Tag Archives: Android

If you have an Android phone and you use Gmail, you’re in luck. There are plenty of apps for you to choose from that work great, but if you’re a Google Apps email user, the setup is a bit more tricky with most apps because there are currently no specific Android apps for Google App users.

What’s the difference between a Gmail account and a Google Apps account if the email looks the same in a browser?

Google Apps users may have noticed that things are a little different than Gmail. While the mail interface is now the same, that hasn’t always been the case and you can’t login to your Google Apps account through your Gmail address, although there are options, which I’ll discuss later. While a Google App email address can become a Google account or be linked to an existing Google account, a gmail account can’t be used to access a Google Apps account directly.

So what are my options?

First, if you are checking your Google Apps email from Outlook or Thunderbird because that’s how you or your IT department or vendor set it up for you, great. You’ll probably need them to help you set it up on your Android phone as well. This really isn’t for you. But if you check it in a browser or on your Android mobile device already, you are who this article is for. Google provides several web addresses to login to your Google Apps email even if you don’t have a custom domain setup for it such as mail.yourcustomdomain.com. Try placing your domain name after the a/ in http://mail.google.com/a/yourdomainnamehere. Adding a ‘s’ to http makes it secure. Google will change it to https anyway because that is the new default. If you browse here on your mobile phone, chances are Google will redirect you to the mobile version. This is your best option if you want to view pictures in your email. The default Android email app with Sprint’s HTC Hero, which is what we use, does not display pictures in email because it does not support HTML email.

So what is the best Android email app for Google Apps email users?

If you want to see pictures in your email, use an HTML email viewer, of which there are few. This is because Google has had an inline image/html email problem with Android since 2008. MailDroid is said to have success with viewing images, but Google says that the best way is to browse to http://www.google.com/m/a/example.com where example.com is your domain. If you have a T-Mobile G1, then you have pre-installed programs for Google Apps, but otherwise, you’re out of luck and the browser is the best alternative. The only downside to using a browser is there is no push email; there is no alerts when new email is received. This means that you’re stuck constantly checking your email through the browser or not getting inline images or HTML email through your default Android app.

The solution? Use your default Android email app for push email and syncing, but keep an icon to the web address in the browser for viewing inline images (attached images can be downloaded and viewed just fine). This is the work around until Android and it’s apps develop a little further. Remember, it’s new here.

If you or your business needs help or support with Google Apps, please contact us and we’d be happy to consult you.

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It may seem counter-intuitive to some to forward a SMS message to an email address when most devices that can receive text messages can also receive email, but sometimes you don’t have access to your phone, yet you still need access to the text messages.

This could happen if you lose your phone, leave your phone at work or in the car, or simply not be able to bring it to work or some other restricted location.

I personally started using it when customers started texting me long requests that I’d have to retype or manually forward to get into a usable form on my computer. For whatever the reason, you’re probably here looking for the answer, just like I was before I found the solution.

Below are solutions for how to auto-forward your text messages to email for Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Palm Pre, and Apple iPhones.

Android Phones

TextBusy by Gatehill Software - $1.23

I use TextBusy, which works great. It requires you to use a Gmail account to forward the emails so all of the SMS messages will be coming to you from whatever address you specify. Whatever bad reviews you see out there from August – disregard as those have been fixed by now as you can see by the latest review on September 15th. For $1.23 it’s well worth the money. It currently has 9 reviews on the Android Market.

txtForward by Electric Pocket – $3.19

txtForward txtForward automatically sends a copy of your SMS text messages to any email address you specify, for backup or as a handy way to get your messages at your desk.
Send your SMS messages automatically to any email address, and easily back them up or read them from your desktop email client. It’s available for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile too. It currently has 38 reviews on the Android Market.

SMS2Gmail by EireApps – FREE

SMS2Gmail forwards SMS and missed call information to Gmail account. This application allows you to forward your SMS messages and missed calls to a user defined gmail account, and you can activate it remotely. If your phone is at home for example and you are not, send it an SMS from a friends phone or webtext and activate this service. It currently has 57 reviews on the Android Market.

Blackberry Phones

SMS Auto Forward to Email Pro by Value Apps – $3.99

SMS Auto Forward to Email lets you forward all incoming SMS messages to an email address automatically. Very handy if you keep changing your handsets or like to delete your text messages. Keep a log/backup of all your text messages. Once installed and running, you don’t need to do anything. The app runs in the background and send every incoming text message automatically to an email address of your choice.

txtForward automatically sends a copy of your SMS text messages to any email address you specify, for backup or as a handy way to get your messages at your desk.
Send your SMS messages automatically to any email address, and easily back them up or read them from your desktop email client.

Windows Mobile

txtForward automatically sends a copy of your SMS text messages to any email address you specify, for backup or as a handy way to get your messages at your desk.
Send your SMS messages automatically to any email address, and easily back them up or read them from your desktop email client.

Palm Pre

SMS Auto Forward/Reply by Grabber Software

NOTE: This app does not work on webOS 2.x. SMS Auto Forward/Reply forwards text messages to the mobile number of your choice (number must be in your contacts). You can also send an auto-reply message to the sender. Your phone must be turned on and in coverage for this application to work. While this isn’t text-to-email, it may be the best a Palm Pre user can get. If you know of another app for Pre’s let us know in the comments.

Apple iPhones

Unfortunately, there are no apps to auto-forward text message from the iPhone (this is an opportunity for app developers!). For iPhones using firmware 3.0 or higher, manual forwarding of SMS messages is a built-in feature. To manually forward a text message, simply:

1. view the SMS text message you’d like to forward
2. select EDIT at the top of the screen
3. check off the message(s) you’d like to forward
4. tap FORWARD at the bottom right of the screen

iSMS/weiSMS

For those using older firmware, there is a third-party application for the iPhone, iSMS/weiSMS, with which it is possible to send text messages to multiple individuals as well as forward text messages.

SMSD

SMSD is a free and easy to use iPhone SMS management application which lets you delete individual Messages, backup all message through mail, manually forward messages, and manually Send/Forward messages to multiple contacts.

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MID Tablets had a post on how to add the Android Market app to a Coby Kyros tablet without rooting, but I wanted to revise the article to be about different ways to install Android APK files in general.

Different Ways to Install Android APK Files

There are various ways to install Android apps, which are really just “APK” files, besides using the Android Market. APK stands for “Android Package Kit”, which would be like an “EXE” on Windows PCs. While Android Market is the most popular and most trusted way to add and install APK files to your Android device, there are other ways to go about it. Here are some of the most popular:

• Android Market – an online software store developed by Google for Android OS devices. Its gateway is an application program (“app”) called “Market”, preinstalled on most Android devices, allows users to browse and download mobile apps published by third-party developers. Users can also search for and read detailed information about apps on the Android Market website.
• Amazon Appstore – a mobile application store for the Android operating system that includes a “free app a day” feature. Every day, an application, frequently a game, is offered for free. The Amazon Appstore is currently only available in the US and no official announcements have been made about increasing availability to other regions.
• AppsLib – A marketplace aimed at all kinds of android devices; Appslib specializes in android devices that can’t get google certification; tablets, eReaders, PMPs and more. With over 30 thousand applications available, worldwide, it has a simple, hassle-free certification process, and all updates to Appslib are automatically pushed to users.
• GetJar – GetJar is the world’s largest free app store with over 2 billion downloads to date. The company distributes more than 350,000 mobile applications across a variety of operating systems including Android, Blackberry, Java, Symbian and mobile web. 395,000 developers have registered with GetJar to distribute their apps.
• Android SDK – a comprehensive set of development tools for Android. These include a debugger, libraries, a handset emulator (based on QEMU), documentation, sample code, and tutorials. Currently supported development platforms include computers running Linux (any modern desktop Linux distribution), Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later, Windows XP or later.
• Easy Installer – a free Android app from Infolife, LLC that installs apps from APK files on SD cards. It lists all the apk files on the SD card, allowing you to select apps that you want to install. Click the “Install Selected Apps” button for easy installation.

Read more

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If you’re in the market for a new Android tablet PC, Tablet Comparison has compiled a list of the the best tablet PCs under $300 and the best tablet PCs over $300. You may be surprised how far your dollar can go this Christmas season. Most are Android tablet PCs with the exceptions being Apple’s iPad 2, which runs Apple’s iOS. In the tablet market, Android is like Microsoft Windows and iOS is like Apple’s Snow Leopard or Lion OSX.

While there are many Android tablets under $300, there were only 5 tablets listed over $300 and of the five, the top two models, Apple’s iPad 2 and Motorola’s Xoom battle it out. While at first glance, the Samsung Galaxy Tab may have seemed like an iPad-killer (especially due to the pending patent litigation in multiple countries between Apple and Saumsung) and more recently, the Kindle Fire, the people actually buying these tablets are the one doing the most comparing between the iPad 2 and the Xoom. The one reviewer who compared the iPad and the Xoom to checkers and chess said it well. If you want easy and repeatable over time, get the iPad, but if you want a more in-depth experience over time, you’ll want the Xoom. The Xoom is an Android tablet. You could just as easily compare any Apple device to any Android device with the same chess/checkers analogy and be right. This is how Apple wanted it to be (and vice versa).

Of the Android tablets under $300, the three that stick out to me are the Amazon Kindle Fire, the Coby Kyros, and the Nook Tablet. Of those three, although the Kindle Fire is only $199, the Coby Kyros Tablet may just be the best value as it’s models range from $205 for the 10.1 inch tablet to $157 for the 7 inch tablet. For comparison, the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet are both 7 in Android tablets. Not that size or price is the most important factor in choosing a tablet PC, but out of 352 reviews, the tablet is averaging 3.5 out of 5 stars, 107 of those being 5 stars.

One other factor to consider is the availability of covers, cases, and accessories for your tablets. The Apple iPad 2 and Nook Tablet both have the same form factors as their iPad and Nook Color predecessors, but the Kindle Fire, Motorola Xoom, and Coby Kyros tablets are new form factors that accessories makers may be behind in creating new after-market products for. A new website, MID Tablets plans on covering the different Coby Kyros tablet models (each prefaced with a different ‘MID’ which stands for mobile internet device) and the availability of Coby Kyros cases, chargers, and accessories. The same people who brought you Nook Share, which covers the Nook line and their accessories, are the ones behind this new MID Tablets site and the Tablet Comparison site.

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Have you ever lost your phone or laptop? It’s a horrifying feeling. Thankfully there are some things you can do about it before it happens to you.

The following apps or services will help you find your smartphone or notebook if they are lost or stolen. They can also be used to find the person using them if you’ve lost them – whether or not they want to be found.

Some of these are free and some are not. Whichever one you choose, it must be enabled before your phone or laptop is lost – and you must understand the security risks you’re taking to make your mobile devices more secure.

The Hidden app, whose name itself makes it hard to find, got notoriety when a blogger posted pictures online of the man who allegedly stole his Macbook laptop (below), but for Android, Blackberry, and Windows users, GadgetTrack does something similar. Hidden is only for Mac operating systems, OSX.

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The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer running Android (Honeycomb) seems to have a problem syncing with Gmail for it’s calendar. It only grabs 2 weeks to 1 months worth of calendar data. Learn how to sync your full Gmail calendar with the ASUS Android calendar.

If you are using Google’s Calendar Sync to put Outlook’s calendar into Gmail, then ASUS’ Eee Pad to pull the calendar data down from Gmail’s calendar with a sync, it sometimes only pulls two weeks to one months worth of calendar data. This is how to get all of the Gmail calendar data to sync on the ASUS Eee Pad running Android.

Some people have had success by making sure the time zone on the tablet and the time zone in the Google calendar are both set to the same time zone, but this only really fixes when calendar entries are showing up for the wrong time, not for when they aren’t there at all. The calendar syncing problem existed on early Android phones and the fix then was to change your date back to a month proir to your earliest date, and re-syncing, which also works now with the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer running Android (Honeycomb).

Here is the process:

1. Set the date back to a month prior to today’s date on your tablet.
2. Goto > Settings-Applications-Manage Applications-All
3. Find “Calendar Storage” and hit “Clear Data”
4. Goto “Accounts & Sync” and choose your google account.
5. Hit the Sync button in upper right corner. Let it finish.

Now at this point reset your tablet date back to the actual date, and perform the Sync again. It will take longer this time depending on how much calendar data needs to be transfered to your tablet from your Google Gmail calendar. Your calendar should now be fully synced.

The search functions work great, and are very fast. With a slim, lightweight design, the versatile Eee Pad Transformer is the perfect tablet for anyone who wants to compute on the move with easy access to the web, email, calendar, and thousands of apps from the Android Market. A custom user interface provides easy access to the many features of the Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) operating system, while the NVIDIA® Tegra™ 2 chipset provides full support for Adobe® Flash® and smooth HD video conferencing and playback. The optional docking station turns the Eee Pad Transformer into PC mode with a QWERTY keyboard, but there is also an on-screen, touch keyboard. 2 Front and rear cameras make for easy video chat and digital photography, which can be played back in video on HDTVs via a mini HDMI output port, making it a true mobile entertainment device. A 10.1-inch WSVGA IPS capacitive display made from durable and scratch-resistant glass which is viewable at angles up to 178° makes this tablet PC a great buy for it’s class. Compare other tablet PCs at Tablet Comparison.

For Android help in the Indianapolis area, call Watershawl at 317-572-7521 or send us an email to setup an appointment. The first hour is $95, followed by $65 an hour after that billed at 15 minute increments. We look forward to being your Indianapolis Android assistance.

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Tips for Outlook users wanting to sync their calendar, contacts, and tasks with their Android mobile devices

People wanting to sync Outlook with their mobile devices are going to soon discover that syncing software has not quite gone “mainstream”. What programs and apps that are currently available may seem more like a hack, but they will get the job done.

The Run-Down

With the iPhone, iTunes is used to sync Outlook, but with Android devices, you have Gmail. Android users must use Gmail to sync Outlook to their mobile devices, which generally occurs in two steps:

1. A program on the computer running Outlook uploads and downloads information to and from Gmail.
2. An app on the mobile device running Android that pushes and pulls information to and from Gmail.

Programs and Apps

Syncing the Outlook Calendar with Gmail

For syncing the Outlook calendar with Google Calendar, the most widely used program is Google Calendar Sync (free) from Google. This program runs on the computer running Outlook and can sync 2-ways or 1-way from Outlook to Gmail or from Gmail to Outlook. It works with XP 32-Bit, Vista, and Windows 7 for Office 2003, 2007, and 2010.

Once Outlook’s calendar has been synced with Gmail, your Android mobile device will sync up the Android calendar app natively, provided the same Google account is used. In this way, your calendar is synced from your computer running Outlook to your Android mobile phone or tablet computer using Gmail as the ‘middleman’.

Syncing the Outlook Contacts with Gmail

There are two popular programs to sync your Outlook contacts with Gmail (both free) and they both run as an add-in inside Outlook rather than a stand-alone program like Google Calendar Sync. The first one is GO Contact Sync Mod and the second is Outlook4Gmail.

Each have their options for syncing such as who wins out when their is a discrepancy and whether or not to delete a contact when deleted in either place. One thing I noticed about GO Contact Sync Mod though is that discrepancies cause a Window’s pop-up and Outlook asks for permission to allow the add-in when it begins to run. If either of those annoy you, you might try Outlook4Gmail.

As long as the Gmail account used to sync from Outlook is the same as the one in use on the Android device AND the account is enabled in the contacts list (People), the contacts will be synced. Please note that if you chose to respect the deletes from Gmail, there is a chance that if you delete a contact on your phone or tablet that it will be deleted from your Outlook.

Syncing the Outlook Tasks with Gmail

Outlook tasks can be synced to Gmail with Gogtasks ($9) and gTasks is the app used on the Android device to retrieve and view them. It’s worth noting that in Outlook, tasks are organized by “Categories” and in Gmail tasks are organized by “Lists”. gTasks defaults to showing all of your categories/lists at once, but there is an option to show one at a time if you want.

Looking for one program that does it all?

CompanionLink (pictured) has Outlook to Gmail syncing software ($49.95), but it’s going to cost you over five-times as much as the other three solutions alone. A less costly option is gSyncit ($19.99) from Fieldston Software, which also syncs Outlook’s calendar, contacts, and tasks, but it also can synchronize notes and tasks with Toodledo, Evernote, Simplenote, and Dropbox.

For tasks, regardless of if you go with CompanionLink or gSyncit, you’ll still have to use gTasks to view Outlook tasks on your Android device. This is because Android has no native app for tasks even though Tasks are native to Gmail.

Want a comprehensive list of all of the Android sync programs?

SyncDroid is a great resource for all of the apps and programs used to sync items on your computer to your Android device. Their metrics include: Price, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Notes, Encrypt / Password, Email, Android Apps, Uses Gmail, Uses USB, Uses Wireless, Uses Wi-Fi, Uses Bluetooth, Exchange, Auto Sync, Outlook Version, Platform, Support, Android Version, Calendar Subfolders, Contact Subfolders, Calendar Categories, Contact Categories, Multiple Contact Folders, Multiple Calendars, Sync Contact Notes, Sync Contact Photos, Sync Direction, and Free Trial. You’ll find that no one program or app does it all, but this is very helpful for honing in on the what you need synced and what level of support you need for the syncing.

For Android support in the Indianapolis area, call Watershawl at 317-572-7521 or send us an email to setup an appointment. The first hour is $95, followed by $65 an hour after that billed at 15 minute increments. We look forward to being your Indianapolis Android support technician.

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I had a call last week where the customer asked me to help them root their Nook Color. We used the instructions found here. It requires purchasing a MicroSD card and having a way to read it on a PC, Mac, or Linux computer. She had both so we got started.

I did a little research first to determine that what she wanted was a simple root, not to boot from a new operating system like Honeycomb. To make it simple to understand, the process uses a temporary operating system boot to change the files on the Nook and ‘unlock’ it, which is what rooting is.

Because the customer’s Nook Color was on version 1.3 we had to do both ManualNooter-4-5-18 and ManualNooter-4-6-16. It’s okay, you just do 4-5-18 and then 4-6-16 right after. As long as you follow the generous poster’s instructions, everything should go fine, but there is always a risk you could ‘brick’ your device rendering it useless. The customer understood this risk and chose to do it anyway – and she was then able to download any app she wanted from the Android Market.

The customer’s Nook Color had a nice pink, leather cover that I had to take it out of to access the MicroSD slot. If you’re looking for Nook Color covers, check out Nook Share, which highlights a wide range of Nook covers, cases, and accessories.

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Even though Sprint announced the Gingerbread 2.3 update in June 2011, I just got it installed on my HTC EVO phone two days ago. If you don’t have it yet, you can still get it by going to the home screen/Menu/Settings/System updates/HTC software Update. This will initiate the upgrade process. According to the website, “Gingerbread restores HTC EVO 4G’s ability to sync multiple Gmail™ accounts, display email attachments in the email client and fixes battery discharge issues.”

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Get more out of your Android cell phone from Verizon, Sprint, or AT&T with custom, one-on-one training from Watershawl

Learn how to best utilize your powerful new smartphone with a one-on-one, personal lesson to teach you how to use your mobile device. There are many things your phone can do that you may not even realize. Today’s smartphones are capable of so much more than most people use them for.

We will help you learn to use the programs that already exist on your phone and help you download programs you may find useful in everyday life.

Lessons include, but are not limited to:

• basic usage tips on how to use the market and voice recognition
• troubleshooting common problems
• recording audio and video
• extending battery life and managing open programs
• and apps

I have direct experience with the Motorola Droid, HTC EVO, and the HTC Hero, but I can help you with any Android phone.

My name is Erich Stauffer and I have experience helping people with computers and their cell phones. Ask about our exciting referral discounts.

Services start at $75/hour, but right now we are running a sale for one hour of training for $100.

We accept all major credit cards, paypal, and cash. Call 317-572-7521 or contact us for an appointment.

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