Tips - 11/17 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Oct

How To: Create A Customized Android Phone 7 Theme - Part 1

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Mods, Tips, Tutorials

Last Updated: November 7th, 2010

About a month ago, XDA-Devs member newone757 created a really great theme based on the one used in Windows Phone 7 - hence the name, Android Phone 7. He was kind enough to post the image files, a template image, and a short how-to, as well. I've taken the personalization a step further and created icons to fit my needs, and now it's your turn.

This theme was made for, and written using, a high resolution device (EVO 4G - 800x480). It hasn't been tested at lower resolutions, although it should work. For lower resolutions, you may want to consider using fewer icons on each screen or manually resizing them in Photoshop once Part 2 is available.

Oct

Tip: Launcher Pro And ADW Users - Drag And Hold Your Apps Over The Trashcan To Quickly Uninstall Them

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Mods, Tips

Today's tip is common sense to those Launcher Pro/ADW users who are aware of it and pure bliss to those who aren't. Normally, if you drag an icon on your homescreen to the trashcan, the icon simply gets removed from the given homescreen. However, if you keep holding it over the basket, the action turns into "Drop to uninstall," becoming the fastest way to remove apps that I can think of. To sweeten things up a bit, you can also drag icons into the basket from the launcher, achieving the same murderous effect. It literally takes 1 click to get to the uninstall screen without requiring any extra programs or menu walking.

Oct

Tip: Set Up Automatic Scheduled Nandroid Backups Using ROM Manager

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Mods, Tips

This article is aimed at rooted Android users using ROM Manager - if you are one of them, you should definitely consider looking into it; otherwise move right along, as this info will not apply to you. To see what ROM Manager can do for you, check out our guides here:

When was the last time you did a Nandroid backup? Was it this week? This month? Three months ago?

Oct

Bug In Angry Birds Lets You Unlock All Locked Worlds

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Games, News, Off-Topic, Tips

Have you ever wanted to peek ahead to those locked worlds in Angry Birds that are unavailable before fully completing the previous ones? A bug (or an Easter egg) in the Android version of the game lets you do just that, a reddit user braaaiins found. I tried it just a few minutes ago with 100% success.

Of course, many would argue that you should be going in order and playing the way Rovio meant for you to play, and I'd agree with them. However, there will always be people who would also find this unlock useful (lost game progress, new phone, angrybirdyism, etc), so I'll just put this here, and you can quietly walk away.

Oct

Android WiFi Tether App For Rooted Users Constantly Disconnecting? Try These Solutions To Fix It

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Tips

Last Updated: December 23rd, 2010

The number 1 Android app for rooted phones out there is undoubtedly Android WiFi Tether, which is a free alternative to all those carrier-bundled WiFi hotspot apps. In fact, it is the primary reason I root every Android phone I own - 2 hours of commute on the train suddenly become extremely productive because of always-on laptop connectivity. I've excitedly written about the app before, especially after it added support for Infrastructure mode and WPA2 on the EVO 4G.

Problems

However, after a few months of using the WiFi Tether app, I started experiencing occasional issues maintaining connectivity. The symptoms were:

the WiFi AP (access point) would suddenly disappear from the list completely
the connection would drop unexpectedly
the AP would show up in the list but connectivity with it could not be established

Doesn't sound like fun, does it?

Sep

[Android How-To] Make Your Own Ringtones, Notifications, And Alarms From Media Files

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in App Reviews, Applications, Reviews, Tips, Tutorials

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Have you ever wanted to make custom ringtones, alarms, or notification sounds in Android but had no clue how to do it, even if you already put a media file onto your device? I can't blame you - Android is absolutely terrible about letting you do anything but pick one of the existing system sounds and offers no way of adding your own.

Enter Ringdroid. Ringdroid's sole purpose is to let you take an existing music file, crop it exactly how you want it, and then save it as either a ringtone, an alarm, or a notification. The end result - the newly created sound shows up in the corresponding dropdown, ready for all that waking up, notifying action you can throw at it.

Sep

[Productivity Series] Four Little Apps That Will Make Using Your Android Device A Whole Lot Easier

Posted by Ron Hamelin in App Reviews, Applications, Reviews, Tips

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Get that boss-key ready, because it’s time to kick off the first installment in Android Police’s productivity series! We’ve scoured the [sometimes murky] depths of the Android Market for those vital productivity boosting applications that can save you time, money, and hopefully, some sanity. We’re always looking for new apps to cover, so if you have any suggestions, drop us a line at tips@androidpolice.com

I’m always looking for ways to make using my Android device easier and faster. Well, I’ve discovered four apps in the Market that will do just that… and, best of all, they’re free.

In-App WiFi

This little app does exactly what it says: it allows you to turn WiFi on or off, no matter what you’re doing on your Android device.

Sep

Modder's Column: The Hunt For The Best HTC EVO 4G ROM

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Editorials, Mods, Other Reviews, Reviews, Tips

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

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.

As I mentioned in the last edition of Modder's Column, one of my favorite things about Android is how customizable it can be, even for novice users who would rather not spend all day hacking their phone.

Unfortunately, one thing Android does not allow you to do right out of the box is install custom ROMs, which allow you to further customize your device by adding features, removing useless apps, and possibly even speeding it up or improving battery life.

Sep

Control Your Music Player Using LauncherPro, Be Awesome

Posted by Brad Ganley in Applications, News, Tips

It looks like user Rock_Harder over at the XDA community has solved a problem most people didn't even realize they had. If you, like many people, are faced with the issue of where to put the music widget on your homescreen, he's got you covered.

Essentially, his dilemma was that he simply didn't have the real estate to place the music widget effectively. He uses LauncherPro and had some of those handy extra dock icons laying around so, using all of his cunning and wit, Remoter was born. Huzzah!

"What is Remoter?" you may ask, "and why do I need it?" Remoter is awesome, and you need it because it is a very clever implementation of Android's capabilities that saves you time and space.

Sep

New AndroidPolice.com Feature: Instant QR Magic - Hover On Any Link In Any Post To Get The Corresponding QR Code [+Poll]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Apps/Games, Off-Topic, Tips

Admit it - QR codes are useful. And cool. They allow you to instantly get any bit of information, most frequently browser or Market urls, onto your phone - all you have to do is download the Barcode Scanner app from the Market (or any other QR reader) and scan the QR image.

Tutorial: Turn any url into a QR code from within your browser in just a few seconds.