android 2.0

Manage your contacts efficiently with Phonebook for Android

The boom of social-networking services has caused many people to have multiple applications on their smartphones to manage different sites and frequent content updates. Switching through different social-media applications and separate applications for texting or instant messaging can get quite cumbersome and inconvenient. Phonebook for Android combines all social media into one contact management program in which users can view and manage all content related to individual contacts.

Phonebook for Android loaded quickly on our device. It automatically syncs contacts, but each site does require an initial log-in or registration. After what felt like a quite lengthy setup, the program … Read more

Enjoy listening to your favorite music with PowerAMP Music Player for Android

Countless different music players are available in the Play Store, but there are only a few that stand out. PowerAMP Music Player for Android is one of them because of its simplicity and solid performance.

Installation and setup of PowerAMP Music Player for Android are fairly simple. This version, however, is a 15-day full-featured trial, and to unlock the full version you have to purchase the PowerAMP Full Version Unlocker for $3.96. The interface of this music player is straightforward and simple. The general layout of the home screen consists of a black background and high-contrast icons. Performance of … Read more

Switch any measurement to the right sum with ConvertPad for Android

It pays to be able to quickly and easily convert measurements. Whether you're a small business or just trying to get a sense of scale, you need an answer as quickly as you can get it. ConvertPad will switch just about any measurement you can think of to the right sum very quickly. It's not the prettiest thing to look at or use, but it gets the job done.

ConvertPad for Android offers to switch the native language immediately when you download, which is a nice touch for international users. What isn't as nice is how long … Read more

Test your network speeds with Speedtest.net Speed Test

Developed for both basic mobile device users and advanced developers, this network-testing app proves to be a very handy tool. Speedtest.net Speed Test delivers an accurate test and aids in diagnosing connection problems.

Speedtest.net Speed Test app was quick to install and there were no advanced settings needed. The tool is very easy to use. A simple one-touch activation begins the test. Bright, easy-to-read graphics indicate progress and current speed in the style of an analog meter. Wi-Fi networks as well as mobile networks may be tested. A separate menu shows a record of the results and the … Read more

Google: Half of Android app users onto 2.0

After months of breakneck development, Google's Android team has succeeded in getting a slim majority of its users into the Android 2.0 world.

Google released usage statistics Thursday showing that 50.4 percent of all Android devices that accessed the Android Market in the past two weeks were running Android 2.0 or higher. Android 2.0 was released last October along with the Motorola Droid, which has become one of the best-selling Android devices yet released.

The numbers don't necessarily reflect the number of Android 2.0 devices out in the wild, instead focusing on just … Read more

Ambitious Slacker

In Slacker Radio, curated stations that are organized by musical genre meet algorithmically-generated playlists based on artists you pick. As with Slacker Radio on other mobile platforms, the Android app lets you stream music from preprogrammed genres and stations, or from stations you set up yourself online. You'll be able to view album art and bios, block a song or vote it a favorite, and skip ahead--this is limited in the free version and limitless in the premium upgrade. If you like what you hear, you can share a link to that station on SlackerRadio.com via e-mail, SMS, … Read more

Gmote for Android

When is your Android phone more than a phone? When you turn it into a combination keyboard and mouse to control your computer. After installing a free Gmote server app for Windows, Mac, or Linux, Gmote creates an ad-hoc Wi-Fi connection with your computer--unfortunately, if you don't use Wi-Fi, you're stuck. The on-screen controls can stream music from your computer, launch movies from afar, navigate the Web, and control a presentation. It's not as powerful or sophisticated as some apps we've seen for iPhone, but it does the trick, and without charging a dime. Unless you … Read more

Three tools in one

If you've got a third-party file manager, you can go through menu screens to uninstall an app. But you could also open up the Android Market to achieve the same banishing results. Quick Uninstaller is a much more direct route. The free, ad-supported app replicates your program window to show you your app icons. You can also view in List form instead. Menu options let you sort by name, date, and size to help you more quickly zero in on your prey. Then, simply tap one of the app icons to select it, and tap again to uninstall. The … Read more

Android Team announces revisions to SDKs

We learned on Thursday that Verizon's Motorola Droid will be getting an update to Android 2.0.1 to address camera and voice reception issues. Today brings news that all 2.0 devices will be updated to this version before the year is out.

As of right now, the only other known 2.0 handset is the Milestone, also from Motorola. This update also deals with additional bug fixes and framework behavioral changes. For a look at the complete release notes, you can read them at the Android Developers blog.

The Android 1.6 SDK also gets a slight … Read more

Is Android ready for enterprise use?

With new features like turn-by-turn navigation and a self-correcting soft keyboard, Android 2.0 is enticing new customers who've never owned a smartphone.

But is Android ready for business customers? With support for corporate e-mail and calendar accounts, Google Android isn't just for consumers, but some IT managers have raised concerns over the operating system's ActiveSync client, its encryption, and its security.

A quick look around the Verizon forum indicates that users are confused on several fronts. We've already put to rest the confusion over its consumer data plans, but the Motorola Droid's Microsoft Exchange … Read more