The Android Cell Phone Thread

[herpsky]

After receiving a defective iPhone 4 (and not being able to exchange it because there are no Apple stores within the 150mi radius from my house - sad, I know), I returned that POS for a Samsung Galaxy S.

This shit is mindblowing. There's so much shit I can do.

In addition, since my life is completely dependant on google e.g. gmail, gcal, this phone just made my life 40000x easier.

iPhone is great for the technologically inept but this jawn is far superior.

I installed Shimeji so I can send e-mails to my BZs in the J-land. What else should I install?

Share your android tips and info here please

[Grim Ryan]

I have an HTC incredible. Best phone I've ever owned. Faster at just about everything than my friends 3GS. I love how easily it is to have my gmail and google calender synced so seamlessly with my phone. Also having G-chat on phone is the best.

The native navigation application is better than any garmin or tom tom I have used. Love that it automatically takes traffic into account for the arrival time.

HTC has the best widget/home screen that I've seen. There are some apps in the market you can use to copy it. LevelUp and Beautiful Widgets have the best versions.

Advanced Task Killer is the most needed app by far, keeps my battery life so happy.

My most used apps are

FX Camera

New York Times

National Public Radio

Android Comic Viewer

News Rob RSS Reader

Yelp

My only complaint is that the facebook app is a little week and half the time to do stuff you need to open the mobile site.

As for games, I'm so pumped that there are emulators for both SNES and GBA. Playing Final Fantasy III on my phone rules.

[sushijerk]

I got a Samsung Captivate and returned it after 2 days. That Touchwiz UI is total crap and responds slower than my Aria despite having a 1ghz processor and more ram. Also GPS is effed on that phone until Samsung decides to update it.

If you guys stream podcasts I highly recommend Google Listen. The streaming media player that comes with Android does not allow you to switch to another application without stopping/restarting the stream so I almost never use it.

Also check out Laputa book reader if you're cheap. Not sure how it's legal but it lets you download a lot of bestsellers for free. Just got all the Steig Larson books last weeks and going through them now.

[Bislane]

So is it possible to get an android phone with a new contract anywhere atm? Or am I going to have to fork over additional dough comparable to the iphone??

[please underestimate]

im att and am about to renew my contract. i wanted to pick up a droid but didnt know what to cop. htc aria? samsung galaxy? others?

[6ixes&7evens]

^ get the galaxy S

[TruMoo]

^ Why would you stay on At&t? Their android selection is pretty weak.

T-mobile..sprint...verizon have some amazing phones

T-mobile (Samsung Vibrant(Galaxy) & G2 (not yet Released)

Sprint ( Epic 4G...EVO4G)

Verizon ( http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/27/mysterious-verizon-bound-htc-handset-appears-mysteriously-on-the/

YRrFbFYpf-Y&hd=1

[lenn]

i've got an htc desire, running on froyo. this is amazing, made my life a lot easier.

the picture apps like fx camera are pretty awesome too, although the hipster feel is a little too much sometimes.

don't you guys think the galaxy s feels too cheap, too vulnerable? the plastic casing doesn't really match the awesome hardware inside imo

[Tisswat]

Switched from an iPhone 3G to a Nexus One last January and never looked back. I still think the iPhone 4 is the best looking device out there, but the way the Android OS works is just remarkably more clever in a few essential areas, in particular the way it integrates push notifications, background processes and social media.

I'm anxiously looking forward to whatever HTC is launching Sept 15th. Also, Dell apparently is about to reveal some very exciting toys later this year, including the Streak, featuring a curved glass screen (click).

[wut_a_foolio]

LG Ally here.

I was wondering if anyone knew how to make live wallpapers on the droid phone? Would love to make a custom one from this good .gif file i got :\

[Tisswat]

^ Have you tried the AnimGIF app? I think it does exactly that.

[herpsky]

ATTN: High-tech otakus

A few questions

1) What is the implication of rooting? It lets me access the root. Ok. What else?

2) How do I back up (or sync) my phone with a computer? Samsung provided Kies. It's kinda like a bastardized version of iTunes and it sucks.

The best program to make Int's calls. As long as the fee is comparable to skype, I'm fine. Call quality more important than price.

rebtel was kinda wack

[mike lowrey]

what are you looking to back up? if its just contacts, photos, music etc., I just copy it all to my computer and save contacts to the memory card.

I have a Nexus One myself, have been really happy with it compared to the iPhone 3. Android is so much more user friendly, customizable and just feels more comfortable than Apple's dumbed down interface.

looks like HTC will be coming out with a follower for the Desire, looks tempting: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/09/htcs-4-3-inch-desire-hd-shows-up-on-video/

[Tisswat]

Herp, rooting your Android enables you to install custom ROMs (such as Cyanogen), that increase performance and/or add a bunch of native features from other builds.

[TruMoo]

^ Yes and most importantly the ability to use the MOBILE HOTSPOT for free without having the pay for the 30 dollar monthly fee

@Herpsky. The applications are backed up automatically in the marketplace. Contacts/Phone numbers are automatically backed up to your gmail address..no?

Edit:

For you "Google Voice" users

Googie Voice Widget extracted from the upcoming "G2". Tested it out on my Evo. works flawlessly.

http://www.mediafire.com/?huobr5ize0jrvtb (copy and paste that link into your phones browser)

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/08/28/leaked-t-mobile-g2-rom-brings-google-voice-widgets-for-your-existing-android-phone/

[herpsky]

I guess there's no reason to "back up" the phone.

Lulz.

Apps backed up in the market place? Really?

That's fucking nuts

[sexlexcia]

wooord, android is the shit. i just got my droid X and this shit is amazing. its like a mini tablet. fuck iphone, they aint getting flash baby. that means real porn on your mobile !!!!

[Guest on-display]

I just got my incredible two days ago. I love it! I was thinking about the droid X but its too big. Has anyone updated to 2.2 froyo yet?

[herpsky]

how the hell do i transfer my contacts on the phone to google contact list?

what exactly does "linking" mean?

i kinda wanna root the phone so i can replace the really ugly looking japanese font to something a little nicer

[TruMoo]

"google sync" it bro

on your phones browser

m.google.com/sync

[herpsky]

"google sync" it bro

on your phones browser

m.google.com/sync

thanks brosky

just rooted my phone and backed up my AT&T rom

now i'm going to delete the stupid ass bloatware

[Tisswat]

Get WhatsApp - free texting to iPhone, BB, Android and Nokia users

Beta release for Android: http://beta.whatsapp.com/WhatsApp.apk

[please underestimate]

Switched from an iPhone 3G to a Nexus One last January and never looked back. I still think the iPhone 4 is the best looking device out there, but the way the Android OS works is just remarkably more clever in a few essential areas, in particular the way it integrates push notifications, background processes and social media.

I'm anxiously looking forward to whatever HTC is launching Sept 15th. Also, Dell apparently is about to reveal some very exciting toys later this year, including the Streak, featuring a curved glass screen (click).

does att finally offer a 2yr contract for the nexus one? or do you still have to buy it w/o the contract?

[please underestimate]

^ Why would you stay on At&t? Their android selection is pretty weak.

T-mobile..sprint...verizon have some amazing phones

T-mobile (Samsung Vibrant(Galaxy) & G2 (not yet Released)

Sprint ( Epic 4G...EVO4G)

Verizon ( http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/27/mysterious-verizon-bound-htc-handset-appears-mysteriously-on-the/

YRrFbFYpf-Y&hd=1

and im stuck on att cause i got a family plan with my fam.

[chris_n]

i'm curious about that new HTC that's coming to verizon. seems to be a desire/evo variant.

they're all so big though... how do you guys carry these? pocket? bag?

[Tisswat]

does att finally offer a 2yr contract for the nexus one? or do you still have to buy it w/o the contract?

We don't have AT&T over here. Bought my Nexus straight from Google without a contract through a UK proxy at the time.

[please underestimate]

We don't have AT&T over here. Bought my Nexus straight from Google without a contract through a UK proxy at the time.

ohh my mistake. i didnt see that you were from amsterdam earlier.

[wild style]

Don't know how I missed this thread. Had a Blackberry for two years and jumped ship for the HTC Incredible.

Life changing.

[ILLuminate]

android is fucking awesome. I have the original droid so it slows down on me fairly often, but it's my 1st smartphone and I love it.

best apps: newsrob, tweetdeck, adv task killer, astro (or estrongs), astrid,beautiful widgets, dolphin browser,handcent, mototorch, multicon, places (native app), swiftkey, touiter

[ILLuminate]

Get WhatsApp - free texting to iPhone, BB, Android and Nokia users

Beta release for Android: http://beta.whatsapp.com/WhatsApp.apk

how do you get to be an 'authorized beta user'?

I downloaded it but it says i can't use it. uncool