When I was installing Go Launcher this past weekend, I noticed that the developers also had an SMS program, appropriately titled GO SMS Pro. So, since I was feeling adventurous, I decided to try it out.
I had finally caved a few months ago and installed Handcent SMS since, which the default messaging program is adequate, I text a lot and I was finding I wanted a few more features and customization options. I haven't had any problems with it, so trying something new wasn't because I was unhappy. I really like all the options Handcent offers, and to be honest, my only gripe with it is that the theme I'm using doesn't have a background for when the phone is rotated. All my fonts are set up for a light background, but when I rotate the phone, I can't see anything since it's now against a dark background. It's a minor issue that isn't Handcent's fault so much as me just not getting around to fixing it, so I don't hold it against the program.
GO SMS is, for all intents and purposes, the exact same program. It has some different themes since it's from a different developer, but honestly, I felt like I was using a clone program rather than something different. Even the menus for customizing felt and acted exactly the same. There might be some minor differences, but if there are, I couldn't find them. However, GO was lacking a few features of Handcent that I like, such as the picture of the person next to each message. I have some long threads, so it's nice to be able to tell at a glance who sent what.
I had already uninstalled the GO contacts manager, which I installed at the same time as the others, because while I LOVE the ability to sort by the groups I have in my Google account, there was just way too much lag. It was taking upwards of 60 seconds to load my contacts every time, even to get into the dialer. So it had to go. And with being unsure if I want to stick with GO as my primary home launcher, to be honest, there wasn't anything keeping me with GO's SMS program. I just felt like it doesn't bring anything new or exciting to the table.
My Verdict: GO SMS Pro is essentially a Handcent clone missing a few features that aren't major, but if you use them, it stands out. If you're not already using Handcent, and you have other GO products, this is something to check out, since I did like that you can theme all your major programs to look alike. However, if you're already using Handcent, even if you are using other GO products, there really is no compelling reason to switch.
Monday, April 4, 2011
No crashing!
Okay, so far so good. After going through the weekend, my phone is still up and running. However, after going the weekend with Go Launcher EX, I was finding there was a HUGE battery drain. I installed Launcher Switcher, and I'm going to play with ADW (which I usually keep frozen via Titanium) since it's part of the CM install package and I have it. If I'm going to play musical launchers, I might as well do all three. So far, LauncherPro Plus is still my default. It doesn't have the customizable app drawer options that I liked in GO, but, to be honest, the calendar widget that comes with the Plus version of LP is still the absolute best I have found. I use my agenda widget as my "heads-up display" for my life, and it takes up all of my default home screen. So it has to be clean, and it has to work well. I have the Android Agenda Widget installed as well for use on the other launchers, but I just don't like it as much. I'm going to keep playing to see if GO or ADW ultimately have enough features that make me overlook that, but right now, I just find LPP smoother and easier to use. Of course, I've played with that one the longest since I've been running it for months now as my only launcher. So that's why I'm going to play when I have the time, and see what I think of the others once I've had time to really figure the others out.
But right now, LPP is still my default.
But right now, LPP is still my default.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Spoke too soon...
So, my wireless connection was being a little flaky today too, so I decided to just go ahead and re-flash the radio. Big mistake. All the problems I had before with the connecting-disconnecting loop came back and I couldn't lock on to wireless at all. After flashing the radio twice with no luck, I had to revert back to the backup I made before I flashed RC4. Wireless working again, I'm now on round two of RC4 installation, with another full wipe.
UPDATE: And crap. Getting the same wireless problem in RC4 now. GAH! This is very frustrating. I have nothing but mad respect for the CM dev team, but I really, really wish they would figure out why so many people are having so many WiFi problems with CM7 and get it fixed. Sigh.
UPDATE2: Ah ha! Got Wireless working! (As embarrassing as it is, I had the wrong WiFi password... But it was right for the flash, so that wasn't the problem there! Just for the update above.) So, now on to getting everything installed again!
UPDATE3: Okay, everything re-installed and it seems to be working. This time, instead of accidentally hitting "yes" to Google asking if it wanted me to restore everything, thus having it try to download every app I had from the market all at once and crash me, I said "no". I just grabbed Titanium from the Market, then restored everything else from my backups. I was actually being a lot more picky this time around with what I installed. For example, I had an App2SD app, but Titanium will do that as well, so why take up the space? I also decided that, while I love LauncherPro, I wanted a change. So I'm giving GO Launcher EX a try. It has the features I liked from LP, but with additions I'm really liking. The ability to organize the app drawer is a serious plus. After I've had a chance to use it for a few days, I'll write a review, so keep an eye on this space!
UPDATE: And crap. Getting the same wireless problem in RC4 now. GAH! This is very frustrating. I have nothing but mad respect for the CM dev team, but I really, really wish they would figure out why so many people are having so many WiFi problems with CM7 and get it fixed. Sigh.
UPDATE2: Ah ha! Got Wireless working! (As embarrassing as it is, I had the wrong WiFi password... But it was right for the flash, so that wasn't the problem there! Just for the update above.) So, now on to getting everything installed again!
UPDATE3: Okay, everything re-installed and it seems to be working. This time, instead of accidentally hitting "yes" to Google asking if it wanted me to restore everything, thus having it try to download every app I had from the market all at once and crash me, I said "no". I just grabbed Titanium from the Market, then restored everything else from my backups. I was actually being a lot more picky this time around with what I installed. For example, I had an App2SD app, but Titanium will do that as well, so why take up the space? I also decided that, while I love LauncherPro, I wanted a change. So I'm giving GO Launcher EX a try. It has the features I liked from LP, but with additions I'm really liking. The ability to organize the app drawer is a serious plus. After I've had a chance to use it for a few days, I'll write a review, so keep an eye on this space!
RC4, Amazon Apps and cell jammers, Oh my!
I installed the RC4 of cyanogenmod yesterday, and overall, I'm really impressed. I had been having some memory problems (in that I had none) with RC3 - I had about 20MB of free memory on RC3 versus more than 50MB on RC2. That 30MB difference was causing the hated "running low on space" message to pop up quite a bit. Now, I can't give all the credit to RC4. Admittedly, I don't wipe my data and cache every time I install a new ROM. Well, I do if it's brand new or major upgrade, like going from 6.1 to the 7 RCs. But between RC versions, I just installed over the top of the current version. But this time, because of the memory problems I was having, I did the full wipe. So I'm honestly not sure if it was that or the new version that solved the problem. But either way, I'm back up to 50+MB of free internal storage, so I can go back to installing random apps to try and play with at will. Whoo hoo!
One thing that is driving me crazy, and again, not sure if this is CM or the app, but even with CM, there are things included in the installer that I don't want. I use the full version of Titanium Backup, which will allow you to uninstall system apps. So I just went through and took out all the stuff I was reasonably sure wouldn't break my boot. However, on the next reboot, there they all are again, back on the phone. This is driving me crazy. I even wiped all the backups of those apps, but somehow, they keep coming back. I actually suspect it's a CM problem and not a Titanium problem because of that. I'm still trying to figure out what's going on, so when I pinpoint the culprit, I'll post an update here. In the meantime, after every reboot, I go in and uninstall those useless apps that just take up space.
In other news, the Amazon App store officially launched! I have to say, I was a bit skeptical, since it now means I have to manage apps in two places. (AppBrain, if you want to put out an update that will let you manage third-party app stores, I'd actually pay for that!) So originally, I was curious and thought it would be good for competition, but I wasn't really planning to get my apps there. Until I discovered that, like for their eBooks, they offer a lot of paid apps for free for limited times.
I am a sucker for free.
Free digital anything I will take. I grab every free Amazon eBook they offer whether I plan to read it or not because I like to have them, just in case. The same is holding true for apps. And while the majority of the offerings so far have been things I didn't keep installed or already had paid versions of, there have been a few notable exceptions. Angry Birds was the first. All three versions. This is the only place Rovio is offering a paid, ad-free version, and until this week, was the only place to get the new Rio version. I hated the ads and they actually caused some lag, so those were snagged on the first day of the store opening for business. Soundhound was another one I enjoyed, although, admittedly, I uninstalled it later. I knew I wouldn't use it enough to make keeping it installed worth it, but I like knowing I can quickly install and use it when I know I want to ID a song. I also was happy to see Weatherbug Elite today, since I've been a user of the free version for a while now as my weather app of choice, I just never got around to upgrading it. Now I don't need to worry about it anymore.
Yesterday's Fruit Ninja, however, has proven, thus far, to be the biggest draw. This is like app crack. I had heard of it, first as an iOS game, and later people talking about it on Android, but I thought they were crazy. I apologize to all those people for thinking there could be nothing fun about slicing fruit. It is like a Zen moment. In fact, I got my best friend to grab it yesterday on her phone, and then went and actually paid for it on my husband's iPod Touch so we could all compete for high scores. In a day, I have become a Fruit Ninja junkie. If you haven't checked it out, do so at your own risk, as it will consume many, many hours of your time. Although, if you're already giving that time to Angry Birds, like I was, then it's not so much losing time and diversifying. And that's a good thing, right?
The final thing I wanted to talk (rant) about today is cell jammers. I have a feeling someone near my house is using one, and it is really pissing me off. I used to get a full, steady signal with no problems, then all the sudden, in the last few weeks, my signal has gotten really erratic. I loose it at the same point driving home every day, and in my house, I fluctuate between a full signal all the way down to none. And then back. And that will happen in the space of minutes. I stood last night, waiting for an important call, and almost missed out on it because the signal choose then to get bad enough to drop the calls, then come back as soon as I had hung up. I love my phone, but I was ready to throw it out a window.
I thought maybe it was RC4 causing signal problems, but then I realize everywhere else I go, there are no problems whatsoever. So either T-Mobile has something going on with the tower in my town, or someone is using a jammer and my house is right on the fringes of the signal range. This makes me incredibly glad I'm buying a house where, I am happy to say, I tested the signal and it works just fine. (More on the house at a later date, I don't want to jinx it since we're in contract, but you never know what could go wrong.) In the meantime, I will just have to live with it, I suppose, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
One thing that is driving me crazy, and again, not sure if this is CM or the app, but even with CM, there are things included in the installer that I don't want. I use the full version of Titanium Backup, which will allow you to uninstall system apps. So I just went through and took out all the stuff I was reasonably sure wouldn't break my boot. However, on the next reboot, there they all are again, back on the phone. This is driving me crazy. I even wiped all the backups of those apps, but somehow, they keep coming back. I actually suspect it's a CM problem and not a Titanium problem because of that. I'm still trying to figure out what's going on, so when I pinpoint the culprit, I'll post an update here. In the meantime, after every reboot, I go in and uninstall those useless apps that just take up space.
In other news, the Amazon App store officially launched! I have to say, I was a bit skeptical, since it now means I have to manage apps in two places. (AppBrain, if you want to put out an update that will let you manage third-party app stores, I'd actually pay for that!) So originally, I was curious and thought it would be good for competition, but I wasn't really planning to get my apps there. Until I discovered that, like for their eBooks, they offer a lot of paid apps for free for limited times.
I am a sucker for free.
Free digital anything I will take. I grab every free Amazon eBook they offer whether I plan to read it or not because I like to have them, just in case. The same is holding true for apps. And while the majority of the offerings so far have been things I didn't keep installed or already had paid versions of, there have been a few notable exceptions. Angry Birds was the first. All three versions. This is the only place Rovio is offering a paid, ad-free version, and until this week, was the only place to get the new Rio version. I hated the ads and they actually caused some lag, so those were snagged on the first day of the store opening for business. Soundhound was another one I enjoyed, although, admittedly, I uninstalled it later. I knew I wouldn't use it enough to make keeping it installed worth it, but I like knowing I can quickly install and use it when I know I want to ID a song. I also was happy to see Weatherbug Elite today, since I've been a user of the free version for a while now as my weather app of choice, I just never got around to upgrading it. Now I don't need to worry about it anymore.
Yesterday's Fruit Ninja, however, has proven, thus far, to be the biggest draw. This is like app crack. I had heard of it, first as an iOS game, and later people talking about it on Android, but I thought they were crazy. I apologize to all those people for thinking there could be nothing fun about slicing fruit. It is like a Zen moment. In fact, I got my best friend to grab it yesterday on her phone, and then went and actually paid for it on my husband's iPod Touch so we could all compete for high scores. In a day, I have become a Fruit Ninja junkie. If you haven't checked it out, do so at your own risk, as it will consume many, many hours of your time. Although, if you're already giving that time to Angry Birds, like I was, then it's not so much losing time and diversifying. And that's a good thing, right?
The final thing I wanted to talk (rant) about today is cell jammers. I have a feeling someone near my house is using one, and it is really pissing me off. I used to get a full, steady signal with no problems, then all the sudden, in the last few weeks, my signal has gotten really erratic. I loose it at the same point driving home every day, and in my house, I fluctuate between a full signal all the way down to none. And then back. And that will happen in the space of minutes. I stood last night, waiting for an important call, and almost missed out on it because the signal choose then to get bad enough to drop the calls, then come back as soon as I had hung up. I love my phone, but I was ready to throw it out a window.
I thought maybe it was RC4 causing signal problems, but then I realize everywhere else I go, there are no problems whatsoever. So either T-Mobile has something going on with the tower in my town, or someone is using a jammer and my house is right on the fringes of the signal range. This makes me incredibly glad I'm buying a house where, I am happy to say, I tested the signal and it works just fine. (More on the house at a later date, I don't want to jinx it since we're in contract, but you never know what could go wrong.) In the meantime, I will just have to live with it, I suppose, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Cyanogenmod RC2
Once I got everything working correctly, was I content to leave well enough alone? Of course not!
The second release candidate for Cyanogenmod 7 came out yesterday, and I, of course, had to rush out an install it. I would like to point out that I am learning from my trials, however. Before I did anything, I made a new Nandroid backup, just in case.
Using ROM Manager, I still had the same problem that Google Apps wouldn't download, but since the actual ROM seemed to download fine, I went ahead and flashed the new version.
WiFi and GPS worked fine. My Google Apps, however, did not.
Most of my Google suite of applications were immediately giving force close errors, so I manually downloaded the latest apk from cyanogenmod itself, dated 3/7/11, and flashed the new gapps package. Unfortunately, I was still getting the force close errors on the majority of my Google apps, with the exception, fortunately, being the Market. So before I did a full wipe and re-flash, I decided to try uninstalling all of the Google applications, and re-downloading them from the Market.
Fortunately, that seems to have worked just fine. I opened all my Google apps after using this method, and they all appear to be working without problems. And my WiFi and GPS are still up as of right now as well.
There are some bug fixes in this version, although I don't notice too much of a difference in speed versus the RC1 I was running. I did notice that there is an option now for Profiles in the Cyanogenmod settings menu which I intend to explore and report back on. I use Tasker to automate settings changes for things like when I'm at work or at night already, so we'll see if I prefer the profiles method better once I have a chance to see what you can change and how well it works.
The second release candidate for Cyanogenmod 7 came out yesterday, and I, of course, had to rush out an install it. I would like to point out that I am learning from my trials, however. Before I did anything, I made a new Nandroid backup, just in case.
Using ROM Manager, I still had the same problem that Google Apps wouldn't download, but since the actual ROM seemed to download fine, I went ahead and flashed the new version.
WiFi and GPS worked fine. My Google Apps, however, did not.
Most of my Google suite of applications were immediately giving force close errors, so I manually downloaded the latest apk from cyanogenmod itself, dated 3/7/11, and flashed the new gapps package. Unfortunately, I was still getting the force close errors on the majority of my Google apps, with the exception, fortunately, being the Market. So before I did a full wipe and re-flash, I decided to try uninstalling all of the Google applications, and re-downloading them from the Market.
Fortunately, that seems to have worked just fine. I opened all my Google apps after using this method, and they all appear to be working without problems. And my WiFi and GPS are still up as of right now as well.
There are some bug fixes in this version, although I don't notice too much of a difference in speed versus the RC1 I was running. I did notice that there is an option now for Profiles in the Cyanogenmod settings menu which I intend to explore and report back on. I use Tasker to automate settings changes for things like when I'm at work or at night already, so we'll see if I prefer the profiles method better once I have a chance to see what you can change and how well it works.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
CM7 Problems...
Hmmm, I wasn't having any problems with RC1 since I installed it, but today it started acting screwy with my wireless. So, although I probably know better, I am going to try flashing Nightly 12 to see if that fixes the problem. Don't worry though, I have Titanium Backups of all my apps that updates three times a week, and I've learned to keep a minimum of 4 nandroid backups from various points on the SD at any time. So hopefully, if the nightly is too buggy, I can reflash and try a prior version. I'll update once I know if this fixes the problem!
UPDATE: Okay, nightly 12 didn't work to fix the wireless, and GPS decided not to work on that one as well. (I didn't go check out anything else other than wireless and GPS on the build, so I can't speak to any other changes/improvements.) I'm trying to restore my nandroid I made just before I left on this trip where everything worked fine. So we'll see if that works...
UPDATE 2: Okay, restoring seems to have gotten my WiFi sort of working again... It's still doing a lot of Connecting.. disconnecting.... routine but it is seeing the networks again, and it is eventually connecting to them. GPS I'm trying to test, but I'm also sitting inside a ballroom, so I won't count that out until I have a chance to test it outside.
UPDATE: Okay, nightly 12 didn't work to fix the wireless, and GPS decided not to work on that one as well. (I didn't go check out anything else other than wireless and GPS on the build, so I can't speak to any other changes/improvements.) I'm trying to restore my nandroid I made just before I left on this trip where everything worked fine. So we'll see if that works...
UPDATE 2: Okay, restoring seems to have gotten my WiFi sort of working again... It's still doing a lot of Connecting.. disconnecting.... routine but it is seeing the networks again, and it is eventually connecting to them. GPS I'm trying to test, but I'm also sitting inside a ballroom, so I won't count that out until I have a chance to test it outside.
Apps for on the Go
I'm traveling this week, and as I type this I'm in San Diego soaking up the warm, fabulous weather. I head back to Long Island tomorrow, but I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you what my top travel apps are.
TripIt - This is my go-to Android travel app. I make sure all my travel details get uploaded either by forwarding them or letting the site pick the details up out of my Gmail account before I leave to go anywhere. I use it to make sure I know where I'm going, when I need to be there, and what the confirmation numbers are if I run into any trouble. I don't have a pro account right now, but I use this app enough that it's only a matter of time before I get around to upgrading.
FlightStats - There are several flight tracking programs on the market, but I've been using FlightStats for a while now, and I have no real reason to switch. It works, every time, perfectly. Usually it knows if a flight is delayed before they get around to updating it at the airport. I also sprung for the paid add-on that allows FlightStats and TripIt to sync, so now I only have to forward emails to TripIt, and all my details are in both apps. A total time saver.
Google Maps/Latitude - Okay, this one comes with pretty much every Android phone unless you rooted and decided to boycott Google applications. But I like being able to use it to check in where I'm at, particularly since it has a history so I can go back and see where I was when. I should note that I only share my location with a few close friends and family members, so it's really more because I'm interested in looking back and seeing my travel history than anything else.
USB Tether - This is built into my Cyanogenmod ROM, but when I travel, it's a must-have. Too many airports want to charge too much money for an hour layover's worth of Internet access. I much prefer being able to tether my phone and just use the data plan I already pay for on there. I do have wireless tether as well, but I find I usually use the tethered variety mostly because I want to get a bit of a charge on my phone while I can between flights while I wait anyway, and that allows me to do both at once. Plus, I don't have to worry about someone else breaking into my signal and siphoning off bandwidth. I have unlimited data, but there are limits.
And those are my basics. I have other apps I use, of course, but those are my travel-specific apps of choice when I'm on the road. (I don't usually remember to use Latitude at home, only when I'm out and want to document it.) If you have any other suggestions of apps you think I should try, leave them in the comments!
TripIt - This is my go-to Android travel app. I make sure all my travel details get uploaded either by forwarding them or letting the site pick the details up out of my Gmail account before I leave to go anywhere. I use it to make sure I know where I'm going, when I need to be there, and what the confirmation numbers are if I run into any trouble. I don't have a pro account right now, but I use this app enough that it's only a matter of time before I get around to upgrading.
FlightStats - There are several flight tracking programs on the market, but I've been using FlightStats for a while now, and I have no real reason to switch. It works, every time, perfectly. Usually it knows if a flight is delayed before they get around to updating it at the airport. I also sprung for the paid add-on that allows FlightStats and TripIt to sync, so now I only have to forward emails to TripIt, and all my details are in both apps. A total time saver.
Google Maps/Latitude - Okay, this one comes with pretty much every Android phone unless you rooted and decided to boycott Google applications. But I like being able to use it to check in where I'm at, particularly since it has a history so I can go back and see where I was when. I should note that I only share my location with a few close friends and family members, so it's really more because I'm interested in looking back and seeing my travel history than anything else.
USB Tether - This is built into my Cyanogenmod ROM, but when I travel, it's a must-have. Too many airports want to charge too much money for an hour layover's worth of Internet access. I much prefer being able to tether my phone and just use the data plan I already pay for on there. I do have wireless tether as well, but I find I usually use the tethered variety mostly because I want to get a bit of a charge on my phone while I can between flights while I wait anyway, and that allows me to do both at once. Plus, I don't have to worry about someone else breaking into my signal and siphoning off bandwidth. I have unlimited data, but there are limits.
And those are my basics. I have other apps I use, of course, but those are my travel-specific apps of choice when I'm on the road. (I don't usually remember to use Latitude at home, only when I'm out and want to document it.) If you have any other suggestions of apps you think I should try, leave them in the comments!
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