AndroidArchive

BBM for Android??!?!

123johnrollins — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 07:14:17 +0000

So you upgraded your blackberry or iphone to an android phone. Well done. Or maybe you WANT to, but everyone you know uses BBM. And who can blame them. It is a free sms tool that is specific to Blackberry. Awesome right? It WAS awesome, but we here at android archive believe in free SMS tools for all. For your android phone AND your silly dinosaur friends that have a blackberry and your simple child like friends that have an iphone. Enter kik messanger. A free messenger app that allows you to text (through data) to any other kik user in any country. All 1.5 million of them. On any platform. Registration took me 30 seconds and was all done from the device and it even went out and found people from my phonebook who are already users. You should be downloading this NOW. And add me. Jrollins83.

It may be my inner geek, but I love TED

nschrepfer — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 06:46:57 +0000

One of my favorite sites on the standard internet is www.ted.com (Technology, Entertainment, Design) . It always has the most fascinating people speaking on the most fascinating subjects. Essentially it is a conference where people exchange ideas and speak on topics that impact our world. It has everything from a Julia Sweeny speech on childhood, Negroponte’s one laptop/ one child initiative, Tony Robbins asking why we do what we do and my favorite, Paul Stamets on 6 ways mushrooms can save the world. Essentially, the smartest people available speaking on the stuff that really matters. Every time I look, a new topic or lecture is up on the site.

The worst part of ted was that I could only see it when I was at a computer. I am a mobile person and that is why I love the Ted application, powered by the motherapp. An easy to navigate condensed version of the site that will follow me wherever my android is. The application streams the same talks that are presented at www.ted.com .

So stop and download this app. Maybe one of these talks you watch on the bus inspire you to change the world….. If they do, let me know.

It may not answer the phone, but it is more valuable

nschrepfer — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 05:41:50 +0000

I can be a little obsessive about know where my money is, how much of it i have, how it is spent and where it is going. As a father of three kids under 6 and a husband to a wife who wants to treat them to everything their heart desires, knowing where your money is going and how it is getting there is truly self-defense.

That is where A personal assistant from Pageonce.com app for android comes in. It is the crossroads of my sanity. i can monitor many things in one place with this app.

I can make a purchase with my debit card and it will register with my account and i have almost realtime access to my accounts with a clear interface that integrates with my various vendors seamlessly.

here is a list of what I can keep track of.

my bank account

my wireless phone and utility bills

401k and other investment accounts

cell phone minutes used

frequent flyer miles and flight itineraries

Netflix queue

a great quick glance at eBay and social networking sites.

All in one place.. and it is safe secure and simple to use.

you also get a great way to view it online.

the free version gives you a choice of 5 accounts and the paid version (6.99) gives you unlimited accounts with the added bonus of automatic updates.

this is a must have app for anybody who needs to stay on top of their finances…. simply one of the best personal organization apps there is.

A walk in the clouds.

nschrepfer — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 05:14:02 +0000

Scene. You are at an appointment. A client wants a price of a product, and you don’t want to boot up your laptop, log in to your system, have it reset, ETC. So instead you take out your Android phone, open Homepipe, and presto. The folders you chose on your desktop on your computer are right there on your device. Welcome to your own personal cloud. Everything (and I mean everything, there is no limit to the storage) you want to sync-photos, videos, music, files. This app price is free or you can pay a one time $2.99 for an ad-free experience. I had this up and running within minutes with no hassle. Launch the app from your phone the first time and it will send you an email with registration info and a link for the desktop download. Once installed; you can access your cloud over 3G or wifi.

I get reviewed with a little help from my friends

nschrepfer — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 04:59:10 +0000

the last post was a gem from my friend Big Bad John. He and others have been invited to help me make this a valuable resource for the average and beginning android user. If you have any ideas for what we should be reviewing or are wondering if there is an android app that fits the way you live your life; let us know. We will be glad to see what we come up with. All of those who i will have as guest posters will be valuable members of the wireless community and will do their best to make it simple. so stay tuned.

So you graduated from your Iphone but you miss iTunes….

nschrepfer — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 04:48:42 +0000

Well, then you are in luck. Double Twist Player is a free (for a limited time) app that you download on your phone and your desktop that integrates your iTunes with your Android device. Now I know what you’re thinking, sounds complicated. On the contrary, it couldn’t be simpler. Just download from the market, and the first time you open it, it will email you the link for your desktop. Once the desktop is installed, you are good to go. Now I know what you’re thinking, I don’t want to go back and make ALL NEW playlists. And they don’t want you to have to either. Just press playlists and it will sync them all. And your movies. And your podcasts. AND if the format isn’t compatible, it will change it for you automatically. Also, with built in podcast, Android Market, and music search and auto detection of your device, all you have to do is plug and play.

Going once; going twice and not worth going

nschrepfer — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 21:29:22 +0000

I am a really big fan of getting rid of things you do not need. I often use eBay to sell stuff I no longer need and to buy the items I cannot find locally. (Some of the prices cannot be beat) I also want to make sure I keep track of my buying and selling while I am out and about.

There are three major apps on the market for eBay: the official eBay app, Pkt Auctions and Droid Auctions. All of them are great if you just want to see what is out there on eBay and want to bid or need to communicate thru the internal eBay message system. But two of them are stand outs because they have very specific features one for sellers and one for buyers.

If you are a frequent buyer on eBay and need some great search tools then Pkt Auctions is for you. The barcode scanner feature can save you time and energy by using it to scan an item and then have it come up on the search. It worked most of the time I tried it and worked best for books, movies and CD’s as the database for those items is already integrated into the Google infrastructure. It makes a good alternative to typing many items in.

Another feature I really liked about Pkt is the price check feature. It allows you to see how much similar items have sold for and an average price check so you know not to pay too much for the items. It also has a deals button that shows you some great deals on random items. I have not needed any of these items but, the prices seem low. It also has an internal board for only users of this app. I posted once, no replies yet.

As a seller on eBay I like Droid auctions. The summary page is the first you see and it has all of your auctions summarized in one place. The count of what you are watching, buying, won, lost, selling sold and unsold. It also shows how many watchers you have on each auction from the list page. This is very useful as a seller. Droid auctions’ sort feature is also more comprehensive and more like the experience on the standard website.

The message feature is also a bit better than the other choices as it not only shows the messages from other ebayers, but also the system messages from eBay.

The other applications did not offer this.

Another cool feature that Droid auctions has is the abitilty to have the end of an auction added to you calendar from inside the application. Simply hit menu while looking at an item and hit the calendar button, add it to the calendar. You will get a reminder about the auction when you need it. PKT auctions has a similar function but the one in Droid is more custom.

The interfaces on all of them were pretty smooth and I have made purchases thru each of the applications. No real difference between them. The PayPal integration was simple and straightforward in each case.

I would recommend PKT and Droid to both be on your device if you both buy and sell. Both would have their place.

Now, I have to get back to my Droid, someone just outbid me on a classic Beanie baby… I MUST HAVE IT!

…. on the other hand I do own a copy of “Ice pirates”

nschrepfer — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 05:20:55 +0000

I have always bought off the wall movies. In my collection sits such off beat flix as “Road to Bali” and “Fear of a Black Hat”. I have always kept them in the same place and most of the time I know what I have and where it is. I just found a very useful app to put my mind at ease when it comes to my movies. (As well as my books and CD’s)

The app I am speaking of is called “PackRat”, a free download in the market. It is so easy to use it is silly. Simply take a picture of the bar code on the back of your movie, CD, or book and it will identify it and add it to your collection. In only about an hour and a half I inventoried 100 DVD movies with only about 5 not found. It then stores my entire collection on the device. It can even track when I lend out any movie in my collection simply by me moving it to another “shelf”. It also has a great want list feature. If I see something I friend has, I can scan that barcode and remember what to look for the next time I am at the movie store.

PackRat is a great productivity app that can track what you have. Whether you are looking for something to inventory for insurance purposes or to make sure you do not buy another copy of the Simpsons cd, it is an easy way to keep track of something in your hectic life.

Now since I inventoried “Ice pirates”, I really should watch it.

So addictive; so much carnage

nschrepfer — Fri, 28 May 2010 04:02:53 +0000

I cannot even imagine tallying up the time I have spent standing in line, waiting on hold or sitting in the cold chairs of the DMV. (Which I believe is the dress rehearsal for purgatory) In all of these cases I have some white time, or time to fill. After I downloaded Robo-Defense from the android market, I have found a way to make that time pass. This highly addictive game will entertain you for hours.

The object of the game is that you have to prevent the robots from getting from one side of the screen to the other. Sounds simple right? In fact it is… shoot them before they get to the other side. The higher the level the tougher the robots get. As you play you earn points to spend to upgrade your explosives, how fast your rockets reload and everything else you can think of that could be upgraded.

It is a seriously simple game, and it is simply addictive. The simplicity of the game is the key on this one. Every time you kill a robot you get money to spend on the next tower. When you get thru all of the enemies on that level you get your points to spend. The more you complete the levels the more you want to upgrade to get to the next tier. Every time you complete an increment of 10 levels you have access to the next 10 levels. It is a personal challenge when you are at level 210 and the screen says

“The max level is 210. Win level 210 to increase the max to 220!”

The game drags you in this way. It taunts you with the next level. It almost dares you to try one of the other scenarios There are 5: basic, the Ruins, the Factory, the Courtyard and VR training; all with their own original challenges. You figure out the best configuration to setup your towers, but spend your money wisely on your next tower purchase. You never know if it is a tank, jeep, jet or helicopter that will be running across the screen next.

The bottom line on this one is that at least download the free trial. It will hook you and the 2.99 for the cost of this in the Android “market” is well spent to fill in that time that you would otherwise be daydreaming or counting the people in front of you for the 15^th time.

Welcome to Android Archive

nschrepfer — Thu, 27 May 2010 06:00:27 +0000

The new phenomenon of android is amazing. I have been in the wireless industry for over a decade and I am really watching something cool take place. An open platform that anyone can use and anyone can create from.

It is the greatest electronic blank slate ever. The only challenge I see is that, to the average user, Android can be overwhelming. I mean 38,000+ apps and counting?

How will I know which ones will work for me?

How does the average person pick up one of these devices and make the most of it?

How do I know my time is not wasted on an app that really sucks?

That is where I come in. I have spent years translating what tech support says down to a level the average user can understand. Let’s face it the divide between geek to standard speak could use a translation. I hope I can be that for you. In the coming posts, I will be profiling apps, tips and tricks and giving honest reviews of what I would deem as useful or worthwhile. Please feel free to suggest an app or submit a question about android. I will be glad to answer or have a great time figuring it out.