22
Nov
hi-256-0-eef6ba12378ffb43268be105d7cd06fbd2083495
7

Fahrbot Mobile, the developer that brought us Screenshot ER, Root Call Blocker, Call Master, and a handful of other useful apps, recently released Undelete Beta to the Android Market, an app that promises to help find – and recover – files deleted from your SD card.

ss-480-0-1 ss-480-1-0 ss-480-2-1

The app will quickly scan the contents of your SD card and detect deleted items that may be eligible for restoration. While this sounds like a super handy app, the developer warns that – as with any recovery solution – users shouldn't expect a 100% success rate. There are many things that ...

22
Jun
images
13

While I may love many, many things about Android, that doesn't mean that it lacks any annoyances. Of those annoyances, the inability to mount the SD card in the phone and PC simultaneously ranks close to the top of the list. Thankfully, there are apps like Dual Mount SD Widget to save the day.

This app is for rooted devices only.

What Dual Mount SD Widget does is quite simple, but extremely helpful: it allows you to mount your SD card to your phone and PC at the same time. This means that you'll be able to transfer files to ...

19
Apr
image
204

Today, for the first time ever, my EVO 4G had an unexpected failure installing updates for some of my Android apps. All update attempts would inevitably end in an almost instant failure with the message that read:

Installation error

Couldn't install on USB storage or SD card

snap20110418_235450

The weird part was that some apps installed OK but some got stuck in a perma-fail mode and could no longer be updated. After mucking around for a bit, I dug into the logs and found the following relevant log line:

Failed to create secure container smdl2tmp1

Aha! Now what the heck is ...

18
Apr
ClockworkMod-Recovery-Logo-Large
2

Last week saw an update to the Tiamat kernel that enabled the XOOM's SD card slot, and now the modders are back with another hack (ugh, that rhymes, doesn't it?) for Motorola's Honeycomb tablet: ClockworkMod Recovery.

For those not familiar with Koush's geeky masterpiece, ClockworkMod is a universal recovery renowned for its ability to create full backups (aka nandroids) of a device to its SD card. To be clear, ClockworkMod has been available for the XOOM for a while now, but it hasn't really had a purpose since SD card functionality wasn't enabled. But with the aforementioned Tiamat kernel...

12
Apr
picsay-1302633504-528x600
2

The XOOM's currently nonfunctional microSD card slot has likely turned off many a potential buyer, but – if you're willing to take your chances with unofficial software from the Android dev community – the problem has finally been solved.

The solution comes by way of an update to Tiamat, a custom kernel from XDA member bigrushdog. Installation is more or less identical to any other kernel, but if you need instructions, knock yourself out:

1. Reboot into the bootloader by running:
adb reboot bootloader
2. Flash the boot image to your boot partition, then boot back into Android by

...

04
Apr
image
79

Poor SD Card performance can definitely have a negative effect on overall experience with your device, especially when considering apps that rely on speedy SD Card access, like the Gallery, or features, like Apps2SD.

XDA forum member brainmaster has been hard at work on tweaking some settings in Android to improve the situation in this very department. By adjusting a certain SD card cache value, he, along with many others on xda who tried this out, were able to significantly improve read speeds, usually at least doubling or tripling them, and in certain cases going even higher.

I thought it ...

24
Feb
Epic4G
18

Samsung has a reputation for not being the greatest at updating their devices, but this week has been especially rough for them. First, Microsoft had to halt an update to the Samsung Omnia 7 due to reports of bricked devices. Today, Sprint has just stopped pushing the Android 2.2 update for the Epic as users have found hardware problems after applying it.

According to Sprint's support forum, there have been an increased number of calls into their Care Centre about issues with wireless data connectivity and the ability to access the SD card. While it's a relief that ...

06
Dec
image
41

As we've all been following the Nexus S over the last few months, inhaling every bit of news regarding its specs, nobody could have foreseen or even considered the fact that the next Nexus, announced earlier today by Google, will be lacking the microSD card slot. The absence of HSPA+, a dual-core processor, HDMI, an 8MP camera, or Bluetooth 3.0 - sure, these are unfortunate, but understandable.

However, not being able to change out one SD card for another, faster one, is beyond mind boggling. Given that the Nexus S comes with 16GB of built-in storage, I personally probably won't ...

31
Oct
image
14

Modder’s Column, formerly known as Modder’s Monday, is a column dedicated to rooting, hacking, and other forms of modifying Android and is written by Jaroslav Stekl, a man who spends his days coding, hacking, hiking, and of course, writing for Android Police.

A few editions back, I described several ways to customize your Android device. As you may recall, one of my main points was changing up the status bar using apps such as Date Status Bar, Memory Status, Status Toggle, and Battery Percentage. The last of those four apps in particular has one big issue: ...

19
Oct
snap20101009_150456_wm
4
Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

This contest is now over. We have selected the winners - see if you are one of them towards the bottom of the page.

Ever wondered how much RAM is available on your phone? What about the internal storage space available? Or the precise signal strength? If you answered yes to any of these questions, System Info Widget may be the perfect widget for you and your inner geek.

The Review

snap20101009_150456_wm   snap20101009_150506_wm

What you're looking at above are the four widgets Jason Calhoun, the developer of the System Info Widget, gives you out of the gate. Of course, these can ...

07
Oct
Webkey 5
4
Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Everyone knows that smartphones are awesome, but it’s hard to beat using a large screen and full keyboard to control a device. Developers Peter Mora and Zoltan Papp believe they have come up with a compelling compromise: Webkey, for Android. Webkey allows users with a rooted Android device to text or call contacts, view SD card contents, and more - all from a web based interface.

Webkey Final 4

The Interface

Webkey's interface leaves a lot to be desired, as it is more bare and utilitarian than polished and perfected. As the picture above shows, you have access to the following options:

  • Phone
  • ...

11
Aug
galaxy_s_door
21

Galaxy Not-So “S”

Is your Galaxy S a little laggy (experiences stutters, delays) at times, even on Froyo? It’s not your imagination; your phone’s internal storage is probably the culprit, and LagFix addresses the problem quite cleverly, helping you put the “S” back in your Galaxy.

As you probably know, Galaxy S phones boast either 8GB and 16GB of internal memory. Pretty hefty for an Android phone (the most spacious available, in fact). And yet, the Galaxy S is no more expensive than any comparable, high-end Android phone. So, how did Samsung do it?

Your Galaxy S’s cavernous capacity is ...

04
Jun
HTC EVO 4G OTA Update Comes Out In Time For Launch, Fixes SD Card Problems, Patches Security Issues, Disables Root Hole - Available Via WiFi As Well
4

The disappearing SD card issue plaguing a whole slew of HTC EVOs, sometimes resulting in data corruption, has been fixed by an over-the-air update, according to Sprint.

I alerted the community of the issue last week by raising some red flags and starting a few forum threads, and voila - Sprint and HTC scrambled the fix in time for launch. Thank you, everyone, for all your feedback!

The problem with the SD card, which most users incorrectly attributed to the card itself being faulty, ended up being a software bug, so no device returns should be necessary. The bug ...

29
May
Is HTC EVO 4G About To Be Shipped With A Massive Defect In The Included 8GB MicroSD Card?
86
Last Updated: June 1st, 2010

Google and Sprint might have a big problem on their hands, as the EVO 4G, coming out in less than a week on June 4th, seems to have a serious defect in the included internal storage department.

Update 6/1/2010: I have terrible news. While on vacation in France (and therefore unable to swap out the SD card for another), I have today spent a whole day in Monaco and Monte Carlo which ended up being my favorite little places in all of France and its surroundings.

After taking a myriad of breathtaking and irreplaceable pictures and videos and coming

...

16
Apr
ClockworkMod ROM Manager backup and restore
226
Last Updated: January 20th, 2011

Introduction

In this tutorial, I will guide you through the easiest and most reliable way to fully and 100% back up and restore your Android phone.

By fully back up, I don't mean backing up just your address book or your emails, or your dog. I mean EVERYTHING that resides on your phone with the exception of the SD card - what we will create is essentially a full image of your phone's current state that you can restore to at any time as if nothing happened. This image will be written to your SD card which you ...