Tips & Tutorials - 13/21 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Feb

Thumb Keyboard Is An Epic Win For Tablet Typing [Hands-On]

Posted by Will Shanklin in App Reviews, Applications, Galaxy Tab, NOOKcolor (Encore), Reviews, Tips & Tutorials, XOOM

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

If you caught our review of Thumb Keyboard last month, you'll know the gist of this clever keyboard app that aims to make two-thumbed typing a breeze. It's a novel (and potentially very useful) tool for a phone, but with recent updates that have accentuated the tablet layouts, this has now become my keyboard of choice on large tablet screens, and is a potential game-changer in the new slate arena.

On phones, trace keyboards like Swype and SlideIt are extremely hard to beat in the speed department (world texting records seem to be broken on a regular basis with Swype), but on the wider tablet screen, tracing suddenly becomes much less convenient.

Feb

Motorola XOOM User Guide Leaked, Now Available To Download

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Motorola, News, Tips & Tutorials, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

Sure, you've already spent hours salivating over the Motorola XOOM, checked out some apps built for Android 3.0, and even played with the Honeycomb emulator, but obviously, the one thing you've really been longing for is the XOOM's user guide.

Thanks to Droid Life, you can now sift through that clumsy collection of instructions you never would have read otherwise. Nonetheless, go ahead and download the guide if you so desire; we didn't discover anything previously unknown during our preliminary reading, but who knows - something new and exciting could be contained within!

Download link

Source: Droid Life

Feb

Gmail Priority Inbox For Mobile Browsers Now Live

Posted by Josue Alamo in Android OS, News, Tips & Tutorials

For those of us who regularly encounter a blizzard of emails, Gmail's Priority Inbox is a godsend. Previously exclusive to the desktop and Android devices, Priority Inbox has been expanded to support any HTML5-capable mobile web browser.

The process is simple. First, you have to have Priority Inbox set up for your email account (if you haven't already done so). Once this is done, load up your compatible mobile web browser and waddle on over to gmail.com. Click on the menu screen, and ta-da! Your inbox should now be prioritized with the appropriate sections filtered for your account.

Once again, your mobile browser must be compatible with HTML5, which is included in Android OS 1.5+ as well as iOS 3 and beyond.

Feb

How To Unlock The Super Secret Super Bowl Level In Angry Birds

Posted by Josue Alamo in Apps/Games, Games, News, Off-Topic, Tips & Tutorials

The secret to unlocking the Super Bowl level inside Angry Birds has been hatched by zblanco4, a user over at the Angry Birds Nest, with a little clue to guide the way. Just as Rovio promised, the clue was planted in the Rio ad during Super Bowl - check it out below:

Detailed instructions have been left behind for the rest of us to join in on the fun. The requirements? Not much! As they are:

Open level 13-12 of Ham ‘Em High
Shoot the first Yellow bird anywhere
Now shoot the White bird backwards and drop an egg on the back side of the hill
If you hit the right spot the Golden Egg will pop up!

Jan

[Updated: Maybe] Want To Port Your Number To Google Voice, But Don't Want To Cancel Your Contract? Call Ahead.

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Tips & Tutorials

Update: After contacting Sprint customer support a second time, they back-tracked and said there's no way to do it without incurring an ETF. The only options available are:

1. They can create an additional line on the account, then allow the first line to be pulled out - thereby cancelled. While doing so would allow you to maintain your account, you'd lose number history and would incur an ETF.

2. She also told me they may be able to work some voodoo and somehow simultaneously swap numbers, meaning that the existing carrier number is ported out to Google Voice, while the Google Voice number is ported to the carrier.

Jan

Facebook For Android Adds Deals - Here Is How To Find Them

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News, Tips & Tutorials

Facebook for Android has been notoriously slow to release updates and features in general, and last night's update reaffirmed that the app is nowhere near the top of Facebook's priority list. The Deals feature has been available on iOS since early November of 2010, only reaching Android almost 3 months later. According to the changelog, the Deals functionality is the only addition to the app, so let's take a quick look at how exactly you are going to find said deals.

As you can see, upon updating and starting Facebook, you will not find a Deals button anywhere in the menu.

Jan

For Developers: Google Releases ADT For Eclipse v9.0.0 And SDK Tools r9, Now Offers Near-Instant AVD Restarts [Hands-On]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, Development, News, Tips & Tutorials

If you are a developer, you will want to fire up SDK Manager right now and perform an update. Besides the Honeycomb SDK preview that we'll talk about separately, Google also unleashed the next version of Android Development Tools, or simply ADT, for Eclipse as well as SDK Tools r9. I've been using ADT versions 9.0.0 preview 1, 2, and 3 for a number of weeks now, and I can tell you that 9.0.0 is a huge step up to where a serious set of development tools needs to be.

What's New?

Numerous improvements to the Visual Layout Editor, "go to declaration" hyperlink support for quicker navigation around declarations, near-instant AVD restarts (holy crap!!!

Jan

Android Police Editors' Best-Of App Picks - Part 1: Music, Messaging, And File Transfers

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, Apps/Games, Editorials, News, Tips & Tutorials

One thing we never grow tired of on Android is the myriad selection of apps available for use in a particular purpose. Be it text messaging, music listening, or file transfers, there's always a solid grouping of well-made apps to choose from. But whose app fits your needs best? Three of us here at Android Police are going to give you our personal favorites in an ongoing rundown series. We'll give you our picks in a wide variety of areas - from home screens to instant messaging. In this week's episode, we'll be looking at music, messaging, and file transfer applications.

Jan

Top Android Apps Every Rooted User Should Know About, Part 2: Apps 9-16

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in App Reviews, Applications, Apps/Games, Best Apps For Rooted Users Series, Development, Reviews, Tips & Tutorials

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Introduction

About half a year ago, my friend and colleague David Ruddock posted an article showcasing his eight favorite root-only apps.

Many of you read it, enjoyed it, and found the information contained within quite helpful, so we've decided to make it an Android Police series.

Part deux begins right now.

This article deals with a couple of advanced topics. If you’re unfamiliar with some of the terms, hit up our primers here:

adbWireless

Love the geeky freedom of connecting your computer to your Android device via ADB but wish it could all be done wirelessly?

Dec

Viewsonic G Tablet, From Rags To Riches - An Owner's Guide To Making The Best Of A Great Tablet

Posted by Jakub Glodek in Applications, Development, Froyo 2.2, gTablet (SMB-A1002), Tips & Tutorials, Viewsonic

Last Updated: December 31st, 2010

Over the past couple of weeks, I spent countless hours debating whether I should wait around a few months and see what tablets come out or get one now. In the latter case, which tablet was right for me?

Let me start out with what I wanted out of a tablet. First and foremost, I needed a device that let me check my email and read the news. Every morning, I wake up, grab my Sprint EVO 4G, and check my email using Gmail and my work email using Exchange. I then drift to the USA Today App to read the day’s news.