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Aug

Modder's Monday: Hacking Without Hacking - A Guide to Customizing Your Android Device Without Voiding Your Warranty

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in App Reviews, Applications, Development, Editorials, Reviews, Tips & Tutorials

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

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

One of the many things that I love about Android, especially after spending several years with an iPhone, is how customizable it is - right out of the box. You can change your keyboard, tweak the status bar to make it work any way you like, change apps’ icons, and even install home replacements that alter how your homescreen works. The best part about all this?

Aug

App Roundup: 5 Apps That Turn Your Android Phone Into A Portable Document Scanner

Posted by Brian Emery in App Reviews, Applications, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Using a camera to “scan” documents to a digital format is nothing new. There are a number of PC applications available that help users turn photographed pages into PDFs or other document formats. Android enthusiasts can now enjoy the same functionality, as higher resolution cameras on mobile devices have finally allowed this application category to reach maturity. This roundup will cover 5 apps you can use to turn your Android device into a portable document scanner.

Keep in mind with all of these applications, lighting conditions and the surface on which a document or book is placed will have an effect on the quality of each “scan.” You will have the best results if you place the documents as flat as possible on a dark, solid color surface in a well lit area.

Aug

Samsung Epic 4G Review Roundup: Keeps The 4G Fire Burning

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Epic 4G, News, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Sprint

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

After months of leaks, announcements, and the releases of its sister phones, the Epic 4G is here... sort of. While the device won't go on for sale for another two weeks, the big players in tech have managed to snag some early review units. We've filtered through the roundups and come up with the four that we deemed most worthy. Let's take a look:

Engadget

Chris Ziegler (who seems to get all the flagship phones) spent some time with the Epic 4G and came away extremely impressed, despite a having a few minor niggles:

So is it the right phone for the job?

Aug

Droid 2 Review Roundup: More Of The Same (And That’s A Good Thing)

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Droid 2, News, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

After the huge success of the original Droid, the Droid 2 was one of the most hotly anticipated (and most leaked) handsets ever. So, we’ve decided to compile some reviews of the device to help you decide if it’s worth upgrading to the Droid’s sequel. A few minor complaints aside, the general consensus is that this is indeed a worthy successor to the most popular Android phone yet.

Engadget

Chris Ziegler was impressed by the Droid 2’s improvements over its predecessor, but still recommends the Droid X or Droid Incredible unless a physical keyboard is a must for you.

There's no question that the Droid 1 was entering its twilight years, especially in the aftermath of the Droid X's release; Motorola and Verizon knew they needed to bring the old model up to spec if they wanted to keep a quality physical QWERTY Android device on the shelves.

Aug

Dell Streak Feature Roundup, Hands-On, And Impressions

Posted by John Thompson in Dell, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Streak

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

The Dell Streak may have been available in the UK for over two months now, but it’s taken until now to hit the States. Just in case you forgot, here is a roundup of my thoughts on all the features the phone has to offer if you’re thinking of getting yourself a Streak when it’s released tomorrow.

Hardware

When you first see the Dell Streak on the shelves, you may be confused as to what it’s trying to be. It’s a bloody big smartphone, with a 5” capactive touch screen display, but it’s not quite large enough, in my opinion, to be called a tablet.

Aug

[App Of The Week] Awesome Drop: Easily Transfer Files To Your Phone From Any Computer

Posted by David Ruddock in App Reviews, Applications, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Android is a great mobile operating system. And with Android 2.2, it’s getting even better. One thing Android isn’t very good at, though, is quick and easy wireless file transfers. This week’s App Of The Week solves half of that problem, allowing you to easily transfer files from your computer to your Android phone.

Awesome Drop aims to provide a simple file transfer solution that is lightweight and usable almost anywhere on any computer, without having to use clumsy FTP software or file hosting services. Awesome Drop makes use of HTML5 to allow you to open a browser on your computer, go to a webpage, and simply “drop” files from your computer onto your Android device.

Aug

SysAdmin Series #7: Remote Desktop Access with VNC Clients

Posted by Ian Douglas in App Reviews, Applications, News, Reviews, Tips & Tutorials

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

In the final installment of the SysAdmin Series, I’m going to cover some tools to access a remote system’s desktop using VNC (Virtual Network Computing) clients.

I’ll admit that as a sysadmin, I don’t personally have a lot of use for VNC as almost all of the systems I need to access remotely are text-only systems, and I use a simple SSH client for that work. However, I know some sysadmins who rely on VNC clients to do some work on graphical interfaces when being at a terminal isn’t possible.

With VNC, I feel it’s prudent to mention that while these VNC clients make remote desktop access possible, they’re not entirely practical given the current state of Android device screen sizes and resolution.

Jul

[Hands On] Gmote: Master Your PC’s Media Using Your Android Phone

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in App Reviews, Applications, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

I watch a lot of movies on my TV through my PC (rather than my 360, since Netflix says I have to have a Live Gold membership – stupid). This setup works just fine, since my PC sits right under my TV anyway, so my couch is just a few feet away. However, this means that any time I want to control the movie, I have to get up and go to the computer to do so – a definite pain. I made a few attempts at using VNC apps to do so, but they’re not well suited for such a simple task.

Jul

[App Of The Week] ExtendedControls, A Power Control Widget On Steroids + Giveaway For 50 Licenses!

Posted by David Ruddock in App Reviews, Applications, Contests / Giveaways, Reviews, Videos

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.

ExtendedControls - Power Control On Steroids

Do you like Android’s native Power Control widget? Are you unable to go through the day without using it more times than you can count? Do you wish it had a few more buttons (for things like Airplane Mode, or a flashlight) and that they could all fit in one row? Then you’ll probably be very interested in ExtendedControls—an app which takes the wonderful idea that is the Power Control widget, and turns it into a supercharged multi-tool.

Jul

Review: Samsung Intercept (Sprint) – Android Hits The Mainstream

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Intercept, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Sprint

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

A few weeks ago, Samsung was kind enough to send us an Intercept for review. While it may not be of Galaxy S caliber, it’s not intended to be. Rather, it’s more so aimed at the feature phone crowd – those who want something more powerful than a feature phone, but maybe not all the bells and whistles of a high-end smartphone. We spoke (unofficially) with Samsung about what other phones they think people will cross-shop the Intercept to, and they agreed its target is something like the enV Touch.