Tag Archives: android

What resolution is qHD? ANSWERED

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Q. Hello. I am planning on getting a new Android smartphone. The web page talking about the phone says its screen is qHD resolution, what is that? -Cindy A. qHD resolution is 960×540. Resolution in this case refers to how many horizontal and vertical pixels the screen has. qHD is interesting because it qualifies as “quarter high definition”. It has half the horizontal and vertical resolution of full “HD” 1080p (1920×1080) Therefore it also has 1/4 the total pixels: qHD

Read more Android tips, Phone tips

Android WiFi Hotspot Configuration

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NOTE: these screenshots show the settings pages for Android’s cool wifi hotspot feature. These screens should apply to any Android phone running Gingerbread with wifi hotspot functionality enabled.  These steps do NOT apply to the latest Virgin Mobile LG phones, which unfortunately have this feature disabled 🙁 The photos show a LG Optimus V that shipped with the wifi hostpot feature available (once enabled by the QuickSettings app [available in the Android Market]).

Read more Android tips, Gadgets and Tech

Download the Amazon App Store for Android [instructions]

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After returning my Kindle Fire, I still wanted to used the Amazon App Store for Android… So I had to install the app on my Acer A100 tablet. The Amazon website seemed to be having issues tonight so it took me forever to get the email from Amazon containing the download instructions. To save you the same potential hassle, here’s a verbatim copy of that installation instructions email: Download the Amazon Appstore app immediately by clicking https://www.amazon.com/app-email from your Android

Read more Android tips, Misc Links

Android phone battery – How to save

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One of the biggest troubles with Android smartphones is, the battery will often run flat quickly. A lot of this has to do with the amount of things you do with your phone. The rest is not knowing what functions are eating at the battery in the first place. Where is it going? What can you do to preserve your battery life for longer than 24 hours? You might be able to ask your service provider, like Virgin Mobile or

Read more Android tips, Ask J.D., tech tips

LG Optimus V external antenna connector [BEWARE!]

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Today my buddy’s LG Optimus V failed to boot up so he asked me to take a look at it. Unfortunately, I was not able to get it to work 🙁 However, I did see something interesting: the Optimus V has an external antenna connector. This is becoming rather uncommon with today’s super-smartphones that do not even have user-replaceable batteries 🙁 So I was excited to see that LG included an antenna connector. For people that live way out or go

Read more Android tips, Misc Links

Using iTunes with Android devices

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After transitioning away from iOS devices, I still have iTunes as my main music management software. So, I have been looking into some solutions for interfacing iTunes and Android. Thankfully with the right software they can play together pretty nicely 🙂 Top 5 Android Apps to Sync iTunes on Androidhttp://androidflip.com/top-5-android-apps-to-sync-itunes-on-android/DoubleTwist is a free media player app which rivals the default player of Android phones. The app not only play music files like audio/video in a clean user interface but also…

Read more computer tips, Misc Links

iOS and Android development with JS / HTML5 /etc

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Here is a link dump for some mobile development environments/frameworks that I am investigating.  Some of the links are well worth the read:   Impact – HTML5 Canvas & JavaScript Game Enginehttp://impactjs.com/   PhoneGaphttp://phonegap.com/PhoneGap is an HTML5 app platform that allows you to author native applications with web technologies and get access to APIs and app stores. PhoneGap leverages web technologies… Here is a working phonegap sqlite application example/tutorial for you to use – phonegap | Google Groupshttp://groups.google.com/group/phonegap/browse_thread/thread/07cf9f48e3cd0663?pli=1Hi I hope

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Walkie talkie Android apps for your phone/tablet

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Lately I have been looking for Android apps that can enable walkie talkie (intercom) functionality over LAN/wifi/bluetooth. Normal internet based options are not ideal as we live in a very remote area with no powerlines, phonelines or wired anything. We also don’t generally get reliable cell phone reception. So satellite internet (WildBlue) is our primary internet connection. Latency is too high and bandwidth too precious, to really support reliable voice communications when it has to be routed out over the internet

Read more Android tips, Off the Grid