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Category Archives: Guides
TouchWiz Launcher Ported To Nexus One
There’s not much to report here but an XDA-Developer member by the name of “rolle3k” has modified the TouchWiz launcher so that it works with both the Eclair and Froyo framework.jar, meaning you wont require root access on your Nexus One.
Speed Up Your Galaxy S
One thing I noticed about my Galaxy S was it did tend to slow down as I added more and more apps. Me being an appoholic, it wasn’t long before I had 60 user added apps on it and it started to slow a little. It would appear Samsung have used in this device, one of the slowest internal memory cards known to man in. To counter the drag effect caused by this, you use your own SD card to store the apps. This is nothing new, many ROM developers have an Apps2SD hack which will store the whole app on a partition of the SD card. In this hack, we move just the Apps data to the SD, in much the way I believe FroYo might do.
During this process we will also root the SGS, which seems very easy to do. We don’t yet have a recovery mode for the SGS though, so procede with extreme caution. We cannot take any responsibilty for you turning your lovely new Samsung into a paper weight…
If you have the cojones for it, read on!
One Click Root Thanks To Unrevoked
So what is Unrevoked? It basically enables you to root your Android phone easily and enables you to install a custom recovery image so that you can get access to Recovery anywhere. Unless your happy with your current stock version of Android, I suggest that you root your phone. It opens the door for many things, most importantly being able to install custom ROM’s. I myself have a HTC Desire with Android 2.2 on it, this wouldn’t have been possible without root, and I rooted my phone at a time when it involved a lot more then just one click, a couple of drinks and some extra time on my hands. Now anyone that has the skill to move just a mouse cursor can root their phone. All you have to do is go to http://unrevoked.com/ and select the phone that you wish to root, download and install the necessary files and finally do the most work you’l ever do today: CLICK. OK maybe it’s not that easy, you do need to make sure you have the correct drivers.
Read on for a simple step by step guide…..
Update Your Hero Now
It would appear most UK carriers have the 80 meg 2.1 Eclair update for the Hero, but are waiting to push it over the air at some point over the next month or two. The update brings free UK Navigation and pinch to zoom as well as many other benefits.
For those that think the wait of almost a year is long enough already, there might be something you can do to encourage your Hero to update now!
Battery Calibration
You may have already read our tips on how to make your battery last longer, but along with these tips you should ‘calibrate’ your battery every month or so.
I’ll start with a few facts for you about modern Li-ion batteries -
- The batteries themselves don’t have a memory or store any stats.
- Generally charge them before they get lower than 50%
- Charge your phone while off.
- Mains charging from empty to full should be around 3½ hours, using USB around 6 hours.
- USB charging is actually better for the battery and you may get up to 1 hours more standby time.
With these facts in mind, you should calibrate your battery once a month so lets look at what you actually need to do -
Put FroYo on Your Desire!
Yes, the clever folk over at XDA Developers have found a way to install 2.2 onto your shiny new Desire.
You will need root access and a small knowledge of flashing ROM’s will be an advantage. If you’re brave enough, read on!
Build your own notepad App – Part 1
I have finally decided that I am going to develop my very own apps for Android and share my experience with other beginner developers out there.
Before I continue I should tell you that I am a complete noob at programming and my knowledge of java ermm doesn’t really exist! But the best way to learn is through practice! I done the “hello Android (world)” and it worked! (< c pic)
Ever wondered why there are so many notepad Apps available on the market? Well because there is a tutorial on how to build one on the Android developer site which I will be following.
Part 1, will describe how to set up the Android developing environment on your PC.
DoubleTwist: iTunes Alternative For Android.
So I’v been using this free software for some time now, it’s called doubleTwist, and it’s basically a iTunes like client for your Android phone.
Just go their website, download and install it, and then plug your phone in making sure that you mount your phone as USB storage. DoubleTwist should then realise what phone has been plugged in, and should allow you to sync your photos, music, movies and podcasts.
How To Root Your Desire
I guess the first question would be “Why should I root my Desire?”. The main reason is it gives you more, if not total, control over your phone. You get access to parts of the hardware the standard OS wouldn’t risk letting you go anywhere near. Two useful examples being the ‘Use your LED Flash as a torch’ app and an app that lets you control the CPU speed. Both of these theoretically let you damage the hardware of the phone so if you do decide to root, you should be real careful what you then do with it.
Okay, with that warning out of the way, lets move on to how you actually root your beloved Desire.
How to make your battery last
As we’ve seen, Android is really exploding onto the scene right now with many people in the UK buying the HTC Desire as their first Android device. Although, as you would expect, everyone is loving their slick 2.1 experience on such a great handset, the main complaint I hear is about the battery life. So, with that in mind, here are some tips to get the most from your Lithium-ion battery. These tips are taken using a Nexus One running Cyanogen 5.0.6. Some settings might be slightly different on your device.
1) Automatic Brightness
Although it would seem battery usage stats on the Desire look like they lie, the display takes around 70% of battery life during average use. To ensure you use a minimal amount, go to Settings –> Sound & Display –> Brightness and tick Automatic Brightness. This will adjust your screen brightness to match the light levels of the room/area you’re in. In dark rooms the brightness is dropped down as you don’t need it high. In sunlight it’ll crank it up for you.