Google Android software and hardware: Post here

[James86004]

I have a Motorola Droid which I bought last spring. Ever since it was upgraded to 2.2, the WiFi has been acting strange. I turn it off to save power, and when look at the phone a few minutes or an hour later, it has turned itself back on. It is annoying because it kills my battery life and it also slows the browser down if it decides to turn on while I am downloading something.

I have scoured the android forums, but there is so much noise there it is hard to find answers. Any ideas before I spend an hour on Verizon customer support?

 

[esh]

Come to the dark side...

http://forum.cyanogenmod.com/forum/13-motorola-droid/

 

[Hill Bill E.]

I have a Motorola Droid which I bought last spring. Ever since it was upgraded to 2.2, the WiFi has been acting strange. I turn it off to save power, and when look at the phone a few minutes or an hour later, it has turned itself back on. It is annoying because it kills my battery life and it also slows the browser down if it decides to turn on while I am downloading something.

I have scoured the android forums, but there is so much noise there it is hard to find answers. Any ideas before I spend an hour on Verizon customer support?

I haven't run into that problem with mine.

Out in CO I had to turn off the Wi-Fi a lot, I also used 'Airplane Mode' when out out of reception areas, to save the battery.

When the phone is 'Searching for service', it really drains the battery.

 

[Hill Bill E.]

without paying them...

http://lifehacker.com/5447347/how-to-tether-your-android-phone

That looks good, but not being a 'geek' (as they put it:snorkel

I'd have to opt for option #3, the 'PDA route'

Since I use the same laptop, a one time $30 cost for the software, and I'm set.

Much better than $20 per month! for the same access.

 

[Hill Bill E.]

At my cabin, there is little to no reception. On a clear night, I can send a text out, if it's short, and I stand on the roof of my XJ and hold the phone as high as possible:snorkel:

I'm wondering if anyone has some real world experience with any of the 'signal boosting' type antennas.

I'd need one that can either run off 12V, an inverter, or a generator supplied 110V.

Preferrably 12V, as that's a 'constant' source while we're at the cabin, whereas the inverter and generator, are used 'as needed'.

(Don't get me wrong, it's peaceful not having a phone at the cabin!:ylsmoke

But it would be nice, not to have to grab the quad or the Jeep, and drive up on the 'mountain' on the back 40, to use the cell phone.

The 'mountain', as we call it, is tall enough to block out the tower on the other side. Just lookig for a little boost in signal at the cabin.:coffeedrink:

 

[1leglance]

I use a Wilson 3watt amplifier in the WAVE Sportsmobile with an antenna on the roof, great bit of kit and I love it.
Real world test with other Verizon people outside the rig show a 1-2 bar increase

 

[Hill Bill E.]

I use a Wilson 3watt amplifier in the WAVE Sportsmobile with an antenna on the roof, great bit of kit and I love it.
Real world test with other Verizon people outside the rig show a 1-2 bar increase

Thanks Lance. I'm betting I could set that up in the cabin, with the antenna on the roof.

Be good in my rig also, but I'd have to outfit both of my Jeeps and the pick up, as I may take any of them to the shack:snorkel:

 

[Jeepthreat]

Tmobile. G2 went on pre order today. I just ordered one.
Im donw with windows mobile, everyone i ever had even with custom roms slows down at the wrong times wasting time and energy.

Im hoping android treats me better and it looks like a good overland tool, with strong voice, messaging, social network and mapping options and a 5 megapixel camera that can take hd video

Im happy with tmobile but i dont know how deep their coverage goes into off road areas im travelling to. Honestly i usually cut my phone off anyway so i can enjoy the sights

 

[haven]

T-Mobile G2 is an interesting smart phone choice.

First, it's T-Mobile's first phone built specifically to take advantage of the higher speeds that come with HSPA+, the technology T-Mobile is rolling out. HSPA+ should be about twice as fast as T-Mobile's regular 3G coverage.

Check to see if HSPA+ is available in your area on this page http://t-mobile-coverage.t-mobile.com/ Scroll down to the lower left corner to click on the link to the map.

Second, the G2 (made by HTC, by the way) is not supposed to have any custom interface on top of its native Android 2.2. So far as I know, this is the only new phone other than the Google Nexus One that comes out of the box running plain vanilla Android.

 

[haven]

There have been a steady stream of announcements about Android slate computers in the last month (see the list attached below). But relatively few models have reached the market. The Dell Streak is due in October, the Samsung Galaxy Tab should appear before the holidays, the Archos 70, the eLocity A7 and CTL 2GoPad can be pre-ordered in various places, and the Toshiba AC100 Android smartbook is available in Europe.

So what's holding up the parade? I think everyone is waiting for the official release of Android 3.0. The 3.0 software is designed for more powerful devices (and requires a faster processor and more RAM), will offer support for displays up to 1280x760, offers better power management, and will have full access to Google Docs applications. The Google Market will divide into two tiers, one for the small handsets (which run Android 2.x) and a second for devices with large screens and fast processors (running Android 3.x and higher).

Android 3.0 should be released between Oct 15 and Thanksgiving. That's probably too late for many devices to be delivered for the holiday season.

Apple, meanwhile, will sell millions of iPads between now and the end of the year.




--------------------------------------

Android tablets I've seen announced or discussed in the last two months

-------------------------------
5 inch display, 800x480 pixels
ARM Cortex A8 processor
-------------------------------

Dell Streak

-------------------------------
7 inch display, 800x480 pixels
ARM Cortex A8 processor
-------------------------------

Archos 70, $270-$335

Camangi FM600

Viewsonic Viewpad 7

Wistek WITS A81E ~$200

Huawei Smakit S7

ICD Ultra

Smart Devices SmartQ T7

-------------------------------
7 inch display, 800x480 pixels
ARM Cortex A9 processor
-------------------------------

Elocity A7
(Amazon.com preorders $370)

Pioneer Computers Dreambook ePad N7

Dell Streak with 7 inch screen (rumor)


-------------------------------
7 inch, 1024x600 pixels
ARM Cortex A9 processor
-------------------------------

Samsung Galaxy Tab


-------------------------------
10 inch display, 1024x600 pixels
ARM Cortex A8 processor
-------------------------------

Archos 101 ($295-$340 pre-order)

BenQ nRead R100

Genesi Efika smartbook

Hannspree slate

Lenovo LePad

Viewsonic G-Tablet

-------------------------------
10 inch display, 1024x600 pixels
ARM Cortex A9
-------------------------------

Toshiba AC100 smartbook

Toshiba Folio 100 slate

e-Noa Interpad
(sold by several vendors including Mouse Computer)

Malata SMB-A1011

Samsung Galaxy Tab (rumor)

HTC tablet (rumor)

Notion Ink Adam
Pixel Qi sceen, readable in direct sunlight


-------------------------------
Others of interest
-------------------------------

OpenPeak OpenTablet
Intel Moorestown processor, Android 2.1

Neofonie WeTab
11.6 inch screen, custom version of Meego Linux

HTC tablet

Viewsonic ViewPad 100
(dual boot Android or Windows 7)

HP Slate
(rumor - dual boot Android or Windows 7)

Tega V2
(rumor - dual boot Android or Windows 7)

Toshiba Libretto W100
two 7 inch screens

RIM Blackberry Pad running RIM OS

CTL 2GoPad
(taking pre-orders, runs Windows 7)

 

[eugene]

Tmobile. G2 went on pre order today. I just ordered one.
Im donw with windows mobile, everyone i ever had even with custom roms slows down at the wrong times wasting time and energy.

Im hoping android treats me better and it looks like a good overland tool, with strong voice, messaging, social network and mapping options and a 5 megapixel camera that can take hd video

Im happy with tmobile but i dont know how deep their coverage goes into off road areas im travelling to. Honestly i usually cut my phone off anyway so i can enjoy the sights

I fought winmo for two years, its terrible. Back in the day I liked winCE2.0 and could do everything with it but they really ruined it by 6.x.
Android doesn't really do anything that winmo can't, they all have calendar, e-mail, camera, apps, music players, etc but Android, like linux, just works, winmo you have to jump through this and that hoop and convert this to that.

 

[Hill Bill E.]

.......... and a 5 megapixel camera that can take hd video

The Droid 5 mp camera takes great pics, and awsome videos!

One problem I ran into, the videos (in 'High' setting) are '3GP' (or .3gp) format.

My computer couldn't open them. I did find a program to run them (convert them) but haven't been able to edit them/put them to disc.

That's probably just me and my computer illiteracy:snorkel:

One thing I love, is the 'You Tube' setting, very high res, 10 minute videos, you can send striaght to your You-Tube account.


As far as coverage, mine worked great in Moab, and going to/from UT and CO.

Naturally, I lost coverage in the mountain passes of CO (not that the Google mapa would have helped, seeing where I was!)

But the GPS app still worked:coffeedrink:

 

[Jeepthreat]

Okay so i have a ipad with 3g and wifi but i dont want to pay for at&t services for data.

The plan now is to root my android phone and tether it to the ipad as a wifi spot using hpsa+ or 4g as the data stream to power the ipad.

Im excited about this possibility for the g2/hero android phone from htc

 

[haven]

PC World magazine tested several web browsers for Android, and declared Skyfire 2.0 the winner. Skyfire is a little faster than the other browsers, and does a better job of playback of movies, especially on Android 2.1 devices, which lack Flash support.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/206278/battle_of_the_android_browsers.html

 

[haven]

"Location based services" is a new buzz-phrase that includes all sorts of advertising and communication with your smart phone based on your current GPS position. For example, Facebook could let you know when one of your FB "friends" is nearby. Or an interactive gaming app could offer to start a new game with other players who are in your vicinity. Or a clothing store that's near your location might offer you a discount if you stop by.

Researchers have found that half of a sample of 30 Android apps routinely send your location to servers via the Internet. Some send location data to third party advertisers. One app sent the GPS location of the phone every 30 seconds!

So be aware of the consequences when you're installing a program and you're asked if you want the app to have access to your location, and to the Internet.

http://arstechnica.com/security/new...-to-covertly-send-gps-data-to-advertisers.ars