text:
What can I do to increase battery life on my Android device?
What can I do to get better battery life on my Droid? Battery life seems awful. Less than 15 hours or so on normal usage.

I played with this for a little while after getting my Droid, and found that there are a few easy things you can do that make a big difference.  There's also a lot of misinformation out there, so you need to do some testing.  I get 20 hours of regular use or 16 hours of heavy use.
Note that these are my results on a Motorola Droid with OS 2.1.  Your results may vary, particularly if you're using a different OS version!

Don't use Live Wallpapers.  They're cool, but they eat battery.
Don't use Sense UI.  That's HTC's home app.  Again, it's pretty, but not friendly to battery.
Prefer the back button over the home button.  The back button lets apps decide if they want to run in the background.  The home screen often leaves apps running when they don't need to.
Don't use app killers!  There's no need for them if you use the back button, and you'll end up crippling other apps because of non-obvious dependencies between apps.
Use WiFi whenever you have access to a network because it uses less battery than 3G.  (Shorter distance, lower power.)  Turn WiFi off when you don't have access to a network, otherwise it will keep looking for a WiFi network it can use (which drains battery).
Reduce the frequency at which apps refresh their content.  Common offenders are social media clients (Twitter, Facebook, etc.), email, and news or weather apps.
Finally, watch your battery usage under Settings -> About Phone -> Battery -> Battery Use.  This will show you what has been using the battery since it was last charged.  (So it shows nothing while charging!)  If anything unexpected is using the battery, consider replacing it with another app or service.

Best of luck, and enjoy your Android phone!

how do you turn the sense UI off on an HTC phone?

@Warren P, you can download Launcher Pro or ADW.Launcher from the market and press Home it should prompt you to choose which you want to use. I know some HTC phones won't let you not use Sense. For them you would have to get a bit more forceful and install a custom ROM. Or at the very least, root it and do some trickery.

Live Wallpapers don't actually make that much difference. They are only active when your screen is turned on and you don't have an app running.

@Warrn P you should ask that as a question ;-)

so don't use your phone?

@James: it depends though, some phones have problems with getting turned on in the pockets due to poor physical button positions, and so the live wallpaper shows up on the lock screen. Although, if that's the case, I guess live wallpaper is the least of your worries.

You should set Wifi to remain on only when plugged in.  By default, this is not the case.  This caused my phone to discharge during the night.

This is the first time, I have ever heard that WiFi uses less battery than 3G or GPRS in general! It seems, that I slept-over some electronic revolution. I've been always taught, that (mostly) paid 3G is often more expensive than (mostly) free WiFi, but it uses much less energy. That's why me (and many of my friends) are using GPRS at home, even though we have free WiFi access there. My Google Nexus must also slept over that revolution, because it doesn't know anything about it and runs much longer on GPRS, than when WiFi is enabled!

Plus: a bit off-topic, but still an argument: my Apple iPad Mini (which I use only at home) has also slept over that revolution, because it can run up to twice longer on GPRS only (with LTE!) than when I run it on WiFi connection.

I would complitely removed proprietary stock firmware and installed open-source CynogenMod. It's friendly with battery out of the box.

Wifi takes less battery, see: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/23959/is-there-any-study-on-how-which-services-sensors-consume-the-battery

Some of the biggest power drainers: GPS, Wifi, and Bluetooth.
In general, it is best to keep these services off unless you are using them.  However, GPS will only be used when an application calls for it, so you could technically leave it on all the time.
Some other tips:

Lower the screen brightness
Turn off 3G (if you have a phone that you can switch between 3G and 2G).
Disable automatic Data Sync or:
Set your apps to sync at longer intervals or don't use apps/widgets that do synchronize often
Turn off any unnecessary vibrations or haptic feedbacks
Disable the keyboards backlight
Avoid using the speakers, opt in for using headphones
Underclock the CPU (rooted users)
Turn off data completely (using an app like APNDroid)
Don't use task killers to automatically kill off processes. They simply will respawn.  Uninstall undesired apps.
Use applications like Locale or Tasker to control your phone's Wifi/GPS/Bluetooth/Sreen brightness/etc. settings automatically with profiles that activate under certain conditions
Set your screen timeout to a short time interval.  Then use Screebl to keep your phone screen on when the phone is only held at certain angles.

I read somewhere that if you use APNDroid the phone will actually use up more battery as it constantly tries to connect to the fake APN. Don't know how accurate this statement is, though.

Don't be feared by @Bry 's suggestion to underclock. The best part of underclocking (i.e. with SetCPU) is to create profiles for when you want 250mhz, and when you want 800mhz.

Some of these suggestions like disable haptic feedback may indeed slightly increase battery life...  But unless there's some hard data otherwise, you'd probably use more battery by hunting through the settings just to find the option than it would save in relevant amount of time...

Removing OSmonitors and task managers is good! I was worried when I first got my phone it wasn't being fast enough, so I installed all that junk. I just removed all of them (like 5 apps) and it's faster and more battery conversationary than ever!

Fantastic answer.  I used it this weekend and improved my normal battery life by 400%+.

What do you like better? Locale or Tasker? or do you use both?

@Jordan I use both. I use locale for setting up general schedules/profiles such as work, home, etc.  I use tasker for very specific tasks, such as plugging in my head phones and presenting a menu of music apps to launch.  Tasker can do the former too, but I find locale easier to setup for that.

@Bryan, Hang on - did you switch them up - your last sentence, did you mean "Locale can do the former too but Tasker is easier to setup for that"

@Jordan I didn't mix them up, but let me explain myself better: Tasker can do the exact same thing as Locale, but Tasker is very configurable and may be daunting to use to a novice.  It is a very scripty/programmatic type of app.  Locale is very simple and easy to use.  You can make the same kind of schedules that Locale uses with Tasker, it just takes a bit of extra work to do it.  If you're looking for simplicity, go with Locale.  If your looking for something highly configurable, go with Tasker.  Or both, depending on your needs :)

Also remember: Locale plugins will work in Tasker.

I followed the advice in your post and my Sidekick 4G lasts a full day with normal use and about 32-36 hours with minimal use and on standby. The only thing I haven't done is underclock my CPU. What I was curious about is, how does using your phone's speaker decrease battery life as opposed to using headphones?

@disassembler I believe the logic is that it isn't just sending a signal to an audio out, it's also producing it via the speakers. The speakers (depending on their volume) might require amplification (more current) that headphones do not need. I can't find a good source to back it up, but it does seem to be the general consensus. But honestly, you aren't going to see much difference between the two. Underclocking will save you way more battery life.

How do I disable AutoSync?

I also like MacroDroid. It’s a free automation app.

There are so many things one can do I don't wanna repeat here: Remove bad apps, reduce brightness of your dis… ahem, said: not repeat, OK. But if you think about what you could turn off/down and what effect it offers: There's a nice table to be found at the German technology site Heise, titled Energiesparplan (Google Translate Version here). They slightly modified a Motorola Droid to be able to get precise data on energy consumption – and ended up with a nice table like this, which already substracts the „base consumption“ and thus gives the data for each component/action.
In July 2012, the same publisher again made something similar with his article Durchhaltetraining (Google translate: Hang on! – this article is available online, but paywalled), this time utilizing the more recent Samsung Galaxy S3; same for the Samsung Galaxy S6 in January 20161 – so I add their values here:
┌─────────────────┬────────────────────┬───────────┬───────────┐
| Action          | Motorola Droid     | Galaxy S3 | Galaxy S6 |
├─────────────────┼────────────────────┼───────────┤───────────┤
| Video recording |            1557 mW |   1683 mW |  2277 mW² |
| UMTS Upload     |            1410 mW |   1033 mW |   908 mW  |
| UMTS Download   |            1349 mW |   1074 mW |  1138 mW  |
| EGDE Upload     |            1179 mW |           |           |
| Wifi Download   |            1158 mW |    549 mW |  1138 mW  |
| Play Video*1    |            1135 mW |    597 mW |   395 mW² |
| UMTS call       |             983 mW |    637 mW |   362 mW  |
| Camera*1        |             934 mW |   1460 mW |  2335 mW  |
| EGDE Download   |             853 mW |           |   635 mW  |
| BT receive      |             751 mW |    487 mW |           |
| Display (max)   |             730 mW |   1568 mW |  1227 mW  |
| GPS Searching   |             550 mW |    263 mW |   191 mW  |
| GSM call        |             511 mW |    297 mW |   310 mW  |
| BT send         |             487 mW |    454 mW |           |
| Wifi Upload     |             479 mW |    488 mW |   987 mW  |
| Display (min)   |             310 mW |    567 mW |   260 mW  |
| MP3 play        |             160 mW |    153 mW |   140 mW  |
| UMTS Standby    |            18.3 mW |   10.9 mW |  16.2 mW  |
| GSM/EDGE Standby|            11.6 mW |    9.5 mW |    15 mW  |
| Wifi Stdby 2.4  |             7.8 mW |    9.3 mW |    18 mW  |
| Wifi Stby 5 GHz |               -    |   14.6 mW |    20 mW  |
| BT Standby      |             2.8 mW |    1.8 mW |   2.9 mW  |
| GPS Standby     |             0.4 mW |    0.7 mW |   0.2 mW  |
| NFC Standby     |               -    |      4 mW |   0.1 µW  |
| Wifi Tether*2   |                    |    372 mW |   542 mW³ |
| Wifi Tether DL*3|                    |   1254 mW |  1871 mW³ |
└─────────────────┴────────────────────┴───────────┴───────────┘

*1 fullscreen, already minus the display
*2 Tether active with 1 user
*3 download from notebook via Wifi Tether
As an additional reference, the baseline: Airplane Mode: 6.4 / 6.4 / 10.7 mW.
Recommendation for cold days to get warm fingers: Take your device with both hands, plug in the charger. Now stream a HD video from youtube via 3G/LTE, play it fullsize, and in the background do some video recording which in parallel gets uploaded via 3G/LTE. CAREFUL !!! Wear gloves … #-)

1: calculations used a different base with this third run, so I „rebased“ the values here to match
2: full HD
3: with LTE

For the second: All glory goes to the Zuul :)

All hail the err... might Zulu Warrior.... _o/

Android comes with a widget to easily turn on and off the most common power drainers.
To get it on the home screen:

long press on empty area of home screen
select 'android widgets'
select 'power control' (it takes up a whole row)

It allows you to turn on/off bluetooth, wi-fi, gps, auto aync and screen brightness.
The notifications bar allows wi-fi, bluetooth and gps to be turned on and off.

I have this on the same screen (and have used steady since i got the phone) with my maps/location apps and it is terrific for being able to instant on the GPS and launch an app while saving on GPS battery drain.

I usually find that the display uses the most battery. Turning down the brightness drastically improves my battery life.

Consider JuiceDefender. This app turns off your data services when the phone's screen is off and then only enables them again for 3 minutes every 15 (this is configurable). By making all your apps sync at once on a schedule you prevent a lot of thrashing on your radios. It can also prevent the wifi from searching for hotspots when you are not close to any stored hotspots. Also, watch out for task killers, since they are always running, monitoring apps, they can end up causing more drain than the apps themselves

I personally prefer the Green Power [free version] which is great for WiFi + data + syncing (and more advanced functionality, which are Pro version). Also, 2x Battery Saver is best if you use syncing + mobile data + no-WiFi. There's also Battery XL which I've heard something good about but have yet to try it.

Android already makes your apps sync at once on a schedule, by choosing when "alarms" (the feature apps use to run on a schedule) happen so that the CPU is awake for the minimum time. It seems like this app would interact badly with what's already built into the OS.

I run Tasker on my HTC and it's made a noticeable difference without me having to think about power-management.  It's kind of a scripting tool for the phone - set a condition and what you want to happen as a result.
Mine is set to turn off Mobile Internet whenever connected via Wifi (and vice versa), only turn on Bluetooth when docked in the car, turn off Wifi when I leave home or work (and forget!) and dim the display after dark.
I've also got it to automatically turn on/off GPS when set apps are running.
It's a set-and-forget app and allows you to automate a lot of the good advice on other answers above. Downside is that it's not free; but cheap. YMMV, but I'm a happy user.

According to the answer here, GPS is only used when the app calls for it, so turning it on and off shouldn't save power

GPS in standby is nothing to be worried about (0.4 mW on a Motorola Droid -- compared to ~700 mW for the display and even more for UMTS data xfer). But the problem is: if it's enabled and in standby, some apps will use it, and most of them just for ads (while when it's not available, they won't bother). And that's what then uses some power (~500 mW).

Android 5.0 automatically disable 3G while you are connected via wifi

I discovered one thing that absolutely killed my battery life:
Setting Wi-Fi Sleep Policy to When screen turns off.  ← Don't do this!
Make sure it is set to Never sleep or else it will power the Wi-Fi radio on/off every time it needs to sync something.
On my Samsung Galaxy S Captivate this can be found under: Settings → Wireless and network → Wi-Fi Settings → MenuKey:Advanced

Unless you never sync or sync at large intervals. Also, on ICS, it takes like 10 minutes for this to go into effect, IIRC.

To add to these great suggestions;

Dont use live wallpapers.
Use a dark background if you have AMOLED.

Good guide here with these points and more; Android Battery Saving Guide

Surprisingly enough I've actually seen posts where the Pink-ish background saves the most power.

Again, disabling live wallpapers has such a tiny impact on battery savings that it's not worth mentioning.  At least a small amount of research should be done with something like JuicePlotter for each suggestion.  Otherwise it just confuses people and encourages them to disable useful features for no reason.

The link is broken.

@muntoo, I fixed the link.

If you have an OLED screen (I know the Droid doesn't), then you can get significant savings by tweaking what is displayed. Jeff Sharkey has recently posted a blog entry describing his experiments with screen colour and the effect on battery usage.

Filtering to show only red pixels only requires 35% of the original baseline OLED panel current, on average. Adding back the baseline current, the best case overall is about 42% of the original system current, effectively doubling the battery life. Also, showing only red pixels doubles as an awesome night vision mode, perfect for astronomy. :)

So a dark and/or reddish background could save a lot of juice.

so wouldn't BLACK be the least output, for OLED? :-)

Indeed, I consider black to be a subset of dark

SetCPU is a great little software available for free on XDA forums and on the market for 1.99$.
It allows to set different CPU profiles in different conditions.
I have set the following profiles and the battery usage dropped a lot:

Default mode is conservative with maximum speed set to 768 Mhz (I have Snapdragon 1Ghz CPU).
Let the CPU run at maximum speed and performance profile when the phone is in charge via USB.
Set the CPU to drop to 500 Mhz and powersave profile when the screen is off.

There are many other possibilities. The only draw back is that it requires root access.

I didn't know you could do profiles with SetCPU. You've sold me on it.

how does this differ from the automatic throttling that Android provides?  (e.g. from System Panel app I see that CPU frequency [not just %] seems to jump all around depending on how much is happening)

Unfortunately battery life on android devices seems to be worse then other similar phones (iPhone and blackberry). This is from personal, anecdotal experience.
Things to do are to check your update frequency settings-> accounts & sync. You can lower your update frequencies.
Additionally keep blue tooth or wifi off when you don't need them. You can find widgets for your homescreen that will let you toggle these quickly.
Also settings-> About Phone -> Battery -> Battery Use
could show you any unusual heavy hitters on your battery.
You can also find applications in the market such as "Spare Parts" that give you more detailed battery use information.
Some people have reported that that applications such as "Advanced Task Killer" can be used to periodically kill running applications if you find that your phone vendor has installed any pesky applications that you want to periodically kill. On my current phone though I've found that Advanced Task Killer just used unnecessary battery power and didn't really help me.

Don't use Google Voice for Text Messages the way that you are supposed to use it out of the box.
If you set up GV to push your SMS notifications as email (rather than maintaining the Voice app and constant polling), and then do all of your replies via email it minimizes the use for GV, saves on battery, and keeps your SMS's free.

If you have a Nexus 5 the following Youtube video entitled "Nexus 5 Top 10 Battery Saving Tips" should prove useful and highlights:

Turning off vibrating Key Press
Turning off auto brightness
Setting GPS to Battery Saving
Using the Default Launcher
Turning NFC off
Use Apps like Tasker for Automation
Minimise the use of Widgets & Screens
Use a custom kernel (requires Root)
Use ART runtime
Turn off "OK Google"

Please note that whilst the video highlights the Nexus 5, it will of course be applicable to a whole host of other Android devices as well.
For a more comprehensive look see also this guide entitled "How to extend your Android’s battery life" published on April 15th 2013, for Android Authority.

If your main power drain is the screen, you might try a magnetic case (or adding a magnet to your existing case) + Holster Snooze to automatically turn off your screen when you put your phone away.

For 4g phones, keep the 4g antenna off until you have a use for it. And if no 4g spot is found, turn it off. 4G antenna is the most expensive power wise antenna out there. And unless you are watching videos even htc recommends turning it off.

The order of energy usage 4G > 3G > Wifi > 2G > Bluetooth roughly corresponds to the range and speed of each antennaes.

If you have root access on your device, it's certainly worth taking a look at Greenify. This app takes care for those processes permanently running in background and waking up your device needlessly: As soon as you switch your display off, Greenify "hibernates" apps you selected to be handled, so they can no longer wake up your device to "do something needless". They get "re-animated" once you switch your screen back on.

Just adding to what people have suggested for underclocking - you can create a profile for an underclocked frequency and enable that profile only when the phone is locked. This will ensure that your phone performs well when unlocked but saves battery when locked.

Turn off always on monitoring Apps, like the fitness applications. Google Fit has a High Precision mode that eats more battery.
Also turn off "Ok Google": Configuration → Idiom and Text → Google voice dictation → Ok Google detection → Turn off all, or at least the "from any screen" config.
Turn off any other monitoring App you can think about.

As no one mentioned this, so if all the other solutions didn't increase your battery lifetime, then a factory reset is your last choice. Based on this question, the user has said that he got tremendous battery performance after factory resetting the device.
Note: Factory resetting without backing up your data you will lose data. So backup all the data(contacts, SMS, app-data etc) before factory resetting and also read this answer

Try to do CPU-intensive tasks like downloading stuff, installing updates, watching video, etc, whilst connected to a charger. This will reduce the wear on your battery so it will perform well for longer.

On all phones that I know of the battery still provides the power while the phone is plugged in; if there are any that bypass the battery, they're a rare exception.  Charging at the same time as high power usage is a great way to heat up your battery and significantly degrade its performance.  For best battery life the phone should only be charged while it's off.

@MatthewRead: You are certainly wrong.  Current is either flowing from positive to negative battery terminal or vice versa -- both simultaneously is impossible.  When the battery is charging, energy is being provided to it and it is not providing power to anything.  It is possible to continue discharging the battery while plugged in -- in this case the external source is providing as much power as its current limit allows and the battery provides the difference.  This would be less stressful on the battery than disconnected usage.  What you're likely observing is (continued)

a high current source which is able to charge the battery even when the phone is drawing high power.  In that case, the voltage regulator chips have to deal with the sum of the used current and the charging current, and that regulator circuit might become hot.  If the battery is placed close to the regulator, the battery could become hot as well by heat conduction, and be degraded either temporarily or permanently.  So your recommendation is good -- charging with the phone turned off will protect the battery -- but your explanation "battery still provides the power" was totally wrong.

And in a system with better thermal design, the battery won't be heated by the regulator, and then eug is correct -- supplying the power demand from the external source will decrease the number of charge/discharge cycles and reduce wear.  On the other hand, if the phone varies between a power level sustainable from the external source and one that requires augmentation from the battery, then the battery will be discharged only slightly between charges, which creates "memory" in some battery technologies, destroying them.  But for most modern batteries complete discharge is the problem.

@Ben Hmm.  If the battery isn't providing the power when the phone is plugged in, wouldn't you be be able to take out the battery while it's plugged in?  Every device I've had suffers immediate power loss in this case.

@MatthewRead: In addition to the high-power battery terminals, there are contacts for control and monitoring.  There's also a difference between the battery itself (which is what you're worried about protecting) and the battery module -- it's entirely possible for the battery module to complete the circuit.  But it doesn't.  I just tried with my Galaxy Note 2.  Pull battery with the phone on, it immediately goes "off" and won't turn back on.  Put the battery back in, shows charging screen.  Phone still soft-off, remove battery, changes to battery missing screen.

Power is on to a significant amount of the phone (including the screen and processor), and it's attempting to communicate with the battery, and taking action based on that failure.

@MatthewRead  To let you know that A lenovo laptop I have doesnot power off even if I remove battery. It runs from the direct current from the charger. So there are possible to have devices like those.

@BenVoigt Everybody doesn't have access to a charger/power banks everytime. Some people do have to keep their battery extending while trekking or traveling for days etc. And most of the people dont charge while they are using the phone. Even the Power backup device will last two/three times. May be you could say that they can avoid doing CPU intensive tasks to increase their battery life.

This is radical but very useful if you are in a remote region without cellular network or in an crowded event where the network capacity isn't enough for everybody: turn off your chips.
Go to Configuration → SIM Cards → uncheck all your cards.
If you have a multi-chip phone, turn off one your secondary chip that it will help.


text:
How to install android 2.2 (froyo) on Nexus One
I have a rooted nexus one with the android 2.1 update1. I have received the OTA notifications for a system update for the 2.2, but it didn't succeed. I must have the phone rooted (for now) so I can have Hebrew on it.
Where can I download the latest android 2.2 (FRF 91) and how should I install it? Dows the upgrade also wipes the contents of the SD card?

2.2 has some support for Hebrew on it. So try to unroot and get the OTA in my opinion.

The easiest way would be to install ROM Manager from the Market.
It is a fantastic application written by the guys that created CyanogenMod. From this app, you can download and install vanilla ROMs and custom ROMs with a few clicks. Highly recommended.

If you un-root your phone you should be able to tell it to re-check for updates and then re-apply the update.
Hopefully you used something like a recovery image to backup your phone before you rooted it, if so then you should be able to restore that backup to get yourself back into an un-rooted state. (depending on the type of backup you took originally, restoring it may or may not overwrite your current user data, make sure you use all the available tools to backup any data you care about before restoring)
Now you're unrooted you can go through the normal Android process to check for OTA updates:
You can see if there's a pending update by clicking the System Updates option at the top of that screen (this will only show the available updates if your phone already knows about them, it doesn't go back to Google/network).
There is a way to force it to go back the Google/the network if an update you're expecting isn't showing:

Go to the homescreen.
Tap on Dialer - to open the dialer screen.
From the dialer type *#*#checkin#*#* (that is *#*#2432546#*#*)
After a few seconds, you will receive an alert notification, accessible from the homescreen window shade "checkin result success".
Return to the homescreen.
Press the Menu key.
Select Settings.
Scroll down, and select About phone.
Select System updates.
If an update is available, you should see the update downloading.
When the download is complete, you will be prompted to Install (now or later).
You can now re-root your phone (after backing up again) to get your Hebrew interface back. If applicable you should be able to re-use the tools you backed your data up with to get it back again.

Does this help? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=715799. I remember going down the rabbit hole here some time ago and getting the right binary and installing it on my Nexus One.
Hope this helps.
PS - I'd have left this as a comment if I could (not enough reputation :-()

try to flash Stock android 2.1 update1 ROM on nexus-1 and then dial this code: *#*#2432546#*#* in your phone/dialer application to receive system updates via FOTA.
Once you have updated to your desired version then proceed with rooting....

source: Stack Exchange

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

sort: votes


text:
In Android (Galaxy S), is there a way to automatically sync photos from camera to picasa?
I want to have it so that when I take a picture it automatically syncs to a private folder in picasa, is there a native way to do this? or maybe a third party way?

I don't think you can sync automatically on the Galaxy S at present but I understand it is supported in Froyo which is apparently coming to the Galaxy S soon. In the meantime there is an app or two that does this.
PicPush has a free 30 day trial, then costs $4.99. QRCode for the Android Market below

(source: 350nice.com)
Docs Pics apparently does a load of things including syncing files to Picasa. It is free.

I've not used either app yet. I'll update if I get a chance to try them.

I believe this is now possible if you sign up to Google+.
Install the Google+ app. Open it. Then under Menu->Settings there is an Instant Upload option with the following description: "Automatically upload new photos & videos to a private web albumn."
There are also a bunch of settings to control it under Instant Upload Settings.
When you activate this and take some photos, they come up under an Instant Upload album in Picasa.

In reality Google should have built 2-way sync into Picasa from the start.

Absolutely. I've heard rumours that it is coming in Android 3.0 but not sure.

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
How can I store Android apps on my SD card?
I just got my 3rd Android phone, the problem is that I must reinstall all my applications every time I get a new phone. Is there any way to store the apps on the SD card so that I can insert the new card and all my apps are there?
I would prefer solutions that don't require rooting the phone.

This is a feature that requires Froyo, so unless you have a Nexus One you'll need to either root your phone (which you've already said you don't want to do) and install a Froyo ROM or wait for your manufacturer/carrier to issue you Froyo in an update.
Either way, moving apps to your SD card is pretty straightforward. Go into Settings, then Manage Applications. There you should have the option to move your apps to your SD card.

This answer is a bit misleading - while you can move apps to SD card on Froyo, this just means that the bulk of the app will be stored there. But they still need to be explicitly installed and will not be available on a new phone by just swapping the SD card.

I'm stuck with 2.1 (HTC Desire) for the time-being, so the APP2SD provided by Froyo isn't available to me.
I use Appbrain which allows you to keep a synchroised list of the apps installed on your phone in your own (free) online account - and then the Appbrain app on the phone will then automatically allow you to reinstall the apps you had before.  I've used it numerous times when re-flashing my ROM.
Downside - it's a fresh install; so you lose any data within the apps.  Upside - free, easy and takes the ball-ache out of reinstalling; it also allows you to install apps on the phone directly from the appbrain site.

Hopefully the next time you get a phone it's Froyo or better. I installed Froyo on my Nexus One and it knew what apps I had installed on the previous system and started to downloand and install a fresh copy for the new OS. Only downside was that any data with those apps was lost (like the data from My Tracks) but the NEXT time I upgrade I would imagine even that data will be transfered to the next phone!

Google has now launched (a while back, I believe) a website for the Android Market you'll find on your phone at market.android.com - just log in with your Google account that you have your phone registered to. From there, you can install apps, browse ones that are compatible with your device, and also view all of your purchase history and library of apps, books, and movies found on your device. I'm not sure if it will let you transfer apps back and forth between phones, as I only have one device, but I'm pretty sure that there is likely a way to re-download purchased apps from there after you de-activate your first phone. Hope this helps!


text:
Alternatives to the Android Market

Possible Duplicate:
What are the alternative Android app markets?

I've had issues downloading paid applications from the Android Market and it seems I'm not the only one. I've set up my account correctly (I've been billed) but the download sticks on "Authorizing credit card...". I've tried cancelling and rebooting, but without success. I see that some in the linked thread got it working after leaving it on overnight, I left mine on for more than a day and still no joy.
For the particular app I was after I found it at slideme.org, but their selection is very limited. I'm looking for other sites that will allow me to purchase paid apps that have a comprehensive selection.

Your best bet is to remedy your problem. Alternatives will leave you disappointed. Try clearing your Market cache (from the Settings > Applications > All Applications menu) to see if that helps.

You can try removing your credit card on Google Checkout and adding it again.

thanks for the suggestion, but see my comments on some of the answers, I've tried several variants without success.

I am using AppBrain.com and I am happy with it.

AppBrain just redirects to Android Market for downloads & purchases.. It works just like a catalogue, not a full-featured Market.

The only competing powerful market alternative available is Amazon AppStore. It provides a paid app for free daily. The only thumbs down thing about it is that its available for only few countries. But, this limitation can be by-passed easily (Google it).
Another alternatives worth looking:

SlideME
AndroidPIT AppCenter
GetJar

Answering the underlying problem rather than the symptom, I had the same problem with the market.  It turned out to be a problem with Google Talk.
Try starting the Google Talk application, sign in, sign out then exit the application.  Go to the market, cancel any pending downloads and start the download again.

Just a quick note on Google Talk. According to Gina Trapani on This Week In Google a couple of weeks ago, the Google Talk Service is not as most would assume to be the messaging service but in fact the service that pings back to Google with your phone presence on the network. It is also what receives the push from Google with any app to install as these are done via push rather than pull.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I've tried repeatedly variations of "turning it off and on again". This includes removing and re-adding my details, signing in and out, actually rebooting. I understand t he problem is with Google's authorisation server and it is luck of the draw if your purchase is authorised, see the first link in my post.


text:
Is there any way to get Swype on my Moto Droid?
Is there anyway to get Swype from outside the Market? Its not available there, and I see its already running on Droid X, so I was thinking it'd probably work on Droid as well.

Swype has just released a second beta, but I believe this is only for those who were on the beta before.
Nevertheless, you can try it here: http://beta.swype.com/
To install Swype, you install the "Swype installer" which will authenticate you as a valid user and then download and install the actual Swype APK. They are keeping tight control over the actual Swype APK.

As of Feb 20, '11 there is a beta available at the URL Sam Pride mentions; I just installed it on my Droid and it works fine.   Now for the learning curve...

Check this out:
http://www.droid-life.com/2010/03/08/swype-beta-apk-file-for-those-who-missed-it/
There is a download link, and step-by-step instructions for installing the beta.

That works, but its just a trial and its expired.

That beta version expired months ago

There is no lawful way - you can download an apk of the production version on the internet but this is piracy and so unlawful and the beta has expired. You either need to have it preinstalled on your phone (like with the samsung galaxy s) or buy it from their site (which I can't see how to do - it is not on the market, at least not for my htc desire).
There are many other free swype alternatives on the market but I can't remember them off the top of my head.

It's on the market for me on a Galaxy S4, but it may not be compatible with all devices  yet. SwiftKey has a 'flow' feature ala swype and Google Keyboard has it too (and is free) so they may be alternatives. I loved Swype but SwiftKey (after a few weeks of learning) is the only one I use these days. It was 2 Euro on sale, well worth it. Maybe try Google keyboard first!

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


text:
Backup/Restore Android

Possible Duplicate:
How do I perform a full pre-rooting backup of an Android phone?

I am considering rooting my Motorola Droid, and I am wondering if it is possible to revert back to the exact state that my phone is in right now (ie unrooted, with all my apps, settings, etc).
I know I can backup all the files on my SD card (in fact I have that job running right now).  But how can I backup/restore the phone's internal memory?
Is this what SPRecovery does?  All of the 'how-to-root-your-phone' tutorials say that you start by installing SPRecovery, but I can't find any details on what, exactly, SPRecovery does, and how to use it.  I suspect it does more than what is necessary to load a rooted ROM, but I just can't find any details.

Could you use Nandroid to do this? I understand that this creates a full image of your phone for restore.

Does it require rooting the phone? I've galaxy I5801

@Ismail In most cases, yes.

The Marketplace has a few different free and pay apps that do backup. They can backup apps and the data stored with the apps as well as other things on your phone like your call log.
Backup on Android has never been too big a deal because most of what is really important on a phone (contacts, email) are stored in Google's cloud.
Once you root your phone you won't want to go back anyway!

Note that you do not need to backup Contacts & Emails etc. They are automatically backed up in your google account.
The state of your apps (i.e. the purchases you have made) is also backed up to your google account. So if you move to a different android phone, you can install them again without having to pay for them again.
For photos, I have been very happy with Lookout for Android. Important features include:

Data Backup (I use only photo backup)
Anti Virus (which I never use)
Remote Locator (in case your phone gets stolen/lost)


text:
How to synchronize birthdates from contacts with google calendar on HTC Hero?
I'm aware of the fact that the standard contacts/calendar app does not support birthdates synchronization (Android issue 1211). But may be there is some third-party software which can make those synchronized for me?

Is this still a problem? I see birthdays from contacts in Calendar.
I add birthdays to my contacts in Gmail, and I subscribed to the "Contacts' birthdays and events" in Google Calendar:

Under "Other calendars" Add > Browse
Select "Interesting Calendars"
Select "Contacts' birthdays and events"

This gives me a calendar in Google Calendar with my contact's birthdays.
When I got my android (a motorola xt720 running eclair), the birthday calendar showed in the Calendar app.
You'll probably have to open the Calendar app > Menu > My Calendars. And then Menu > Add calendars. You should see Contacts' birthdays and events.

Likely this is just a change in Google Calendar since 2010, but when you go to "Interesting Calendars" you have to select the "More" tab as it defaults to "holidays"

gCalBirthdays is what you're looking for. It comes as a Google Calendar Sidebar Gadget and reads your contacts birthdays in one of your Google calendars which you can then sync to your android phone.


text:
Flashing and re-flashing and HTC Hero with different versions of Andorid
I want to try different versions of the Android OS on my HTC Hero (namely 2.2) but be able to revert back to the stock image.
What are the steps required to do this?
How can I extract the stock image from my handset?
I am on T-Mobile UK if that makes any difference.

Do a backup first with nandroid backup, it's included in most recovery images used to flash os roms


text:
Multilanguage Keyboard with Android
Sometimes I type in German and sometimes in English.
I seem to be only able to switch on autocompletion for one language and have to add the words of the other language one by one to the dictionary.
Is there a better way for those people who are multilingual?

Yes, you can do this. Here's how:
Note: I'm on Froyo (Android 2.2), so if you're on a different version it may be slightly different.

Go To your home screen.
Choose Settings from the Menu
Choose Language & Keyboard
Choose Android Keyboard
Choose Input Languages
Select the English and German Languages
Exit out by pressing the Home Key

You're now set up for German and English.
Here's how to test it:

Open the browser
Tap the address bar to bring up the keyboard
LONG PRESS the address bar (or text field, whatever you want to call it)
Look at the the space bar: it will have the following: < English >
Now SWIPE/SLIDE your finger over the space bar, you'll see it change to < German >

Once < German > is selected, you're now using the German keyboard.
Swipe again to return to English.
Enjoy.

I'm on HTC Hero with 2.1 at the moment and it this process seems to be froyo specific. It makes me want to root my phone ;)

I cant do this on my 2.1 milestone. Can anyone confirm its Froyo specific?

I am trying to do this for English & French, but my phone only has English & Chinese in input languages. How can I add French please?

@user1073203 You may need to download a 3rd party keyboard that supports those languages

I'm wanting to set up the three language keyboards I all use every day: Japanese, Swedish and English. I have a Sony Xperia (Android 4.0.4) and am unable to do the above. There is nothing called "Android Keyboard" (I only find three different kinds of "Xperia *** keyboard" (English, Chinese, Japanese) in my settings. So the above doesn't help.

As Bryan has rightly said by installing third party keyboard apps will be helpful.
Try an app like the SwiftKey Keyboard.
It has a multilingual keyboard support and is much better in typing when compared to the stock keyboard provided.

What about installing an alternative keyboard, like AnySoftKeyboard with appropriate language packs. (It's free/libre/open-source software, and it's available from http://f-droid.org, which means that it was independently rebuilt from the sources. So you have another guarantee that it doesn't spy, by the way.)
Configure it for multiple languages, and choose it as your default one.


text:
Installing Android on iPhone 3G

Possible Duplicate:
Can I install Android on my non-Android device?

I read somewhere that someone managed to get Android running on an iPhone 3G. Is there an easy  tutorial on how to do that?
It's just for testing purposes.
Thanks!

There are rater complete installation instructions on the wiki for the main project:
http://www.idroidproject.org/
Also, while you mentioned that it's just for testing, I can't stress enough how "beta" things are right now; this is not in a state suitable for end-users yet, and won't reasonably be until power management is complete. "Easy install tutorial" and "Android on iPhone" don't (at the time of this writing) go well together yet.
You'll have the most useful results with Android 1.6; while 2.2 (Froyo) builds are currently available (and I'm running it today), you'll find that it's a considerable amount of flux, with large pieces of basic functionality not there yet.
For additional questions or to search for common problems, the iDroid forums and IRC channel (#iphonelinux on irc.osx86.hu) are a good place to check.

This PC world article walks you through it mostly
http://www.pcworld.com/article/196595/how_to_install_android_on_your_iphone.html

Looks like a new app called Bootlace has just been released for the iPhone 2G and 3G which makes it an incredibly easy set of clicks to get Android 2.2 running on a 3G. All you need is a jailbroken iPhone, and Bootlace does the rest for you.
See the first link for a step by step tutorial.


text:
Why does the alarm on my HTC Desire not work correctly?
I have setup three alarms on my HTC Desire (running standard 2.1 with Sense).

Mo, Tu, We, Fr @ 05:45
Th @ 05:30
Sa @ 07:00

They are set as repeating alarms and the phone displays the little clock symbol in the top right corner indicating that an alarm is active.
I have been running the phone with DeskClock activated each night and this also says that there is an alarm active for 05:45 the next morning. However I have watched it (with it not working for some strange and bizarre reason I am waking up before the alarm goes off) and at the time the alarm is set for nothing happens.
Can anyone shed some light on this? My wife has a HTC Hero that is also running 2.1 and her's appears to be working correctly.
I also have ATK that is running and is set to auto-kill running applications and I have been wondering if this is the cause, however this does not kill the DeskClock app that is running so I am not sure if it is relevant.

mine doesn't work when the phone is off... and now I am also using LiveHome on my android and the alarm doesn't work at all!!!

I take it back! I have started using Live home on sunday and my alarm isn't set on sundays..... all week days but sundays so I mixed things up a bit

I had lots of problems with this myself, as you suggest my taskkiller was closing it down, on changing an alarm setting it would start back up. You should be able to press and hold on a task in advanced task killer and tell it to ignore the alarm task. This seems to have done the trick for me anyway.

Cookey, Just tested this by setting up a new alarm, then ATK'ing the Clock app and the alarm didn't go off. I then setup a new alarm and this time 'ignored' the Clock app in ATK and sure enough this time it worked fine. Thanks for your help.

You are certainly not the only one with alarm issues.  Check out this list of defects related to the alarm on the issue tracker for Android OS.  Unfortunately it seems like the symptoms vary depending on a lot of factors or do not seem to be consistent at a glance.
The symptoms you described for the HTC Desire running 2.1 are EXACTLY what I experience.  Funny thing is... I have an HTC Hero running 2.1 (same as your wife's)!  I can also tell you that the alarm used to work on my HTC Hero before upgrading from 1.5 to Eclair.
I do have a workaround that worked in my case that you might want to try:
I found that the alarm was not going off if the phone is not plugged into a charger.  Once I started leaving it on the charger at night it works 100% of the time for me.  If this doesn't work for you, or perhaps you already leave it on the charger and it still doesn't work, I would suggest doing some research on the issue tracker.  If nothing there seems to help maybe enter a new issue to bring it to the Android team's attention.

@Saul, thanks for the reply. I always have my charger in at night so I don't think this is the problem. I also assume that this is more to do with HTC Sense than Android itself, but could be wrong on this.

@TravisPUK, your best bet as a starting point would still be the issue tracker.  I'd trust the Android team to be more responsive to feedback than HTC or anyone else involved.  They may be able to help you narrow it down a bit even if it's not something in the OS causing the problem.

@Saul, see above ATK was definitely the culprit in this little failure. Thanks for your input though.

When you set the alarm, select the alarm sound that you like best, at the same time activate the volume control. I had a similar problem with my HTC Hero before I realised that the volume control had someohow been set to its minimum. I must stress that the volume must be activated whilst selecting the required sound. Hope this helps.

Go to > settings
Settings > sounds & notification
sounds & notification > do not disturb
do not disturb > play alarms (box must be checked)
Alarm will play even if ringtone is off, as long as alarm sound is turned up.
Press volume up or down
Tap ringtone settings icon (circle with squares around it)
Make sure alarm sound is all the way up!


text:
How to check HTC desire is off without turning it on?
Is is possible somehow to distinguish between the phone being off or sleeping without turning it on in the process (this happens when pressing the power button)?
I appreciate that I can just use silent or airplane mode rather than turning it off, but was  interested to see if there was a way.

do you mean "phone being off"?

Nexus One has the same issue.  Bugs the heck out of me!

This is for the HTC 1.  You'll have to see if it works for you.  The charge light is red when the phone is off, and orange when it's on.  Obviously, that's with the charger connected.

There are a number of "Shake to Wake" apps in the Market. Obviously if you use one of those, shake the phone and it doesn't wake up, then it's fully off.

You can make a call to your own phone number, it is faster than suffering a boot/shutdown cycle.
Also, you can keep some notification just to keep the LED always blinking.

It is a bit of a hassle, huh. There is a slightly unusual solution though: Turn the phone on while holding down the Back key, which will do nothing special if the phone was merely asleep, but will display the HBOOT version within about a second if the phone was completely off.
From that screen, press Volume Up and then Power to turn the phone completely off again.

I don't think you can. I just did some tests and even the slightest press of the power button will turn it on if it is actually powered off. I didn't like the having to press the power button to 'wake' up the phone myself. Would prefer if you could hit the home button or similar as a long press.

On my Samsung Galaxy S I can use either the home or power button to 'unsleep' the handset.

You can install a custom lock screen application and use hadrware buttons like optical tracpad to wake up the phone. More info in the blog post.


text:
Can I save a web page to my SD card with the stock android browser?
Can I save a web page to my SD card with the stock android browser?  I'm using an HTC Droid Eris, if that matters.

There is an application called Save Webpage which will let you do it, I don't know of any  other way to do it in the stock browser.

WebMemo (Updated name Save as Web Archive) does a similar thing, but seems a bit more at hand as it uses the Share Page menu, instead of having you manually input the url - as with the fore-mentioned Save Webpage
Google play link


text:
Android: An app failed to download/install - what do I do?
Sometimes I download an app but it fails to download or install. The message just says that, no further details. It generally seems that the app never installs after that. Is there anyway I can find out more details about why it failed? Is there any good way to get stuff to install after this has happened.
I am using Android 1.5 on a T-Mobile Pulse/Huawei U8220

Were you trying to download Talking Santa also?

Can you get any app to install? First thing to always try is to reboot the phone.
If that doesnt work, try downloading aLogCat from the market (if you can install it). If it installs, then go to the market and try to download the app you're having issues with. If it STILL wont download, then open aLogCat and look at the system log entries. Then you should be able to glean a little bit of info of why its not installing. I know this is not a 100% answer of what you're looking for, but it does help and has helped me before.

I like the idea, but my phone seems to be stuck unable to install aLogCat :/ Can I view the logs any other way?

Using ADB, you can play with the logcat command.  Google around if you have no idea what that means, there are lots of instructions on how to set up ADB.

When this happens to me there's one thing that helps every time:
Open the Market and go to the Downloads section, then perform a long click on the stalled download. Cancel the download from here. Now you should be able to reinstall / update the app.

Are you out of internal storage for apps? Have you tried a hard reset? Can you upgrade your phone to a newer Android release? Personally I would try upgrading your device first then see if you still have problems.

Does the OS actually tell you it failed to download, or do you just notice? When i was running 2.0.1 i noticed a particular problem with trying to update/download multiple apps at once. If you are doing synchronous dls try one at a time.
Another option MAY be to try using Appbrain. It is an alternative installation app that hooks into market. (http://www.appbrain.com/)
Speaking of which, you could also try your QR reader and try to install via the internet using the programs' QR codes.


text:
What is the minimum specification for Android 2.2 (Froyo)?

Possible Duplicate:
What are the minimum specifications for Android?

Assuming that the handset and carrier both allow the OS to be upgraded, what is the minimum specification needed for Froyo in terms of processor, screen, and other capabilities?

Almost any Android phone can run Froyo (if you root it and it can run Cyanogen) but carriers won't be upgrading the majority of the phones that were out before the "Droid" era (which was out around November of 2009). Basically, if the phone came with 2.0 or above it'll probably get upgraded to 2.2 (Froyo) but lots of phones that came with 1.5 or 1.6 just arn't powerful enough for all of Froyo (Cyanogen had to disable a few features to get it to work on the first Android phone, the G1).

The Android CDD has the minimum specs.  There is no minimum processor, it just has to be "fast enough".

IIRC, SDK targets ARM5. OpenMoko FreeRunner has ARM4, and so an Android port has troubles running apps which use native code. Still, there is a build of Froyo for Freerunner and it works fine if you don't need apps that use native code, or use only those which were recompiled for ARM4.

Well, i'd say the G1 specs, since Cyanogen has it running on those, from what i understand it was a bit tight to fit froyo on a G1/Dream but it was possible

True, but remember that the G1 doesn't support all the features of 2.1+ (i.e. LiveWallpapers)

Without rooting the phone, the Motorola Droid or N1 is probably the minimum spec for Android 2.2.  I don't really see many older phones than the Droid getting 2.2.
With rooting the phone, I would say the G1 with CyanogenMod or similar, but it will not be feature complete as that phone simply cannot support some features, such as LiveWallpapers.

I can confirm that I am running CyanogenMod 6 (Froyo) on a HTC Hero - which is not the highest spec phone on the block in terms of CPU, RAM (and anything else come to think of it)
Performance is greatly improved over the standard HTC spin and has given my phone a new lease of life (so I can buy a new laptop instead of a new phone!)


text:
How to open Microsoft Excel files?
I would like to read my Microsoft Excel files on my Android device. Is there anything built-in natively? Is there an application for viewing and editing Excel files on Android?

You can try Documents To Go. You can create, edit, and view MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and even PDF docs.
As a free alternative, you can upload your Excel docs to Google Docs and use the free GDocs app.

Note that you cannot edit Google Docs from an Android phone.

Note that you can now, you should now be able to edit from a mobile at the website at http://docs.google.com or by installing the official app https://market.android.com/details?id=com.google.android.apps.docs More info at http://www.google.com/mobile/docs/

Here are two ideas:

upload it to google docs (you can do it from the browser) and view it there.
use an office application such as OpenOffice, OfficeSuite or QuickOffice or Mobile Document Viewer

My favorite app for this is OfficeSuite Pro but I got it when it was the free app of the day, so I can understand not wanting to pay $14.99... it is a great program though!

OfficeSuite is a great app for viewing and editing documents. There are two versions one as a Viewer (free), the other as a Pro (payable) version. There is also a trial version of the Pro version, so you could try it out if you decide to buy it.

What you get:

File browser
Text document module
Spreadsheet module
Presentation module
PDF Reader
Email reader

Supported formats:

Text format - DOC and DOCX, DOCM, RTF, TXT, LOG
Spreadsheet - XLS, XLSX, XLSM and CSV
Presentation - PPT, PPTX, PPS, PPSX, PPTM and PPSM
Other formats - PDF, EML, ZIP

Bonus:

OfficeSuite Pro is the only Android mobile office application that allows opening of password protected documents (taken from the Google Play site)

You could try WPS Office. It's free and I find it very useful.
Here is a list of features highlighted on official page:
Spreadsheets:

Fully compatible with Microsoft Excel
Includes dozens of formula and function shortcuts
Supports pivot tables, freeze frames, sorting, table styles and more
Insert charts, including bar, pie, line and column
Edit cell categories (number, text, percentage, etc.)

Is AndrOpen Office any good?
Supposedly its OpenOffice made for Android.

While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference.  Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. - From Review

If merely viewing is your requirement, something like XODO Docs would do the best for you
For both editing and reading, the official Microsoft Excel for Android would be the best choice


text:
How can I improve the reponsiveness of the virtual keyboard on my HTC Droid Eris?
I've noticed that sometimes the virtual keyboard on my HTC Droid Eris can be very laggy.  While composing a text message, it will take a second or more to respond to some button presses.
Is there anything I can do to reduce the lag and make the virtual keyboard more responsive?

If someone with enough rep could create an htc-droid-eris tag and add it, I would appreciate it!

@Nick - done...

I suggest checking out 3rd party keyboards. There are some free and paid alternatives that may show a nice improvement for you.
There are even stock keyboards for other phones that have been ripped out and placed online as APKs to download and install. Check out your favorite Eris/Android message board to get some suggestions, and also check the Market and try them there, too.


text:
Can I use a modern Android phone with no phone plan?
I'm new to the Android platform, but am looking into doing some development for Android 2.x, with the hope of publishing an app to the Android App Market eventually.  I'd like to be able to test my app on "real" hardware, but I already have an iPhone, which is plenty expensive itself, and I don't want to pay for an entire second cell phone plan just to test my code.  So my question is, is it possible to buy an unlocked Android phone and operate it entirely over wi-fi?  If so, what features (besides the obvious, like making calls), will I be missing out on?

Yes, it is possible, but it might be tricky depending on the phone.
For instance, I bought a T-Mobile G1 (not the Android Dev Phone version) and had to have a SIM card in it.  You can either borrow a friend's or you can do what I did, which was buy a prepaid-SIM card.  It cost less than $40.  If you have a friend's SIM card that has a data plan, then you can activate the phone.  But if you don't want to have to have a SIM card in the phone anymore, you'll have to root the phone and install CyanogenMod on it.
Now if you bought a pre-paid SIM card, then you can activate the phone over wifi by following these steps (this is specific to the G1).
A G1 is probably the cheapest phone you can get if you're only wanting to use it as a hardware testing device. On ebay it is around the $100-150 range.

Great idea about the prepaid SIM card. I never thought of that. Thanks!

Actually as far as I know, you don't need a SIM at all. I mean I activated my Nexus One via wifi, and just booted it without a SIM as a test, and everything (except calling, obviously) works fine!

@kkaploon I had a T-Mobile branded G1.  It had to have a SIM card to get beyond the "SIM card required" screen.  If it was the ADP version of the G1, then this wouldn't have been a problem.

I would -1 the idea of getting a G1 itself. That device is ancient now and doesn't run the latest versions of Android due to lack of hardware capability. You can shoehorn some later versions on it, but it's slow. I would suggest if you still want to try and save money, go for a Samsung Galaxy S phone. They are easily rooted and make great wifi "iPod Touch with Android" type of device. Less than $200 on Ebay as of December 2011.

Why don't you download and install the Android SDK?
The SDK contains an emulator that can simulate pretty much every aspect of the device.

Thanks for the link.  That's how I plan to do most of my development--I just want to test my app on real hardware before releasing it.

My Android Hero needed a SIM card to start up.
However a 10$ prepaid SIM card will do.

As others have said, a pay-as-you-go SIM is a good solution for any phone. In the UK at least, you can pick up a free SIM card easily.  Vodafone or O2 will send you one if you ask them or you can probably get one at any number of local shops.  Just be aware that some handsets are locked to particular networks, so you will either need to get a SIM from that network or pay to have your phone unlocked.
However, some phones will work fine without a SIM.  I use an HTC Legend for development without a SIM and there is no problem.  I just use Wi-Fi and, since it can't make calls, it is effectively just a pocket computer.

I bought a new unlocked Nexus One when they were available to the general public and it was perfectly willing to start up and use wifi without having a SIM. That's probably an expensive option, though.

Prepaid is the way to go. You can purchase a T-Mobile prepaid phone for $20-$30, sometimes they even throw in a free $25 refill card. The phone comes with a free SIM card with $3 worth of air time (10 minutes). You need to refill your prepaid phone every 90 days for at least $10 each time, or if you want to avoid the hassle, you can refill $100 which is good for a year and achieve the gold status, thereafter any amount you refill will be good for up to a year. If you already own a T-Mobile phone, you might be able to just spend $7 on the prepaid site to purchase a T-Mobile Prepaid SIM Card Activation Kit.
The CallingMart thread and ePhoneCard thread on Fatwallet tells you how to buy cheap refill cards with coupon codes.
Good luck!

There do exist phones that aren't even capable of accepting a SIM card.  Phones meant to be used on Sprint and Verizon networks typically don't even have GSM capabilities.  They'll start up just fine without one (obviously).  For example, my HTC Evo doesn't have a SIM card slot -- this would be an expensive option though, I'm sure you could find cheaper phones.

The HTC Magic "Vodafone edition" at least requires a SIM card, even if it has been unlocked to use any operator. If there is no SIM present then a modal dialog (that cannot be closed) is shown that requests you to insert a SIM card.
Update: The SIM is only required to fill in the Google Account details (even if you do this over Wifi, as I did). Once the phone is "activated" in this way, you can run it SIM-free.

I was able to do quite a bit on my phone before the activation was completed using wifi. There are some things you might not be able to test, such as app behavior after/during a call interruption, however, for the most part, the functionality available using wifi mode is sufficient. You can test call interruption type of behaviors using the android emulator.
You may also want to note that many cell phone companies, including but not limited to att, have significantly cheaper rarely-advertised "data only" plans, should you discover you really do need to do testing using a real cell-phone network (eg: if you made a multi-media app, testing over wifi might perform differently than over the air). Pre-paid plans sometimes also include data-plan airtime as another option to consider, if needed.

Jessica Brown - Any advice on how one would find info/carriers that offer these "data only" plans?

Call the carriers customer service numbers and ask whether they have such a plan. Or search google for related terms. Here's one I found for T-mobile: http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/cell-phone-plans.aspx?catgroup=mobilebroadband it appears verizon has something similar aimed as a plan for tablet users: http://www.verizonwireless.com/wcms/consumer/shop/prepaid.html


text:
How do I turn off the shutter sound for the Android camera?

Possible Duplicate:
How do I disable the 'click' sound on the camera app?

If the phone isn't in silent mode, taking a picture using the stock camera application always plays a "shutter" sound. Is there a way to turn the sound off?
I'm using stock Android 2.2 on a Nexus One.

Surreptitious photography? Nothing bad could ever come of that...

I remember reading at one point how some places have laws (or proposed laws) that are designed to ensure that all personal devices that can capture imagery (still or audio) have to be apparent when they are capturing...

I remember reading about that, too, but putting the phone into silent mode also silences the camera shutter noise, so I don't think such a law is the issue.

The ultimate responsibility to ensure that the device you're using (and the manner in which you're using it) compiles with the law is yours, not the OS developer's.

I'm on android 2.1 and am on a Samsung so this may not be exactly the same for you. To disable the shutter sound I launch the camera then (with the camera in landscape mode):

Tap the triangle on the left of the camera frame to show the options round the camera.
Tap the Settings icon (cog) on the bottom right.
Tap the spanner tab on the top.
Tap the down arrow on the right to page down.
Tap the button next to Shutter Sound.
Select Off.

This option does not appear to be available using stock android 2.1 or 2.2.

Shame, I'll leave this answer up though as it works on some phones

I located the audio file for the camera shutter: /system/media/audio/ui/camera_click.ogg. Removing or renaming the file (requires root access?) should stop the sound from being played.

If the stock camera doesn't provide you the option how about simply downloading another camera software that allows you to remove the shutter sound.
(I'm on HTC Hero with sense and it has the option)

The camera preference or system preference should have this setting, may be you can try to find?

Download the Ring Toggle App. This is a useful app to have anyway. It lets you switch between these modes: "Ring & Vibrate", "Ring Only", "Vibrate Only", "Silent"
Set up the "Ring Toggle" Widget on your home screen
Click on the "Ring Toggle" Widget and set it to either "Vibrate Only" or "Silent"

Now when you use the Camera app, the shutter will be silent.
Note that Ring Toggle affects everything else as well (i.e. incoming call, email, SMS, etc)

Thanks for the response, but this question is about how to silence just the camera shutter noise, not the entire phone.

@CodeSavvyGeek: If the UI doesn't present this option, this may be your only choice.


text:
How can I transfer SMS messages from my old iPhone to my new Android phone?
I think my previous SMS are stored somewhere in iTunes, can I get them back and store them in my new Android?


text:
Nexus One: 3G/WIFI Not Switching
As of last couple of weeks, my phone has been having problems automatically switching between wifi and 3G. When i leave home, I have to completely turn off the radio and turn it back on for it to pick up the 3G connection. When i come home in the evening, I have to turn off the wifi, and then turn it back on in order for it to kick in.
Has anyone else experienced this problem or know how to fix it?
EDIT:
The problem is that the phone doesnt automatically switch from WIFI to 3G and vice versa. If I go out of range of a known wifi hotspot, my 3G data connection should be established (indicated by the 3G icon in the top row), but it never shows up. If i work-around this by going in and out of airplane mode, the 3G connection is re-established.
My carrier is Optus in Australia, but i dont think that matters, given that it USED to work and only in the last couple of week has this problem occured.

I have a Nexus One myself (on Tmobile USA) have never seen anything like what you are describing. Could you please explain your problem a bit more clearly? Perhaps you can list step-by-step EXACTLY what you are doing? Also, who is your carrier

after going through (some) of the link from RevBingo, I suspect my problem is to do with a  having installed (and subsequently removed) Advanced Task Killer.

Did you end up solving this issue? I am experiencing similar issues on my S4.

This bug report seems to describe a similar issue.  The thread is a mixed bag of reports of various versions/apps/phones/networks either fixing or causing the issue, so you may need to dig through it and try some things to diagnose.
FYI, I don't have the problem on my Nexus One (O2 UK).

I too have the problem with wifi sometimes. wifi fixer seems to do the job of fixing it in most cases.
Except from that, as said before, this is a bug, so you may use that temporary fix until they hopefully fix that bug.


text:
Choose contact name manually?
In my contact list, I entered a number of "household" contacts combined together.  For example, "Bob & Sally Smith", with the corresponding e-mail addresses, phone numbers, etc.  The problem is that, if the e-mail address is also associated with a Facebook contact, it overrides my preferred naming system and shows the name of the Facebook contact.  For example, if the e-mail address were Bob's in my example, it would show "Bob Smith" instead of the combined name.
Is there a way to force it to use the name I prefer it to use?
Note that this may be specific to my phone - Motorola Droid.  A friend of mine has the Droid X and I might see if his does the same thing...

Were you ever able to resolve this issue? Just recently purchased a Droid 2 Global from Verizon and would love to find a solution to this as well.

As always, it's a different Android device (but same Android version, however) so YMMV...
The Samsung Vibrant (aka Galaxy S) has a Mark as default menu option when you open a contact.  If you have more than one linked contact (with different names), it allows you to select which name appears in the contact list.

Yeah, mine doesn't have this...  :(  Oh, well.  That would definitely be my preferred way to do it, so I'll accept your answer.  Google contacts vs. phone contacts are really a mess...

@Galactic: Something else that I've noticed is that my phone's Contacts application will display the most recently added of any linked contacts by default.  Might be worth checking if your phone behaves the same.

Yeah, that's what it appears to do but it links the Facebook contact automatically based on the e-mail address so I can't control it very easily...

Sorry, didn't explain myself well... I meant to backup the "Bob & Sally" contact to a .vcf, delete "Bob & Sally" and "Facebook Bob", then re-import "Facebook Bob" and "Bob & Sally" in that order.  Assuming the contact-linking is symmetric, you should see "Bob & Sally" in the Contact list.

As someone replied here, if you edit the account info (in this case the name) you want to be displayed on the actual phone and save it, it will change the displayed name to the updated one. It worked on my xperia x10 mini.

i use galaxy 5, my phone can choose which contact to appear, i just switch off other contact other than the phone number...problem solved. I used swype before to key in words but it will affect the contact in the messaging, if you encounter this problem, just choose standard qwerty keyboard or number pad.

On HTC Desire (Android 2.2) you can just click on the Link/contact source icon in the top right when you are viewing a contact and in appeared screen there will be a name drop-down where you can choose the display name from all linked contacts (like phone and Facebook contacts in your situation).


text:
Is there a way to download applications from the Android market for offline installation?

Possible Duplicate:
How to download apk file on PC from market?

Is there a way to download an Android installation package from the market so that it can be installed offline at a later time (e.g. from an SD card)? This might be useful for backing up applications so you don't have to search for and download them all again. It could also be useful setting up multiple devices or just sharing an application with a friend in an area without network access.

Using backup applications such as Titanium Backup do this exactly. They basically extract the .apk (installer) and back it up to the SD card. Then, when you 'restore' using Titanium Backup, you can select which apps you want to restore and it will reinstall them using the backed up .apk.


text:
Is there a way to make my HTC-Incredible phone use the optical joystick button to wake up?
I'm still adjusting from going from my iPod to an HTC Incredible phone.
One thing that is very non-intuitive for me is to press the power button when I want to "wake up the phone" after it has dimmed out. I'm just so used to using the big button on the bottom of my iPhone for this that I instinctively hit the "optical joystick" button all the time by accident.
Is there any way to configure the button so the optical joystick button can pull the phone out of sleep mode?

This should actually be pretty easy and does not require rooting or custom ROMs, but you'll need a 'lockscreen replacement' app to do it.
The app 'WidgetLocker Lockscreen' allows 'Easy Wake' that allows you to customize which button (Home, menu, trackball, volume, etc) wakes the phone. Check it out on the market, it's $1.99.
There may also be other lockscreen replacement apps out there, but that is exactly what you need: a customizable lockscreen replacement app that supports the feature you requested. WidgetLocker is an example of this.

CyanogenMod supports this on your phone, though you'll have to root and install it.
One thing I've noticed (and have seen others mention): It's not very reliable on the Droid Incredible.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  Sometimes you have to press the button multiple times to wake the phone, other times holding the button works, other times I've just have to give up and use the power button to wake the phone.  Other phones may be more or less reliable.
What does work well with CyanogenMod (and maybe other "lockscreen replacements") is using the button to unlock the phone.  Of course, if you're using a pin code, swipe pattern, or some other security measure to unlock, then that won't work so well.

Your reported unreliability may be phone-specific. My wife has had no issues using the "Menu" button on her Dream to wake the phone. (CM6)

@Broam: No doubt that different phones will have different behavior.  This question is specific to the HTC Incredible, but I'll update my answer to make that part clear.

Not come across any app that lets you reassign the functions of the keys, it may be possible with a custom ROM image but I've not seen it mentioned.

CM supports this, see afraizer's answer.


text:
What are good Android headphones with Play/Pause and volume controls?
I've had an iPod Touch for a while and am used  to controlling the music player without having to take the device from my pocket. I've had a look around for headphones that will work with the Samsung Galaxy S's TRRS connector and for players that would work with those headphones but haven't seen any combination that looks like it would work. Is this achievable? I'm also happy to consider alternatives like Bluetooth if that would work.

Also looking for similar answer for Google Nexus One. The stock headphone does not have volume controls. Only has play/pause/FF/REW.

I've found a few Bluetooth headsets that would do this. for example the MOTOROKR S9:

Works with any brand of Bluetooth®-enabled compatible phone or music device that supports Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) and Audio Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP).

However this is a bit offputting:

For optimal outdoor performance, position music device in close proximity to and in line of sight with the S9's internal antenna, which is located in the base behind the user's head. Placement of the music device in a front pocket is not recommended.

So they'd be fine as long as I strap my phone to my back or hold the phone like the model in the photo on the linked page is. Hmm.
A few other Bluetooth headsets I've looked at include:

Motorola HT820 (a bit bulky, but does have a wired option)
Nokia BH-503 (my current favourite).

I would still prefer a wired solution if possible so will keep looking. I have found that the Samsung Galaxy's TRRS connector is Left-Right-Mic-Ground, so it definitely won't work with iPhone headphones (which are Left-Right-Ground-Mic). However this does mean it may work with headphones from other vendors that have the same connection order, like Nokia, perhaps.

I think Bluetooth is going to be your most flexible option.  I have a pair of Rocketfish Bluetooth headphones. They are fairly low cost, sound great, and include player controls on the left ear unit.  They support both the A2DP profile (for stereo playback) as well as the hands-free headset profile for voice calls.  The mic is acceptable, but not great.

Hmm. The link you provided makes no mention of hands-free, nor do I see a microphone?

I'm wearing them now, and use them for phone calls quite often :-)  If you don't take my word for it, at the bottom of that page there are links to the Manuals & Support.  Open the link for the user manual and you will find a diagram of the headphones on page 4 which points out the microphone.

I not only took your word, I ended up buying a pair.  I just thought it must have been a link to the wrong product, since surely they wouldn't keep features to their own product secret!  Anyway, great pair of headphones.  +1

I prefer to stick with wired headset, since they are betetr supported by the software. I just bought the Motorola EH25. It has a mic and button, kind of like the iPod Touch. Generally they are around $20-$30, but I found them here for $7.

I have a  Moto Droid and these two Audio enabled headsets:
Sony DRBT50 Stereo Bluetooth Headset Good audio quality, especially bluetooth. Use with Pandora. Comfortable for serious listening. Works as both a Phone headset (Meh) and Stereo Audio (Yay!)
Plantronics Voyager 855 Bluetooth Headset (Black) Good Conversation quality and microphone. Use this for Phone conversations and "talkie" podcasts. Supports both Phone (Yay!) and Stereo Audio (Meh)
Both of these headsets support audio controls in DoggCatcher and Music. Not sure about Pandora since I rarely use media controls now that my preferences are tuned.
Bluetooth is way more fragile than wired. You have pairing issues and interference issues, and battery draining/charging issues. Oh and it is way more expensive. Might be worth it, but don't start unless you think farting around with gadgets is a fun way to blow a weekend (and a couple hundred dollars).


text:
Is there a way to have Adobe Flash displayed in Android 2.0?
Are there any custom players or plug-ins or something like that?

Might be possible using Javascript as well with Smokescreen but I have no idea if that has been realised in an app for Android.

I have seen a few "Flash Lite" binaries floating around the net for Android 2.0.
It's not Flash, it's only a partial version with fewer features.
Unfortunately the only binary link I have is an update for the Pandigital Novel; the update is probably specifically for that model, but the binary inside may work on other devices. (If you want it, comment & I'll update my answer. It's hosted on mediafire, not adobe's website which means I'm not sure how much I trust it.)


text:
Can a Motorola Droid be in Landscape mode on the Home Screen w/out sliding out the keyboard?
It's all in the title, but again for clarity: Is there any way to make my Motorola Droid  use Landscape mode on the Home Screen without sliding out the keyboard?

Yes, this is accomplished through the use of 'Home Replacement' or 'Launcher Replacement' apps.
Check out either 'ADW.Launcher' or 'LauncherPro'. Both are fantastic (and free) launcher apps that will not only make your launcher/home screens smoother, but also allow full customization, such as enabling screen rotation without sliding open the keyboard.

So its not possible with the stock launcher?

No, it isn't possible with the stock launcher.


text:
Turn off cellphone (SIM) radio
How do I turn the cellphone (SIM) radio on an Android phone?
The radio consumes a lot of power (30-70%), especially when the phone is idle. Sometimes I only need to use other functions (e.g., clock, web browser), and make the battery last as long as possible.
"Airplane mode" does this but also turns off the WiFi (close to, but not exactly what I need).

On many recent Androids Airplane Mode also allow you to use WIFI.

Once you've put the phone in Airplane/Flight mode, you can manually re-enable WiFi. (On my phone at least) this leaves WiFi on and the phone radio disabled. It does involve a couple more clicks but I think it achieves what you're after.
A quick look round the market showed a few apps that manage this setting for you, for example the "Airplane Mode Wi-Fi Tool" and "Airplane Autoswitch". Either of these may streamline the process slightly.
Airplane Mode Wi-Fi Tool QRCode:

Airplane Autoswitch QRCode:

Thank you. Just turning on WiFi does not work on HTC Tattoo (Android 1.6). Will try looking for an app.

@dbkk added some links to those apps.

I have been using Juice Defender to good effect for a while. It turns off battery-sucking functions and turns them on occasionally to allow for syncing and is highly customizable.


text:
How to get contacts from an Android phone to an iPhone?

Possible Duplicate:
How can I transfer my contacts from an iPhone to an HTC Inspire?

I use Google to maintain my contacts, which syncs to my Android device. However, I'm switching to an iPhone 4. Will it be easy to transfer contact information?

The Mail, Contacts, and Calendars settings allow you to sync all 3 from multiple different web services to the built in Mail, Contacts, and Calendars apps. These should automatically sync when you open the different apps.
The contacts will be merged by default, but you can filter based on source i.e. Gmail, My PC, etc.

Perfect. This is exactly what I was hoping for. Thank you.

It is very easy if you set up Google Sync on the iPhone.  Sync can also work with multiple devices with the same account at the same time - I have an iPhone and an iPad set up this way.  If I add a contact or appointment to one of them, it shows up on the other as well as in GMail.  I'm fairly you could actually keep an Android phone and an iPhone synchronized this way.

I don't think the iPhone automatically syncs, but you can download an app that will sync your Google contacts with your iPhone from the app store.

Happen to know which apps?


text:
How can I prevent unwanted pre-installed apps from automatically running on Android?

Possible Duplicate:
How can I stop applications and services from running?

As I can't uninstall certain programs that come with a phone (My case HTC Desire (not rooted)) how can I prevent certain apps from launching or trying to sync? And hide them? Or "Auto-Kill" kill them
For example

youtube app
faceboook app
stocks (including the sync feature)
twitter (including the sync feature)

For apps that sync, any app with an ounce of politeness will have any entry on the Accounts & Sync page in Settings where you can disable syncing. This is certainly true of the official Facebook and Twitter apps.

Cool, however "stocks" seems to be a rude app ;)

I was able to deactvate the syncing on the Stocks app through Accounts & Sync, but notice that it still 'magically' appears every now and then, but definitely not as often as it used to. (HTC Desire running v2.1)

1) Consider rooting your device, it's really easy now with the Unrevoked package
2) Settings -> accounts & sync. Here you can set options around what does it doesn't auto sync

Autostarts allows you to view which apps receive which events and edit them so that you can prevent certain apps from receiving problematic events (the ones that keep restarting the app).  As far as I know it won't help with some low-level apps that run all the time and restart themselves with no events occurring at all, but it should help with others.

Wow, that's interesting! Thanks for that. I'll take a look at it.

Aha.. I see it is for rooted phones. In that case, I might as well just uninstall the apps I don't want. Some apps that I don't use AT ALL, like Qik, MediaHub, and ATT Navigator, are pointlessly wasting resources and there's no way to uninstall them without rooting. :(

There is also an app called startup cleaner. I found it useful in preventing some apps from starting.

With no link and no package name it's impossible to tell what this answer is referring to.

To remove bloat ware, rooting the phone and install titanium backup.

With the Samsung Galaxy SIII running Android 4 (and generally starting with Ice Cream Sandwich), it is possible to disable (some) pre-installed system apps without rooting the phone. I'm still going to root it, I think; factory apps imposed upon me which cannot be disabled or uninstalled basically creep me out, quite frankly. If nothing else, it's just...rude.

One of the features of Ice Cream Sandwich is the ability to disable system apps, not just the SGS3.

@Al-Everett Not all of them, though. And the ones you cannot disable are...concerning(?). Disconcerting might be the word I'm looking for. Some of the ones you cannot disable are seemingly too innocuous to not be cause for concern, if that makes sense...

Which ones can't you disable? I've been able to disable all of the VZW bloatware on my Galaxy Nexus.

Well I'm not sure which apps are necessary or even what some of them are used for, but the ones I cannot disable are: AllShare Cast, AllShare Service, Android System, Application Installer, AvrcpServiceSamsung, Bluetooth share, Bluetooth Test, Calculator, Camera, Certificate Installer, Clock, com.android.backupconfirm, com.android.sharedstoragebackup, com.samsung.app.playreadyui, com.sec.android,app.wfdbroker, com.sec.android.killbackground, CSC, DataCreate, Dialer Storage, DSMForwarding, DSMLawmo, DttSupport, Email, Enterprise SysScope Service (more coming...)

Enterprise VPN Services, Error, Factory Mode, Factory Test, FM Radio, FWUpgrade, Google Backup Transport, HTML Viewer, INDIServiceManager, Internet, Key Chain, Kies via Wi-Fi, Lcdtest, License Settings, Live wallpaper picker, MAPServiceSamsung, Mobile Print, Mobile Tracker, More services, MTP application, Music Player, Nearby Devices, Nfc Service, NFC Test, OMACP, OmaDrmPopup, Package Access Helper, Package installer, Perso, Phone, PhoneUtil, PickupTutorial, PopupuiReceiver, Preconfig, Samsung keyboard, SamsungAppsUNA2 (more coming...)

SASlideShow, SecPhone, SecSetupWizard, Security Storage, Self Test Mode, Service mode, Settings, Settings storage, ShareShotService, SIM Toolkit, SmartCardService, Software update (x2, v2.2.7 can disable, v3_1207_2_1 cannot), SysScope, System UI, Task Manager, TestService, TMServerApp, TouchWiz home, TwDVFSApp, USB settings, Video Player, Voice Recorder, VpnDialogs, WlanTest, wssyncmlnps.
The other half I can disable. The services I tried to bold alarm me, but I simply don't have the time to figure out which ones are expressly needed.

Don't you just hate that? grrrrr. By the way, how do you "freeze" apps in ICS (Galaxy S3)?

@trusktr I hope you've already gotten the answer but for ICS you'd need to root your phone as per the above - all those apps could not be frozen without root access. With JB, there are still some you can't disable that don't appear to be vital system apps; but the vast majority you can simply deactivate from Settings > Apps.

Starting with ICS (Android 4.0), you can simply "freeze" bloatware you don't need. This means, you make them "unavailable" (or rather "un-executable") on your device -- which makes them invisible in the launcher, and stops them from being started in any way -- while being able to "unfreeze" them any time you feel the need. No root required anymore.
If you're not yet running ICS -- no way to really stop that without rooting your device. Then you have the choice to freeze or even completely remove the crap, e.g. with the excellent Titanium Backup -- which, as a "side-effect" (lol) gives you the possibility to make complete backups of all apps and their settings, and that even scheduled. And for cloud-lovers, TB has support for Dropbox built in as well...
Other non-root solutions are only half-hearted: Without root, you cannot uninstall the pre-loaded bloat, and you cannot stop it from being autmatically launched (yeah, some apps promise they can -- but they are just shooting them as soon as they start, so im some cases they start again and get shot again and... you don't want that. The only decent solution in this group I know of might be Autorun Manager which, in non-root mode, detects such "restarters" and then ignores them. In root-mode it also allows to disable listeners to really prevent apps from auto-starting -- which might be nice if you want to keep the app for rare uses, but do not want it to run automatically).
EDIT: Beware that rooting the device might void your warranty -- and removing system apps (wometimes already generally modifying the /system partition, which is also done by "rooting" as it must place the su and superuser.apk there) might prevent future "official OTA updates", as those often check the CRC sum of the system partition -- which no longer matches after altering its content. This all does not apply to the "Freeze" of apps, of course -- at least not to the official ICS variant of it.

Good answer, though you should also be aware that uninstalling stock apps will prevent you from being able to install future OS updates from your carrier.

Which on my HTC Buzz already broke right after rooting -- as the background of that is the changed CRC of the /system partition (which the update process checks). But you're right, I will add this.

You can also consider an App Manager such as Advanced Task Manager that allows you to kill running apps. Also handy when you have opened a number of apps and they stay open in the background. Simply select and push 'kill'.

Most apps that runs in background should have a setting to disable background updates or something similar. If they don't, then just uninstall them and find an alternative app that are more acceptable. Alternatively, you usually can ask the developer; if the apps are any good then they would have a good development team that listens to their  users.
Otherwise, I don't think there is any way to prevent apps from starting. There are several task killer apps that allow you to kill apps if they start; but without rooting or installing custom ROMs, I don't know if it's possible to prevent them from starting in the first place and still able to use the app when you need to.

Unfortunately I can't uninstall the pre-loaded apps! :( Thanks though. :)

You have to uninstall them.
Android apps are able to register with the underlying Android system to receive certain events and service requests, and the system knows to start the app up if those events or service requests come in.
Unlike on a standard desktop apps "running" on Android are often not actually running at all (they are blocked until an event or update occurs ... or to refresh state from the network).  In general, Android apps are much simpler to suspend and resume than desktop apps, so the system can swap them out if the CPU or memory are necessary for another app without much complication.  So, other than having a clean list of running apps, there isn't much to be gained by killing apps.
That said, if a specific app is behaving badly and using too much CPU for the value you get from it, then uninstall it and/or ask the developer to fix their badly behaving app.  But really, if the app doesn't show up on the 'battery usage' meter, then you don't really have anything to worry about.
See this question for some answers for more specific apps.

Unfortunately, I can't uninstall some of the pre-loaded apps. I don't use Qik, MediaHub, or ATT Navigator at all, but they still appear in the running apps list. That seems like a complete waste of resources if I don't use those apps at all.

You should also be aware that uninstalling stock apps will prevent you from being able to install future OS updates from your carrier.  It's much better to 'freeze' them, a la TiBU.


text:
Can I create a contact in a particular contact group on Android 2.2?
Is there a way to add a new contact into a particular contact group which I have in my Google contacts? Similarly, is there any way to move contacts from one group to another?
It seems as of now, I can only create contacts on Android but cannot put them in any specific group. To do that, I've to use the web interface of Google contacts.

FWIW, the version of android you are running is important here. This is something that I believe was added later. Go to Settings / About Phone to find that out.

This may also depend on the specific distribution of Android; different distributions might include different contact applications. The contact application on my stock android 2.2 doesn't have this option.

You can always install third party contact apps..

Open the contact, click menu-->edit and scroll down.
You should see a drop down box titled groups just below the email addresses.  Click that and you can then select the groups the contact should be a member of.

I dont see this option. What version of the software is running on your phone?

Android 2.2 on the HTC EVO.  It might be an HTC specific feature.  Which phone do you have?
I'll try to upload some screenshots later today

Confirming not on Moto Droid 2.2.   Btw, you can open the contact menu by long-pressing it in the contact list.

I have Android 2.3.3 on Samsung Galaxy Ace and it doesn't have any option to edit the groups. I'm managing the contact groups from GMail and then sync. It's a standart feature on Android 3. You can use a third party application to manage your contacts. Some applications have the ability to edit contacts' groups. (DW Contacts & Phone & Dialer)


text:
Upgrading my HTC G1 to SDK 2.2
I am trying to upgrade my HTC G1 to OS 2.2 (I have a developer device bought way back when it was released)
I have been trying the steps provided here - http://code.google.com/p/android-roms/wiki/SPL but for some reason the phone won't boot up after following all the steps. I have tried twice and restored my device to 1.5. But would really like to upgrade to 2.2
Any ideas please?
Thanks.

Have you tried rooting your G1 and putting something like Cyanogenmod on your phone?  CM6 is currently in Release Candidate status and supports 2.2.  However, you won't get all the features of 2.1+ because the G1 simply cannot do some of them (i.e. LiveWallpapers).

The rest of us would love to know what worked for you, lostInTransit


text:
HTC Tilt 2 -- possible to get Android on it?

Possible Duplicate:
Can I install Android on my non-Android device?

One of my friends recently got an HTC Touch Pro 2(US Cellular) and I really like it. It has Windows Mobile on it, but somehow he downloaded a special program to his SD card so that he runs some Windows program and it will boot Android. To get back to factory settings, he just has to turn the phone off and on.
I looked for a similar phone for my carrier(AT&T) and the closest thing to it is the HTC Tilt 2. I'm aware of some of the changes including different keyboard and no 3.5mm jack. Is it crippled in anyway which would prevent me from doing the same thing my friend did though? Also would it void the warranty or anything like that? Also, one last question. When running Android like that do you have "root" capabilities? Like can I install unofficial applications and/or get to a root terminal?

It is possible, however as you mentioned it is not completely compatible yet. Some hardware pieces like the camera (and I think speakerphone) will not work for the ATT T2.
Check out the XDA-Developers forum, specifically rhodium (what our phones are) for more info on the Android developement & cooked winmo ROMs.I don't recall of the top of my head if you need to run Hard-SPL or not to boot into Android off the card of or not, but if you do need to, that'll void the warranty.
Although, in my opinion it's worth it to at least go with a cooked Winmo ROM or Android... even if it voids the warranty.

You don't need HardSPL, as you cannot flash Android yet. It just boots from WinMo via Haret, and after a reboot WinMo returns. You might want to backup your SD card contents just in case.
There is work underway in the flashing area, so we can replace WinMo completely and get a nice performance boost to boot. I already have it on the Kaiser and love it, but with the newer MSM based phones it is not there yet (actually AFAICT the problem isn't the flashing itself but initializing the hardware without the help of WinMo).