Downloading Android Source Tree Error

While setting up my Android Dev Environment on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, I ran into some errors. No matter how many times I reran repo sync, repo sync -f, etc. the errors would continue to show up. I believe it was due to some corruption during download. Either way, the two folders I had trouble with were Gallery.git and Exchange.git.

The Errors:
computer@ubuntu:~/WORKING_DIRECTORY$ repo sync
Fetching projects:  75% (166/221)  fatal: Not a git repository: '/home/computer/WORKING_DIRECTORY/.repo/projects/packages/apps/Gallery.git'
Fetching projects:  76% (168/221)  error: unable to resolve reference refs/remotes/aosp/ics-factoryrom-2-release: No such file or directory
From https://android.googlesource.com/platform/packages/apps/Exchange
 ! [new branch]      ics-factoryrom-2-release -> aosp/ics-factoryrom-2-release  (unable to update local ref)
...
...
error: Cannot fetch platform/packages/apps/Gallery
error: Cannot fetch platform/packages/apps/Exchange

error: Exited sync due to fetch errors


Solution/Fix

I went to WORKING_DIRECTORY/.repo/projects/packages/apps/Gallery.git
and Exchange.git and deleted them.

Then I reran repo sync, and the dev environment completed successfully.

Custom Desktop User Agent String for Android's Dolphin HD

Ever want to view websites in their Full Desktop display mode? How about watch The Daily Show or Colbert Report on your Android device? Comedy Central is an example of a site that automatically switches to their Mobile site, which doesn't allow viewing full episodes. We want full episodes because our Android hardware is fully capable of viewing full Desktop sites including Adobe Flash content. In this post, we'll go over how to view all websites in full Desktop mode on Dolphin HD Browser.

When we visit a website, our web browser's User Agent lets a website know the capabilities of our browser. Then the website serves up the page in a readable format suitable for our device whether it be on a PC, Mac, Android, or iPhone. The problem with Dolphin HD is that it's built in User Agent still shows Android in the User Agent String, so some sites we visit still serve up their Mobile site.

To fix this, we're going to paste in our own Custom User Agent String:

Go to More => Settings => Dolphin Settings => User Agent => Custom

Then Copy and Paste the following User Agent

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:8.0.1)

Then go to Data Storage Settings => Clear data

Check Clear cache
Check Clear history
Check Clear all cookie data

Press OK

Exit out of Dolphin HD

Open up Dolphin HD, and now any site you visit will display in full Desktop Mode.

If you're curious what the User Agent String above means, then this is what websites see when you visit:

Mozilla/5.0	Web Browser
Windows NT 6.1	Operating System	Windows 7
WOW64	Web Browser	32-bit Internet Explorer running on 64-bit Windows
AppleWebKit/535.7	Rendering Engine	WebKit Rendering Engine
KHTML, like Gecko		Apple WebKit is based on KDE KHTML
Chrome/16.0.912.63	Web Browser	Google Chrome Browser

Enjoy

[OUTDATED] Unlimited Free Text Messaging :: GV :: Boost Mobile iDEN

So by now, you're having a blast with your GPS tracker/free internet boost mobile phone. Well, we're going to kick it up a notch with free unlimited text messaging through Google Voice.

Here's how it works:

We're going to use the Boost Mobile iDEN Pay-As-You-Go phone network to access the internet--this is free and we do not need a data plan. Then we'll use Opera Mini Browser to visit http://voice.google.com. Once logged in, we're free to make and receive text messages through the browser.

The cost breakdown is $10 every 3 months for unlimited free text messaging/GPS tracking/free internet/tethering/emergency phone.

Ultimate VOIP Android Phone Guide

The goal of this post is to educate new Android owner's on getting the most out of their device. Also, we'll go over turning your Android phone into a dedicated VOIP WiFi phone without signing up for any service contract.

Turn your Android phone into a Google Voice Phone - GrooVe IP will turn your phone into a full blown VOIP phone by using your Google Voice number to make and receive calls. As long as you have WiFi access, you'll have a fully functional phone to make and receive unlimited calls free to the U.S. and Canada. To kick it up a notch, download the Google Voice App for unlimited free text messaging.
$5 GrooVe IP App


ROMs
Visit XDA Developers Forum to learn more about ROMs, and why they're useful. You'll find many ROMs developed by talented and creative developers and also by the developer community. Within the sub-forums, there's all the information you'll need to root and change your phone's ROM. If you want to supercharge your phone with some advanced modifications, you will need root access.


Battery Tips

1. Turn off Live Wallpapers as they eat batteries like the cookie monster eats cookies
2. Lower the brightness of your screen.
3. Airplane Mode Wi-fi App disables the radio to your service provider while giving the option to enable WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS use thus saving a considerable amount of battery power. This is especially helpful for VOIP only phones that don't need Sprint/ATT/Verizon network access. My extended battery can go for 2 days of heavy use and still have some juice to spare.
4. Disable 4G and mobile radios
5. More battery tips: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1141221&page=5

Useful Free Applications


Browser (Install Adobe Flash 11 first)
Dolphin HD browser plays flash natively after installing the Flash plugin. On my EVO 3D, I'm able to watch 720p HD flash on Youtube without any issues.
Dolphin HD Browser App
Dolphin Companion Battery Saver

Video Player
MX Video Player App

File Sharing between PC and Phone
WebSharing Lite App

RSS Reader
gReader

Offline GPS Navigation
Navfree USA

For All Rooted Phones
Boost your phone's speed and RAM management
-=V6 SuperCharger=- FIX RAM & Launchers by zeppelinrox

HTC EVO 3D

(Image: androidcentral.com)

Just joined the Android Party and acquired a HTC EVO 3D and HTC Sensation for the Missus. I'm going to jump in and learn all I can to modify this beast. Even though the EVO 3D is just a few months new, it's considered old technology already! That's great for me though because I got a great deal for some excellent hardware. 

My main consideration when buying a phone was hardware specs. With good hardware, I can flash different software to suite my needs. The phone has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.2ghz Dual Core, two cameras for 3D shooting, 720P video, qHD 540x960 screen, and MHL HDMI out. Imagine the possibilities!

[OUTDATED] DIY $40/year GPS Tracking on the Cheap Tutorial

[OUTDATED] FYI, IDEN WILL BE SHUTTING DOWN IN THE NEXT YEAR OR SO

Update 1/8/12:

I just ordered a Motorola i576 iDEN ruggedized phone to test its Bluetooth DUN (Dial Up Networking) connection with my WiFi only HTC EVO 3D VOIP phone. The i576 will provide internet access to my EVO 3D over a bluetooth connection. Ideally, I will be able to track my routes, LoJack my bike, unlimited free text messaging, and have internet access available to my Android device.

Update 3/1/12:

The i576 is one awesome phone. I was able to get the i576 to provide internet to my Android phone. For those looking for a cheap LoJack or a GPS tracker, the i576 may work better with its extended battery and ruggedized design. Whichever phone you decide to choose, the following tutorial will work great.

This is my Dude, Where's My Bike Spot/LoJack set up using tazeat's Honda Forum post as a guide. It's cheap and useful for the road warrior.

With an old Motorola i425 Boost Mobile pay-as-you-go phone, I was able to track my routes via the web, share my route to loved ones, make/receive calls, and use the phone like a LoJack GPS tracker. There's also a way to get unlimited 20kbps free internet access including tethering to a laptop. Remember 56K, well this is 20K, so yeah. Absolutely no data plan needed and all for $10 every 3 months.

The bare minimum payment to keep the plan active is $10 every 3 months. There's no need to put more than the minimum, unless you want to use your phone to make/receive calls at a rate of 20 cents per minute.

Quick Summary:
Buy new phone kit with $5 credit included
Activate phone online
Install Instamapper App
Register an Instamapper Account
Connect extended power
Profit

Guide

Bill of Materials:
$40 iDEN Motorola Phone (i290, i335, i425...), with unactivated SIM card, and $5 credit
$2 mini USB transfer data cable
Optional $20 Portable USB battery pack (comes with 2 wire charger for the i425) OR $2 mini USB charger cable (usually made with 2 wires, no data pins)
Free Instamapper.com App
Total Cost for 3 months: $44 or $64 w/battery pack

A new i425 phone, activation kit, and $5 credit (good for 3 months of tracking) go for $40 on eBay. From my experience, the best bang for your buck is to buy the phone kit new.

Update by user Moo Cow 6/9/12 (picking up a used phone may not be as hard as I thought. Check it out):
"Hey Tri, great write up!! just picked up an i576 from Mobile Karma and got a sim from a local boost store, everything went together without issue."

If you want to take the hard road like I did, then by all means, get a working used phone, get a SIM with the PIN (without the PIN, there will be a $10 activation fee on top of the credit you need to add), and working battery (the BK60, BK70, or the giant BK10 battery could possibly be used with a modded case), or else you'll need to revive your old dead battery. Then go through the process of resetting the phone's network connection and settings. Seriously, save yourself the hassle and get a new phone kit.

Activation

Follow Boost Mobile's instructions for activation. It may go something like this:
Log onto http://boostmobile.com/ and click Activate
Enter in your SIM ID and IMEI
Select Pay as you Go (We do NOT need data)
Choose a phone number
If your phone came with a $5 credit, then you'll see the credit once you log into My Account. Look under Expiration Date, and you'll see it should have a expiration date 3 months from the day you activated.
When your phone activates, you'll see Boost display on the phone once the phone is turned on

Install Instamapper
Visit their website and go to step 4. http://www.instamapper.com/diy.html

Register a Free Instamapper Account
https://www.instamapper.com/fe?page=register
Then browse to Devices:
http://www.instamapper.com/fe?page=manageDevices
Then add a device:
http://www.instamapper.com/fe?page=addDevice
Give the Device a name
Click Add
Now grab your phone and open GPS Tracker
Copy the Key for the new device you just created into GPS Tracker's Settings menu

Configure Instamapper to run Always On
We can have Instamapper run automatically every time we turn the phone on. This will enable the App to constantly run in the background.
Go to your Apps menu
Type *158#
Enter passcode: 0000
Select OK
Select Full Time App
Scroll down to select GPS Tracker, and a green checkmark will display
Select Done
Finished

Extended Power
Battery life is limited depending on the frequency of "Send every (sec)" signal updates you want to send to Instamapper. The more updates you send, the more battery life you will use. To get extended battery life, you can purchase a portable USB battery pack which includes a charger for the i425 phone. The i425 phone can charge on any USB port as long as the cable is only 2 wires with no data pins.

Example Usage
For my setup, I have my i425 connected to a portable USB power pack. I can hide this set up in my Moto or Car to track my vehicles in case of theft. The online Instamapper updates will be accurate enough to locate my vehicle. Additional benefits from Instamapper include features similar to a Spot Location Device where we can share your maps with friends and family so they track our trip. Facebook or embedded maps are available too. Spot does have one unique feature with it's emergency button and satellite emergency communication, whereas the phone only has 911 capabilities and is limited to cell phone coverage areas.

Extra Modifications
Opera Browser
You can install Opera Browser 3 to get free internet on your phone. Again, no data plan is needed. From my understanding, the data usage is all on the iDEN network, so it is extremely slow, but still useful when in a bind.

Google Maps also work on the phone.

Tethering to Ubuntu/Linux
There are tutorials online to tether an iDEN phone to a laptop/computer to provide internet access to your PC. Newer phones may provide faster tethering speeds?

For Ubuntu/Linux users, you can do the following:

Install moto4lin from Synaptics Package Manager
Then from user J@F on http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=214659
"Go to the terminal and type "sudo pppconfig"

• your password 
• create a connection
• give it a name like boost or nextell, whatever service ur using. (remember this name)
• arrow down to "use dynamic dns" then space bar, then enter.
• press enter on PAP
• for username and password press spacebar
• im not sure about the best speed but I put 19200
• press enter on tone
• enter "S=2" 

I knew my port was /dev/ttyACM0 so I arrowed to no enter. yours should be something with ACM in it look in the /dev directory and look for something with ACM in the name also it changes to ttyACM0 and ttyACM1 with me so i made 1 with ACM0 and 1 with ACM1

• arrow down to finished
• enter
• arrow down to quit
• type "pon whatever_the_name_of_the_provider_you_gave_was"

your logged in. just don't keep the phone next to the monitor it will make lines show up on the screen type poff in the terminal when you want to hangup. oh and the i450 can have widen on it and thats 4x faster. hoped this helped"

Enjoy!

How to install Siphon SIP for iPhone, iPod, iPad

(image from Siphon)

This tutorial is applicable for iOS 4.1 or later, but not 5.
You must have Cydia before proceeding:

Instructions:

1. Install Cydia
2. Install iFile
3. Download your favorite release from http://code.google.com/p/siphon/downloads/list?can=1&q=&colspec=Filename+Summary+Uploaded+ReleaseDate+Size+DownloadCount
4. Email the file you just downloaded to yourself
5. Open up your email
6. Touch the file to download it
7. Once the download is complete, open in iFile
8. Click on the file in iFile
9. Select Install
10. Once the installation is complete, an Siphon icon will display, and if not, use your App search to find it, then Siphon will display on your springboard
11. Enjoy