The GOOGLE | ANDROID Thread

[Sky]

Anyone have the manual settings for bmobile data for an android phone? Or this needs to be done at their office?

[tr1ad]

once they activate it on their end

the instructions are the page before this one

[Soundwave]

oppressive mod is oppressive...

[Swisha]

Google brings real-time speech translation to your Android phone



Everybody loves sci-fi technology, but it's awesome to see it happen for real. That's the case with the new Google Translate for Android, which is on the verge of breaking the language barrier and change our world forever.

Ok, the case is surely exaggerated, but imagine a world where everyone speaks its native language and the others understand him perfectly (Farscape fans sigh here). This is not what the current Google Translate does, but it's the first step to that technology, so it's important.

The latest version of Google Translate for Android includes the experimental Conversation Mode, which currently works only between English and Spanish. You hit the English microphone icon and speak, then your words are translated and spoken in Spanish (or vice versa).

Google Translate has a new look too, but we're sure the most interesting part will be the Conversation Mode. In a previous demonstration, Google showed it working between English and German, so we guess other language updates will follow soon.

The updated app is available for Android 2.1 and above devices and you can get it from the Market right away.




GSM Arena

[~*SiLvA MeRa*~]

Any Galaxy S users having any issues with their phone?, i have been using the phone about 2 weeks now and yesterday, while imputting text using swype, it started acting buggy, the keys froze, then the screen started scrolling up and down by itself, jumping to old messages randomly, keypad was unresponsive but random letters were being pressed , tried exiting the messaging and then the home screen started sticking, not able scroll, went into contact list and it was scrolling up and down with no imput from me, i turned off the phone several times, i even pulled the battery but the problem started again when i tried to send another text. i disabled swype and so far the system has been stable, but wtf is going on, should i return it to TSTT, they will keep it to check out the problem but i have no faith in them plus who know how long they might keep the phone, any suggestions?

fellas, i am taking the phone in to tstt, i tried hard resetting twice and the same issues started up a little while after again, anyone thinks its software related or could it be a hardware defect?

[achillies]

With a Company like Bmobile, Who knows what it could be, no one can verify if the phone is brand new or if it its some type of refurbished.

If u disabled swype and the problem stoped, then it could be some conflict there but from what u are describing, it seems to be a hardware problem

[2NR Smurf]

Dont really use swipe and never had that severe a problem.
What happens with me is my capacitive keys start acting up now and then. Either my back key becomes unresponsive, or my menu key get stuck and launches the search.
So far it hasnt been happening often enough to call it a nuisance. I doh even wanna think about how long tstt will take to give me a replacement

[ryan99tt]

well they finally ported windows mobile 7 for hd2...hav fun, works great....

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=912416

[blud7]

Any Galaxy S users having ...... the phone, any suggestions?

fellas, i am taking the phone in to tstt, i tried hard resetting twice and the same issues started up a little while after again, anyone thinks its software related or could it be a hardware defect?

Clean your screen, use one of those microfiber cloths. Avoid alcohol/ammonia based cleaners, (although I use RUBBING alcohol sometimes on my phone, bad practice?). The recommendation is to use a lightly damp cloth (with water) if you really must. Don't ever spray anything on your phone.

Thing is these screens are VERRRY sensitive and need to be kept clean. The screens are what you call capacitive and if wet or dirty may act wonky. Chemicals can cause these screens to go crazy.

If this is not the problem, you may be short on memory. In THIS case replacing your phone solves nothing. (1) If you are ambitious / a techie, try flashing a new ROM which would definitely be better than stock in memory management. (2) Get a better class of microSD card, all are not created equal or (3) Get a task killer from the market (some people say this helps, some don't), this kills apps in the back ground that aren't in use (which android is supposed to do anyway).

PS I use swype on my Desire no problem.

[~*SiLvA MeRa*~]

Any Galaxy S users having ...... the phone, any suggestions?

fellas, i am taking the phone in to tstt, i tried hard resetting twice and the same issues started up a little while after again, anyone thinks its software related or could it be a hardware defect?

Clean your screen, use one of those microfiber cloths. Avoid alcohol/ammonia based cleaners, (although I use RUBBING alcohol sometimes on my phone, bad practice?). The recommendation is to use a lightly damp cloth (with water) if you really must. Don't ever spray anything on your phone.

Thing is these screens are VERRRY sensitive and need to be kept clean. The screens are what you call capacitive and if wet or dirty may act wonky. Chemicals can cause these screens to go crazy.

If this is not the problem, you may be short on memory. In THIS case replacing your phone solves nothing. (1) If you are ambitious / a techie, try flashing a new ROM which would definitely be better than stock in memory management. (2) Get a better class of microSD card, all are not created equal or (3) Get a task killer from the market (some people say this helps, some don't), this kills apps in the back ground that aren't in use (which android is supposed to do anyway).

PS I use swype on my Desire no problem.

well its not swype thats causing the phone to go crazy, i did a hard reset twice , phone worked well for a while and started acting up again when i was sending a text with swype disabled, the screen itself is kept clean with a microfiber cloth, when i took it into tstt naturally the problem did not occur while the customer rep fiddled, he told me that it will have to go to the repair centre and it could take 6-8weeks to come back, sigghh!!

he also told me that if they could not replicate the problem then as far as tstt is concerned the phone is not faulty, so i will be stuck with an expensive phone i cannot rely on...as for the replacement phone they would give you while yours is in for repairs, the rep told that its not company policy to give a replacement phone but rather a discretion they exercise once a phone is available, he first brought out a beat up looking samsung wave that had no battery, then after some time he came back with what looked like a new sony ericsson walkman slider in box, so i was somewhat relieved, when i got back to the office and plugged the phone in to charge....NOTHING, the phone or the charger is defective, so today i am heading back with replacement phone for another replacement ...if they have one.

Anyone besides me think tstt selling refurbished phones.

On another note, should the galaxy come back with no fix, is there anyone here on the forums who can upgrade the software?

[2NR Smurf]

^ Theres a guy on samsunggalaxysforum.com from trinidad (i think) who flashed his phone to 2.2 using one of the leaked samsung roms.

[tr1ad]

you now think its refurbished phone they selling

[copper_shot]

i know someone who needs to get a DROID 2 Global unlocked

who or where can do the job?

[blud7]

On another note, should the galaxy come back with no fix, is there anyone here on the forums who can upgrade the software?

Check the good people at xda forums:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=665

[henhena]

What Computer Language Do I Need To Learn To Create Google Android Application? I only took 2 semesters of C++ and only retained the memory of creating that stupid "Hello World" program. I want to create my own Apps for Google's Android phones. Can you recommend what computer languages I should be learning (like Java) to make creating these apps easier?
_____________________________
market samurai ~ marketsamurai ~ marketsamurai.com

[Swisha]

Nexus One gets tiny update to Android 2.2.2, fixes SMS routing issues



Not to be outdone by its Samsung successor, the Nexus One's getting a miniature over-the-air update as well, sending users on a mind-bending ride from Android 2.2.1 (version FRG83D) to the FRG83G build of Android 2.2.2. When they emerge thoroughly dazzled and confused on the other side, what will they find? We spoke to Google and it's just a few bug fixes, but one of them's rather important -- this update will go down in the annals of history as the one that doesn't inadvertently send humorous texts intended for your co-workers to your deathly serious boss. Oh, and if that sounds like something you'd like to have immediately, rather than waiting for a formal rollout, you can find the file you need at Google's servers right now.


Engadget

[Swisha]

Motorola Xoom launching February 17th at Best Buy



When we stumbled upon an $800 price for the Motorola Xoom yesterday, our instinctive reaction was to leap forward to the next obvious question: when? Well, that call has now been answered by an internal Best Buy document that's just dropped into our inbox, which explicitly pinpoints February 17th as the launch date for Moto's highly touted, Honeycomb-equipped tablet. Stock is expected to land at the big box retailer on February 16th, with the big party going down the day after. There's a note confirming that the Xoom will come with its promised 32GB of onboard storage, but anyone looking for confirmation or denial of the earlier pricing leak will be left disappointed. Guess we'll all have to set our calendar alerts for about a month from now and exercise patience in the mean time.


Engadget

[copper_shot]

i know someone who needs to get a DROID 2 Global unlocked

who or where can do the job?

still no luck here

anybody?

[Swisha]

got the 2.2.2 update today...

[Greypatch]

yea boi me too mitch....they stickking with the 2.3

[Swisha]

ent! with d way things going, they go announce honeycomb b4 we even get gingerbread...

[Swisha]

WidgetLocker Customizes The Sliders on Android's Lock Screen



Android only: The unlock and sound sliders on Android are handy, but if you'd like quick access to other things from the lock screen, WidgetLocker willl let you add anything from widgets to app shortcuts to extra sliders.

WidgetLocker is a pretty neat app, replacing your normal Android lock screen with one you customize. You can add any shortcut or widget you want, as well as other sliders that adjust things like brightness, ringer type, or launch other applications on your phone. It's got a ton of other cool features too, like hiding the notification bar on the lock screen, using a different wallpaper for the lock screen, and more. It's definitely worth checking out if you'd like to eke a bit more functionality out of your phone without having to unlock it every time.


Lifehacker

[Swisha]

Screenshot Tour of Android 3.0 Honeycomb, Built for Tablets



Google gave us a glimpse of Android 3.0 Honeycomb at CES earlier this year, but today they released their new SDK and some details on the upcoming OS. Here's a look through what we can expect from the next version of Android.


The Tablet UI

The biggest change in Android 3.0 is the general layout of the UI. Since it's built specifically for tablets, you have much more space on your home screen for icons and widgets. This is a pretty stark contrast to the iPad, which just enlarged the iPhone's 4x4 grid with big, spaced out icons—as you can see in the screenshot above, you actually have a much denser grid than you would on an Android phone, meaning you can pack a whole lot of stuff into one home screen.


The Notification Bar


The notification bar has been moved to the bottom of the screen, and they've added a few navigation buttons to it that seem to take the place of the capacative hardware buttons we all know and love on our Android phones. The three buttons, from left to right, are Back, Home, and Recent Apps. The new recent apps window is pretty handy, taking advantage of the extra space to show you the current state of each running app.


The Home Screens


The home screens themselves are pretty similar to regular Android as far as functionality—you can add app shortcuts and widgets wherever you want, swipe between five different screens, and expand your app drawer to access anything not already on the home screens. That said, the entire thing has this new 3D look to it that's really awesome (which we caught a glimpse of in our first look). As long as the hardware can keep up with the new UI, it'll be pretty awesome (we all remember how laggy the original Motorola Droid was).


The Action Bar


Probably the most welcome change in the new UI, however, is what Google is calling the Action Bar. In every application, the top bar is reserved for contextual options, navigation, or other buttons. The Email app, for example, has a new message button and a refresh button at the top. When you select a message, that action bar changes to display a move to folder button, a mark as read button, a star message button, and a delete button. Of course, it also has dropdown menus for any buttons that overflow off to the side.

Why is this so awesome? These are the kinds of buttons that, on the 2.0 cycle of Android, are usually buried in menus that you access with your phones Menu button. Now, instead of having to hit Menu (and God forbid a "More" button), those options will be available right at the top of your screen. Really, this is one of my biggest complaints about Android, and it makes me wonder why we don't have this action bar in 2.x, too.


Keyboard and Copy/Paste

The new soft keyboard is an improvement over the iteration we're all familiar with, including larger, reshaped keys for easier targeting. What's cooler is that it also includes some keys we're more familiar with on full keyboards, like Tab, which will make us desktop users more comfortable.



Copy and paste on Android has never been the most friendly feature, but 3.0 takes a step in the right direction by making it a much faster affair: just long-press on any text and it will select that word. From there, you can drag the selection area to include more text. The action bar will also show Select All, Cut, Copy and Share buttons while you're selecting text too, which is fantastic (seriously, why isn't that action bar in Android already?). Overall, working with text in Android 3.0 is going to be a much more pleasant experience.


Tablet-Optimized Core Apps


There aren't any Google apps in the SDK (like Gmail or Google Talk), but the non-Google core apps like the Browser, Camera, Contacts, and Email have all been updated to more efficiently use the extra space you'll get with a tablet. The browser has tabs built in (hallelujah!), bookmark syncing with Chrome (double hallelujah!), Incognito mode (ahem), and automatic sign in to Google sites using the Google account tied to your device. I don't need to tell you guys how cool all these features are. These are usually things we have to download an alternate browser for, both on Android and iOS. This is a big step forward.



The other core apps aren't quite as revolutionary, but still nicely redesigned. The camera app is definitely cool (see above), and the Contacts and Email app are basically two-pane versions of the same apps we already know and love—not unlike the difference between the iPhone and iPad versions of Contacts and Mail in iOS. They're a good use of space, but nothing revolutionary (unless you're counting the aforementioned action bar that I still can't get over).

_______________________


The most recent Android 3.0 SDK and screenshots over at the Android Developers site barely scratch the surface of the brand new OS, but I gotta say, it looks really exciting. I'm a happy iPad user that, until today, was 100% uninterested in an Android tablet, but I've eaten my words for breakfast. Plus, a lot of these features fix some of Android's biggest annoyances, so if we're lucky, maybe we'll get to see some of them in the smartphone versions of Android. Here's hoping.



Gizmodo

[Swisha]

Exclusive: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (PlayStation Phone) preview



Oh yes. After all the unbearable teasing since we unveiled the first ever photos of the PlayStation Phone, we've finally managed to get hold of the real deal for an in-depth preview. Honestly, we couldn't wait any longer with this thing floating around in China; we'd otherwise have to wait until MWC, where we expect the phone to be launched as the "Xperia Play" (and we shall refer to this name henceforth). Before you pop the cork for us, do bear in mind that what we're seeing here is subject to changes, so don't be alarmed by any missing features or exposed cables in our preview. When you're ready, head right past the break to find out what Sony Ericsson's cooking up.




Full Preview: Engadget

[Swisha]

Nexus S emerges in white attire, but it only covers its rear



Staying true to its Galaxy S forefather, the Nexus S has shown up with a new white shell, which, just as with the Galaxy S, only extends to its rear portions, leaving the front end a familiar shade of noir. Just what's keeping manufacturers from blanching their phones' visage, we don't know, but at least it's looking like there'll be some variation in the Nexus S' palette. We did notice a "Silver Black" Nexus S sprouting up in European retailers' listings a couple of weeks ago, which this could well be -- it all depends on how loosely these companies define the word "silver." There's no knowledge on when or where this chromatically altered S will be on sale, but you'll know more as soon as we do.

Update: First picture from the wilderness of the white back is now embedded after the break. The Next Web suggests Vodafone may be the European carrier for this particular version of the handset.




Engadget

[kaiger]

sweet thread..had an issue here but i got it resolved "internal memory was low" lol.

[Swisha]

Android 3.0 Honeycomb emulator has traces of smartphone support



Thought Honeycomb was just for tablets? Well, it's not! Sure, tablets might be Google's main thrust with the release, but we've been able to dig up enough evidence in the preview SDK's emulator released yesterday to suggest that these guys are still keeping their eyes on the smartphone prize.

Here's how it works: the emulator can be set to load at an arbitrary screen resolution. By default, that's WXGA, 1280 x 768 -- perfect for tablets, but obviously a wee bit large for even the biggest smartphones. Well, it turns out that setting the emulator to WVGA (like you might find on a modern mid- to high-end smartphone) triggers a moderately different shell UI that lacks most of the whiz-bang home screen stuff Google's shown on the Honeycomb tablets. In fact, the default launcher crashes out entirely, which means you need to install a replacement (Launcher Pro works nicely) just to play around.

Once you get in, it's pretty raw, but you immediately notice that the emulator's got some traces of smartphone support. Notably, the status bar reverts to a more smartphone-friendly form, albeit one with pre-Gingerbread background coloration and incorrectly-inverted font colors. The lock screen (pictured above) is back to its old form, not the webOS-esque circular lock in the Honeycomb tablet UI. The browser -- which has been completely revamped in Honeycomb -- works, though without visible tabs; Google might be thinking that they'd take up too much real estate on a screen this small.

Again, you can't glean much here, but it's interesting primarily because the emulator knows to revert to a smartphone UI layout at the lower resolution -- a possible sign that Honeycomb will be a true dual-mode, dual-purpose platform from day one. And even if it isn't, it looks like they're setting themselves up for a two-UI strategy down the road.


Engadget

[Swisha]

Google announces Android event for February 2nd



Had enough Honeycomb this week? Perhaps -- but next week is a whole new week, and Google's got your back. Mountain View has selected Wednesday, February 2nd for an event that'll include "an in-depth look at Honeycomb, Android ecosystem news and hands-on demos," so by all accounts this seems to be more than a mere wrap-up of everything they've announced in the past few weeks. New tablets? Honeycomb for smartphones? Android 2.4? Something else entirely? We'll be there to find out, of course.


Engadget

[Ghost of Spartan]

any problems n how does it wrk

[Swisha]

Canalys: Android overtakes Symbian as world's best-selling smartphone platform in Q4 2010



One day somebody will write a book called "The rise and rise of Android" and this moment will be highlighted in bold. Canalys' latest smartphone sales figures show that Android phone makers managed to shift a cool 33.3 million handsets in the last quarter -- more than any other smartphone platform out there, including the previous leader, Symbian, which sold 31 million units. That's a mighty leap from the 20.3 million Android devices the stats agency estimates were sold in Q3 2010. Symbian itself grew from 29.9m in Q3 to 31m in Q4, but Android's pace of expansion has been so rapid as to make that irrelevant.


Engadget