After several months of people begging for Google+ invites and users speaking endlessly about the merits of Facebook vs. Google Plus, the doors to Google’s hot social network are finally open. Anyone, anywhere, of any age 18 or higher can now access Google Plus. He or she can also use a young but rapidly growing Android app that received many new features today.

We’ve already mentioned that users can join Hangouts from their Android 2.3 or higher devices. As suspected, it turns out that people can only join a hangout while using the Google+ Android app, not start one. Users will be able to interact with friends on the desktop, but at least one person must start the conversation in order for others to join.

Aside from the ability to use Google+ Hangouts from the phone, a great deal has been added or fixed in the latest version announced by Google. Here’s a quick rundown of what to look for. Be sure to download the Google+ app from the Android Market.

Notifications

I’m sure you’ve been annoyed by the notifications system that either doesn’t work, gets repetitive, or updates you on insignificant things. A few bugs have been addressed to improve performance, and you can now control what types of activities warrant being notified.

From the Google+ app, go to Menu > Settings > Notification settings. Then check any or all of the following settings that you wish to be updated on:

• Mentions
• Shares
• Comments
• Comments on a post after I commented
• Adds me (to circle)
• Wants to tag me (in a photo)

Storage

The Google Plus app is rather large (24 MB), but you can accommodate for that by moving the app to the SD card. Be forewarned that doing this will break support for the Google+ home screen widget, so only enable it if space is limited on your device.

From the Android home screen, go to Menu > Settings > Applications > Manage Applications.

Tap on Google+ and then select Move to SD card.

Google+ is becoming the new BBM

Remember those rumors that Google was working on a BlackBerry Mesenger-like device. Huddles took on that primary presence of group chat, and it became clear that G+ would be Google’s answer to BBM. That idea grew stronger today with the rebranding to “Messenger” and the ability to post photos in a Huddle (I’ll be calling it that for a while, sue me.)

Tap the little photo icon to the left of the message field and you’ll be able to easily take a picture or post from the gallery. (Bonus tip: New photos shared will upload automatically to G+ photos section if you have that feature enabled.)

People Finder

It’s easier to find friends thanks to improvements to suggested people and public people search. Go to Circles and tap “Suggested people” to see Google’s list of folks you may be interested in following, but it’s a small list of folks you’ve already seen dozens of times on the desktop. If you’re looking for someone in particular, tap the icon in the top right corner, enter his/her name and select “Search public profiles” to get a list of people with that name.

Loose Ends

• There were many other minor updates. One of them is the ability to change a photo profile directly from the Google+ application. (Go to your Profile and tap “Edit” to make the switch.)
• Mentions of names are much easier now. It use to be that someone would type “+A_” and email addresses beginning with A would appear rather than people beginning with A. It’s now much easier to tag/mention someone in your post.
• Long-press on an item to get the option to Share, +1, or mute that post. An upcoming update will make it possible to tap once and bring up a drop-down menu similar to what Plume does.
• UPDATE: Playback user uploaded videos (not just YouTube videos) in your stream and share videos that have been uploaded via Instant Upload (via +Natalie Villalobos)

And if you’re still new to Google Plus, our original guide to the app has some things that still apply and remain interesting, so check it out.

My favorite feature of the custom Android ROM MIUI is its native file manger that can turn your SD card into an FTP server over Wi-Fi with the press of a button.

In early 2011, I started using vanilla Gingerbread instead and I really missed the wireless, hassle-free file transfers that didn’t require a USB-cable.

I decided to find an alternative, and I luckily discovered the app SwiFTP FTP Server. It’s not as slick as the MIUI counterpart, but it has even more functionality.

Here’s how you can manage the files on your phone from your PC with any FTP client.

1. Head to the Android Market and download SwiFTP.
2. Start the app, and you’ll see a setup screen. Enter the username and password of your choice, and tap Save. You can ignore the other fields if you want.



3. The next screen will show three buttons: Start, Instructions and Setup. You just have to press the Start button, and the FTP server will be launched. You need to have a Wi-Fi connection on your phone before doing this.



4. On your PC, launch your favorite FTP client. If you don’t have one, I recommend FileZilla. It’s both open-source and awesome.
5. With your FTP client, connect to the server listed in SwiFTP on your phone under Wifi URL. The default IP address is 192.168.1.64, and the port is 2121.
6. You should now see your phone’s contents in your PC FTP client: files can be copied, moved and deleted. No more USB-cables for file transfers!

How do I edit videos taken on an Android phone? I’ve fielded this question countless times since 2008, and the answer I’ve always given was that you can’t. The questions intensified when Apple managed to get it done with iMovie, but Google hasn’t yet blessed its users with such a feature.

And that’s where Snip comes in for anyone with Android 2.1 or higher. As we’ve seen so many times before, when the originator doesn’t meet its user’s needs, someone else jumps in to fill the void. Snip Video Trimmer is a $2.99 app that can edit videos shot with your phone’s camera, making it easier to highlight select portions for sharing to YouTube or getting rid of extra footage you no longer want. Simply tell the app where to start and stop, and then it will trim your video down to the desired point. You must begin clips at I-frames, which appear at about every second. (more info here)

Here’s a quick video demonstrating how simple it is to edit videos. Download Snip from the Android Market for $2.99. It’s not the most elegant solution, but it is efficient at accomplishing the main goal of trimming your video and can share the video with friends. Android 2.1 or higher is required to use this app.

The Logitech Revue set-top box has several apps for Google TV and a browser to consume online video. But there’s one app in particular, the Logitech Media Player, that may be of particular interest to customers who have a large library of music, photos, or videos stored on their PC.

Media Players streams music, video, and photos from your computer to your Logitech Revue box. At the moment, not all formats are supported and there may be playback errors with certain containers not being supported or audio unavailable. In fact, not even all files are discovered during the initial scan.

However, Media Player can be a good way to play some media files in the mean time. Here’s how to stream from PC to Logitech Revue with a Windows 7 PC.

Section 1: Ready the PC

1. Open the Computer program and right-click your main drive; it’s typically labeled as the “OS C:” drive

2. Right-click and select “Share With > Advanced Sharing” and then open the Advanced Sharing section.

3. Click the “Network and Sharing Center” link and make sure the following options are selected:

   • Turn on network discovery

   • Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can read and write files in the Public Folders

   • Use 128-bit encryption to help protect file sharing connections (recommended)
     Note: You may also want to make sure that your Wi-Fi network is encrypted (requires a password) just to be on the safe side.

4. Click “Choose media streaming options” and set the Show Devices on menu to list All networks. Scroll down and make sure Logitech (or “Unknown Device”) is allowed. Press “Ok”

5. Go back to the folder view and set share properties. This time, use the “Share With” button on the navigation pane, as seen here:

6. Select Share With > Homegroup (Read) for each folder you plan to share. There may be some subfolders that you don’t want to share. If that’s the case, open those folders and choose Share With > Nobody.

Section 2: Scan for Files

1. Navigate to Applications > Logitech Media Player. A list of open computer tied to the network will appear. Your computer must be on in order for this to work.
2. A list of Networked Sources will appear showing all the available devices. Select your PC.
3. If you get a “Logitech Revue is not authorized to access this server…” message, you may need to do more to authorize sharing. Your PC may automatically notify you that a device is trying to access the network. Click on the prompt and grant access.

Otherwise, you should see a list of media file types to scan. Media Player can be very slow, especially with large libraries, so get use to seeing “Loading screens.” With a little patience and luck, you’ll be streaming media from the PC to your TV.

It’s commendable how versatile, customizable and open Android is, unlike some other mobile platforms, and nearly every aspect of the OS can be personalized. Many people, me included, want their phones to not only be functional, but fun, unique and elegant as well. The combination of LauncherPro Plus and the widget Desktop Visualizer is yet another way to make your Android reflect your personal preferences.

Here’s a tutorial for creating a tile based homescreen with custom shortcut icons, vaguely resembling Windows Phone 7. At the bottom of the post are screen shots of a few layouts I have on my HTC Desire, and they will give you an idea of what you can make LauncherPro look like with this method.

1. Download LauncherPro and purchase the Plus version. You need it to resize widgets properly.
2. In LauncherPro, activate the “five rows” option from Preferences > Advanced > 5 icon rows in homescreens.
3. Install the Desktop Visualizer widget. It’s free.
4. Long-press on your homescreen and select “Desktop Visualizer (2×1)” for shortcuts with a horizontal design, and “Desktop Visualizer (1×2)” for vertical shortcuts.
5. On the resulting screen, select which icon to use for your widget/shortcut by pressing the top button. On WVGA devices, the resolution for horizontal icons should be 355 x 132px, and 115 x 266px for vertical icons.
6. Tap the “Select Action” button to choose an action for the shortcut.
7. If you picked an icon that already had a title, delete the label in the text box and press OK.



8. Now it’s time to resize the shortcut widget to fit the icon: just longpress the widget and release it. You will then see a gray border around the widget: grab the bottom-right corner, and when you’re done resizing, press the Back button to trigger the change.
9. Arrange the widgets to your liking. For more info and an icon pack (including a couple of Photoshop templates) to get you started, head over to this thread at the xda-developers.

Quite a few folks on our YouTube channel have noticed that the EVO I’ve shown in recent videos does not look like what you typically find. That’s because I purposely altered my phone to look different. You may remember that I already showed how to do this on the G1 last year, but plenty of (probably most) EVO users weren’t around back then.

Here’s a quick tutorial on how to load ROM’s and themes to customize the look of your Android phone. Keep in mind that you MUST have a rooted phone in order for this to work. This tutorial assumes you have already achieved root and have ClockworkMod, the custom recovery that came when I rooted my phone. A video showing the journey is available at the end of the screen.

1. Find a ROM or theme to load.

The theme that I’ve been using lately is Manup’s REVOlution EVO running on Fresh for EVO. I love it because it’s minimal and stylish.

Themes and ROM’s are available at various websites, but I tend to just get them from the XDA Developers Forum. Navigate to your device’s forum and browse the “Themes and Apps” section for themes or “Development” section. Be sure to always read the directions because applying a non-compatible theme to your ROM could create problems.

2. Load the ROM or theme onto the SD card.

Copy the theme you downloaded (should be “THEME/ROMNAME.zip”) to the SD card. Mount the phone into disk mode and then drag or send it to the root of your SD card (root of the SD card means directly on F:/ and not in any folders like F:/stuff).

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NOTE: Before proceeding please make sure that your phone is fully charged. Do not power off or interrupt your phone while applying updates.

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3. Boot into recovery mode.

On the EVO:

• Hold down the power button and choose “Power Off”
• Then hold down the Power button and the Volume Down button at the same time until the phone starts
• Wait until text loads and then press the Volume down button to go to “Recovery”
• Then press the top power button to go into the recovery mode

4. Do a backup (optional)

This is a lesson you must learn whenever you root your phone. Perform backups before flashing, so in case something goes wrong or you decide to revert back to a working version, it will be a less painful experience. I try to do a backup whenever I flash a new ROM. Themes may not require backups as frequently but I always perform a backup for ROM’s without exception.

• Go to Nandroid and press the power button
• Select “backup” and press the power button
• Wait until the backup is complete and it will return to the Recovery screen

5. Wipe/factory reset (ROM only)

When switching from one ROM maker to another – say from Fresh to DamageControl – you’ll want to wipe data and clear cache to prevent problems from developing. You may not need to do this when going to a newer version – like Fresh 3.x1 to 3.x2 – so read the directions provided by the developer.

• Press the volume down button to go to “Wipe data/factory reset” and wait until the phone says that the wipe is complete
• Then go back to the recovery screen and go to “Wipe cache partition”
• Once complete, navigate back to the recovery screen

6. Apply the update.

This is where you load the new theme or ROM.

• Press the volume down button to go to “Install zip from sdcard” and then “choose zip from sd card”
• Use volume up/down to find “THEME/ROMNAME.zip” and press the Power button.
• Wait until it completes and then go back to the recovery screen
• Select “Reboot system now”

You should have a new theme or ROM now. In the event that you have problems, go back to the nandroid portion of the tutorial and choose “restore” rather than backup. That will restore the phone back to its previous state. Keep in mind that nandroid restore will remove all content (apps, call log, etc.) applied since the last state.

Try not to disturb the phone when rebooting. You may experience a boot loop in some instances in which the phone starts over and over again. This is rare but possible. If that happens, remove the battery, boot into recovery again, and wipe your cache and factory reset. If problems persist, make sure you installed a theme compatible with your phone or revert back to your nandroid backup.

Due to the software/hardware combination of not being able to install apps to the SD card and phones simply having inadequate amounts of internal storage, a weak point of Android has been that users often have run out of space for apps. One could think that the problem would be a thing of the past with Android 2.2’s apps2SD support, but many people running Froyo are still unable to install all the apps and games they want and need to prioritize. Since private user data never is stored on an external storage, apps installed to the SD card will nonetheless take up space on the internal memory. And some software, like widgets, live wallpapers and system apps may not function properly if they are installed on the SD card. But there are luckily ways to free up some precious MB of internal storage if you’re starting to get desperate.

Clear the Cache of Large Apps

By clearing the cache that some applications use, you can reclaim quite a few megabytes, at least temporarily.

• Go to Settings > Applications > Manage applications on your Android.
• Press the Menu button and select the Sort by size option. If you’re on Android 2.2, select the All tab first.
• To check if an application has a cache, select it in the list and it will be stated on the resulting screen. To clear a cache, simply press the Clear cache button.
• A couple of apps that may have a cache of several MB are Maps, Market, Internet and Gallery (called Photos on some devices).
• From the Application info screen you may also clear an app’s data. This will not only clear the cache, but also all the data the app has generated. Basically, you’re “hardresetting” the app. For example, I reclaimed 2MB by erasing the data for Media Storage. It forced my Gallery app to locate all my pictures again, but the associated data for Media Storage was still much smaller in size than before I cleared it.
• Do you use homescreen replacements such as LauncherPro or ADW Launcher and have no intention of going back to Sense or the vanilla launcher? Then you can likely free up a lot of space by clearing the data for HTC Sense or Home.
• An app that automatically will list all apps that have a cache is Quick App Clean Cache ($0.76). If you have root access, there are also apps on the Market such as CacheCleaner, CacheMate and MoveCache that automate this.

Remove Apps You Never or Rarely Use

This goes without saying, but it’s naturally a good idea to go through your software arsenal from time to time and uninstall apps you seldom use.

Got Froyo? Make Android Install Apps to the SD Card by Default

A few weeks ago we did a tutorial on how to let Android install apps to the SD by default on Froyo. I initially thought that this tweak merely would make Android install apps to the SD right away, so you wouldn’t have to move them manually. But after a hard reset, I discovered that it actually enables some apps to be installed to the SD card which otherwise would be locked to the internal storage. With that in mind, it’s highly recommended that you give this tweak a try if you want to avoid the “phone storage is getting low” message. The only downside is that you occasionally have to manually move some apps from the SD to the internal storage, such as widgets.

Move Everything That Can Be Moved

If your device is running Froyo and you have told Android to install apps to the SD, make sure that all apps that can and should be moved to the memory card actually have been moved. Apps that probably shouldn’t be transferred to the SD are widgets, apps with bundled widgets, live wallpapers and apps that run in the background and integrate with the system. There are several apps that make the moving process easier, and the best ones so far are Apps 2 SD and SDMove.

LauncherPro has quickly become one of the most popular homescreen replacements for Android, and it’s easy to see why. The app is highly customizable, and since its debut on the Market back in May the developer Federico Carnales has managed to impress with each new update. About a month ago he decided to singlehandedly make his own versions of the HTC widgets one by one (for Plus users only) – a bold move, and so far he has been able to pull it off.

With all the extra functionality LauncherPro offers, it can however be somewhat difficult to know how to make the most of the app, especially for those who are used to the HTC or vanilla Android launcher. Here are 11 12 ways to take advantage of LauncherPro’s growing number of features.

1. Utilize the Dock Swipe Gestures

LauncherPro lets you assign an action to an upward or downward swipe gesture over any of the shortcuts in the dock. For example, you can tell LauncherPro to take you directly to the screen where you keep your bookmarks widget when you swipe over the Browser icon, to add a new contact when you swipe over the Contacts icon, or dial a specific number when you swipe over the Phone icon.

I have always thought that it’s too inconvenient to pinch the screen to bring up the homescreen previews since it requires an extra hand, but with swipe gestures they can be accessed super quick with your thumb, which is what I like most about them. You can set a swipe gesture for a shortcut by longpressing it and selecting Swipe gesture action from the resulting menu.

2. Change the Dock Background

You can change the dock background (or remove it), from Preferences > Appearance Settings > Dock background. Custom images are supported, and there are sites dedicated to LP dock backgrounds such as LauncherPro Icons.

3. Use Three Docks

The dock at the bottom of the screen is scrollable to the left and right, and you can add two extra docks which you can fill with shortcuts to apps you use often. This is an excellent way to free up space on your homescreen. Set the number of docks from Preferences > Dock Settings > Number of docks, and be sure to use the Loop scrolling option as well.

4. LauncherPro Lets You Link to Anything

The LP Shortcuts feature that was introduced in the latest version of LauncherPro initially left many users puzzled, myself included, as Carnales failed to explain exactly why these new shortcuts were better than the existing ones. The app could already create links to activities, i.e. specific screens within apps, but the LP Shortcuts take this a step further.

Some screens within apps require extra info to be passed, and this is where the LP Shortcuts come in. They basically provide greater flexibility, since you can create a shortcut that opens X and proceeds to do Y. In other words they let you link to anything on your Android, at least in theory. Since LP Shortcuts are actual files, they can also be shared and stored.

To create LP Shortcuts you have to use the web-based LauncherPro Shortcut Creator tool, and they should be stored in a folder in the root of your SD card called lpshortcuts. This thread in the LauncherPro forum is dedicated to LP Shortcuts.

A few shortcut examples:

Go to the Facebook Wall (official app):

Action: android.intent.action.VIEW

Data: facebook:/wall

Add a new contact:

Action: android.intent.action.INSERT

Data: content://contacts/people

Compose new Gmail:

Action: android.intent.action.SENDTO”

Data: mailto:

Switch to a particular LauncherPro homescreen:

Action: android.intent.action.MAIN

Package name: com.fede.launcher

Class name: com.fede.launcher.Launcher

Add an Extra:

Type: Integer

Name: com.fede.launcher.extra.SCREEN

Value: the number of the screen to switch to

5. Resize Widgets as You See Fit

LauncherPro lets you resize any widget. Just longpress the widget you want to alter and release it. You will then see a gray border around the widget: grab the bottom-right corner, and when you’re done resizing, press the Back button to trigger the change. This is a great way to fit more shortcuts and widgets on your homescreen. In the example below, I have resized the default Android music widget so I can add the internal storage widget next to it.

6. Scrollable Widgets

Many of HTC’s widgets are scrollable, such as the Friend Stream, but it’s not supported in the Sense or stock Android launcher for regular widgets. LauncherPro adds support for scrollable widgets, such as Pure Messenger.  You can activate this option from Preferences > General Settings > Enable scrollable widgets.

7. Extra Eye Candy

You can control the speed of LauncherPro’s visual effects from Preferences > Advanced Settings > Opening speed. You may also activate the 3D drawer option from Preferences > Advanced Settings > Use 3D drawer. The 3D drawer is flashy, but perhaps a bit less useful than the regular one.

8. Hide Apps You Never Use

Got bloatware on your device that you can’t uninstall? You can hide undesired apps in the app drawer from Preferences > General Settings > Hidden Apps.

9. Use 5-Icon Homescreen Rows

This is one of my favorite features, since it enables an extra row for icons and widgets on each homescreen. Since the default launcher has so much white space, it doesn’t look that crowded. You can activate this option from Preferences > Advanced Settings > 5 Icon rows in homescreen. If you use this feature, you may want to enable the Stretch 4-row widgets option as well.

10. Increase the Number of Drawer Columns

With additional columns in the app drawer, you don’t have to scroll as far to reach your apps, since more icons can be displayed simultaneously. You can set the number of drawer columns from Preferences > Advanced Settings > Drawer columns portrait / landscape.

11. Remove Shortcut Labels

When you remove the icon labels (Preferences > Appearance Settings > Hide icon labels) you get a much cleaner and more stylish homescreen, but you naturally have to be able to identify shortcuts solely by their icons.

12. Update: Drop to Uninstall

I somehow failed to include my favorite LauncherPro feature, next to the swipe gestures: drop to uninstall. It’s something I have wanted to be able to do since I got my first Android device, and I think it ought to be a native Android feature. It’s incredibly convenient: if you longpress a shortcut or a widget and then drag it to the trashcan at the bottom of the screen and hold it there for awhile, a caption saying “Drop to uninstall” will appear. Let go of it and the app will be uninstalled.

When Google acquired the small Palo Alto startup company Android, Inc in July 2005, the team led by Andy Rubin surely both hoped and expected that the mobile OS they were developing eventually would power a vast number of devices of all sorts. But I wonder if they also predicted that Android would be the platform of so many phones that were originally designed to run an entirely different OS, namely the now archaic Windows Mobile.

Android ports have come a long way since late 2008, when I tried to run Android on an SE Xperia X1 and all I got was a non-functioning homescreen turned upside-down. An example of this progress is the Android Development sections that are available for many Windows Mobile devices at the gargantuan smartphone forum xda-developers. Lots of handsets based on Microsoft’s mobile OS are indeed finding new life as Android devices, as detailed in the Wired article DIYers Hack Windows Mobile Phones to Run Android.

If you got an old (or a new, such as the HTC HD2) Windows Mobile device lying around, chances are that you can make it up-to-date by letting our green Android have its way with it. The process may require some effort, though, but you could have Android running within an hour or two and you get to feel like a power-user on steroids.

Running Android on Windows Mobile Phones – an Introduction

Some Windows Mobile devices, like the HTC Vogue, have Android ports that can utilize the hardware to such an extent that ROMs have been compiled that entirely replace Windows Mobile with Android. But for the most part, Android on Windows Phones is launched through HaRET: a tool for booting Linux from within Windows Mobile. HaRET will not run Android on top of WinMo as one would think, since it shuts down Microsoft’s platform before booting Android.

If you’re one of the lucky few that have a WinMo device that has an Android port in the shape of a ROM, you can simply flash the ROM like you would normally do. You will then have the benefit of not having to start Windows Mobile in order to launch Android, and the entire port will likely be quicker and more stable. The advantage with HaRET on the other hand, is that you’ll get a dual-boot device that is capable of running two different operating systems. For beginners, this method is probably easier as well.

How to Run Android on Windows Mobile Devices

1) Download an Android Port for Your Phone

Visit the xda-developers forum, find your device in the list and enter the Android Development section. These phones currently have forums dedicated to Android ports:

• HTC Kaiser: Tilt, TyTN II, MDA Vario III
• HTC Vogue: Touch CDMA
• HTC Blackstone: Touch HD
• HTC Polaris: Touch Cruise
• HTC Raphael: Touch Pro, Fuze
• HTC Topaz: Touch Diamond2, Pure
• HTC Rhodium: Touch Pro2, Tilt 2
• HTC Leo: HD2
• Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1

Developers are also combining their efforts on the project XDAndroid. Some of the phones the XDAndroid port is compatible with are the HTC Raphael, Rhodium, Diamond, Topaz and Blackstone. The port has also been modified to work on other devices, such as the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1.

2) Copy the Required Files to Your Phone / Flash Your Android ROM

If there is an Android ROM available for your Windows phone, just flash it the way you would flash a regular Windows Mobile ROM. There may be discrepancies, though, so look closely if there are any special instructions for your particular ROM. If you’re not familiar with the process of flashing ROMs, there are many guides available on the interwebs.

In case you have downloaded a port that requires HaRET, you should simply extract the files included in the port to the root of your memory card and then run HaRET.exe to boot Android. Your memory card should have the FAT32 format (that is likely already the case) and have at least 500 MB of free space.

These files are usually included with Android ports that are launched via HaRET:

Source: vdelf at xda-developers

3) Boot Android

In case you have flashed an Android ROM, you naturally just have to start your device to boot Android. If you have the Android port located on your memory card, simply launch HaRET.exe with Windows Mobile’s native File Explorer and Android will eventually start.

You will see lots of seemingly random numbers and letters for about 5-10 minutes, but Android will launch much faster the next time you run HaRET. A file called data.img will be created in the root of your SD card that contains the information for your entire Android setup. To hardreset your Android configuration and start over, simply erase this file.

HaRET booting Android 2.2 on the WinMo device SE Xperia X1

If your Android port can’t communicate with your phone’s GPS, it’s vital that you disable the GPS in Android from Settings > Location & security > Use GPS satellites, or your device may freeze.

It’s also recommended that you turn off your SIM card’s PIN protection in Windows Mobile, since many ports can’t handle PINs yet. The setting is located here: Settings > Personal > Phone > GSM/UMTS Services > PIN/PIN2 > Get Settings… > Require PIN when phone is used.

4) Some Important Links

There is much more to tell when it comes to running Android on Windows Mobile phones, but hopefully this is enough to get you started. Best of luck, and if you want further information, you can check out the websites below.

• Porting Project Help Center @ connect-utb.com
• XDAndroid thread @ xda-developers.com
• XDAndroid Wiki @ XDAndroid.com

A common complaint among Android users is short battery life. As we all now, Google’s platform has numerous benefits, but state-of-the-art features and constantly being connected seem to come with one drawback: comparatively large battery consumption.

I don’t suggest that you should stop taking advantage of the things that make Android great, such as streaming music players that allow you to walk around with millions of songs in your pocket, location-aware apps, background updates or all the wireless options. Still, if you’re frustrated by how often you need to connect your charger, it’s good to know what types of apps and activities that eat the most battery, so you can make an active decision whether or not it’s worth the extra juice.

Use the GPS Wisely

The GPS uses the battery like there’s no tomorrow. Location-aware software is one of Android’s many fortes, but they can be real battery drainers. The Power control widget is useful for switching the GPS on and off, and you should keep an eye on your notification bar: an icon will appear whenever the GPS is activated.

Turn off Bluetooth When You’re Not Using It

Perhaps an obvious tip, but it’s best to disable Bluetooth whenever you’re not actually using it. The quickest way to switch Bluetooth off and on is via a widget on your homescreen.

Disable Wireless Network Positioning

When your device learns your location via wireless network triangulation, it requires less battery than if it had used the GPS. But using both methods simultaneously will of course use the most power. The GPS can handle location tasks by itself, albeit a bit slower. Also, wireless network positioning is used to gather anonymous Google location data in the background, which will drain the battery further. You can turn it off from Settings > Location > Use wireless networks.

Switch off Wi-Fi, or Keep it Always On

If you’re close to a reliable WLAN during the better part of the day, having Wi-Fi always turned on may be favorable from a battery point of view, since the Wi-Fi radio uses less battery than the 3G radio. And when Wi-Fi is on, 3G is off. You can confirm Wi-Fi always stays on by going to Settings > Wireless networks > Wi-Fi Settings. Press the Menu button, tap on Advanced, Wi-Fi sleep policy and select the Never option.

On the other hand, if you’re not close to a strong Wi-Fi signal for extended periods of time, disable Wi-Fi from a homescreen widget or from Settings > Wireless networks > Wi-Fi.

Disable Always-On Mobile Data

The Always-On Mobile Data option is on by default, and can be disabled from Settings > Wireless & networks > Mobile networks > Enable always-on mobile data. It allows your phone to be connected non-stop, but does it need to be? I have disabled the setting, and I still get push Gmail and even Google Talk seems to perform as usual, as well as the few apps I have that use automatic updates. However, if you have a lot of apps that regularly connect to the Internet, disabling this option may actually be a bad idea, since turning the data connection on and off will require more energy than simply having it on all the time.

Kill 3G if Your Phone Often Struggles to Find It

When your Android attempts to decide which signal to lock on to, it strains your battery. If your phone often switches between GSM and 3G in your area, it can be preferable to simply disable 3G altogether, and hence abolishing the need for your phone to try and find a suitable network. Go to Settings > Wireless & networks > Mobile networks > Network mode > GSM only.

Use a Quick Screen Timeout

After a certain time of inactivity, your screen is automatically turned off, and that’s the Screen Timeout. To use such a low value as 15 seconds can be annoying, but one minute is on the other hand likely too long. I use 30 seconds. You can alter this option from Settings > Screen & display > Screen timeout.

Turn Down the Screen Brightness

Android’s Automatic brightness (Settings > Screen & display > Brightness) setting is recommended. If your phone doesn’t have this option, set a reasonable value at roughly 30 % and see if that suits you.

Live Wallpapers Will Use More Power than a Static Background

Oh yes, live wallpapers can be awesome. But they will obviously use precious battery juice, albeit evidently not as much as one could think, talking the eye-candy into consideration and what they can do.

Have an AMOLED Display? A Dark Wallpaper Will Spare the Battery

When having dark backgrounds, phones with AMOLED display will use less power, because each pixel on OLED screens is photoemissive and will actually generate its own light. Since there’s no need for a backlight, the pixel can essentially turn off its light source and go total black. As a result, you can save a teeny-weeny bit of energy by having a dark or black background on AMOLED screens.

Use Widgets Wisely

A few days ago, we mentioned 10 cool homescreen widgets, and it’s great that Android supports them. Most widgets will only have a negligible effect on your battery life, but those that automatically pull info from the interwebs can be power hogs.

Use Reasonable Intervals for Automatic Updates

I personally don’t need to have automatic updates on my phone, except for emails that I want to be notified of the moment they arrive. I prefer launching the apps at my convenience and see what’s new. Most applications that connect to the Internet have an option to update upon launch, and that’s all I need. By lowering the update intervals, or by even turning them off completely, you can definitely make your battery last longer. I recommend that you reduce them to your own minimum values.

If you have an Android phone with HTC Sense, you can make sure the HTC Mail Client, the HTC Weather App, Facebook, Flickr, Stocks and Twitter update themselves as often as you want them to. This is mainly done from Settings > Accounts & sync. It’s also a good idea to look over third-party apps that grab data from the Internet, particularly the official Facebook app and the various Twitter apps, since they usually have background updates on by default.

Streaming Apps Will Use a Lot of Battery

In a recent Droid vs Droid special, Andrew did a rundown of music streaming apps, and I certainly don’t think you should avoid this type of application on your phone. But bear in mind that software that stream audio and similar apps will use plenty of power.

Learn What’s Been Drinking the Juice

Unless you have the doubtful pleasure of still running Cupcake, you can check out a built-in Android feature that tells you precisely how much your apps use the battery. You can then start using battery drainers less often, or simply uninstall them. Go to Settings > About phone > Battery > Battery use and press the items in the list for further info. You can also use JuicePlotter to analyze usage patterns.

I have gotten good results by making the tweaks and changes above, and I hope you will too. Do you know of any more tricks that can make our dear Android stay on his feet a bit longer before it needs to be charged? In case you don’t want to keep all this in mind, an app such as JuiceDefender is a good option.