciate is it's built-in ability to zip files. Makes emailing multiple files all the more easier. And yes, it supports attaching files to email, too!

Aldiko - An eBook reader is a must for me. I had 2 on my Treo (Adobe Reader for Palm OS and eReader) and I would be damned if I can't haz my eBooks. Aldiko has a a good interface that displays a visual bookshelf of the books that I have on my phone. Features that I find useful include the ability to change the reading into day and night mode (black text on white or white text on black) in 2 taps. It's the same with the Table of Contents, 2 taps. Another 2 taps takes me to a link to download books from Feedboks. 2 taps to a feature is always handy, don't ya think? There are some things I still need to get used to. In .epub books there are no page numbers. If I need to skip to a different part of the book, I need to move a bar that shows percentage or (if the book was formatted with chapter info) at the start of each chapter. Not that accurate if you're looking for a particular part of the book. I've started using bookmarks to get around that problem. Another niggle I have is that I have to import books into Aldiko. To import books I need to save them into a specific folder in the media card (ebooks/import). After that, I need to launch Aldiko and import the books before they can be listed in my bookshelf. Kind of tedious. Still, I'm starting to get used to it too.

Seesmic - I Twitter, so I must have a Twitter client. Seesmic has 3 features that I want and need. I can set it up to use my bit.ly account so I can track the links that I shorten. It also integrates posting pictures to Tweetphoto, yFrog, MobyPicture and Twitpic. I can also tweet my location, as it can use the phone's GPS. All three I can do while composing a tweet. That's a compelling enough reason for me to use it over Peep, the default Twitter client on the Tattoo. It also supports linking to videos using a Google/Youtube account, useful if your not shy about sharing your videos.

Handcent SMS - SMS is a given in any phone. Most phones already include the option for threaded conversation-style displays. Handcent ups the ante by giving me more customization options. I can send SMS to a group,very useful when optimizing Unlitext or sending out announcements. It has a handy pop- up that appears over the home screen that allows me to reply right away without going into Handcent itself. I can perform a search for text in messages. The shortcut on my home screen can display how many unread messages I have. It comes with it's own (optional) T9 keyboard. It even has a blacklist function, one feature I wish I will never have to use ;-). Overall, it has very useful features, it's customizable and it looks pretty just doing what it does.

ConvertPad - Who doesn't need to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius or MPG to KM/L from time to time? This app exhaustively covers every possible conversion that I've ever imagined myself asking about, including currency conversions (this requires internet access to update the rates). Kudos to MathPad.com for this great app!

Moving from Treo to Droid is about as harrowing as moving from XP to Windows 7. You stay with what you have because you've grown attached to it despite its age. The heir apparent doesn't offer much. You wait for the next compelling thing to come along. It eventually arrives after a long time. You hold back, thinking twice about moving on. Eventually you make the jump. So my experience has been limited mostly to finding Droid apps that mirror how I met my needs using my trustworthy old Treo. And that was what I was after, waiting all these years. I'm not regretting my decision to go for a Droid phone one bit. I have just what I need and more. The only thing I miss from my Treo use would have to be HomerSays :-)

Treo 650: Error 720B, Error 0x121A

I got these errors out of nowhere. When I tried to launch the web browser, it just stalls and shows Error 720B. When I tried opening my network settings I got Error 0x121A. So here's how I resolved it.


I tried searching for  Error 720B, but i couldn't find any references. I tried looking up Error 0x121A. I found this post in the Palm Forums: http://forums.palm.com/t5/Wireless-Providers/Looking-for-serious-help-here/m-p/199229/highlight/true#M4919. 


If you're a Treo 650 user, you probably know that if you insert a SIM in unlocked Treo, it will get the GPRS settings automatically from the network and just work. Well, as far as I can tell you get this error when that doesn't happen. But mine worked perfectly for almost a year since my last Zero Out reset. So it seems my phone sort of forgot what the network settings were. Bear in mind that when I say network, I only mean the GPRS (internet  and data) network settings, and not the phone network settings. The phone functions, calling and text messaging, were not affected. Well, except for MMS, since that is dependent on the phone's data connection.


Anyway, not wanting to do a hard reset which requires restoring all my apps afterwards, I tried a soft reset first. On Treo's that is done by taking the battery out for 10 seconds. I booted the phone up and it spent a little longer that usual to get a signal from Smart. After that I check on network settings and there were new entries for Smart GPRS, Smart Internet and Smart MMS. The damaged profiles where still there so I had to deleted them to clean it up. After that I tested it by sending an MMS to my wife and it started working again. 


Posting this because this information might come in handy for all you Treo 650 users, who like me still hold on to their tried and tested companion :-)

Dell's Upcoming Smartphones Leaked

After the purported 'lost' Apple iPhone4 development unit saw the light of Gizmodo, news of specifications and images of Dell's up an coming Smartphone line have been leaked. PCworld, FastCompany and Hothardware have all snapped up the news and come out with their own analysis of the Smartphone, pre release.Veritable Engadget has run a story on each of the new units starting with the Dell Lightning, then the Dell Thunder, the Dell Smoke and finally the Dell Flash.

According to the information had by Engadget the Dell Lightning is a Windows Phone 7 device. This will definitely occupy the high-end of the the line, as it has 3G, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor coupled with a 4.1-inch OLED touch screen. It also has a slide out QWERTY thumboard.

Next in the line-ups hierarchy is the Dell Thunder, an Android-based Smartphone with the same 3G capabilities, OLED screen and Snapdragon processor. It does away with the slide out keyboard though, but is as gorgeous (at least in the pics) as the Lightning. Aside from missing the keyboard, it also differentiates itself from the Lightning by bundling up apps for Facebook, Twitter, Hulu and Youtube in it's app arsenal.

The Dell Smoke is a bit of a departure, form-factor wise from the rest of the phones. It's candybar shape and QWERTY keypad reminds me of some earlier Sony-Ericsson Smartphone from years yonder. It has a 2.8 inch TFT screen, 3G and a 5MP camera. It also sets itself apart from the rest by having mutilple account support for Exchange and Active Sync, plus VPN support for secure connections. It has every indication, feature-wise, that is going to be positioned as a business phone.

The Dell Flash is supposed to be the  'mainstream' Smartphone of the line that will bring Smartphone goodness 'to the masses', meaning it will be cheaper than current Smartphones in the market offering the same function or feature set. Also Android-based, it will be powered by a 800MHz Qualcomm processor, come equipped with a 3.5-inch TFT screen, 3G connectivity, WiFi and a 5MP camera. The Flash is also being touted as having a better touchscreen keyboard better than what's currently available in Smartphones today.

With Smartphone news being leaked hear and there, the Smartphone manufacturers are obviously gearing up this year and getting as much press as they can to build excitement. As I have been holding out the last few months, wanting badly to replace my aging Treo 650, news like this makes me want to wait some more. I have been mulling over buying a Nokia E63 or an E72 (if my budget were a little more biggger). Now I realize waiting a few more months will give me more choices and the best bang-for-the-buck if all these exciting phones come to market soon.

Carrying Books Around

Cryptonomicon really is an interesting read. I keep bringing it with me everywhere I go. Although it feels good to be reading a real book for a change, it's a tad bit inconvenient. An ebook reader would definitely be more convenient. I mean the size of ebook readers doesn't make it more convenient. It's actually how many books you can carry around in them.

Just think of it. Right now, I am in the middle of three novels. I have a paperback copy of Cryptonomicon, a paperback copy of Whiteout (Ken Follett) and a PDF copy of Bourne Legacy saved in my Treo 650. What if I had all three in ebook form? I could conveniently switch from one to the other, carrying just one book - I mean ebook reader. 

Take the Amazon Kindle. It can take in around 3,500 books (Kindle DX only, 1,500 for the 6" Kindle). Since  going international, Kindle owners from over a hundred countries can  now connect wirelessly to Amazon buy books, a big plus for people living outside the US. Users can read their existing PDF and TXT format ebooks  and play Audible audio books or MP3's. HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP files are supported when converted for the Kindle's software. It is limited by its e-ink display, as it can only display in black and white. But that display uses less power than color LCD and can last about a week with the wireless turned on and about 2 weeks with wireless off. That's from a single charge. It definitely beats the amount of time my cell phone can last on a single charge. So it's power-saving, can carry a lot of books, can play music and you can buy books using a 3G connection (books within minutes, they say).

Then there's also the Nook from Barnes & Noble, a great device that one-ups the Amazon Kindle by giving users the ability to share ebooks with each other free of charge. The Nook also comes with WiFi, so you can still download books if 3G in your neck of the woods is spotty. It has a color touch-screen near the bottom instead of buttons to control the interface. It does lend the Nook a better, cleaner look overall. The main reading display is still e-ink though to conserve energy in between charges. It has a smaller capacity when compared to the DX, holding approximately 1,500 books. That's less then half of what the Kindle DX can carry, but plenty enough to give you a few years worth of reading - LOL. If you need more storage though, you can add to it by using a Micro SD card. The Nook supports EPUB, PDB and PDF ebook files. In addition it can also play MP3's and use photos in JPG, GIF, PNG and BMP formats as screensavers (full specs here). Downside is no love for geeks living outside the US. The Nook is US-only for now.

These two are the most viable ebook readers today, since both are tied to each company's bookstore and make buying books really easy. They also allow readers to read (to some extent) their existing ebooks. As with any new-fangled gadget, the contention is still price. Personally, I can't afford them. And until I can, I'll stick to paperbacks and the ebooks on my Treo 650. 

Deliveries

I went to the local 2Go branch earlier to pick up my uMobile SIM card. The delivery guy came by 12:00 PM yesterday but I couldn't accept the delivery because I didn't have a photocopy of any of my ID's. He showed me the instructions from uMobile stating no to deliver the SIM unless the recipient provided photocopies of proof of identity. I told him I'd drop by their office after work the next day.

So I went to their Balibago office at 7:30, waited till 8 AM, eventually signed forms, and left with my new uMobile SIM. When I got home, I was barely out of my socks when an AIR21 delivery guy parked in front of the house. He was delivering the memory I won a few days ago. Schweet!

I've plugged in the SIM in my trusty Treo650 and let it sit for a while. I'm currently testing the RAM using Memtest86+. Memtest86+ will take a few hours to finish. Hopefully nothing is terribly wrong with the memory.

Still Looking For a Solution

I'm still looking for a way to sync my Treo 650 with my Linux box. I know, I know... It's been tested and accomplished by a lot of people. I still haven't done it successfully myself. So I was glad to see someone else was able to do it (http://ecmarchitect.com/archives/2008/01/21/801). Following a link from that page, I printed this guide (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PalmDeviceSetup). Will try this post haste :-)

Gadgets on a Budget

Clearly the best benefit of the ever-advancing nature of technology is
the development of cheaper devices that enhance our personal
functionality.

A few days ago, I received a parcel containing the Treo650 that an
aunt of my wife had sent me. It was a gift, a very generous gift. And
I would like to thank her publicly. Thank you Aunt Edna! Your
generosity is boundless :-)

The Treo renewed my interest in handhelds and personal computing
devices. I had previously owned a Palm Tungsten T3 and I've been
yearning for another Palm handheld ever since I sold it. The only
thing holding me back was the price. These devices are not cheap. I
have been, in the months in between, content with reading press
releases of Palm, Inc. Can you tell I'm a fan? Anyway, the launch of
Palm's UMPC(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-Mobile_PC), the Palm
Foleo(http://www.palm.com/us/products/mobilecompanion/foleo/), did not
escape my notice.

With Palm's entry into the UMPC bandwagon, my other dream (owning a
laptop) was slowly coming into reality. The prices, I predicted, would
come down. As Moore's Law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore's_law)
bears its full weight on the pace of chip development, we see products
coming out of the pipeline a lot more cheaper and smaller. My hopes
died when I saw the $599 price tag. I also chanced upon this article
(http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/05/seven_sexy_alte.html) proposing
alternatives to the Palm Foleo, albeit just as expensive or even more
so.

My hope's were revived when I saw Asus' announcement in Taiwan's
Computex expo that it is launching a spawn of Intel's Classmate PC
program (http://www.intel.com/intel/worldahead/classmatepc/). The Asus
Eee PC701 (http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/archives/2007/06/05/intel_classmate_becomes_199_asus_eee_subnotebook_pc.html)
was unveiled in the midst of spectators' "oohs!" and "aahs!". They
said the units would come to American shores as early as August this
year for $200. That's cheap! It's very barebones (specs here:
http://www.gadgettastic.com/2007/06/09/asus-eee-specs/). However, if
most of your computing time is spent surfing the internet and
retrieving mail, then this PC is for you. It even has built-in WiFi to
boot.

I'm eagerly anticipating it's release in Asia and I sincerely hope
this thing reaches Philippine shores. It would definitely be a great
device for my wife. She thinks she's a technophobe and half the time
she asks me about the computer. A simple connected device like this
could simplify things enough for her to do her extra work at home at a
fast enough pace. I just know she would love something as convenient
as this. I still have to convince my wife about how wonderful it is to
have a small personal device you can take with you all the time. I
love it when technology shrinks technology, the shrinking price tag
being a wonderful side effect of it all. My wife does too, she just
doesn't know it yet.