Tag Archives: android

Top 5 Android Devices

November 7, 2012Articles, Hero Sliderandroid, android tablets, arnova, asus, best mobile phone, childpad, device, droid, eee pad, galaxy, galaxy ii s, galaxy s3, galaxy tab 10.1, google, mobile android, nexus 7, nexus tablet 7, Phone, review, Samsung, samsung galaxy tabs, smartphone, tablet, tablet by samsung, tabletpc, top 5, transformer prime, what is an android phone, what is an android tabletAmy

If you’re a fan of open source technology, you’re likely spurning Apple’s phones and tablets in favour of Android. However, the difficulty when investing in an Android model is the variety out there, which can make choosing a phone or tablet quite a challenge. Ironically, this array of technology is also one of the OS’s major draws.

Other reasons to choose Android over Apple include the use of widgets over installing apps, the wider variety of app marketplaces and the compatibility with Flash. However, there are drawbacks too – Android is less widely regulated so it may pose increased security risks to your phone or tablet.

If you do choose to go Android, there is a plethora of innovative technology out there, each one offering something a little different. So to help you in the decision making process, here are five of the best Android technologies to suit a variety of needs.

Google Nexus 7 Android Tablet

One of the major selling points for the Nexus 7 is the price tag. Available at just $199, this beats all branded major competition and is a superb option for households or individuals on a budget. Smaller than the iPad, experts claim this might be more easily comparable to a Kindle – especially with its heavy focus on book and film apps. It has been described as a way for users to access and consume web content, and buy in particular from Google’s app stores. It is the ideal hybrid model – larger than a smart-phone but smaller than the average tablet – which makes web browsing highly portable, yet more easily visible.

Samsung Galaxy S3 smart-phone

The Samsung Galaxy S3 makes the Top 5 Android technologies list due to its impressive quad-core processor, HD display and 4.8 inch screen – great features for a smart-phone. In terms of operation, it also boasts a surprisingly powerful battery, which allows it to keep its charge for longer; ideal for busy people on the go.

3. Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime

If there is one thing that puts people off purchasing a tablet it’s the touch screen typing capabilities. Sometimes you just want a regular QWERTY keyboard. While other tablets offer plug-in typing facilities, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime is an Android tablet with the physical benefits of a Netbook – it has a foldable and removable keyboard dock. Plus, it’s slimmer and lighter than the iPad, it has a 1.3GHz quad-core processor and it can process full HD movies too.

Arnova ChildPad

The Arnova ChildPad has made it onto the list due to its innovative use. It is a tablet aimed at children and one of the few that runs an Android OS. This give kids the ability to use child-friendly Android apps without annoying mum and dad (by stealing their tablets). At 7 inches it’s smaller than the average 10 inch tablet which suits smaller fingers down to the ground and it comes fully loaded with 30 apps tailored for kids.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

At number five, is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 – the Android tablet most comparable to the iPad. It is both lighter and thinner than Apple’s model, offering a dual-core CPU which offers users a good speed and an 8 mega pixel camera to boot.

So there you have it – five Android technologies suitable for five different uses – and one thing’s for sure, you don’t get this level of choice when you buy from Apple.

This article was submitted through TechGeec’s article submission form.

Amy Boff writes for Appliances Online. When she isn’t checking Facebook she enjoys walking her dog. Follow her on Twitter @AmyBoff

How to Set Up Custom Voicemail for Your Android Contacts

October 10, 2012Articles, Hero Sliderandroid, custom, droid, google, google voice, greeting, how to, jailbreak, message, missed call, one click root, oneclickroot, root, voicemailAndrew

When somebody misses your call, you’re usually redirected to their voicemail inbox. You hear a generic greeting, a beep, and then you leave a message.

But that’s boring. Why settle for the same old generic voicemail messages when you can assign custom voicemail messages to your favorite contacts?

Thanks to Android, assigning customized voicemail greetings has never been easier. Today, we’re going to show you how to give every one of your contacts a unique voicemail message using Google Voice.

Step 1) Download Google Voice

Google Voice is a free app that is available in the Google Play store. Download and install Google Voice here. Unfortunately, the Google Voice app is currently only available to Android users in the United States.

Step 2) Enable call screening

Google Voice has a useful call screening function. You’ll need to enable this function before you record your custom voicemail greetings.

To do this, open Google Voice and select the gear icon in the top right corner. Tap on the Voice settings link and then navigate to the Calls tab.

Find the radio button beside Call Screening that says ‘On’ and select it. Once you hit Save Changes, call screening will be enabled. Call screening allows you to send callers directly to voicemail, listen to the voicemail message they’re about to leave, accept the call, or accept and record the call.

Step 3) Set up Google Voice voicemail

Now that you’ve enabled call screening, you can set up Google Voice’s voicemail. Open Google Voice and click the gear icon in the top right corner of the main menu. Choose Voice settings from the list and then select the Voicemail & SMS tab.

Once you’re ready to record your voicemail message, select Record New and speak your name into your phone. Then, choose the Android phone that you want your calls to be forwarded to and hit Connect.

Google Voice will call the Android phone you selected and then ask you to record the name you want your contacts to hear when they call you.

Step 4) Set up customized voicemail greetings

Now that you have connected Google Voice’s voicemail, it’s time to record customized greetings for your favorite contacts. To do this, once again click on the gear icon in the top right corner of the page, navigate to Voice settings and choose the Voicemail & SMS tab.

Look for the Voicemail Greeting section and then click on the Add button to add a new contact. Type in whatever name you want to use for that customized voicemail greeting.

After you press OK, a new window called Record Greeting will appear. Open the drop-down menu called Phone to ring and then select your Android phone. Click Connect and Google Voice will immediately call your phone.

When you pick up the call, Google Voice will tell you to record your customized voicemail message. Once you’ve hung up the call, select your voicemail message from the Voicemail Greeting section of the Voicemail & SMS tab, which can be found under your settings menu (click on the gear icon in the top-right of Google Voice).

Step 5) Choose your contact

Go to Google Voice and look through your list of contacts. Select the contact for which you have already recorded a personalized greeting and then select Edit Google Voice settings. Choose the Voice message that you have already recorded from the dropdown list that pops up. You can also set up a personalized voicemail message for a group using this method.

You’re done!

This feature is useful for plenty of different reasons. You can set up a customized Google Voice message for your work contacts, for example, that says you’re currently out of the office. And your friends can hear another message entirely.

Whether you want to leave a cute greeting for your girlfriend or an “I’m safe, mom” message for your parents, Google Voice can help you get the most out of your Android smartphone. Thanks to the power of Android and Google Voice, generic voicemail messages are a thing of the past.

This article was submitted through TechGeec’s article submission form.

Andrew’s website, OneClickRoot.com, offers One Click Root, the smartest android rooting software available. Just one click and you can unlock your android smartphone, or android tablet, and harness its full potential.

New Motorola Products (ATRIX, CLIQ 2, XOOM)

January 8, 2011Uncategorized2.2, 3.0, android, atrix, cliq 2, dock, honeycomb, laptop, Motorola, Phone, t-mobile, tablet, verizon, xoomDavid

Motorola has unveiled three new amazing products at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, two of which are a phone, the other a tablet.

The new Motorola ATRIX features a dual-core processor each at 1GHz, 1GB of RAM, 960×540 resolution, 24-bit color, 16GB internal, 32GB microSD expansion, 802.11n WiFi connectivity, 11m thickness, and a front-facing camera. What makes the ATRIX truly unique, however, is it’s ability to be docked in the new Motorola HD dock which is almost identical to a laptop but without any components (CPU, RAM, motherboard, etc.). The phone powers the entire dock and it gives the user the ability to control the phone using a laptop-like accessory. This dock is also capable of running the full version of FireFox as well as a virtual Windows 7 environment.

The Motorola CLIQ 2 retains a similar design to the original CLIQ, including the physical keyboard and the MOTOBLUR UI. Also featuring Android 2.2, a 3.7″ display and a 5MP camera with dual LED flash.

Lastly, Motorola’s new tablet, the XOOM, features a healthy-sized 10.1-inch capacitive screen with a very high resolution of 1280×800, a 5MP HD front-facing camera, and the mandatory dual-core ARM-based Tegra 2 chipset, which will allow for full 1080p HD video playback. What is attracting all the buzz about the XOOM, however, is that it is the first tablet to run Google’s tablet-optimized Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system. This will bring a lot more functionality to the device, as all the core apps will be redesigned so as to allow the user to take full advantage of the much greater screen size, compared to what you get on a smartphone running, for example, Android 2.2. In addition, the tablet will feature all the known goodies that we love like an accelerometer, gyroscope and of course, Adobe Flash 10.1 Player support.

Google I/O Very Unprofessional

May 20, 2010Uncategorizedajax, android, app engine, chrome, google, Google web toolkit, i/o, opensocial, waveDavid

As I was watching the first day of the Google I/O Keynote I noticed some issues Google had but nothing they could of prevented, for example losing WiFi and so on. But the second day from what I heard was a mess. (I haven’t watched the keynote yet becasue it isn’t on their YouTube channel). They were losing WiFi, their remotes wern’t connectig to the projectors, and their Bluetooth keyboards wern’t connecting, and the list goes on. It even got so bad they had to ask te audience to turn off their WIFI on their computers and phone to free it up for Google sake. (But can you really picture 5,000 people getting WIFI off of one router)? You would of thought Google would of had this down by now but hey didn’t. Could this be a regular thing with Google? To be honest I love Google (epically everything they do is very casual) but this is kinda ruining their reputation.

Android Lock Screen for iPhone, iPod Touch, & iPad

January 25, 2010Jailbreak, Videosandroid, android lock, androidlock, androidlock xt, bigboss, cydia, droid, ios, iOS 4, ios 5, ipad, iPhone, ipod touch, jailbreak, lock screen, os, tweakDavid

The lock screen for the Android OS (the one where you drag your finger across six dots to create a pattern) is widely known. It’s time has finally come and is now available on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. This tweak is available in Cydia (jailbroken 3rd party application installer) for $1.49 and is called AndroidLock XT. AndroidLock XT has the option to completely replace the original “Slide to Unlock” lock screen or to use it in conjunction with “Slide to Unlock.” In other words, instead of having a generic passcode, you’ll have the ability to slide to unlock and then be prompted to enter your pattern. After the break, be sure to watch the video review. Mind you, this is an older video demonstrating the original AndroidLock from early 2010. It will, however, give you an idea of how the tweak works and almost all bugs have been removed since the initial release.

Features:

Customizable appearance and themes
Enable/Disable switch
Tap/Slide to unlock (AndroidLock is minimized)
Compatible with LockCalendar, LockInfo, and Cydets
Maximum attempts limit
Emergency call
Can be set to require pattern only after some time
iCaughtU support

Themes

To create your own themes, SSH into your device and see the “Theme Creation Guide” located in /var/mobile/Library/AndroidLock/Doc.

As previously mentioned, your device will need to be jailbroken in order to install AndroidLock XT. To find out if and how you can jailbreak your device, be sure to visit TechGeec’s iOS Info page at www.TechGeec.com/iOS-Info.