PalmAddicts

Ringo Pro for Android, ringtone flexibility for Android

There are a number of Ringtone managers for Android, ranging from Free to $$$. Ringtone managers are all basically the same, they  allow you to set individual ring tones for each contact. Since Android 1.5 this has been included with the Contact manager. What the built in manager doesn't provide is the ability to set MP3 ringtones.

My first introduction to Ringo was for Palm when I did a review for PA (link). At the time it was great. It brought a whole new world of ringtones to my Treo 650. It added individual ringtones to my contacts and gave me access to a library of great ringtones and MP3s. It also provided 'group' ringtones. 

This brings me to Ringo Pro for Android... As soon as I received my G1 I started surfing the Market. As soon as Ringo appeared I quickly grabbed a license and started playing with it. Ringo comes in 2 flavors for Android Lite and Pro. Initially Lite wasn't available, and really the only difference is the access to MP3 ringtones.

My first impression of Ringo for Android was not good. I didn't find it as powerful as it was on my 650 and most of all it was missing group ringtones. One nice feature was the SMS/MMS integration, Ringo provides the ability to set different tones for messages as well. Also Ringo provides a nice pop-up feature for SMS alerts. 

Overall, Ringo Pro for Android is a great app, but the are free apps that do just as well. And if you were hoping for the ability to set group ringtones like it does for every other platform, well it doesn't. So while I was happy to purchase license and support the team behind the app, I'll be sticking with the free app "RINGS EXTENDED". But make the decision yourself.

To give Ringo a try check out: http://ringomo.com/android.php or search for "Ringo" on Market.

If they ever figure out the group ringtone feature it will definitely return as my ringtone manager of choice.

SplashID from PalmOS to Android.

A while back (well quite a while back) I did a review for SplashID on PalmOS (link). When I first tried SplashID for Palm OS I was hooked. I'd been using a free solution that worked well, but SplashID was better. Than almost a year ago my Android-based HTC G1 arrived and I was quickly missing SplashID, I had to keep my Treo650 out purely for SplashID. S what to do? Simple I contacted the people at SplashData and asked them about their plans for Android and within a few days, I was chatting with the developer and learning more about their plans. That said, the Android version of SplashID is based on the iPhone version.

So some differences... well really there is not much difference. Feature wise, they both work great, the biggest difference is related to the device itself. They both had syncing abilities, but the Treo650 required you to use a USB cable, but with the built-in WiFi on the G1, well no more cables required.

In the initial phase of development the syncing didn't work and I had to manually type all the entries in to transfer them to my G1, but once they were all entered... the Treo650 was finally in the box of retired equipment. After a few releases SplashData  had everything working and WiFi syncing worked great.

So now between my treo650 and my G1, I've been using SplashID daily for almost a year and a half. And for the last year and a half, SplashID has been my friend for SysAdmin work. With 256-bit Blowfish encryption, you can safely store your passwords without worry, and with desktop syncing, if for some reason you need to reset your phone, you can easily get everything back to your phone, and even worse if you loose your phone, your data is safely secure from hackers.

So thankfully the experience I've had with SplashID for Android has been great and based on the experience I've had with SplashID on my Treo, I'm not surprised. So now SplashID is available on basically every platform out there. The mobile version is available for Android, iPhone, WinMo, Blackberry, Symbian and PalmOS. And while the desktop version is technically only available on Windows and Mac OSX, the Windows version works great on linux with Wine.

SplashID runs $9.95 on Market for Android and another $19.95 for the desktop with a 60-day trial option. Head over to SplashData to give it a try.

http://splashdata.com/splashid/android/index.htm
or from your Android phone:market://search?q=pname:com.splashidandroid

PhoneFace for Android by Electric Pocket... a review

Slowly, apps for other phones are making their way to Android. PhoneFace by Electric Pocket, the makers of other great apps like Ringo (also available on Android), available on BlackBerry for sometime now, is now available for Android.

PhoneFace is a simple photo speed dial for your phone. While the graphic quality on Android is not the greatest, photos are a bit fuzy, but it is not bad (could also be a pre-cupcake release issue...). With Android 1.5 (Cupcake) PhoneFace is a nice widget on top of your window. As for where to get your photos, PhoneFace comes with a set of icons or you can use images you have on your phone, as well as your contact photos. But one of its best features is that you can retrieve photos of your contacts on Facebook and Twitter. This means anytime you want a new photo of a friend for their speed dial and contact, you can use PhoneFace to grab them from Facebook. And yes, if you update the photo of a contact's speeddial, their contact photo itself is updated.

So basically PhoneFace is basically a simple photo 'Rolodex' for your phone. You can add all or some of your contacts, and you can have them sorted alphabetically or by frequency (which if you are a 'MyFaves' user in the US, it can easily help you determine who should be in your Faves).

While I'm not sure it will replace the basic dialer for me, it is a good choice if you want a simple photo speed dial solution.

Give it a try for yourself, it is only $1.99 for Android on Market

links:
http://electricpocket.com
http://phoneface.com
http://www.cyrket.com/package/com.electricpocket.phonefacepro (with short Market made comments)

G1 at the Races

This weekend I was in Homestead for NASCAR's Ford Championship weekend. While maybe we might think that gadgets and NASCAR don't go together but you'd be surprised. Between the radio scanners and 'FANVIEW' (a great handheld tv screen to catch all the action)... and then the variety of cameras, and binoculars... and then the phones. NASCAR premier league, the Sprint Cup Series is sponsored by Sprint (was Nextel before the merger, and historically the Winston Cup). So Between Sprint advertising the Samsung Instinct everywhere, the numerous people with iPhones (and there were a lot) and then almost every make and model of phones out there... well I think my point is made, gadgets and NASCAR tend to go hand in hand.... This said, I was probably the only person I saw with a T-Mobile G1 at the track, and I did notice a number of 'curiosity' looks from people around me anytime I pulled out my phone.

So like I said, this weekend I was back home in South Florida for the NASCAR weekend. My first surprise was the phone reception... historically I've been with AT&T (well Cingular and Bellsouth Mobility before that) and I always had great reception, then last year when I went down after switching to T-Mobile, my Treo 650 had no reception (it worked perfectly fine the year before). So this year when my new G1 worked flawlessly I was amazed, I even had 3G.

Then secondly, I've heard many a complaint about the G1 and the camera, and actually I've heard similar complaints about the iPhone camera. Most of these complaints I heard relate to speed of taking a picture... well what do you expect a DSLR experience... so anyways I was not worried. I'd taken a number of pictures from the G1 already and I new that it was slow but it worked. At the same time, I like to watch the race with both eyes not through a camera lens... so I wasn't worried about taking a regular digital camera with me. Then when there I decided, heck why not try the camera out. This was my big surprise... well it didn't work well when the cars went flying by at 130MPH, but overall I was pleasantly surprised... the 3MP camera took some great shots, not perfect, but I can definitely live with these.

here is a collection of photos I took this past weekend, all from the G1: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickc_321/sets/72157609359728904/

Proporta Maya Case for the HTC G1

Currently Proporta does not list any cases for the HTC G1.  That said the Leather Maya case for the iPhone fits perfectly. The Maya case is a simple pouch case that happens to fit the dimensions of the G1 (4.62" x 2.19" x 0.67" (117 x 56 x 17 mm)). The G1 with T-Mobile comes with a simple case in the box, but it is a very simple soft black case that is too loose and wide for the phone. The G1 slides in and out really easy, almost too easy. Also, the factory case is a bit too wide for your average pants pocket. Considering the fact that the G1 has a trackball like the new Blackberries, a case is a must.

Overall the two cases look basically to be the same size but the Maya case is a actually a bit smaller, but not much smaller.  The little bit that it's smaller does make a difference. The fit is snugger, which I prefer, so the phone doesn't slide out as easily.   While the iPhone is definitely thinner than the G1, it is also a bit wider; consequently the Maya case has enough space to fit the thicker G1 including the bend of the G1 nicely. As a side note, I think the built-in bend of the G1 helps to protect the trackball in general, and in a strong pouch case like the leather Maya case, it definitely helps protect the trackball even more.

The overall size being a bit smaller may not seem like a big difference, but when you place the phone with the case in your pocket, you'll right away see the difference. Also since it's leather, the pouch slides easily in and out of your pants pocket or fits nicely in the inside chest pocket of suit jacket.

Overall I recommend taking a look at a Maya case from Proporta to anyone looking for an alternative pouch case for the G1. At the time of writing this post, the Proporta still does not list the the Maya Case for the G1, or any case for that matter, but you can easily find it under the iPhone list. Here is the direct link for it. It comes in a multitude of colors. I personally selected the green case with the black and orange stripe, but there is a color to make everyone happy. Base colors include green, black, brown, white, orange, pink and white.

Product link: http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4172&t_mode=des

Poll Workers in Arlington, VA using mobile devices

Update: a nice feature in Arlington, VA is that the poll workers are all linked wireless with tablets to check you in and make sure you are at the right polling place.

I've been using my G1 all morning in the voting line

Standing in line to vote has not been a bad experience, partially since I've had me G1 in hand. Besides reading the news while I wait, I have also looked up the details on a number of the local ballot issues. Also it has been interesting to see the number of people on their Treos and Blackberries messaging, emailing, and surfing away. So everbody who hasn't voted, get out and do so, and bring your smartphone, you'll use it.

First Motorola and now Asus follow HTC into the Android Market

Well another manufacture is getting into the Android market. I think it was last week that Motorola announced that they would be releasing an Android phone targeting the Social Networking users. This week they announced that they plan to restructure their line-up to be almost exclusive Android (see the article at Electronista and its link to the WSJ).

Also in news today Asus announce that they too would be entering the Smartphone market with an Android-based phone (for more details, look here). Other rumors suggest that even Nokia (the sole owners who open sourced Symbian) may also looking at Android for its new platform (some how I don't see Nokia going exclusive, but it could replace the OS on their Linux devices).

Well anyways... I like my G1 but then again it is currently the only option. And I really like that other manufacturers are getting into the business, I personally think that is one of the reasons Symbian has done so well... so many phones to choose from, one for everyone. Windows Mobile has almost as many handsets. Palm use to have this slightly but ever since the delays with the new OS, we've seen the other manufacturers all pull away. RIM and Apple on the other hand keep there OS locked to their hardware limiting the device line-up... yes I know if you are a big Apple fan you know this means reliability and such when it come to tech support. But the bottom line is that more manufacturers will mean more progress on the OS as they customize and upgrade Android to fit their needs and more options to choose from, if you want a Blackberry like device, I'm sure there will be one as well as a touchscreen only version... We'll all just have to wait and enjoy.

Android Market for the G1 starting to fill up with Applications

Looks like the Android Market is starting to fill with Applications. At this point they are all still free, but some of the applications are 'demos' and reports are that Google will allow developers to start charging for apps soon. For developers who want to charge for their apps, SlideMe is another application manager that already allows developers to sell Apps to Android users.

Showing off the G1 keyboard to my Blackberry friends

Weekends are always good for visiting with friends, but this weekend was quite interesting. I've been posting about my G1 on PalmAddicts and I've been mentioning it on Twitter, Facebook, etc... so this was the first time most of my friends had seen me since I got my G1, so you can expect that most of them wanted t see it... the funnier part was seeing how long before they asked about it.

So I've been using the G1 for almost a week, for me the controls are starting to become second nature. I'm still not fully up to speed with the trackball, but the interesting part was watching my friends that use Blackberries, in particular Pearls and Curves that have their own track ball. Those friends all found the ball pretty easy to navigate with, they did comment that they seemed to think that it was a little to sensitive. They also seemed a little 'scared' of touching the screen... I think it is more of a habit part, I know for me when I use my wife's Pearl, I'm constantly trying to touch the screen since that is what I'm used to ever since I got my first Treo.

The other common comment was that they all preferred the keyboard from their Blackberries. They didn't like the 'flatness' of the G1 keyboard. This was a similar feeling I had when I first started typing on the G1. But I think like any keyboard you adapt. I wonder what Motorola's Android keyboard will look like...

The funnier keyboard experience was watching a friend who had decent length nails. I noticed that on her Blackberry she tended to use her nails to do the typing but because of how the G1 rests in the hand, you tend to us the flats of the fingers. Her husband is a Sidekick user and she said it was the same problem she had with that keyboard.

The one part that all the Blackberry users commented was that they really wished that Blackberry would come out with a touch screen (this was after they finally touched the screen). Staying with RIM for a touchscreen I think has something to do with the same reason I was hesitant to move from Palm... once you are use to a device and how all the functions work it is hard to change. It is one thing to go from a candybar phone to a smartphone, but from one smartphone to another... One last comment on the Blackberry end... when I mentioned to most of them (especially the Verizon Wireless subscribers) that the Blackberry Storm was coming out and that it would be a touch screen first comment was 'wow, really? when is it coming out?' (for those who want to know, looks like Nov 14th is the current leak date). But the more interesting part was when I mentioned that it wouldn't have a keyboard... then they all changed their minds. They couldn't figure out what the purpose of a messaging device was without a physical keyboard. The main reason they couldn't see switching to an iPhone was the lack of a keyboard (again I remind you these were heavy Blackberry users who say they message/email a lot)

So one final point on the keyboard topic, rumors are that a virtual keyboard will be released for the G1 in the 'near' future... okay, my first thought was why the hell would you want that... but now after a week of use... there are number of times it would be nice to quickly type in a name or password one handed without having to open the slide out keyboard... especially for quick web searching too.

And with all the talk that Palm is now finally on track to release their Linux-based Palm OS and ALP coming to smartphones soon... well sorry guys you all took to long, I've got a Linux-based Android phone now and it will take some convincing for me to trust the current release time for the new Palm OS. Besides that for being a new platform, I'm surprised at how stable it is.... I just hope I haven't spoken to soon.