Android phone users - hints & tips thread

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As there are more and more people converting to Android, I thought I would start this thread so we can pass on hints and tips to each other and also offer some help.

Firstly, please do not turn this into an Android vs Iphone war, this is not the place for it.

Google Android is a fantastic mobile phone operating system designed for smart phones.
Although it's not perfect (it's still in it's infancy, 2.2 is the latest version), it still does a great job.
One thing I really like is that you don't have to use the version of Android that is installed on the phone.
I much prefer to root the phone and use a custom version with all of the apps the network providers removed.
You don't have to root the phone to install a custom ROM, but there are benefits in doing it.
Only major flaw with Android is that you can't install applications on a micro SD card (this should be resolved with version 2.2).
However, the guys doing the custom ROM's have found a way around this so once phone is rooted and a custom ROM is installed, you can install apps to the card.
Obviously once you start to install a lot of applications onto the phone itself, it can sometimes slow the phone down when multitasking.
There are also some applications such as 'SetCPU' that will only work on rooted phones.
This application allows you to slow down the speed of the CPU when the phone is sleeping etc, this increases the battery life.

Here is a link for a very good forum should you wish to get into using custom ROMs.

www.modaco.com

There is seperate section for each Android based phone plus reviews etc.
 
andrewc said:
dunno. I think 2.2 has that (Froyo)
Click to expand...

I've updated my original post, I meant to state the rooted phones with a custom ROM have been able to install apps on the card since V1.6.
 
I've been using FLB-Mod vanilla ROM v1.0 beta 3 on my T Mobile pulse for a couple of weeks and it's been very impressive.
It's now been updated to v1.0 beta 5.1 with an additional update as well.
This version seems even faster and he has put the flip calendar back into the build which I think is a really good tool.

LauncherPro 0.6.2 is a really good tool for rooted Android phones with Vanilla ROMs.
It allows you to set up additional shortcuts on the bar on the bottom of the screen, tIt scrolls left and right, very handy.

The work these guys are doing on these ROMs is fantastic, having all the network operator rubbish removed makes a big difference and the tools being developed for rooted phones are very good.

With the specs of the Motorola Droid X and possible UK release, The HTC Desire and the Samsung Galaxy, I am going to have a few choices when my upgrade it due at the end of August.
I'm really looking forward to a 1ghz CPU and Froyo 2.2 :D
 
edited because i re read your message
i thought you ment you cannot install apps from micro sd, which you can

i know think you mean you cannot get them to install to the card and run form there??

Gary
 
I've got some pretty good ones on my Xperia, will have to have a look through for the best.
 
Rooted my Desire yesterday and installed a modaco froyo 2.2 rom. It has transformed the phone....looks nicer, runs nicer and sorts some annoying thing like only being able to wake from the power button!
 
mid_gen said:
Rooted my Desire yesterday and installed a modaco froyo 2.2 rom. It has transformed the phone....looks nicer, runs nicer and sorts some annoying thing like only being able to wake from the power button!
Click to expand...

Once you have done this, do you have to re-install any apps you have download and does it effect your contacts and photos on your phone ?
 
Mine was wiped during the process. I keep all my contacts and calendars synced with Gmail, and I only had a handful of apps installed, so not a big deal restoring them.
 
mid_gen said:
Rooted my Desire yesterday and installed a modaco froyo 2.2 rom. It has transformed the phone....looks nicer, runs nicer and sorts some annoying thing like only being able to wake from the power button!
Click to expand...

Sorry Chris another quick question.

Do you have to root your phone to install this ROM ?
 
:thinking: A thread I shall follow with some interest, but perhaps you geeks might want to explain to those of us with normal brains [ :p ] exactly what 'rooting' and 'custom ROM's' are, because I know what they mean where I come from, and I suspct its something diferent entirely - or I am right and really DONT want to click on that forum link :lol: :lol:

Perhaps a glossary in Darrans first post might be in order?


oh, for the record, HTC Desire on vodafone
 
if only the hd2 had android.... such a beautiful phone spoilt by mike rowe soft
 
leaky5 said:
Sorry Chris another quick question.

Do you have to root your phone to install this ROM ?
Click to expand...

Yes it needs rooting.

'Rooting' is basically hacking the phone to give you admin access to the operating system. You do it with a few scripts and the android SDK.....pretty straightforward if you follow the instructions.

A custom rom changes the operating system on the phone. The Desire comes with android 2.1 with HTC's Sense UI on top of it.

I've installed a custom rom which is a newer android version (2.2) and doesn't included HTC's fluff on top....which I prefer :)
 
Is there an all in good book reader for Android? I have tried a couple which work well enough (Aldiko, iReader etc.) but only for limited file types each, I have thousands of ebooks in many different formats and would like one bit of software to read them all on if possible.
 
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