A new set of selections on Google Plays 25-cent sale

You might get different options depending on your country and device. Here is what I see on mine.

Click this link to see the current apps on sale at Google Play.

Google Play Hits 25 Billion Downloads! US$0.25 App Promo as a Thank You.

Google Play Hits 25 Billion Downloads a few hours ago. In celebration, apps will be sold at a discounted price of US$0.25 over the next five days. 

So far I noticed Gameloft's Asphalt 7, Rovio's Angry Birds Space Premium, Kemco's Symphony of Eternity, Granny Smith, Draw Something and NFL Kicker 13  are all selling at just Php10.44 as part of the promotional sale.

On the non-gaming apps we have OfficeSuite Pro 6 +, Tasks and Ocean HD at just Php10.44.

I already bought Tasks a few months back. Great app. But I did pick up OfficeSuite Pro 6 + and Symphony of Eternity. 

I might not see some apps on sale, as I have bought several already. If you find anything else on sale, please do share it in the comments section.

Where in the World is Mary Grace? (Or, why Apple Maps makes the iPhone and iPad dumb devices in the Philippines)

Smartphones are wonderful, if sometimes creepy things. They are aware of where we are and that allows them to give us information relevant to us. The most useful of these features is maps and locations. Last Saturday night I tried to search for the nearest Mary Grace Cafe branch, and Apple Maps proved to be rather useless. 

This something that everyone else gets right. An Android phone using Google Maps has no problem finding every single branch for you. A simple "mary grace" search, gives you the cafe and other places similarly named, with the cafe, being the most prominent Mary Grace in the Philippines, being highlighted in the results. 

Clicking the results list allows you to scroll through all the hits.

Google Maps or Locations (whichever app you decide to use) will also give me directions.

Windows Phone

When Windows Phone joined the fray, it biggest disadvantage in the Philippines was Bing Maps. With Nokia Maps, a Windows Phone can not compete with Google Maps and Locations. Not always having a Windows Phone device to I asked @levine of TipidCP to help me out.

As you can see, Windows Phone 7.5 will find the closest relevant entry to you, show you other relevant hits and give you driving directions.

As you can see, the Nokia Maps and results are not as polished as Googles. On the other hand Nokia does give you offline voice guided turn by turn navigation. Google will not give you voice guidance and you cannot do it offline.

Apple iPhone and iPad

Before iOS 6, Apple iPhones and iPad used the same excellent Google Maps service. Since iOS 6, they  use Apple maps.

What does the iPhone do when I search for Mary Grace. It wants me to buy a ticket, fly to the United States and visit a Catholic Church there.

Over time Apple can populate the missing info. The problem is, before they do that they have to fix the maps they are using.

Compare Apple map info (left) to Google maps info (right).

Basically, Apple smart iPhone and iPads have are not so smart in the Philippines. How long before this is corrected? I do not know.

Siri was pretty useless in the Philippines in 2011 except in answering questions relating to information about other countries or general information. A year later it still is. But Siri was an optional feature easy to ignore. Maps and locations.... well lets put it this way, would buy a phone without GPS and where people cannot sent you the location of your appointments to your address book?

Until Google or Nokia release an iPhone app, buying a new iPhone means giving up smartphone core functionality in the Philippines. If you already own one, do yourself a favor and stick with iOS 5.1.1. Or you could buy third party navigation software from the iOS store. This won't correct all the issues, but it is better than nothing.

Apple Maps versus Google Maps at the University of the Philippines

Apple on the left, Google on the right. Click for a larger image.

No commentary necessary.

Gameloft End of Summer Sale at Google Play

In celebration of the end of the US Summer (whats so good about the end of summer), Game loft is offering three of its popular titles on Google Play for US$0.99:

• N.O.V.A. 3: Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance
• Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation
• Gangstar Rio: City of Saints

Sale is for a week. Grab then while they are cheap.

Minimalist Text - Turns Your Android into a Work of Art

Minimalistic Text is an Android app that allows you to create widgets that displays time, date, calendar information, weather, and battery and system information in text format. There are several preset widgets and the layout of the widget can customizable through the layout editor. It is really hard for me to explain. I just download it and gave it a try and figured it out easy enough. A bit daunting at first glance. 

Minimalist Text can be downloaded from Google Play for free. There is also a donate version of the app which will help support further development of this app.

Viber Now Has 100 Million Users

VIber, the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and instant messaging app for Android, BlackBerry, iOS and Windows Phone has broken the 100 million user barrier. Not bad at all, and pretty amazing considering the service has been around for less than two years. Now Viber is going to Symbian S40 feature phones as well as Bada OS too, which will expand it reach further. Right now, 1 in 7 of my contacts is on Viber. 

Viber main rival in this arena is Skype. Vibers main advantage over Skype, even other instant messaging apps is that Viber was designed around the smartphone, while its competition started out on the the PC.

VoIP and instant messaging apps rely on a dedicated user name or your email address. Viber being designed around the mobile phone uses your phone number as you user ID. Instead of having to manually add contacts to Viber, Viber scans your address book and finds all your contacts who are already on Viber. 

Viber also has a small footprint. Unlike most VoIP or instant messaging apps that drain your battery life, VIber sits in your memory as a cached process. Meaning it is stored in the RAM and not running. When a push notification comes for a message or a call, Viber starts up quickly. In my experience, there is no discernible difference using Viber leaving turned on or off.

And yes, you can turn it off, in the Android version. Even if you turn if off, it will start up push notification comes for a message or a call, though a fair bit slower.

It is an amazing app. You should give it a try.

Blogging from a Tablet - The Chrome Experience

Blogging from a mobile device has always been difficult. While there is am official Blogger app from Google, for some reason it is not available in my country. I tried doing this a year and a half ago, but the stock browser just could not navigate the Blogger website properly.

Having upgraded my wife's Samsung Galaxy Tab to Android 4.0.4, courtesy of CyanogemMod 9, I decided to give it another go using the Google Chrome browser. 

The Android version of the Google Chrome really is an amazing web browser which gives me full access to Google's Blogger editing tools. Basically, I can pretty much do anything which I could do on my laptop.

I was able to post a hyper link, grab a picture from the web and upload it, justify the margins of my paragraphs... If you have not used Bloggers interface, I guess it is hard to appreciate my amazement. Others can tell me it can be done with other browsers. Yes, it can. It was just so difficult I never bothered to complete a post. Well, now I have.

Well, I have bored you enough.

Buying Music Online from MyMusicStore Philippines

There are several sources from which you can buy music online. I would recommend you try buying from a local outfit, MyMusicStore Philippines. 

When you visit MyMusicStore's website you will find a nice and cleanly laid out site. You can use the search bar to look for a title, album, or find music by the name of the artist or band. There is also a a top chart list and a list of new singles. When you search for singles you can listen to a short preview just to make sure you are buying is the correct one.

   

What is really interesting is your payment options. You can use a credit card or PayPal, but you can also pay through a load on a Smart or SmartBro SIM. You can also pay through MyMusicStore Gift Cards.

Okay. So, we decided to buy "The Last Song I Will Write for You" by David Cook for Php35. Loaded up Php60 on my Smart Bro SIM and proceeded to make the purchase. After registering on the site and confirming purchase, a SMS was sent to my tablet with a PIN code. You have 48 hours from receipt of the PIN code to download the song. The song we bought came in a nice 44.1kHz/256kpbs MP3 format. The download was really fast. 

Unlike some other online Music Stores which keep track of your purchases and allow you to re-download songs you bought at any time, so make sure to keep a back-up of what you bought.  

The HTC Desire HD got beaned by Jelly Bean

We wrote about the official cancellation of by HTC of its Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwhich (ICS), update for its 2010 flagship  phone, the HTC Desire HD. The HTC Desire HD was released on October 2010. The official reason given for the cancellation was:

*After extensive testing, we’ve determined that the current version of HTC Sense with Android provides customers with the best experience on the HTC Desire HD. When we consider new versions of software, we weigh a number of factors, but ultimately the customer experience on the product is the deciding factor. We apologize for any confusion this change may have caused our customers. (Source: HTC Blog)

Four month can make a world of difference. HTC was rather vague on why it decided not to update the HTC Desire HD. Looking at the HTC Desire HD this is some of the basic details of the phone:

• 1GHz Scorpion processor
• Qualcomm MSM8225 chipset
• Adreno 205 graphics
• 768 MB of RAM
• 1.5 GB ROM
• Released October 2010

After announcing the cancellation of the ICS update for the HTC Desire HD, HTC started rolling out ICS for the HTC Incredible S.

• 1GHz Scorpion processor
• Qualcomm MSM8225 chipset
• Adreno 205 graphics
• 768 MB of RAM
• 1.5 GB ROM
• Released February  2011

It would seem the main reason for cancelling the HTC Desire HD's update is that it was released four month earlier than the HTC Incredible S.

Beaned by Jelly Bean. HTC started updating its phones to ICS in March 2012, four month after the released of the new operating system. It planned to roll out ICS to several phones between March to August 2012. HTC probably expected the next version of Android to come out on October or November 2012 with the launch of a new Nexus phone.

Than something surprising happened. In the end of June 2012, Google announced its Nexus 7 tablet which shipped with Android 4.1. HTC would need to get Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) on its current phones as soon as possible to help their sales, especially considering HTC sales are down considerably from 2011 figures. HTC announced that the HTC One X, XL and S would be getting updated to Jelly Bean. 

The OTA update for the HTC Incredible S is being rolled out as I write this, and the HTC will probably start rolling out the update for the Desire S in August 2012. It looks like the real reason for the cancellation of the HTC Desire HD update is because HTC has to move on to working on Jelly Bean updates for the HTC One X, XL and S. HTC cannot say that publicly, hence the rather vague and odd reason for the cancellation of the HTC Desire HD ICS update.

+1 to "Should Google remove the option to sideload Android apps?"

Phone Arena posted an interesting question on its site. Should Google remove the option to sideload Android apps? The main reason is it makes app piracy a bit too easy. "The solution to all this seems quite simple to us - get rid of the option that allows you to install apps from sources other than the Google Play store."

I think the answer to that question is an easy yes. Most users do not need this feature. Leaving it  poses a security risk. The only app I have ever sideloaded what Gameloft's GTA Racing Motor Academy, which I bought when it was not yet for sale in the Play Store. By removing side loading, the Gameloft will simply be forced to sell their all Android games through Google Play. Actually,  I be mush happier if this was the case. 

Leave it as an option for rooted phones for power users. The option is needed to allow legitimate things like back-up and restore, and for the installation of apps that should not be in Google Play in the first place (apps customized for particular ROM's). This would also allow other companies like Amazon to customize own Android  devices to download apps from their own store. This would also allow SysAds to install custom apps built in-house or for a particular company. In other words, the non-typical user will be able to side load anyway.

The objections are that removing the sideloading option is not needed. Apps can have an authentication system. If this is the what developers have to do, you will get all sorts of complaints as to why the app has to connect to the internet. Developer would have to spend more resources maintain servers to authenticate their apps.

Others, object on the grounds of freedom and openness. If you want freedom, root your phone. 

Yes, you will be closing the marker to a degree. But, it is not like Google Play is vetted or restricted like Apple's App Store. Removing the option to sideload apps will not close the ecosystem.

I really cannot thing of a good reason why this feature is useful to the average Android phone user. Well, that is my 2-cents.

The Advance Ace Hack Kit has a new home

The Advance Ace Hack Kit or AAHK which is a all-in-one tool for rooting your HTC Desire HD and HTC Inspire has a new home:

Home of the Advance Ace Hack Kit

AAHK makes it easy and safe to root your Android phone. In addition it does the following:

• COMPLETELY INTEGRATED/INVISIBLE GOLD CARD PROCESS
• Custom AAHK Bootloaders support popular ENG S-OFF functions for both Sense 2 and Sense 3 partition layouts
• Only ONE menu step – HACK ACE
• No ROM downgrade required (only radio/kernel) for devices not running Sense 3
• The original ROM is retained (except when downgrade from Sense3-GB is required)
• No wiping data for devices not running Sense 3
• Rom is fully functional (yes, inc wifi)
• Fully rooted with insecure boot image (supports adb remount for rw system)
• Busybox manager app installed
• Radio S-Off, superCid & carrier sim unlock
• Correct Radio is automagically restored for HSPA+ operation
• Clockworkmod Recovery included
• All known Inspire/DHD builds supported
• Easy return to stock for SOME builds (See the Effen Manual – not all carrier RUUs are available)

Remember, rooting voids your warranty.

Improving the Gnome 3 Desktop

The Gnome 3 desktop has been controversial since its release last year, with many Linux users disagreeing with the design decisions of the Gnome Team. Personally, it has been my favorite desktop environment in the past year. I think most people agree that the empty desktop that Gnome 3 boots too is a bit odd.

Rather than being able to do anything productive, you have to click the Windows Key or move your mouse to the top right corner of the screen in which will reveal a quick launch dock, a link to your to other apps and any open Windows.

There are plenty of available Gnome 3 extensions which allow you to customize the Gnome 3 desktop experience, even allowing you to bring it back to something more like Gnome 2.

I like the stock Gnome 3 experience well enough so I just made minor changes which tweak it in a way I like better. I used the Dash to Dock extension so that the quick launch dock would always be visible unless I run an app full screen. So, when I boot into Gnome 3, this is what I see. 

I also reduced the size of the icons on the dock.

There are 156 extensions right now, which can customize Gnome 3 in different ways, with more being added with each passing week. If you are a Gnome 3 user, give the extensions a look.

My Twelve Best Android Apps on Google Play

Five months has passed since I last wrote an article on my favorite Android apps, I am have made a few replacements. While there are new apps everyday, these are what I consider the most useful among the 650,000 available apps at Google Play Store.

I did not include in my list the dialer, SMS, Calendar, Social Networking (Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn), news reader, calculator and flashlight apps as I use the proprietary HTC apps installed on my phone. These are my most used Google Play apps:

1. Swiftkey 3 Keyboard (Paid). Literally the app I use most. Since I bought this app a year ago, I have received the next two major revision free. It is the best Android keyboard available. Swiftkey, combines excellent word prediction with a highly customizable keyboard. It learns your habits and can even predicts whole words for you before you type the first letter of the next word. You can do more than just change the theme, you can change the size of the keys. Give it a try.  

2. Gmail (Pre-installed/Free). For Gmail users, the best email app is Google Gmail app. It basically gives you the same degree of functionality as if you were on your desktop.

3. Dropbox (Free). Drop box keeps my files in synced between my desktop replacement and ultraportable laptop and allows my phone to access the files synced. You now have Google Drive for Android which gives you more free space. But Dropox only gives you 2 GB of web storage free, but can work your way up to 20 GB via referrals and tasks. Sign up through this link, and you start out with 2.5 GB.

4. Tasks (Paid). One thing Google does not have is a Google Tasks client for Android. There are many apps in the Play Store that sync with Google Tasks. Task by Team Tasks does so elegantly. Some of the other apps try to do too much. It looks and feels like an official Google ICS app. Has excellent widgets too.

5. Pocket (formerly ReadItLater)(Free).  Android's Instapaper. A great way to save links to view later on your phone or other device. Pocket will sync your unread items list and also formats articles in a phone or tablet friendly format. Instapaper is not on Android too, but Pocket is the better app.

6. Google Maps (Pre-installed/Free). We all need maps. This is the best around and it is free. Google Maps includes, Navigation, Places and Latitude. Places is particularly useful telling you what Restaurants, Bars and Cafes nearby and helps you find them. 

7. Picsay Pro. There are plenty of great photo editing apps on the Android Market. Picsay Pro is  the best in my opinion. Try the free version. The Pro Version is much better and worth the money. 

8. Screen Lock (Free/Donate). I use this to lock my phone using the capacitative search button. This saves some wear on tear on my power button. Free app is fully functional, but I got the donate version. Wanted to support the developer so that we see more great stuff from him.

9. Evernote (Free). Android has many excellent note taking apps with cloud storage, but with new Android specific interface Evernote is the best.

10. Viber (Free). Viber is a VOIP and instant messaging app. Unlike Skype, Viber was born on mobile so it is is much more resource efficient than Skype. The app even supports push notifications on Android. Available on other platforms, this is a good way to communicate with friends for free. Viber customer support is also second to none.

11. ezPDF Reader (Paid). The key feature of this PDF reader is text reflow. It can wrap the text on PDF documents so they fit the boundaries of the screen.

12. Wopnersoft Unit Converter (Free). There are plenty of good unit converter in the Android Market. This one works well and is add free.