I was in the market for a new mobile phone last year, after having more or less worn out my OG Droid. Seeing I use my phone a lot for mobile IT work, so a good dedicated keyboard was hugely important for me. After some research, Samsung’s Sidekick 4G (model SGH-T839) stood out head and shoulders [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Archive for the 'Android' Category
Android 472% Malware Increase Scare Is Sensationalist
Today I’m seeing a huge number of articles screaming “Android Malware Surges Nearly Five-Fold Since July” (PC Magazine) and “Android malware has jumped up 472%” (Apple Insider). Well, percentages and other stats are very nice, but it’s easy to manipulate numbers like that to get scary looking figures. Always look at the hard data backing [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Tablet Computing: Apple Only?
For those that don’t know, HP decided to ditch it’s tablet computing division last week and let the remaining Touchpad stock go at fire sale prices. This has led some to proclaim that the tablet market is Apple’s, and only Apple’s – the one true tablet! Balderdash, of course, but sensationalism sells. However, Apple does [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Android App Review: Remote Desktop For Your Phone!
The other day I came across a must-have app for anyone who administers Android based devices like cells phones or tablets: SmartDog Studio’s Remote Web Desktop. This app has some nice polish and great features, the most prominent of course being the ability use your browser to remotely control the phone’s interface. You need to [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Android Security Apps Review: Lookout, SeekDroid, Cerberus, Prey & Theft Aware
Today’s free app from Amazon.com’s AppStore is SeekDroid, so I though I’d give it a try. I’m a big fan of security apps given how incredibly integral smartphones are becoming in our lives. Losing your smartphone these days can be absolutely crippling for those of us who enjoy a high tech information rich lifestyle! So [...]
Read the rest of this entry »How To Get Amazon’s Free Android Apps From Outside The US
The Amazon.com AppStore is great – the daily free apps to promote the store are a good marketing touch. However, Amazon’s AppStore has a serious drawback: you can’t use the native Android app to install apps directly if you’re not physically located within the United States. If you try, you get the message “The Amazon [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Google Music Beta Impressions (vs Subsonic)
Today I joined the Google Music beta. I’m a big fan of most Google products, and get beta invites to most of Google’s new offerings. Generally most of them are pretty slick, and offer easy to use features that are technically difficult for the average joe to set up (like Google Voice’s personal virtual phone [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Swype & SwiftKeyX Android Virtual Keyboards Review
Personally I prefer a physical keyboard, as I have big stubby fingers, and virtual keyboards generally require a fairly deft touch even if you have a large screen. Another big con for me is that virtual keyboards take up a lot of screen space as well, blocking my view of the app I’m trying to [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Android: Major Malware Killed Fast & Clean
Given the enormous popularity of Android for smart phones these days, it’s not surprising that it’s become a target for malware. And it’s a big target, too – the Android operating system has become an extremely popular choice for phones, given that it’s open source, easy to modify and quite sophisticated right out of the [...]
Read the rest of this entry »How To Install Carrier-Blocked Android Apps Without Rooting Your Phone
Apparently some carriers block apps from being installed on their phones. Which sounds anti-competitive to me, and ripe for a lawsuit, but that’s a topic for another day. This sort of policy is obscene, in my opinion: it’s my phone and I should be able to install what I like on it, just like my [...]
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