android apps

[T6]

just found this article with 20 apps for video, audio and other contents

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/pictures-story/425-android-media-apps-video-music-ereader.html

[µT6]

30 apps for new android users

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/pictures-story/434-android-freeware-downloads-great-apps-list.html

[µT6]

which web browser to use on android devices?

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/android-web-browser-recommendation,3316.html

[µT6]

another 100 apps for android, some free and other paid

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2393099,00.asp

[µT6]

20 games for android

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/pictures-story/451-android-games-best-recommendations.html

[Crow]

We need a thread for tablets 

[µT6]

a considerable amount of those apps work for tablets too, some of them will work better on tablets, specially some games, like grand theft auto vice city

the post is called android apps, welcome are the apps for tablets

i had to remove my old trusty audio player, one update suddenly made it stop work when i put it on my pocket, the accelerometer made it stop playing songs, it seems that pixi bought it or decided to charge for it so it went from free to a 24 hours demo 

so i tried rocket player and xplay, xplay is weird for moments so rocket player is what i use now

if anyone has a better suggestion, i am open to suggestions

has anyone tried deezer for online music?

[racuna]

+1 Llama
Smart Wifi Toggler
Endomondo + Jefit for workouts
HIIT Interval Training Timer for sparring or heavy bag training
Gtasks for Google Tasks Sync
FasterGPS for setting ntp server and speed up gps connection (needs root)
StartupManager for those apps i dont need to run every time i boot the cellphone (needs root)
Airdroid for manage cellphone from my pc over the wifi
FriendCaster is a lot better than the official client for Facebook
JuiceDefender battery extender managing mobile data connection
Weather Channel Widget
Watchdog task manager alert you if some apps consume too much cpu & battery
Google+ Client
Swype beta keyboard
ACV A comic viewer, very useful in tablets

[µT6]

i was considering on rooting my phone, but it seems that it involves lots of steps and probably will end with a different firmware than the one i have now and i must say that i like alot the ui of the xperia

anyone can share their experiences rooting their phones, a good explanation step by step of the process in general and what it means to the user seems to be useful since lots of apps are asking root permissions on android phones lately

[tschommer]

Rooting an Xperia is actually very simple. The descriptions are extremely detailed just to be sure that nothing goes wrong.

Your firmware will remain stock unless you flash a different one, otherwise it's left untouched during the unlocking and rooting process!

For the Xperia P you perform the following steps as described in detail here.
For any other Xperia model take a look at the newbie thread for that particular model.

1. Unlock you bootloader using the description provided by Sony here
   This only needs to be done once. And yes, you can relock your phone if you choose!
2. Download Fastboot here and extract the files
3. Download a kernel with root and CWM (ClockWork Recovery). I currently use this one.
   Put it in the same folder where you have fastboot command
4. Turn off your phone
5. Plug your USB cable into your PC
6. While holding the Volume Up key, plug in your USB cable in your phone. You're now in Fastboot Mode (blue led is on)
7. Enter the following commands in a terminal on your PC:
   fastboot devices (should show your device)
   fastboot flash boot <name of kernel> (e.g. fastboot flash boot boot_P-7.2.img)
   flashboot reboot

The phone should now reboot to a rooted system. In addition, you have the CWM menu (lets you flash firmwares, kernels, etc. in zip format, make backups of your current firmware incl. kernel, etc. Look at the descriptions) and you can use Titanium Backup to get rid of all the crap.

Take the time to read the post over at xda-developers I linked above, it's definitely worth it.

Btw, there are apps that need root permissions (like Titanium Backup), and make sense that way, but see what others say in the respective fora about any app that wants root permissions!

I'll be happy to help if any further questions come up (if I can).

Hope this helps clear up things a little 

[Crow]

Rocket Player is what I use for music, is good.

racuna some good apps there, will try it this weekend HIIT and Endomondo looks promising.

[µT6]

thank you tschommer for that information, i found similar steps on another forum but you mention unlock the bootloader, something i never did, i have done with lg phones and the steps never involved sending mails to sony asking for codes for the bootloader

from the steps you post, the custom kernel must be made for the device, i tried to find one for this phone on that site, xperia mini pro but couldn't find one on that forum, so not sure how to advance there

i will try to see what happens with flashtool and and bootloader if i have time, the tools required to do things here are big, without the kernel or the firmware, any img files we are talking about 500 mbs of files to just root the device 

[tschommer]

I found the appropriate newbie thread here, also very detailed and with loads of information.

Remember, the first step is to unlock the bootloader. When you send the email to Sony, you receive your unlock code in a matter of minutes, so you can go right ahead.

I was scared stiff before the first time, so I know how uneasy one can become    This includes the many warnings you might read (this will void your warranty, you may brick your phone, etc., etc.).
But I've found that once you know your way around the forum and with your phone, you get very comfortable doing this stuff.

In case of any questions you can also pm me if you want. I'll try to answer your questions and/or find what you need to continue.

In any case I've found that Sony make really sweet phones 

[µT6]

i know, i have flashed and updated many phones in the past, but never had to do the bootloader thing

i already got the code, it was immediately sent to my mail, will check the info on the link you posted, thank you for your help and explanations, will read them carefully while files download

when i had to do this process with a lg phone it was similar but with different tools, the problem was to find the right firmware and driver, once i did it, all was well, then i moved it to cyanogenmod9, it worked well

what i don't want to loose is the ui on the sony, also the ui for the camera, sony really made things alot nicer on their phones, that is why i don't want to run this on the phone, to avoid loosing it, i don't even want to put ics on it, the new ui and the camera ui is different and i didn't liked it much

the guide you posted is for the x10 mini, a different older phone, xperia mini and x10 mini are two different phones

i just tried to do the bootloader thing, had to load windows, it refuses to see the cellhpne and let it change to charge mode, it doesn't take the usb drivers, too much hassle to just remove a couple apps

maybe i will try later with linux tools or try to install ics and then try again

edit: i changed driver and finally could do it, the side effect is that it decided to reset my phone, so i lost all my configs, since it didn't warned me that it was going to do it, i feel a bit upset, at least it could said it could happen on the sony manual

[tschommer]

You're right, I didn't read your post carefully enough 

This link is the top-level forum for the Xperia Mini, and this one is the rooting guide.

Sadly, Flashtool usually only works on Windoze 

Good luck