Android!

[Quinton]

One big feature I'm pushing the frameworks team for in an upcoming release is support for "uninstalling" bundled apps.  OEMs and carriers are going to bundle crapware, unfortunately, for it is their nature, but the end-user should be able to return their device to a basic configuration if they like (just like you can go and uninstall all the crapware that Dell or whoever installed on your PC or laptop). 

[Ghambit]

Anyone know of any media apps that will play m4b audiobooks???  Kind of laughable that all the audiobook players in the market dont support m4b, when most audiobooks these days are in that format.  (yeah yeah, iphone/pod yada yada)

And if there's no app for this, is there a 'droid app that'll convert m4b to a usable format?

[Quinton]

If they are not DRM'd, renaming them to .m4a may solve your problem.

[Chimpy]

One big feature I'm pushing the frameworks team for in an upcoming release is support for "uninstalling" bundled apps.  OEMs and carriers are going to bundle crapware, unfortunately, for it is their nature, but the end-user should be able to return their device to a basic configuration if they like (just like you can go and uninstall all the crapware that Dell or whoever installed on your PC or laptop). 

Ars Technica actually ran an article about the crapware issue today.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2010/07/bloatware-creeps-into-android-phones.ars

[Lantien]

One big feature I'm pushing the frameworks team for in an upcoming release is support for "uninstalling" bundled apps.  OEMs and carriers are going to bundle crapware, unfortunately, for it is their nature, but the end-user should be able to return their device to a basic configuration if they like (just like you can go and uninstall all the crapware that Dell or whoever installed on your PC or laptop). 

Ars Technica actually ran an article about the crapware issue today.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2010/07/bloatware-creeps-into-android-phones.ars

There's probably a hojillion disk space/engineering issues, but I would do bad things for the ability for every phone that has sense/blur/whatever to boot into stock android as a backup.

[MuffinMan]

Aside from delaying Android updates, I've never been able to figure out anything Sense actually does differently than my roommate's Nexus One.

[snowwy]

So Quinton.....any word on when, if ever, they'll release the full version of the "app-store" on the euro-public?

[Arnold]

YAAAAY.  I have wanted this since we launched 1.0.

http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/9538/access-releases-graffiti-for-android/


EDIT: GODDAMN it works great.  They could stand to add a little word completion bar, but the fact that the basic implementation is just dead on accurate and fast is awesome.  <3 <3 <3

Sweet!  I haven't used Graffiti in a loooong time (like 10+ years) and I got going pretty fast in my test of it a few minutes ago.  I just cant remember all the special characters and you can't leave the cheat sheet pinned up while inputting text 

I tried Swype, but the .apk I downloaded said it wasn't the correct resolution for my evo.  I got the keyboard to come up and it showed my swyping path, but never input any text.

I think I'll be plenty happy for the time being with Graffiti and voice-to-text (which is teh awesome as well).

[Quinton]

So Quinton.....any word on when, if ever, they'll release the full version of the "app-store" on the euro-public?

It's tied to Google Checkout deployment, which depends on regulatory issues per-country, etc.  I know the Checkout team is working to expand into additional markets, but unfortunately there is not a public roadmap or timeline for this. 

[KallDrexx]

So as much as everyone was piling on Steve Jobs for talking about Porn in the Android market, he was right in that there is porn in the Android market.  I was bored yesterday and looking for new games to play in the Just In category, and there were quite a few porn apps in there.  I even decided to try and flag one as inappropriate and it's still there this morning. 

I love my Droid and my next phone was a Droid X or a Samsung Galaxy, but his point is still valid and everyone claiming that there isn't porn in the market isn't correct.

[schild]

It doesn't make his point any less arrogant or retarded.

[KallDrexx]

It doesn't make his point any less arrogant or retarded.

Not saying it wasn't, but more pointing out here that people like Quinton defended it saying that there is no porn in the android market, when there clearly is due to the lag time in getting inappropriately flagged apps removed.

[Draegan]

Like "Girls on air 4"

Sexy girls without your clothes.  Very quality and HD wallpaper.  They are so cute and sexy for every real man.  Please look for our all series to have a fun.  Make a mark to support us.

[Quinton]

It doesn't make his point any less arrogant or retarded.

Not saying it wasn't, but more pointing out here that people like Quinton defended it saying that there is no porn in the android market, when there clearly is due to the lag time in getting inappropriately flagged apps removed.

Pretty sure I've always said it's against the TOS, which it is.  The Android Market operates under safe harbor instead of up front review, which does mean that something questionable can pop up until it's reported (for TOS, copyright, etc violation) and removed.  Still vastly better than the alternatives, in my opinion.  If Steve were really that worried about the children, he wouldn't ship his platform with a web browser.

[Ghambit]

If they are not DRM'd, renaming them to .m4a may solve your problem.

That worked.  Thanks.  Now, is there a way to do it within the phone??

[Draegan]

I'm trying to find an app that gives me a widget that displays my signal strength and type of internet connection.  I want this widget to be very minimal though.  Just a few bars without any backgrounds or adding graphics.  Similar to BattStatt I guess.

[rattran]

Finally got around to rooting my droid and throwing on one of the Froyo builds. Easy, fast, and hooray wifi tethering!

This forum is so much easier to navigate on the laptop.

[Jherad]

If they are not DRM'd, renaming them to .m4a may solve your problem.

That worked.  Thanks.  Now, is there a way to do it within the phone??

Look for ASTRO file manager on the market (ad supported but free - can rename files).

Edit: Was on my phone - here:

[Quinton]

If they are not DRM'd, renaming them to .m4a may solve your problem.

That worked.  Thanks.  Now, is there a way to do it within the phone??

There are a bunch of file manager apps that let you move / rename / delete / etc files on your sdcard.  OI File Manager is the one I happen to have on my phone.

[KallDrexx]

I'm trying to find an app that gives me a widget that displays my signal strength and type of internet connection.  I want this widget to be very minimal though.  Just a few bars without any backgrounds or adding graphics.  Similar to BattStatt I guess.

How would it differ than the top bar icons?

[Draegan]

Because that top bar isn't displayed anymore and I was hoping for something a bit more styled.

[Arnold]

Because that top bar isn't displayed anymore and I was hoping for something a bit more styled.

What do you mean by that?  In froyo?

[KallDrexx]

Because that top bar isn't displayed anymore and I was hoping for something a bit more styled.

What do you mean by that?  In froyo?

Some home screens allow you to get rid of the dock bar, though I'm not sure why you would want to.

[Draegan]

Launcher Pro has this option.

I like the look of the whole screen being the desktop.

[Ghambit]

WTF man!  There's no LCARS theme for droid?  Say it aint so.

[Yegolev]

I find myself wondering if I can convince Verizon to let me swap my Moto Droid for an Incredible or maybe an X............

[Arnold]

Launcher Pro has this option.

I like the look of the whole screen being the desktop.

That's just retarded.  You want to get rid of a tiny little strip that gives you information just so your screen can look the same all over, but then you want widgets that can add back in that information you have deleted?  OCD much?

[Segoris]

I find myself wondering if I can convince Verizon to let me swap my Moto Droid for an Incredible or maybe an X............

Can always try making an insurance claim. Or, if you're old enough and play senility card really well, can say "I left it in my swim trunks when I went in a pool"....that worked for my dad roughly 7-8 times over 3 years for getting brand new phones without even having insurance. Granted, all of his were honest mistakes, the fact remains Verizon has been pretty impressive with their phone replacement.

That's just retarded.  You want to get rid of a tiny little strip that gives you information just so your screen can look the same all over, but then you want widgets that can add back in that information you have deleted?  OCD much?

For my phone, I agree with this and can't find a good reason to change out the bar. For other people, I can understand them wanting the information in a different format than a bar at the top of the screen...retarded or not it's all about personal preference of how the info is displayed. To each their own....even if their own is dumb imo.

[KallDrexx]

So just FYI, if you don't auto-delete text messages the standard messaging app will kill your phone when you start getting up to 1700 text messages in a single thread.  It seems like the messaging app loads all the text messages for the thread instead of just the latest subset.  It's awful, and you end up with 10 second delays when sending text messages.  It feels like the slowness affects outside operations of the phone as well.

I installed handcent and use that for my text messaging now.  It only loads a subset of texts in a thread until you request more (like how the Iphone does it).  Not only does text messaging seem much faster, my phone feels faster too after leaving the messaging app.

[Draegan]

Launcher Pro has this option.

I like the look of the whole screen being the desktop.

That's just retarded.  You want to get rid of a tiny little strip that gives you information just so your screen can look the same all over, but then you want widgets that can add back in that information you have deleted?  OCD much?

Fuck you dude.  It's all about customization and stylized the way I want.  My digital clock and battery power indicator are now in the colors and sizes that I want.  I can get that strip back by hitting the home button.

 To each their own....even if their own is dumb imo.

  

[Segoris]

I'll give that a go, thanks for that suggestion on the app. I was looking for a new messaging app since I've had my phone delete my messages twice now with no rhyme or reason why that I know of.


Also, anyone else having problems with the media player randomly pausing? I place my phone gently down in my cup holder or on my seat in my car and it will just pause. Sometimes, when I unlock the phone and hit unpause from the widget, it will fast forward and open up the music player app. Getting kind of annoying. For the random pausing when placing the phone down, my first thought was a loose aux cable, but that doesn't seem to be the case as both ends is plugged in properly and neither feel loose. I've even switched wires and that didn't solve anything.

Also, and maybe this belongs in the quick tech question thread, in the car does anyone know if a lighter to usb adapter will remove the need for the aux cable while playing music through the stereo? I'm guessing not since I don't see how that would communicate with the radio but thought I'd ask just in case there is something I'm not seeing. Also, if it doesn't remove the need for the aux cable, would it remove the need for a ground loop isolator for when I have my phone plugged into both the aux input and charging from the lighter?

[Segoris]

To each their own....even if their own is dumb imo.

  

 

[Draegan]

Has anyone used a good app that record phone calls, both incoming and outgoing voices?  There are a few in the market that seem questionable so instead of testing a bunch I was hoping to find someone that might of used one in the past.

[Arnold]

The new Graffiti update is sweet

[NiX]

I can't delete my text conversation with my girlfriend from my phone. Only one I can't delete and it's starting to make my phone chug whenever I go into ChompSMS. Anyone have any experience with this or do I need to uninstall ChompSMS to get rid of it?