Android Discussion

**Jim1348** · 10-30-10, 11:43 AM

Originally Posted by ManImBored

Finally joined the Android movement. I have T-Monbile and have been going back and forth between the Samsung Vibrant and the about to be released HTC T-Mobile myTouch 4G. Woke up yesterday morning and saw that Best Buy had the Samsung Vibrant for free as part of their "Free Phone Fridays" deal, as long as you have a qualifying upgrade. Went in, upgraded, and walked out with the phone for free. Been playing with it this morning and so far I love it. I have installed a few apps and started figuring out how things work.

Coming to Android as a die hard Blackberry user has taken a little bit of a learning curve. I was the BB master and could answer just about any question about the BB and how they work. I was just so tired of not having good apps. I am a cell phone geek and use mine all the time. It seemed like anyone that was making apps now was only doing it for Android and the iPhone. I was not ditching T-Mobile for AT&T so Android is where I went. So far, I am happy with my switch.

I had posted this summer just before I switched:

Originally Posted by Jim1348

While I don't have any Android devices yet, I expect to have one or two in the very near future. I am interested in the:

-Motorola i1 (Nextel)

-Garminfone (T-Mobile)

I am hoping that I will be able to just pull the SIM card from my work i680 and use it on the Motorola i1. Work doesn't provide data, just regular voice and Direct Connect, so I will have to see if it would even be worth my while to get this.

One of my personal phone is a Garmin Nuvifone G60, which I unlocked, and use on T-Mobile. The Garmin Nuvifone G60 received generally dismal reviews, but I like mine. I use it as a GPS in my take home unmarked as well as for calls and texting. I am anticipating that the Garminfone should be even better.

Is there anything I should know about Android before I spring for it? I should point out I have some BlackBerry experience also.

I ended up buying a used Garminfone from Ebay. Since my wife was already on T-Mobile and I had a 14 year old son, I went the Even More Plus (No Annual Contract) route. More recently they added Kids Are Free, so I now have 5 lines. Ironically, I tried data for a couple of months this summer, but dropped it. Since Even More Plus doesn't require it and I didn't get the phone through them, it is not required. The Garminfone works great for me. I use the windshield mount in my unmarked and tap the audio into the iPod input on the car. I have the Slacker Radio application with cached content instead of streaming, so that is why I don't really need data. (Plus, I already have a laptop with a data card in the work car.)

I did not get a Motorola i1. With the announcement from Sprint about the Nextel network phasing out, I am going to be pretty reluctant to put much of my own money into any iDEN devices. Sprint's Hesse commits to phasing out iDEN -- Engadget

I am now an Android fan boy and I may buy a used Motorola Milestone (GSM Version of Droid) or the forthcoming Motorola Defy. I really think cops owe it to themselves to at least look at a rugged phone if you are bringing it to work. I have heard way to many stories of phones that went for a sudden, unexpected swim or "hit the hard deck". In most cases they don't fair too well after either experience.

I am also a big fan of OEM windshield mounts if you are considering using the device for GPS navigating and/or in car entertainment. Motorola has OEM mount for the Droid/Milestone and the Defy now has one as well. Both my Garminfone and Garmin Nuvifone windshiled mounts work very well.

Unsupported Browser

**ManImBored** · 10-30-10, 12:10 PM

Can anyone recommend a good Podcast app?

**Donut Aficionado** · 12-19-10, 01:39 PM

BUMP

I just picked up the HTC Evo, Sprint service. I cant believe how much this thing does!! Guess I have reading and learning to do.

**Xiphos** · 12-19-10, 01:56 PM

Originally Posted by ManImBored

Can anyone recommend a good Podcast app?

Try Mort Player.

**Pudge** · 12-25-10, 03:56 PM

I'm finally a Droid owner. I got a Droid X for myself, and one for my wife for Christmas. The learning curve isn't nearly as steep as I thought it would be coming from my Blackberry, but there are still a couple things I'm figuring out.

LOVE this device though.

**Reca** · 12-25-10, 05:19 PM

I am loving the kindle app

**Pudge** · 12-25-10, 07:26 PM

Originally Posted by Reca

I am loving the kindle app

I have it, just haven't registered yet. That was a big sell for momma.

I got it yesterday, hence the "Drrrrrrrrrroid" text you got from me.

**Trojan 42** · 12-26-10, 04:26 AM

My Kindle App just shows the Blue start up screen and that's all. Nothing to open or browse with, so it will be a delete from me soon.

**Reca** · 12-26-10, 02:20 PM

Kindle is real nice. My sister has a kindle so I was able to get all the books she has bough on hers!

Also the madden 11 app on the droid X is awesome if you are a fan of the Madden games!

**Xiphos** · 12-28-10, 12:41 AM

Just got an Android phone? The best apps, accessories, and tips -- Engadget

I can vouch for Launcher Pro. This is the easiest way to customize the look and feel of your home screens without rooting your phone and running custom themes. It is very simple and looks great!

ADW Ex launcher is supposed to be really nice too but I have never used it.

**Reca** · 12-28-10, 08:31 AM

I tried launcher pro and was not a fan. It was not as responsive as I hoped for!

**Xiphos** · 12-28-10, 03:55 PM

Originally Posted by Reca

I tried launcher pro and was not a fan. It was not as responsive as I hoped for!

He updates the app frequently and is in the process of re-writing it from scratch to streamline it.

**kjlaw** · 12-28-10, 04:12 PM

No Lock is great. It lets you diable to requirement for the code every time you want to use the phone.

**Xiphos** · 12-28-10, 04:23 PM

Originally Posted by kjlaw

No Lock is great. It lets you diable to requirement for the code every time you want to use the phone.

I don't use a code or a pattern to unlock my phone. I just swipe the lock screen to get to the homescreen. Does it disable the lock screen entirely? How do you prevent messing up the screens with the phone in your pocket?

**kjlaw** · 12-28-10, 06:26 PM

I have the Samsung Facinate and I still have to hit the power button to turn on the screen but then after that i can go straight to working instead of doing the unlock code plus my phone would lock all the time so I had to do the code just to hang up from a call.

**Jks9199** · 12-28-10, 07:51 PM

See... I've got a two year old who loves phones. I WANT my phone locked!

**Xiphos** · 12-28-10, 10:18 PM

Originally Posted by kjlaw

I have the Samsung Facinate and I still have to hit the power button to turn on the screen but then after that i can go straight to working instead of doing the unlock code plus my phone would lock all the time so I had to do the code just to hang up from a call.

The good news is that you should be getting upgraded to 2.2 soon and that should unlock the phone to switch from Bing to Google.

**Xiphos** · 02-18-11, 07:28 PM

Just loaded CyanogenMod 7 on my phone. The Nexus S came with stock Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" and it is fast, smooth, and looks great. The Nexus S is the latest dev phone so it was quickly jumped on for hacking and modding but I haven't done anything to it. CM7 just came out a few days ago so I decided to try it out.

CyanogenMod is a community effort with devs working to put it on a bunch of different phones. The list of currently developed phones is in their forums here: CyanogenMod Forum

CM focuses on using stock Android, referred to as AOSP. It's the open source Android which is why anyone can develop it. Some enhancements are made to AOSP for performance and battery life. Some UI enhancements are also there but it's still mostly stock and not nearly as garish as HTC Sense or Moto-Blur. (Although I think Samsung wins for worst Android UI with the TouchWiz UI.)

I ran CM on my HTC MyTouch3G and it was a huge improvement. When I went to the Samsung Vibrant, I kept waiting for CM but it never came while I was using the phone. The Vibrant just never attracted the dev attention that some other phones have, which is surprising since the phone was super easy to root and nearly impossible to brick. When my Vibrant broke I went to the new dev phone, the Nexus S and I'm excited to see CM development for it.

Anyone interested in rooting and upgrading your phone's performance, let me know and I can offer some important links to read up on.

**Xiphos** · 03-23-11, 06:33 PM

GeorgeBray (Twitter)

Your mobile phone has more computing power than all of NASA in 1969. NASA launched a man to the moon. We launch a bird into pigs.

**Odd** · 03-25-11, 07:06 AM

Originally Posted by ManImBored

Can anyone recommend a good Podcast app?

I realize I'm responding to a six month old question so probably not too helpful for MIB. Figure it's a common enough question though since it was the first I had.

Tried Mortplayer and I like that Mort guy. His audiobook player is what I'll be using for those. For podcasts though it just wasn't a fit for me. At free it's the place to start, no complaints about what it does do.

I kept seeing suggestions for Doggcatcher, but with no trial and $7 pricetag...meh. Tried a bunch of others that I won't mention since each is a perfect fit for some. Then I took a chance on Doggcatcher.

Easy as pie to set up and the podcast search offers discovery when you're in the mood for something different. (Light now, hopefully better over time) Audio or video, mixed or lumped and does text RSS too if you should want that. Got mine set to only download on WiFi (AC or battery), but I can force a download over 3G if I'm impatient. Lots of menus to go exploring with useful options and candy bits.