Database Users

fast contact search

What is the fastest, quickest, speediest way to search for a contact? with or without an application

the universal search app. part of donut 1.6 and included with cyanogenmod experimental.

you mean the hardware search button? that just searches online, unless I first open contacts and then use it. Can I get a shortcut to directly search contacts?

no, the universal search app. it behaves in a similar manner to spotlight on OSX - searches your handset for contacts, web history, music etc. The results of which appear directly beneath the search bar.

ok, don't think I have that, in the 'about phone' section is says firmware 1.5. How can I upgrade to 1.6? I have a vodafone magic so not sure if that's possible. Or is there another way to get the app? There seem to be plenty of search apps on the market but don't think any of them are what you are describing

to get it you will need to flash CyanogenMod ROM

Oh ok, will look for an app that can do a similar job, as I can't be bothered to erase and reinstall everything. Thanks.

You Don;t have to.............
http://www.cyrket.com/package/com.aurora.android.search
Download "aurora" Free off the android Market , its exactly the same as the universal search and to top it off it was actually made by a Dev on this forum. You'll see the thread in the Dream forum if you wish to have a look at the dev
Enjoy
CLLC

actually downloaded it a few mins ago, brilliant app, just what I wanted and more!

Question about mods and tweaks

Tried searching but nothing really fit the questions I have.
Flashed my first android build yesterday. Running NexusHD2-FRG83_V1.3_(Froyo 2.2.1).7z on my HD2.
If I want to tweak it I presume I have to use the Nexus One themes apps, and roms correct?
And how do I go about installing them? For example: I want to change the battery indicator and taskbar.
Any help would be appreciated it. Thanks.

TBH, I very rarely install anything that isn't in the market. Also, since Android is Android, it's not generally specific to the device. If it is specific to the build version (1.5, 1.6, 2.1 etc.) then it's down to the developer to state that in the description on the market.
Also, I've never had a problem when installing something that didn't work and then simply uninstalling it. As far as I can tell, Android just works. It's a world away from winmo.
Just play and find out, but the market is definitely your friend.

[Q] How to sideload apps on the Desire Z

I know this is a pretty retarded question but I did some googleing and found nothing on the desire z about sideloading and I'm not sure if following the steps for another phone would be a good idea. I was also wondering about getting rid of the bloat ware, what kind of apps do I need to do that and do I need to sideload those apps?
This is my first android phone. My last phone was a palm pre and all their homebrew stuff was very simple and put into 1 app you can download and get everything from (apps, overclocking, themes and custom kernels all from 1 place) so this is kinda big step because it seems to involve a lot more then 2 or 3 taps on a screen.
Thanks for any help you can give a newbie!

if you search you will see some info about how to remove bloatware, but its not pretty (IMO) and I think you need to root your phone.
As for side loading, if you go to setting>applications>manage applications there is a check box that allow you to load apps from any source. Just be sure its checked. I downloaded an app (TN5250 emulator) from www.mochasoft.dk and it installed just fine.

After you downloaded it did you have to move it to the SD card? Or are you able to download right to the phone?
Edit: Also, does anyone know if you can install stock android? What benefits would you get from doing so? The only thing I would care about is not having 40 pre loaded useless app/shortcuts. A few of them are uno, tv & radio, tunes & apps, twitter, superuser, search people (i can just go into people and press the search button, what is the point of this undeletable sortcut?), peep, navigation, lets golf, learn more. This is an awesome phone but there are so many useless things added and it makes it hard to find the handful of apps that I would actually use. Some of these "apps" are just shortcuts to webpages, why do I need this and why can't they go away?!

[Q] Nexus 4 (or Android in general) Privacy from Google

Hi,
Is it possible to completely stop information leakage to google from my telephone, such as contacts or even aps purchased?

Oxy20 said:
Hi,
Is it possible to completely stop information leakage to google from my telephone, such as contacts or even aps purchased?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
some options:
work without google apps! most custom roms come without it! GApps package is a additional zip!
many custom roms included privacy manager from cm. you define what the app is allowed to. for example read contacts yes or no
In AOSP Android (I think since 4.3 or 4.2) is app ops included. It's like privacy manager with detailed options.
hope it hepls. What rom you are using?

carepack said:
some options:
work without google apps! most custom roms come without it! GApps package is a additional zip!
many custom roms included privacy manager from cm. you define what the app is allowed to. for example read contacts yes or no
In AOSP Android (I think since 4.3 or 4.2) is app ops included. It's like privacy manager with detailed options.
hope it hepls. What rom you are using?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am on 4.3 stock ROM. The phone is unlocked and rooted.
I tried CM Rom as part of 2 way call recording patch trial but had to revert back to ROM due to stability problems. But the problems were due to the trial nature of the patched ROM http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=45730852&postcount=47 I tried rather then general CM problems. So I suppose could try a stable, up to date version of CM ROM.
I suppose without Google Play I can not have paid apps like skvalex call recorder? If I have to leak some info to Google can I ensure no call details, contacts, calendar etc are shared / backed up etc to Google?

Oxy20 said:
I am on 4.3 stock ROM. The phone is unlocked and rooted.
I tried CM Rom as part of 2 way call recording patch trial but had to revert back to ROM due to stability problems. But the problems were due to the trial nature of the patched ROM http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=45730852&postcount=47 I tried rather then general CM problems. So I suppose could try a stable, up to date version of CM ROM.
I suppose without Google Play I can not have paid apps like skvalex call recorder? If I have to leak some info to Google can I ensure no call details, contacts, calendar etc are shared / backed up etc to Google?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try a look at here:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/0...ager-control-permissions-for-individual-apps/

Technically yes, but practically no. Even if you stop now, you probably have used Google services in the past and they already have those info. Even if you do not use Google apps, there are lots of way for your phone to connect to Google server (various core Google apks). Lots of apps and websites use Google Analytic as well, although that info is supposed to be anonymous, or apps that utilize Google services in some way or purchased apps that required verification. You basically have to micromanage the permission of every app and this isn't exactly easy and is time consuming, slips up are easy too.
My recommends are:
Most effective: Be lke Richard Stallman, stop using internet completely, except for devices that isn't your. Don't use telephone at all. Have no WiFi running in your house and remove your address from Google Maps, then move to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
Less effective: Don't use 'gapps' and Google apps at all. You can use Amazon AppStore to download apps. Or use Firefox OS or Ubuntu Touch instead.
Less effective alternative: Use permission management. There are many ways to do this. Android 4.3 have AppOps and there are shortcut apps to let you access to the hidden menu, however it's not very convenient to use. It's better to use CM or SlimRoms which in addition have the Privacy Guard toggle feature (Settings -> Security-> bottom of list). SlimRoms let you turn it on for installed apps by default. It blocks access to contacts and location. I'm not sure if it block network and phone IDs info though.
For more refined permission management, there is the Xposed Framework module called XPrivacy. It has a high learning curve and blocking the wrong permission will cripple your apps or make it not working. There is also LBE Security Master and OpenPDroid, but I much prefer XPrivacy.
You can also use AFwall+ which modify the Linux kernel's iptables to block internet connection, this is the most assured method to block internet connection access for apps imo.
If you still need to make use of Google apps or services, such as facelock and photosphere, but want to avoid installing 'Google services framework', you can use these gapps packages and not install the core package. Keep in mind, 'Google services framework' is important for connecting to Google server and without it some 'find your phone' apps won't work like Cerberus.
You can see if your phone is connected or syncing to Google server by the color of the WiFi icon color, gray means no, and blue means yes.

I have always wondered about why someone would buy a smartphone, Android or iOS and then worry about security? Why not just buy a simple TracPhone or something similar?
Not trying to knock on anyone, just wondering.
Sent from the Far Reaches Of The Earth!

[qualcomm] (not rooted) list of apps safe to disable and how to backup stock

I have the unlocked version, am able to root, but I'd rather not break the warranty till I've used the phone for a bit and found it's ok. Is there a list of apps that are ok to disable, including both google and motorola apps? I don't know that I want to disable every package that contains the word 'motorola', or google... Plus I'm sure there are some that don't contain those words.
From what I've been reading google seems to collect all sorts of data from the phone whether you have set up an account or not. I'm trying to increase privacy on the phone in the meantime. I'm installing other open source apps in the place of the google ones (for maps, calendar, gallery, contacts, video, etc) and disabling the play store. I've noticed that I can disable a number of apps via settings-->apps or by using adb pm uninstall. I'm not sure if using pm uninstall via adb is better? It looks like it just uninstalls the app for the current user, which implies there are other users that can use the app? Is there a user other than me running behind the scenes?
If I remove the google apps can google still sync or read my contacts, calendar, app activities etc even when using different apps?
Sorry if these are dumb questions, I'm trying to understand how this works. It is interesting, but it is very different to try to understand something when you're not a programmer or don't have the tech background. I'm not terribly technical but I would like to understand what goes on. If this is the right place please let me know where to ask. I have been searching for info as well but not found answers.