Dragon Fly! Android Game

Discovered a nice and interesting game from the Android App Market..it's called Dragon, fly!The concept of the game revolves around the player as a newly hatched dragon pup who is yet to learn how to fly. The pup is going for an adventure over the beautiful hills by sliding and swooshing. The enjoyment is cut short however because Dragon mom became aware of the loss of the pup and takes pursuit of her baby. Game ends when the mum catches the adventurous young dragon.

The game seems very simple and easy but it really is not. You will have to do a great deal of timing in touching the screen to propel the baby dragon faster and go as far as possible from the dragon mom to achieve the required distance to advance to the next level. This game requires one finger only.

Try it out by downloading it free from the Android Market.

Free LG Optimus Me from Sun Cellular and Citibank

Here's another chance for Android fans to get the Android-powered LG Optimus Me for free from Sun Cellular Philippines. The promo is in partnership with Citibank credit cards. Newly approved cardholders from July 8 to September 30 are entitled for the free Android phone if they subscribe to Sun Cellular postpaid plan 350.

The LG Optimus Me is an entry level phone released February 2011. The specs are as follows:

Display : 2.8" 240 x 320 Capacitive Touch Screen

Memory : 148 MB (Internal)

Up to 32 GB MicroSD

Data : GPRS, Edge, 3G, WLAN, Bluetooth, MicroUSB

Camera : 3.15 MP Primary (with autofocus)

No Secondary Camera

Video VGA@24fps

Android Version : 2.2 Froyo

To avail of the promo and for more information visit their Facebook page here.

Free Android Phones from Sun Cellular

For Android geeks and fans in the Philippines, this is a big treat for you from Sun Cellular. By subscribing to postpaid plan Php999 you can have for yourself an Android phone absolutely free! The droid that you will get is a Samsung Galaxy 5. An entry level android phone announced mid of 2010 and released August of that year.

The Galaxy 5 is powered by Android 2.1 eclair (upgradeable to 2.2 Froyo), 600 mhz processor, 170MB internal memory and 1 GB microSD included. The Galaxy 5 can accomodate up to 16 GB microSD.

Camera is 2MP and no secondary camera at the front. Video is QVGA at 15 fps. It has WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G and MicroUSB 2.0.

Sun Cellular offers unlimited calls and texts and unlimited mobile internet all for only Php999 per month. You may visit a Sun shop nearest you or visit their facebook fan page.

Globe Prepaid APN for SamsungGalaxy Tab P-1000

When I bought my Samsung Galaxy Tab P1000 from a store in the mall, I really did not expect that I could stumble in a minor difficulty with browsing the Internet in the Galaxy Tab using a prepaid sim. I did not realize it on the first few days of using my Galaxy Tab because I was always connected to the internet using Wi-fi. At home, in the office, malls and places frequented by people, free Wi-fi is there. Besides testing the sim for voice calls and test messaging, I never though of testing the 3G prepaid sim's internet in the samsung galaxy tab.

Until one day, when I was working out and away from the office did I felt the need to connect to the internet through my mobile provider's 3g connection because I needed to throw an urgent email to my Boss. I thought that I will just hit the browser icon and the device will automatically connect thru the 3G in the absence of Wi-fi but it did not happen. I kept on getting "No Network Connection Error". I was so sure that it was not the sim that's causing the error because it has enough prepaid balance and prior to transferring it to the Galaxy Tab, it was connecting seamlessly to the internet in the former smartphone where it was previously installed.

Upon verifying the APN settings under Mobile networks, I discovered that the default APN of my unit was "internet.globe.com.ph" which upon checking was the APN for Postpaid service of Globe Telecom here in the Philippines. I looked up the APN for prepaid which is "www.globe.com.ph" and the Samsung Galaxy Tab connected to the internet like a charm.

Kindle for Android

Who says kindle ebooks are just for kindle devices? Amazon has a kindle device app specifically made for Android for you to enjoy those books in your Android Tablet or Smartphone. I have downloaded and installed the app in my Samsung Galaxy tab and it is just awesome.

I am one of those book lovers who purchases kindle ebooks even if I don't have my own Kindle device. When I was not yet aware of this Android app, I used to read my kindle ebooks in my laptop computer. Now that it is available in Android, I enjoy my kindle books reading it there.

This app works like a charm in my Samsung Galaxy Tab and it should be too in your own Android device.

You can download it from here.

How to stop your Galaxy Tab from Auto-rotating when reading sideways

Did you ever found it very irritating to read or use your Samsung Galaxy Tab while lying on your back or in an odd position? And if you ever experienced that, I'm very sure that you were also like me tried looking for a setting or a hardware button in the device that could disable the accelerometer from rotating when you don't want it to. I don't know what the designers of the Galaxy Tab were thinking when they decided to let the auto-rotate feature ruin the enjoyment and concentration of many people who purchased the device for ebook reading and looking at pictures in a portrait mode. This disappointment should be fixed by Samsung.

Anyway, before I wander far from the main purpose of this post, I want you Galaxy fans to rejoice because there are some free apps in the Android Market which solves the annoying problem. From among the bunch of them, I found the app named Auto Rotate Switch very handy and useful because it is not a widget which would consume memory in the device when operated. It is just a shortcut switch which enables you to turn on or off the accelerometer. Usage is very simple and straight forward. Tap it once to deactivate the auto-rotation and then tap it again to re-activate the auto-rotate function. Download it now and enjoy reading that ebook in bed.

How to set-up Samsung Galaxy Tab as Internet Access Point

One of the coolest feature of the Android powered Samsung Galaxy Tab which I like very much is its ability to share 3g internet connection to up to 5 devices wirelessly. This is very handy if you have no dedicated wired broadband internet connection at home or if you are frequently on the move and needs to access the internet on a laptop in a place without a Wifi access point.



To enable the Galaxy Tab to act as Wifi Access Point, tap "Settings", tap on "Wireless Network" and then tap "Mobile AP". Tap on the check mark to enable Mobile AP. You will then be prompted to disconnect from Wi-Fi and tap yes. The next ensuing page shows that the Mobile AP is already activated. Tap on "Mobile AP" to change its settings. This is the page where you will set the name of your access point. On the "Network SSID" field, you can type any name that you like or you can let the default name as is. On the "Security" field, the default is "Open" meaning that you can immediately connect to the Wifi access point of the Galaxy Tab without need to input any key. It is not advisable though because any one with a Wifi device in the vicinity of your Galaxy Tab can connect to it and use your 3G connection. So the best thing to do is tap on "Security" and choose "WPA2 PSK" and input a password. This will ensure that only you and the person you are sharing the connection will enjoy the Internet thru the Wifi Access Point of the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

How to take screen capture with Samsung Galaxy Tab

Want to take a screen capture from your Samsung Galaxy Tab? Well rejoice because Samsung made it very easy for us Galaxy tab users.

All you have to do is press the back button and the power button simultaneously. The Galaxy tab will vibrate and a prompt will show that says "screen captured saved as image file".

If you are wondering where it went, check out the gallery and tap on the screen capture folder. The images will be found there.

You can now share the image via email and other means. This is how easy it is to take screens shots from the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Astro File Manager for your Android

Astro File Manager for Android is a very useful app that you can install to your Android smartphone. It is like having somebody managing all your files for you. It gives a folder view of your phone and manages multiple files and directories at once.It backs up your applications and lets you view all the details of the resources being used by your Android smartphone like memory and CPU utilization.

With Astro File Manager, you can make backups of your applications on SD card and enables you to browse and create zip files for email attachments. With this app, it is like having a full fledged laptop for file management tasks.

This is an axcellent app for your android smartphone and highly recommended.

Zinio Reader for Android

Here's an Android App worth trying out from the Android Market. Zinio Reader, it enables you to read popular magazines, books and newspapers from your Android device. I installed it into my Samsung Galaxy Tab P-1000 and I found it cool and useful.

It came pre-installed into the Samsung Galaxy tab and upon the first opening of the application you will be given the chance to receive 12 free issues of magazines and newspapers. I downloaded the free newspapers and magazines and I was so amazed by the clarity and crisp appearance of the covers and pages.

Because I'm located in the Philippines, I downloaded the popular newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer. For six days I was able to receive daily issues of the said newspaper and boy I was so delighted by the crispness of the pages. The newspaper was a joy to read than the printed version because the pages are truly flat, the images crystal clear and the "paper" truly white compared to the grayish newsprint, mushy images and crumpled appearance of the actual printed newspaper.

I was tempted to subscribe for the paid edition of the newspaper however, I did not pursue it because the cost of each issue is prohibitive for us here in the Phillipines being more than twice the price of the paper printed issue. If 99 cents of a dollar per issue is no problem with you, I highly recommend this for your Android device. The sample magazines are stunning also with the clarity of the images and pages.

Download it here .

Android App Review: Koi Live Wallpaper

Here's a very interesting and entertaining Android app I downloaded from the Android Market; Koi Live Wallpaper. I installed it into my Samsung Galaxy Tab and the app ran pretty cool and highly entertaining. The screen of my Galaxy tab was transformed into a realistic lily pond with kois' swimming smoothly. The animation is flawless. When you touch the screen the water ripples and the kois' rush towards your fingertip to feed on the food that is created upon touching the water (screen).

The added effect of a butterfly and dragonfly hovering and passing above the pond is fantastic. One thing very nice about this Android app is the ability to feed the fish and they grow. If you neglect them they will vanish. Caring and feeding the virtual pets is highly engrossing and reminded me of the Japanese "Tamagochi" toy during the 80's where we fed and cared for virtual pets in little gadgets. It was such a craze that time and this app could be reminiscent of that.

This is highly recommended and you can download it from here

Firefox 6 Beta for Android now available to Download, Faster web browsing and enhancements

Firefox 6 Beta for Android now available to Download, Faster web browsing and enhancements

Android App Review: Talking Tom Cat

Here's a nice app downloadable free from the Android market, Talking Tom Cat. Perfect for amusing friends and office mates. It's an Android app showing a cat that doesn't look like Garfield but behaves like one. When a nearby person speaks you will see him bring his ear near and acts as if listening to what the person says and promptly mimics what the person said in cat-like voice as in echo.

Be warned, people with android gadgets who downloaded and installed said app are often caught talking to the cat and laughing by themselves. Don't do it by yourself or else you be misinterpreted :)

By the way, it also responds to your touch..Try it out

Android on iPaq Pocket PC?

I have an HP Ipaq Pocket PC that I have acquired way back in 2005. It's an hx4700 series model and its specs was the top of the line during its time. Its processor is 624 mHz coupled with 64 MB of RAM. True VGA resolution display and expansion slots for SD and CF cards and buit-in wifi to boot. Its been sitting inside my closet gathering dust for quite some time and when I sold my iphone and found myself suddenly craving for a smartphone or PDA, I remembered the ipaq and began using it again albeit on a very limited functionality due to the old browser and outdated operating system which is the windows mobile 2003. email was crappy and websites display garbled on the browser.

With the aforementioned shortcomings of the pocket pc software, I did some research on the internet and tried to see if Android can be ran on it. I did saw some posts on forums that a pocket PC can be installed with Android. Some even has step by step guide to installing and configuring Android. I was so excited however it was eventually replaced by disappointment because I found out that the successful implementations of Android on Pocket PCs were limited to windows mobile units of HTC's and none for the ipaq. Disregarding the fact, I still proceeded to downloading android and attempted to install it on the ipaq. As expected, it did not work but thankfully the pocket pc were not bricked because the Android OS was supposed to be ran thru the SD card which did not affect the gizmo when the attempt failed.

As I was getting ready to put back the ipaq into the closet for storing for good, I came across some posts related to the ipaq and I discovered a "cooked up" windows mobile 6.5 ROM posted by a very generous programmer. I tried it out and I was very lucky to have installed the new ROM for the ipaq successfully. Now my former crappy pocket pc is doing multi-tasking, runs facebook, nultiple email accounts, ebooks and nice microsoft office documents. The biggest surprise that I've had for the new OS is the renewed ability of the device to play HD movies, I synched 1080p and 720p movies on the device and all of it played so smoothly without stuttering and buffering unlike the old OS.

With the renewed capabilities of my old pocket pc I now have something to tinker with prior to the arrival of the android gingerbread powered 10" Samsung Galaxy tab here in our Philippine shores. As soon as I get one of it, it'll be my very first major review on this Android blog. Pardon me for sharing a story about a windows mobile pocket pc as my first post on an android-centric blog.