Android Dose

Having a rooted phone, I’m constantly looking for a fast home replacement that suits my needs. That being said, I’ve grown very close to ADW Launcher. It’s fast, highly customizable, and easy to use. The developer, known on the web as Anderwebs, has released a faster, even more customizable version of ADW called ADW Ex. If you haven’t heard of it, crawl out from under that rock and search for it in the Android Market. It’s hands-down the best home replacement I’ve ever used, and I’ve used quite a few. Let’s take a look at some of the features of ADW Ex, shall we?

ADW Ex is pretty similar to ADW Launcher, so if you’re familiar with that, there’s not much here that’s new. For starters, you’re given a 4×4 grid for apps, widgets, shortcuts, etc, the same as the stock Android launcher.

The dock on the bottom is a bit different from stock Android. You get the standard desktop dots for jumping from screen to screen. These can be disabled for more dock room, giving you up to 5 spaces for apps or shortcuts. If you drag up on the app drawer icon, you’re given a hidden dock that stores items. This dock is scrollable, meaning you can drag it to the right or left to reveal more space. Standard ADW stuff here.

What really sets ADW Ex apart from the rest is the settings. The transition animations between screens are amazing, to say the least. There are 8 different effects to choose from, and they’re all awesome. They vary from rotating screens to zooming screens and several other effects. Words can’t do these animations justice. It really looks great in person.

You can also change the icons of apps or shortcuts. There’s an option to give the icons a “fancy background”, which is basically a colored square around the icon. You can see what that looks like in the picture above.

Now, to the app drawer. There are several styles you can pick from, including a vertical 4D drawer and a horizontal, Galaxy S style drawer  The vertical 4D drawer looks like a 4D cube, obviously. It’s a very cool effect, especially if you have a quality Android phone (i.e. Nexus One, G2).

Recapping, ADW Ex is fast. It’s a very sexy, easy to use, customizable home replacement. I’ve never seen or used another launcher quite like it, and that’s saying something. If you haven’t already installed it, I HIGHLY recommend doing so. It’s only $3.50, which really isn’t that much. And if for nothing else, buy it to support your Android developers. They’re the ones that truly make this platform what it is. Check out some screenshots below. So, are you getting ADW Ex? Already gotten it? Tell us what you think about it in the comments below We look forward to your feedback!

Livio Radio sent me a demo unit of their Carmen Car Audio unit. The Carmen is a Internet Radio/MP3 player with FM Tuner built-in, The Carmen also provides an Aux port for you to connect your other portable media players and even your phone. The Carmen connects to your car by plugging into a free 12V Cigarette/Power Outlet. It also sports 2GB of internal memory that can be filled like a USB Flash Drive or using Livio’s Internet Radio recording software on your PC using the supplied USB cable.  The Carmen has an LCD screen, large buttons and a swiveling design to make it easier to use regardless of where your Power port is located. Surprisingly Livio also included a remote control, making changing things tracks stored on the device or the tuners station simple on the go! Priced @ $59.99 direct from Livio

I had the opportunity to use the Carmen during a recent road trip and was delightfully impressed by it, I used all the features of the Carmen while I was driving from Tampa, FL to Washington DC. Before I left for my trip I fired up the software on my netbook and couldn’t get it to open, I’m not sure if it was the screen size or what but I didn’t spend too much time with it I installed the software on my PC where it ran with no problems. First I want to point out the FM tuner’s range, It supports going down to 87.5 which is better than my current FM tuner’s ability, I’ve done my fair share of driving and only going to 88.1 like my current tuner causes alot of channel switching, I was very impressed with the Carmen in this respect. The entire trip I didn’t have to adjust the tuner’s channel at all which was a great surprise and very welcome!

The Carmen is a pretty nifty device, I was able to listen to the recorded internet radio, MP3s I copied to it, Music from my Android Phone and what I think is the best combination Carmen and Slacker Radio! I love being able to listen to Slacker Radio through the Carmen while traveling, I really think that the Carmen is a great solution for Roadwarriors out there. I was really impressed with the remote, Its  very functional allowing you to adjust the frequency of the FM tuner as needed as well as your standard controls and even access to an equalizer. All in all I was very happy with the Carmen and could certainly see myself replacing my mediocre FM tuner with the Carmen simply for the FM tuner portion, throw in the 2GB of storage for internet radio and mp3s as well as the remote control and you’ve got me sold!

Today I was happy to find a box from SoundID in my mailbox! After meeting with the SoundID folks at the Pepcom Holiday Spectacular last month in New York I was really excited to get hands on with the latest in Bluetooth technology, SoundID no only provides a solid piece of hardware they also provide an application to tune the device to your hearing, your Ear Print. Lets see what you get in the box after the break! Continue reading “SoundID’s 510 Bluetooth Headset & its Android Ear Print app First Impressions” »

Samsung’s Galaxy S Epic 4G is Sprint’s 2nd 4G offering (both being Android powered Smartphones, the other being the HTC Evo 4G). Retailing for $250 with a new 2-year contract $100 mail-in rebate, Off Contract you will run you $500.

So after spending some time with the Samsung Galaxy S Epic 4G on Sprint’s network over the last couple of weeks I have really started to fall in love with the phone. The Epic 4G has become my go-to device, I grab it when I want to send an email, watch a video and make a call! The only thing I really haven’t done is use it as a hockey puck! The keyboard is absolutely wonderful, I am a Motorola Droid owner and the Epic 4G keyboard just completely hands down without a doubt smokes the Droid’s keyboard. The screen is absolutely gorgeous, The best mobile phone screen available without question. Coming stock with a 16GB MicroSDHC that is upgradeable to 32GB. I haven’t tested the 4G Data capabilities as I don’t live in a current 4G market, However I will be going to New York City next week so I will do some 4G Testing while I’m up there and update this article. All in all its a great phone, I’m going to be adding a second phone line/company for this phone! Sometime between now and when 4G is released in my area I will be purchasing this phone on Sprint! Samsung and Sprint really hit one out of the park with this device it has EVERYTHING I’m looking for in a mobile phone! I will mention briefly that Samsung has stated that they will deliver an Android  2.2 update for US Galaxy S devices sometime in Q3/4 2010, What this means is that once Samsung releases the update to Sprint it has to pass their internal lab and QA before it gets pushed out to customers.

Pros:

• 4-inch Super AMOLED screen
• 4G Data connectivity
• Mobile WiFi Hotspot
• Crystal clear 5.0 Megapixel Camera
• 720p HD Video Recording
• Outstanding QWERTY Keyboard

Cons:

• Cost… $50 more than the Evo though I feel its justified for such a device
• 4G isn’t available in all markets

Here is the video:

Before writing any actual articles or giving any color commentary (which is what my writings will be most of the time anyway), I wanted to introduce myself. So take a seat, sip on a drink and relax. I promise this won’t take long.

I learned about the Android platform when a friend of mine introduced me to his G1 over two years ago.  Compared to my AT&T Tilt, it was like a DVD compared to VHS.  I could tell that Android would take off, and I wanted in on the deal.  I ended up purchasing a G1 for myself sometime later, and have been a loyal Android supporter ever since.

So what can I do to “give back” to this awesome community?  The one thing I figured I could do fairly easily:  Give my opinions and commentary on various hardware, software, and general Android news.  Now I understand that everyone is different; where one person will agree with me, there’s another that won’t.  That’s fine though.  My “column”, if you want to call it, encourages that.  It’s not about having a debate about whether this Twitter app is better than that Twitter app.  It’s about one guy giving his own opinion about a particular product, and letting the community have a say about it as well.

So with that, let the commentary begin.  If you have a comment, rant, or just want to lend your voice, do so in the comments below my articles.  If you’re having a bad day, a bad night, (insert anything negative here), keep it to yourself.  This is about Android; the pros, cons, and opinions from myself, and insight from the community.  Let’s get to it!