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Must Have Android Apps

SwipePad Beta

Why did it take so long for me to find this app? It is sort of a mini-launcher that when you swipe in from the edge or corner of the screen, it will bring up a 4x3 panel of up to 12 apps/shortcuts of choice. Great for those who don't want a lot of clutter on their homescreens or those who don't want to have to navigate out of their current app to get to the one they want. You can bring it up while ANY app is running.

The main downside is that it is even accessible when WidgetLocker is activated. Need to find out how to disable that and I'll be good to go. Also would be nice to have a different set of panels depending on which side of the screen you swipe. Anyway, check it out.
 
Nice find with SwipePad. Very cool and functional app.
Seconded. It replaced smartbar for me (allows you to place links to apps of your choice directly into the n-bar). The big drawbacks with smartbar were that (1)The notification bar doesn't show in every app, and (2)It gave the option to remove the icons from the n-bar in order to free up n-bar real estate, but all it really did was make them invisible and they still stacked up. SwipePad has neither of those problems!

Also, I have a few simple ideas for how the devs can vastly improve SwipePad, but I don't twitter...:rolleyes:
 
I thought I read here that was the only difference between WiFi Tether and the Sprint Hotspot feature as that only Hotspot could offer 4G...? I just searched and can't find where I saw that. Sorry about that -- I'll add an edit to my original post.


wifi tether is a wifi link to other hotspots.

sprint hotspot is a hub and can therefore connect up to 6 other wifi connections.

think this way.

Tether : You go to Starbucks, and connect to net via your tether, but you cannot transmit that connection via your wifi to others: you are tethered, and just that, not a hub to transmit.

Hotspot: When on, you can link your home computer to that/your hotspot and connect to the net, and then an additional five other devices.
You are now a hub....others can connect to you.

I have discontinued my cable internet [about $50/month+ from Comcast I then used a wifi hub to connect]. My Sprint hotspot @ $30/month has no other hubs to consider, can carry that hub with me, and can easily connect my wifi printer to my Sprint hub and others that I allow my key to, to connect with me: cool.

I go to another place and become a hub for others. If I served coffee at a premium I would now be a Starbuck shop :D

I pay a flat fee for the net use and no other bandwidth fees [well, of course I sprang for the flat ultimate ...but worth it]

Hopt that helps
r
 
wifi tether is a wifi link to other hotspots.

sprint hotspot is a hub and can therefore connect up to 6 other wifi connections.

think this way.

Tether : You go to Starbucks, and connect to net via your tether, but you cannot transmit that connection via your wifi to others: you are tethered, and just that, not a hub to transmit.

Hotspot: When on, you can link your home computer to that/your hotspot and connect to the net, and then an additional five other devices.
You are now a hub....others can connect to you.

I have discontinued my cable internet [about $50/month+ from Comcast I then used a wifi hub to connect]. My Sprint hotspot @ $30/month has no other hubs to consider, can carry that hub with me, and can easily connect my wifi printer to my Sprint hub and others that I allow my key to, to connect with me: cool.

I go to another place and become a hub for others. If I served coffee at a premium I would now be a Starbuck shop :D

I pay a flat fee for the net use and no other bandwidth fees [well, of course I sprang for the flat ultimate ...but worth it]

Hopt that helps
r

You are mistaken, wireless tether is when you connect an outside device such as a laptop, tablet, desktop or even another phone (had an iPhone try and horn in on my connection) through your Evo to the internet. This is only available to root users as far as I know, but I do it quite often.

What you are calling tether is just a wifi connection to an outside network.
 
wifi tether is a wifi link to other hotspots.

sprint hotspot is a hub and can therefore connect up to 6 other wifi connections.

think this way.

Tether : You go to Starbucks, and connect to net via your tether, but you cannot transmit that connection via your wifi to others: you are tethered, and just that, not a hub to transmit.

Hotspot: When on, you can link your home computer to that/your hotspot and connect to the net, and then an additional five other devices.
You are now a hub....others can connect to you.

I have discontinued my cable internet [about $50/month+ from Comcast I then used a wifi hub to connect]. My Sprint hotspot @ $30/month has no other hubs to consider, can carry that hub with me, and can easily connect my wifi printer to my Sprint hub and others that I allow my key to, to connect with me: cool.

I go to another place and become a hub for others. If I served coffee at a premium I would now be a Starbuck shop :D

I pay a flat fee for the net use and no other bandwidth fees [well, of course I sprang for the flat ultimate ...but worth it]

Hopt that helps
r
Sorry, but as explained in the previous post, this is wrong and misleading to other readers. Wireless Tether does in fact act as a hub to allow other devices to connect to the Internet using your phone's 3G or 4G data connection, just like HotSpot can. Not to mention it is free.
 
Sorry, but as explained in the previous post, this is wrong and misleading to other readers. Wireless Tether does in fact act as a hub to allow other devices to connect to the Internet using your phone's 3G or 4G data connection, just like HotSpot can. Not to mention it is free.

Thanks, forgot to mention the "free" part!:D
 
Sorry, but as explained in the previous post, this is wrong and misleading to other readers. Wireless Tether does in fact act as a hub to allow other devices to connect to the Internet using your phone's 3G or 4G data connection, just like HotSpot can. Not to mention it is free.

Sorry to have started all this hooplah, folks. But thank you for confirming my sanity about how similar these two apps actually are.

So, now enquiring minds want to know -- since they're so similar, which one is better? Or is there a difference?
 
I would say wireless tether is better, after all it is free.:D

Well...so is the Hotspot feature to me since I'm running Myn's Warm 2.2 RLS5. :D

Does one work better than the other, allow more connections...? See, I thought I had this all decided when I read (somewhere) that 4G would only work with Hotspot.
 
Well...so is the Hotspot feature to me since I'm running Myn's Warm 2.2 RLS5. :D

Does one work better than the other, allow more connections...? See, I thought I had this all decided when I read (somewhere) that 4G would only work with Hotspot.

4G works with Wireless Tether as well. I ran Myn's RLS5 for quite a while and tried both. In the end, Wireless Tether seems to be quicker to connect and easier to manage, in my opinion. I suppose Hotspot looks a little more elegant, but I will always use Wireless Tether.
 
Well...so is the Hotspot feature to me since I'm running Myn's Warm 2.2 RLS5. :D

Does one work better than the other, allow more connections...? See, I thought I had this all decided when I read (somewhere) that 4G would only work with Hotspot.

See what you get for thinking?!?!?!:p:D
 
SwipePad Beta

Why did it take so long for me to find this app? It is sort of a mini-launcher that when you swipe in from the edge or corner of the screen, it will bring up a 4x3 panel of up to 12 apps/shortcuts of choice. Great for those who don't want a lot of clutter on their homescreens or those who don't want to have to navigate out of their current app to get to the one they want. You can bring it up while ANY app is running.

The main downside is that it is even accessible when WidgetLocker is activated. Need to find out how to disable that and I'll be good to go. Also would be nice to have a different set of panels depending on which side of the screen you swipe. Anyway, check it out.

WOW! DL'd based upon this recommendation and I am loving it! For a long time, I've been trying to figure out a good place for direct dial & messaging shortcuts and this is perfect!!

Thanks for this!
 
I downloaded Android Assistant. It appears to be good. But Ringo Lite is definitely worth checking out.
 
I don't understand the purpose of these mini-launcher, quickdesk, etc., apps. It's the same number of finger motions to just press the Home button when in any app and then chose the app from the regular home screens or even the app drawer. Seems like all these would do is create overhead and take up resources, no?

Feel free to "educate" me -- I'm looking at this with an open mind.
 
Ok, so you're ion the middle of something - say web browsing. You don't back out to home, you long press search, bring up a whole screen of configured apps, so you hit your email, and then the back key puts you right where you left your browser. Stack tasks you perform normally, and never have to go to home to switch around.

Mega convenient, doesn't seem to cost much at all in resources.

I wouldn't roll without QuickDesk, personally.
 
^I have the exact same sentiments with SwipePad.

It is great to be able to access certain apps and shortcuts from smack in the middle of whatever task you are involved in.
 
Ok, so you're ion the middle of something - say web browsing. You don't back out to home, you long press search, bring up a whole screen of configured apps, so you hit your email, and then the back key puts you right where you left your browser. Stack tasks you perform normally, and never have to go to home to switch around.

Mega convenient, doesn't seem to cost much at all in resources.

I wouldn't roll without QuickDesk, personally.

I promise I'm not being argumentative -- but...I still just don't see it.

My scenario:

I'm in the middle of web browsing. Rather than long-pressing search and navigating around QuickDesk, I just press Home. My most frequently used 8 apps are on the home screen (not including my Rosie having the dialer and browser, and the usual clock widget having time and weather for an actual total of 12 apps). I can run anything from there, or flick left/right for two other pages of apps or I could just press the app drawer (which would admittedly result in a lot of scrolling looking for apps, but they would ALL be there). When I'm done, I just press the back button and then I'm back where I was web browsing.

See what I mean? It just seems like something extra that's not needed, and even if it's only taking minimal resources, if it's the same number of finger motions, what's the point in taking up any additional resources? It's kind of like loading a keypad app to use with the calculator app that already has a keypad.

When I first saw the recommendations for this type of app, I thought it was a great idea. But after installing them and using them, I realized I wasn't saving any time or finger motions, but was definitely using up space and memory (not much, but again...why?). Again, not trying to be a pain in the posterior, but I'm beginning to think I'm missing something with quite a few of these apps floating around, and Android savvy people recommending them.
 
No worries about being argumentative - it's all good.

Like any convenience tool, that sort of thing depends on the user.

My most-used apps aren't on my home screen - they don't need to be. My communication-related apps are.

And, fwiw - with QuickDesk you don't navigate anywhere - it's just a screen with what you've placed on it (like a secondary home screen) and with a pull-up for your last-used apps.

Android is about choice, and who's savvy has no bearing - we just have to be savvy for what's right for us. If you've tried QuickDesk and it doesn't save you time or presses in your configuration, cool. It does for me, so - cool. ;) :)
 
What happens to mailbo ringtones is not in the market anymore? What about advance task killer does that kill the battery faster?
 
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