Android Marketing Must Start to Appeal to Non-Geeks in a Non-Geeky Fashion

Android users should really start to do more marketing instead of just showing off just geeky features that only Android enthusiasts appreciate. There is much to do on the platform other than homescreens, rooting, file access and other techy stuff. 

We understand, Android is really open for customization, cool. But what's in it with regular users who just wants to use the device in the regular fashion. Samsung is doing a great (if not hitting below the belt sometimes) job at speaking to the consumer language, so does Sony. But apparently it's not enough.

The video above is a clear example where Android is missing out. Jimmy Fallon and Billy Joel are doing a good job with a great device and a great application Loopy HD at $7.99.

Now a quick search at Google Play Store of a looping app, returns this LoopStack,price FREE. The video below by the app developer is simple, effective, lacking fancy flair but does deliver the message.

And the application has quite some fancy features as well like track stacking. Check it out at the Play Store.

Of course the top video gets more visibility, promotion and appeal, the bottom one only after  some searching. Android should be marketed as not only a geek device or an Apple hitting device. The platform is more than that. We should see that more. 

AutomateIt Tips: Reducing Battery Usage

When using AutomateIt, the CellID polling feature can drastically impact your device battery life.

The trick is to turn off this feature if you are not using CellID to trigger profile activation.

Finally A Real Timepiece

If this ever comes out as good, then Motorola is well on its way back. But it remains to be seen how the can match up Samsung's marketing. Hopefully these products don't get lost in the sea of up and coming smart watches, or at least swept by the tide of Galaxy Gears thrown around.

Automate Sony Wifi Cameras When Your Phone Does Not Support One-Touch NFC

Sony One Touch Marketing

When Sony introduced the One-Touch feature on its devices, it was a smart way to make use of NFC. What better way to seamlessly connect with other devices than to let the NFC chips do the talking. As good and cool as it may seem, not all devices can talk to each other this way. First both devices must have NFC chips inside, and the 'other' device you want to communicate with must allow this. All great and easy when you are tied up to one device manufacturer, like Sony and Samsung does (and like Apple does in general). But in reality, this is not the case.

However, there are ways to get around this and as always, the beauty of Android is that by default the ecosystem allows you to do so. Enter AutomateIt, from Google Play. This wonderful app allows you to 'automate' or 'program' what you want to do with your Android device. 

AutomateIt from Google Play Store

Now with AutomateIt, it is possible to somehow emulate what happens when the NFC handshaking is established and the expected applications are automatically launched. 

How? By making a rule which detects the devices (through Wifi for example) and selecting the application you want to launch when this happens.

Example case is the Sony DSC-WX80 Wifi camera. When such an AutomateIt Rule is set up, as soon as AutomateIt detects that the phone has connected to the camera's wifi access point, it launches the Sony PlayMemories application, and in an instant you can start shooting photos or videos.

It may not however be 100% the same as One-Touch, but it's much much simpler!

See the example rule below:

AutomateIt Start Screen

AutomateIt Sony Play Memories Rule. 

Do not forget to Save after you create this.

Practical Selfie Guide: Sony DSC-WX80, monopod and an Android Device

Just when selfies, as a form of self-expression, are gaining a lot of attention from both sides of the social spectrum (e.g. haters and lovers), the use case of having a portable device that can be mounted on a pocket monopod, and be remotely triggered from your mobile device has never been so timely.

Well, sometimes, there is not just enough juice from a phone camera, may it be in the form of image stabilization, megapixels, sensor-size, lighting or LED flash. Unless you want to risk looking weird each time you take a shot, review the result, recompose and repeat the trial and error of taking a good shot from the high end back camera of most high end smartphones, most of the time the lowly front camera is the only available means to get that shot with you and that touristy spot in the background in a normal fashion, albeit, with a decent composition.

Here comes the best setup so far, for less than half of  the latest Samsung Galaxy S-thing:

• Sony DSC-WX80, 16MP digital camera with Wifi remote control option.
• A cheap pocket monopod.
• Any Android device running at least Android 4.x.
• Sony PlayMemories app from Google Play Store.

The Sony DSC-WX80 compact digital camera...

Wifi smartphone control option... shown here in German...

The trusty monopod...

Sony PlayMemories application on the smartphone...

Good old HTC One X can still do a good job of supporting this endeavor...

Nothing beats seeing what you are taking a picture of, right at the palm of your hands (the one holding the phone of course) and being able to adjust the composition before taking the shot, thanks to the wifi remote control feature. Wide angle lens allows more of of the background in, or more faces to squeeze inside the frame. And the longer reach of the monopod allows for more creative shots (ever wondered how you would look like from the security camera point of view).

And when you are done, the app automatically pulls the photos into your phone, both being a plus and a minus; a plus because you instantly have the photos to feed your social media sharing urge, a minus because succeeding shots are not possible until the photos are fully transferred. Good thing is you have the option to transfer the images at full resolution, the 2MP version and for some strange reason the VGA one as well, to speed up this process. The save option can also be turned off, and choosing to instead 'send the photos to a smartphone' from the camera also does the same job, much later.

All the settings are done in-camera while the app can be used to control the flash unit when taking photos, and there is an option to record the video through the phone as well. Other than that, Sony takes care of the exposure setting, depending on the shooting mode selected. Some fancy options such as blurred background, HDR and sweep panorama are standard on the camera.

What makes this package appealing is that the WX80 only costs a third of Go Pro. Of course the setup is not even in the vicinity when it comes to ruggedness and versatility in all conditions. However, it also costs 20% less than the nearest sibling, QX10, with much more feature in the way of being a dedicated camera with its own 240K LCD screen and access to a dedicated flash. The only missing feature when paired with a supported handset is the NFC One Touch pairing. Nice but it does not take too much time to start the camera wifi, start the phone wifi and connect to the camera, open the PlayMemories app and start shooting (the phone should already have connected by the time the end of this sentence is reached).

All in all, the compact size, excellent image quality for this category and a very good price on the wallet, makes this camera a real value for money. PC Mag has a more detailed spec review. Of course this is assuming you have a smartphone already since IOS also supports the PlayMemories app (thanks Sony for being open). The monopod should cost you less than 10 USD online. But do make sure you buy the one exactly like in the image above since it has a lock mechanism should you want to put the camera at odd angles and expect it to stay in that position.

There is not much to write here about the battery life, since for sure having two separate batteries is better than having one. Image quality is already available in most tech blogs and hardware reviews. But the deal here is the complete package as a selfie device, or if you just want to be always in the photos without having simply a front camera version of you in a fancy background pasted like a scrapbook photo with the rest of your gang.

Source: Techradar

Child Proofing Your Android Device - Series 2

Series 2: Study Time

Tablet OS: Android 4.0 and higher

Area: Time Management

There are parental control apps in Android which restricts the ability to use certain apps and also restrict the time when they can be used. The drawback however is either these apps really shouts out that they are there to restrict, or worst, they are skinned too much that they look like totally different from what Mom and Pops are normally using.

Another approach could be using task automation apps to 'silently' monitor the time and trigger an event on the device with the right combination of alert message and the opportunity for the child to voluntarily respond.

Llama at Google Play Store

One such trick is by using Llama, originally an application for location profiling, it can also be used to silently do the job of time management. Where Llama is good at is at being invisible in the background while also being simple to customize. No fancy UI, just the bare bones options to add an event, the right conditions and trigger an action or a series of actions.

The key steps are:

• Define the time period:
• e.g. Time between 6:00 PM until 6:00 AM
• Define the right conditions:
• When the Home application is at the background, which means an app is running in the foreground. (e.g. the child is playing a game or watching a YouTube video.
• Define the right action:
• Send a toast message: "It's time to study! Save the game and continue again tomorrow."
• Launch the Home application.
• Re-trigger the event every 1 minute, in case the child decides to play some more or wants to save the game.

Here is an example screen grab from Llama.

Step 1: Creating the Event trigger. The setting below will launch Nova Home launcher when the trigger is activated, which brings the tablet to the home screen. The child can still go to the recent apps button to go back and save the game or bookmark whatever he or she has been watching.

Step 2: Going into the Advanced setting to set the retriggering. Set the event to repeat every 1 minutes to allow the child to voluntarily respond. The repetitive messages will finally get the message across without being abrupt.

Step 3: And finally seeing it all come together.

Tips and Tricks:

1. This is best done with a Launcher application since Android by default does not show the system Home application in the selection of apps to trigger.
2. Adding the Llama app as an exception in the rule allows you to go to the Llama app and disable the trigger, else the tablet cannot be used unless you are out of the time period covered in the trigger.
3. You may use Llama for more event automation, one example is to automate volume profiles and so on.

Child Proofing Your Android Device - Series 1

Series 1: Restricted Profiles

Tablet OS: Android version 4.3 and higher

Area: App Accessibility and In-App Purchases

In Android 4.3 and higher, it is possible to setup multiple user profiles with one user profile set into a Restricted Profile mode. 

This mode means, that only certain applications which are allowed by the main device owner are available to the user of the restricted profile. This is very useful for parents sharing the same tablet or mobile device with their children. 

Aside from creating a dedicated environment for the child to 'freely use' the device, the restricted profile removes the annoyance of predefined passwords on restricted apps that further prompts the curiosity of the child as to what the restricted app is for. 

Step 1: The device owner should go to Settings> User.

Step 2: Click add User Profile. Select Restricted Profile.

Step 3: Android will show a list of currently installed apps, the device owner will select the apps that the restricted user are allowed to use by sliding the switch from Off to On. By default all apps are set to Off.

Step 4: After selecting the allowable apps, touching the back button returns to the User Profile setting page. Android will indicate and prompt the device owner to setup the restricted profile. This will log-off the current user, and the device will go to the lock screen showing the device owner and the newly created user profile.

Step 5: Login to the restricted profile and make the necessary customizations like wallpapers, app shortcuts, and so on. This part is making sure the user of the restricted profile has a proper homescreen to log into.

Step 6: Going into the app drawer will show and should show only the apps allowed to the restricted user.

Step 7: When new apps or games are installed by the device owner, it can be added again by going to the restricted profile and adding the newly installed apps from the list.

Tips:

1. The device owner will be prompted to add a login password if it is not currently enabled.
2. You can tap on the avatar of the user to add his/her photo, adding more personalization.

Child Proofing Your Android Device - Introduction

Admittedly, more and more kids are using tablet devices alongside their parents. Unattended the poor little fellows can unwittingly set off a purchasing spree, thanks to in-app purchases, banner ads and pop-ups that even a cautious adult can sometimes accidentally click into. Add to that the very thin line between the accessibility of mature apps and children apps or games. And when the kids get the hang off it, study times, or worst, meal times become a tug of war between the parent and the child.

In these series of articles, several examples of child proofing your tablet device is presented. It will also be indicated which device operating system is taken into account, which apps are involved and which area of child proofing: App Accessibility, In-App Purchases, or Time-Management, is being addressed.

Still TF101...

Source: Asus

Some books are hard to put down. Some tablets too. And TF101, from Asus, released on March 30, 2011 after it was announced in CES 2011 as one of the firsts Android tablets with a keyboard, is till hard to put down. Despite Asus' release of further iterations (e.g. TF201, TF300) of this docked tablet configuration, TF101 is still quite popular in the development community. 

KatKiss by Timduru Logo

As proof of this, TF101 still runs Kitkat 4.2.2 thanks to Timduru and the KatKiss Kitkat ROM, which as of this writing is now on dev build 23. Of course that will not be possible without first rooting the tablet and flashing a custom recovery. Frederuco's guide is still a handy companion for first time rooters (if they still exist). 

Source: Nvidia

Despite the  4 year old 1Ghz dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 and the meager 1 GB RAM, the hardware has proven that Android is such a versatile and powerful mobile operating system. TF101 can still beat any sub par Chinese tablet on many fronts. The optional (but very handy must have) keyboard dock with the additional 9.5 hours battery and USB and SD card ports is still unmatched outside the Transformer series.

For anyone who is still using and plan to use this tablet for another couple of years or so, of course depending on how long will the guys at XDA plan to continue supporting this tablet, this was indeed a very good investment. Fast forward now when at least every year a new slate comes out in various shapes and sizes, it was nice to think that at some point in time this tablet has graced us with its charm and usability well beyond the typical one year gadget life cycle.

Just like the Motorola Droid, TF101 can be considered an icon of the era of dockable tablets that have gone from prototype to mainstream and has lived longer perhaps than some of its future iterations.

Source: www.datamation.com

Reboot!

Image Source

Techartifacts rebooted... that's right. From the previous inception of it as a purely tech news/opinion site, it will now be expanded into a collection of tech insights, how to's and used products review.

This should add more value to the site's content and hopefully to others as a source of informal but relevant views.

Of course the original site contents are still available, thanks to Wordpress.