May 15, 2013 By 2 Comments

Android phone screen sharing app–share your phone screen with your PC

Sometimes in life you do not realise how useful something is until you actually use something.  The following is one such example.

If you are like me, it is quite possible that you spend most of your day working at your desk with your phone sat beside you.

If you get a text message or want to view your phone content, you stop what you are doing on your PC and jump to the phone.

How about not touching the phone and doing everything from the desktop?!

You could be writing a word document on the PC, get a text message, just jump to the phone screen (on your computer), view and reply to the text message using you computer keyboard and mouse.

How about taking a screenshot of your device, or recording a video comprising of a number of actions on screen all from the desktop computer.  Makes life very simple wouldn’t you say?

 

The recent announcement of Samsung SideSync (more info HERE) allowed this as well as the ability to share content such as text between the PC and the Phone. The problem with this is that it works currently on selected Samsung computers.

However there is a similar and almost as powerful workaround that will work on a wider range of computers and smartphones….image

Xdadeveloper member mcallisaya has managed to allow smartphone users to share their phone screen on their PC with just a few simple steps

What you need to do is:

  1. Download the ‘Phone Screen Sharing’ app for the PC HERE
  2. Download and install onto your smartphone the ‘Phone Screen Sharing’ .apk file found HERE
  3. Run the ‘Phone Screen Sharing’ app on your smartphone and agree to the terms and conditions for the app.
  4. Connect the Smartphone using an original USB cable, and don´t use any USB hubs in the process.
  5. Enable USB debugging mode on your smarthphone.
  6. Start the ‘Phone Screen Sharing’ app installed in step 1 on your PC and let it complete any updates.
  7. Click “Next” on the Phone-window on your PC.
  8. Confirm any necessary notifications on the smartphone screen.
  9. If all is OK, then you will have the screen connected and you can use your mouse, keyboard and copy files from/to your smartphone.

Once connected you can take screenshots, record video and view the contents of the phone on your PC screen as well as share files from the desktop to the PC to the phone and vies versa.  The only things I could not do is copy text from the PC direct to the phone.

I tested a Samsung Galaxy S4 and a HTC One X on a Windows 7 computer, both worked straight away without issue.

See the following video that shows us navigating around the screen of the HTC One and then the Samsung S4. The video was recorded from the PC whilst controlling the phone on the PC.

I am sure you will agree this is a potentially powerful setup.  Especially if you review devices or need to record videos of how to do things on phones.  It could even be a sneaky way of doing things on your phone without your boss noticing!

You can find full information and more detailed discussion HERE at xdadevelopers from which this opportunity was created.

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PLEASE NOTE: Clove Technology take no responsibility for compatibility or this working in every situation.  You may refer to the original positing on xdadevelopers for more information and detailed discussion.  Full credit to xdadeveloper member mcallisaya.

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May 13, 2013 By 4 Comments

Google Now Wallpaper app changes based on the time of day

One of the small touches that adds to the impressiveness of Google Now is the collection of graphics that accompanies it. These are displayed behind the search bar on the Google Now homescreen, adding a nice bit of colour to the interface.

The good news is that XDA member Svarion has now taken the Google Now Graphics and turned them into a wallpaper app, called GoogleNowWallpaper HD, which changes the colour scheme of the background based on time.

Google Now Wallpaper Google Now Wallpaper Dusk Google Now Wallpaper Night

There are several locations for you to choose from for the background; the classic Google Now view of the mountains, London, Berlin, Honolulu, New York, Seattle, Austin, Tahoe, Great Plains and San Francisco.

The time at which the background changes (dawn, day, dusk and night) can be configured within the app’s settings, or if you prefer you can just stick to the one background.

Thankfully Google Now wallpaper is not a live wallpaper so there is no need to worry about battery drain. Check them out and let us know what you think.

 

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May 4, 2013 By 2 Comments

Dash mounted Nexus 7 Android tablet

Inspired by Ross McClardy’s AKA @mr_bridger Nexus 7 dash install that we blogged about here, our very own Jon Love (@jon_clove) decided to take on a similar install within his vehicle.

Jon replaces the factory fitted navigation unit and uses the Nexus 7 as a feature rich in car computer, pairing it with his phone to ensure it has internet connectivity and then uses the Nexus 7 for all manor of tasks from web browsing, to navigation to media playback when in the vehicle.

All in all he has opted for a slightly simpler removable solution in comparison to the more complicated fixed installation by @mr_bridger but he is very happy with the outcome.

You can see a full explanation of what he did and why here or just take a look at the following video he has put together.

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May 1, 2013 By 2 Comments

Five Great Extensions for Gmail

Gmail

Despite the impressive features that Google provides within its Gmail service, there’s still room for improvement via third-party add-ons and extensions. Some of these are only available for desktop but we are now starting to see a bit more of a crossover between the desktop and Android apps. Here are some of my favourite extensions for Gmail – let us know in the comments if there are any others you think are worthy of mention.

Boomerang

Boomerang is a very handy tool that adds some simple yet highly effective features to Gmail. Users may schedule emails to be sent at a later date (e.g. first thing Monday rather than last thing Friday), or ‘Boomerang’ an email so that a reminder is provided if you haven’t received a response within a set time period. There is a free tier that gives you 10 message credits per month, otherwise the service costs $4.99 per month for the personal tariff or $14.99 for the business tariff.

HelloSign

HelloSign provides legally binding signatures in a digital format. This is a paid service for business, and free for personal accounts. Once you’ve scanned in your signature there is no need to print, sign and scan documents again. The service can be completed from your desktop or smartphone and can be synced with various cloud services.

Having to sign something manually is partly a precautionary measure against fraud, so it may be best to have your account secured with two factor authentication if you are going to use it. However, HelloSign does have a good level of security to protect against the inherent problems of eSignatures.

[Read more...]

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April 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Google Launches One Today charity app for Android

Google has launched a new charity app for Android called One Today. Currently it’s US and invite-only, but you can request an invite over at the One Today website if you would like to join. 

The One Today app gives you the opportunity to donate $1 to a different non-profit organisation each day. The full fee (less the 1.9% credit card fee) goes to the organisation. Currently you can only donate $1 at a time, although there is ‘user-matching’, which enables you to match the donations of friends and therefore donate slightly more. 

One Today App

One Today sounds like a great way to make use of the infrastructure that has made micro payments on mobile so easy. It’s often easy to overlook charity, so having an app that makes it simple and offers variety seems like a good way to go about it. Widespread adoption and coverage on social networks will be key, so hopefully the app will roll out to more regions and platforms in the near future.

Here’s the Play Store link for those that are interested. There are also some good stats on the One Today website in terms of what donations can be converted to, such as $2 to buy an hour of security for a wild rhino, $1 for 17 days of schooling for students in Laos or $1 for 10 trees for Kenyan farmers.

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April 18, 2013 By 4 Comments

Chat Heads: Facebook gets closer, but don’t look too close

Facebook has been advertising its new Home application in a strange way these past few weeks. If you’ve been following recent tech news then it has probably been impossible to avoid that the new Home launcher is available both on select devices and as the default on the new HTC First device. However the majority of users, the casual amongst us (all of my friends), have barely heard a whisper. Home may only be available on select devices, but Chat Heads, the real innovative piece of software Facebook wants to push, is available on any Android device with the Facebook Messenger app installed.

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If you’re not a follower of tech news, and just one of the average smartphone users putting you in Facebook’s target market, then the new software might just encroach upon your mobile experience in a way you might not completely realise. A huge amount of Android Facebook users also have Messenger installed, the newest update to which unleashes all sorts of potential onto your handset

Facebook Home is an app that will replace your Android launcher, if and only if, you happen to have a supported device. What is available to all Android devices though, is an update to both the standard Facebook app (which allows permissions for Facebook Home for future updates, possibly for your device…) and the Messenger app. The Messenger app allows users to continue messaging their Facebook friends without having to open the full Facebook app.

[Read more...]

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April 10, 2013 By 2 Comments

Android devices can now be easily tethered with Mac OS X via USB

Tether your Android smartphone to Mac via USB

This isn’t breaking news, but it didn’t seem to gain all that much attention when it first surfaced towards the end of last year and having had to recently make use of it myself, thought I’d share it for others that may be interested.

For a long time tethering an Android device to a Mac using USB tethering has not been a simple process. This isn’t a huge problem as there’s the option of tethering by Wi-Fi, but this isn’t always ideal and a connection by USB can often be more reliable.

Thanks to a new driver released by Joshua Wise (available to download here) called HoRNDIS (pronounced horrendous), USB tethering between Android devices and Mac OS X is now simple. 

The driver works with OS X versions 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) through to 10.8.2 (Mountain Lion). It’s been tested on a wide variety of devices and was developed using a Galaxy Nexus. I have been using it with a Nexus 4 and OS X 10.8.3 without issue. However installing such third party software is of course carried out at your own risk. 

Installation instructions 

  • Download and install the latest HoRNDIS driver, following the on-screen setup instructions
  • Make sure you have your mobile internet data switched on
  • Connect your Android smartphone to your Mac vis USB
  • On your phone go to Settings > More (to get to the expanded menu for ‘Wireless and networks’) > Tethering & portable hotspot
  • Click the USB tethering box and you’ll see an icon in the notification bar to say that tethering is active
  • You should now be able to use your phones mobile connection for internet on your Mac. You may need to disable Wi-Fi on your Mac and select the device as the connection source under network preferences. 
Tether Android Mac

 

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April 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Google Play update begins rolling out today

New Google Play Store app on its way

Google has announced on its Android blog that the new version of Google Play has begun rolling out. The redesign is available for smartphones and tablets running Android 2.2 (FroYo) and above, which is the vast majority of devices by now. 

The new design is more image-centric, with ‘images that jump off the page’ and Google says that it has also simplified purchases, which should mean less clicks when you decide to buy something from its ever-growing range of content. 

New Google Play Store

There’s now more emphasis on related content and you’ll see a continuous stream of recommendations as you scroll down the screen. The entire roll out process could take a few weeks, but there will no doubt be a rip of the .apk file online within the next 24 hours for those that are unable to wait. 

New Google Play Store tablet

Source Official Android Blog

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March 14, 2013 By 4 Comments

Android coming to new Volvo’s

We have spoken several times on our blog about how certain car manufacturers like Volvo, Mazda & BMW are taking steps to integrate more intelligent systems within vehicles that connect to our phones and mobile devices.

However Volvo have perhaps taken the boldest next step that will appeal to all you technology lovers.

They have teamed up with Neonode to launch a new in-car entertainment and information system which is powered by Android.  It has been heavily customised to integrate with the vehicle and make it more attractive for users but there is a lot on offer.

The 7” touch screen display allows you to complete anything from street level navigation, to web browsing to streaming audio through services like Spotify to creating a wireless hotspot and even connecting  USB dongles to it.

Whilst it may not give you everything that we techies would want from it it certainly shows developments are being made and if this came in my car then I would be pretty pleased. 

See what the new system has to offer in the following promo video:

Now other manufacturers, can you do the same please?!

Source: Slashgear Via: Android Authority

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February 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Check out the new Google Glass showreal

More POV footage of Google Glass in action

Since its announcement at Google I/O last year, details of Google Glass have been pretty scare. That’s changed today however, with Google updating its Glass page and releasing a video of Glass in action. The video is more than impressive, with a variety of use cases in some extravagant situations. The new information gives us a bit more insight into what Glass will offer and how it’s married with Google Now, although the gory technical details of its workings are still to be desired. 

Here’s a quick look at some of the main details we know of Google Glass: 

  • Spoken commands, such as take a photo or record video, are initiated with ‘OK Glass’ 
  • Conversations are two way in the sense that normal video calls are. A screen shot in the top right shows you the caller at the other end. 
  • A basic overlay of directions is provided when using Glass with navigation
  • Translations and voice dictations are supported
  • Going by the videos, the headset will be waterproof. 
  • Five different colours will be available initially: Charcoal, Tangerine, Shale, Cotton and Sky. 

For more information, see the official Google Glass page. There’s also a good write-up over at SlashGear

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