The Official Android Thread, V2.0

[ryanrich]

Bloody hell, quite the rugged case! Nah I'm not too bothered about the dust, only a few specs on the left and can only really see it in direct sunlight, so I'll just let it be...

[DarkStar]

IT. IS. MINE.

The HTC Wildfire. Ooooh I can't wait until I learn how to use this phone properly

[Anakha56]

Bloody hell, quite the rugged case! Nah I'm not too bothered about the dust, only a few specs on the left and can only really see it in direct sunlight, so I'll just let it be...

I am definitely going to be getting myself one of those cases. Just going to settle my bills tonight and off we go to Expansys for some much overdo shopping. I really need to buy another charger/data cable my current one is getting way to much abuse...

[DarkStar]

Right, what would you guys recommend is the easiest and safest method to root my new toy?

Preferably without losing my contacts and settings, please.

[Anakha56]

Right, what would you guys recommend is the easiest and safest method to root my new toy?

Preferably without losing my contacts and settings, please.

Well if you have a gmail account and your phone has synced with it you will never lose your contacts again.

And visit here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=701

To start your path of enlightenment...

[ryanrich]

Bloody hell, quite the rugged case! Nah I'm not too bothered about the dust, only a few specs on the left and can only really see it in direct sunlight, so I'll just let it be...

I am definitely going to be getting myself one of those cases. Just going to settle my bills tonight and off we go to Expansys for some much overdo shopping. I really need to buy another charger/data cable my current one is getting way to much abuse...

Cool, I'm still pretty happy with my casemate, mainly cos it doesn't make the phone very bulky, but that one certainly offers total protection!

I also need another cable that I can permanently leave in my laptop bag, cos I keep forgetting mine at home. Luckily a guy at work also has a Desire for times my battery runs down and I've forgotten it...

[DarkStar]

Hmm...

Apparently 2.2 has been released for the Wildfire, but whenever I tell my phone to check it says "No update available"

Would having rooted my phone have any effect on this, by chance?

[ryanrich]

When was it released? Being released worldwide doesn't mean your particular carrier has approved it yet. A friend of mine on MTN with a Desire received his OTA update to 2.2, but another on Vodacom still hasn't...

You can always download the update zip file and just load it yourself from within recovery...

[ryanrich]

Aargh, I dunno whether to get a Desire HD when it arrives (love it!) or wait for the Android 3.0 devices, because my Desire is still great, but I have this constant upgrade wish...

[Anakha56]

Well I am flashing to SuperVillian tonight cant wait to see how it works .

[ryanrich]

I'm still on DJ Droid, mainly cos I couldn't be arsed to set up my options again...

Let me know how it goes, so far DAE says it's good. Waiting for the updated release without the HORRIBLE Sense unlock screen. And if you remove that .apk it b0rks the HTC alarms and things. Aargh, I can appreciate that some HTC things like Dialer are more user friendly etc, but man alive this alternative framework P's me off!

[Anakha56]

I also read that removing the lock apk kills the alarms . I want a change mainly because I have nothing to do tonight .

[ryanrich]

Me as well, lol! I miss the nice Pays lockscreen, and I can't load themes on my current ROM cos it isn't deodexed, but I see Pay said he is releasing a new version early next week so I'm not bothering with the old one yet. Curses!

I want a new toy though, haha, and now that my company is paying for my VMware course I have extra cash. ALMOST ordered an iPhone 4, but though nah. Waiting for either the Desire HD, Windows Phone 7 device, or an Android 3.0 device, or possibly even til next year and iPhone 5 (if it's something spectacular, which I think it'll have to be comparing to the latest Android and Windows Phone stuff)...

[Anakha56]

Hmmm if Pays is launching a new ROM...

Nah I will still flash Super tonight just to see what the fuss is about .

[ryanrich]

Heehee, awesome man, let me know. Also bored, haha. Sposed to go out with friends to the launch of a new club in Sea Point, but damn it's far to drive, so blah...

[DarkStar]

Well, I took the plunge and installed a custom ROM.

Rom in question is the WildPuzzle 8.0.2

(I couldn't be arsed to wait for MTN to release 2.2 for my phone )

[Richard_]

Got myself an HTC Desire today Seems like there was only 1 Vodashop in the whole of KZN that had stock of these things, for the first time in 3 months too. Phone comes with Android 2.2. I'll import the Desire HD once it becomes available and give this one to my gf. What a lovely phone... Anyhow, some questions:

1. Is turn-by-turn voice navigation available in South Africa through some sort of update/hack?
2. Why do I want to root my phone and install custom ROMs on it again? Maybe I'm still blown away because it's my new toy, but at the moment I'm completely happy with everything on the phone as is.

[Anakha56]

1: On XDA forums or Google search look for brut maps, then you will get turn by turn.

2: I'm to drunk to answer, DJV ryan your up...

[DarkStar]

Grrr...

Is there anyway to update my ROM version without losing all of my settings?

I've just manged to get my phone back to the way I'm used to after installed WildPuzzleROM 8.0.2 when I notice that 8.0.3 has been released...

I really don't want to start from scratch again...

[DarkStar]

Why oh why did I not install 3G watchdog and APNDroid sooner?

I pissed away R30 airtime last night by accident... (Didn't realise my 3G was on, by my WiFi wasn't).

I cannot stress enough just how important those two apps are on an Android phone!

[DAE_JA_VOO]

2. Why do I want to root my phone and install custom ROMs on it again? Maybe I'm still blown away because it's my new toy, but at the moment I'm completely happy with everything on the phone as is.

Rooting gives you access to all kinds of mods that you can't do on an unrooted phone. For example, I was running 2.2 on my Desire for about 3 months before it was even released.

More examples could be the ability to use awesome apps that require root access (like Titanium Backup), rooted phones can BUY apps from the marketplace (with the help of a little app), you can even change your system icons (like the charging, signal, etc) and fonts on a rooted phone. There's just so much more to having an Android that's rooted. At the same time, however, I'm pretty sure I could go back to having an unrooted phone and be happy there.

EDIT: I lie. That would suck.

Let me just say one thing about the fonts, Richard. I didn't even care to change the font on my phone, "what's the point?" I though to myself. But once I had done it, I realised that it was by far the most aesthetically appealing change you can make to your phone. My phone uses Helvetica as it's font, and we all know how sexy Helvetica is

I cannot stress enough just how important those two apps are on an Android phone!

I used to feel that way, until I found Droidwall. I can't even remember the last time I used APNdroid, and I only use 3G watchdog to track data usage, not to close the connection.

Droidwall is a firewall for your phone, and once it's installed, it blocks ALL data by default, and you need to put apps and services on the whitelist. So what I've done is set it up to allow anything on Wi-Fi, but on 3G, the only apps allowed are:

• Gmail
• Google Search
• Browser
• Google Maps (Brut)
• Network Monitor
• Tweetdeck

Everything else has no access whatsoever. Remember how you would disable auto-sync and background data, and your phone would SOMEHOW still use a few MBs of data in a few hours? Not anymore. I can literally leave my data connection running all day and it wont use a single byte of data.

[Anakha56]

I cannot stress enough just how important those two apps are on an Android phone!

I used to feel that way, until I found Droidwall. I can't even remember the last time I used APNdroid, and I only use 3G watchdog to track data usage, not to close the connection.

Droidwall is a firewall for your phone, and once it's installed, it blocks ALL data by default, and you need to put apps and services on the whitelist. So what I've done is set it up to allow anything on Wi-Fi, but on 3G, the only apps allowed are:

• Gmail
• Google Search
• Browser
• Google Maps (Brut)
• Network Monitor
• Tweetdeck

Everything else has no access whatsoever. Remember how you would disable auto-sync and background data, and your phone would SOMEHOW still use a few MBs of data in a few hours? Not anymore. I can literally leave my data connection running all day and it wont use a single byte of data.

Busy trying this app now, seems very nice indeed. Just need more time to trawl through the apps and understand what it is that I am allowing and blocking.

[Stuart]

Skype today announced the release of Skype for Android™, a client for mobile handsets, built for smartphones running Android OS version 2.1 or above. With this latest release, the majority of smart phone users globally will now be able to experience the benefits of Skype on the move using either a WiFi or mobile data connection (GPRS, EDGE, 3G) 1. Skype for Android is downloadable for free from the Android Market or consumers can visit http://www.skype.com/m to find out more details about how to get the application.

Read more: http://www.financialpost.com/markets/ne ... z11TmRdvxD

[DAE_JA_VOO]

yeah! It's about freaking time! Just installed it about a half an hour ago

[DarkStar]

Geeze, and I was just looking up (with no luck) on how to hack Skype onto my phone earlier today >.>