Database Users

just got a vibrant....oh my where to start! :)

Got a Vibrant yesterday to "try out" the android world for the first time. Must say I'm impressed by the phones performance out of the box even with all the bloatware and crap on it. I've been a windows mobile guy for quite some time now, so the people that know both platforms well, know they are two completely different monsters. My two options were the hd2 (since i know the WM world pretty well) or learn a whole new platform with the vibrant.
I like it so far, but also miss some of the things from WM (or rather miss knowing my phone well). I guess i just have to start from zero and get acquainted with it first.
Any suggestions on getting the bare down scoop of the platform and such as far as learning it from the ground up? The sticky explains how to do these things, but I need something more basic...I just wanna become proficient in the android world as I am in the WM world starting from zero.

Its hard to say where to start, the best thing about android is the customization. Playing with phone is the only way you are gonna learn, I have been an android owner since day one and am still learning new things everyday. If there is something I don't know I simply come here since this is the best android community on the web. Hope you enjoy IMO the best android phone on the market.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Yeah, really not that much to help with...everything seems pretty intuitive to me. When in doubt, long press or press menu.

My first questions were always like:
Sweet I have Avatar on here, what else Can I put on?
Oh damn, there's only a 2GB Card, and if I remove it, I lose Avatar.
WTF is amazon kindle for? I don't need this? How can I remove Bloats?
That's where I started off, you're most likely going to want to root it. Search the forums around. There's some great stickies to follow by and just go with that.
Can't wait for CM? Learn to make your own APP to have fun with ;p

phragg said:
My first questions were always like:
Sweet I have Avatar on here, what else Can I put on?
Oh damn, there's only a 2GB Card, and if I remove it, I lose Avatar.
WTF is amazon kindle for? I don't need this? How can I remove Bloats?
That's where I started off, you're most likely going to want to root it. Search the forums around. There's some great stickies to follow by and just go with that.
Can't wait for CM? Learn to make your own APP to have fun with ;p
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, kindle isn't that bad considering you can get a ton of free books for it.
Sent from my Galaxy S using the XDA App

phragg said:
My first questions were always like:
Sweet I have Avatar on here, what else Can I put on?
Oh damn, there's only a 2GB Card, and if I remove it, I lose Avatar.
WTF is amazon kindle for? I don't need this? How can I remove Bloats?
That's where I started off, you're most likely going to want to root it. Search the forums around. There's some great stickies to follow by and just go with that.
Can't wait for CM? Learn to make your own APP to have fun with ;p
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you could always copy Avatar onto a larger card and then go wild! That's what I did, it will play lots of 720p mkv's that you might have laying around no problem!

Long press and menu are your friends. Other than that look here on xda and use the search function. The stickies typically have the most current info.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

phragg said:
My first questions were always like:
Sweet I have Avatar on here, what else Can I put on?
Oh damn, there's only a 2GB Card, and if I remove it, I lose Avatar.
WTF is amazon kindle for? I don't need this? How can I remove Bloats?
That's where I started off, you're most likely going to want to root it. Search the forums around. There's some great stickies to follow by and just go with that.
Can't wait for CM? Learn to make your own APP to have fun with ;p
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what is CM?
I am a programmer by profession. Maybe I could look into the world of android programming too while im at it

phragg said:
My first questions were always like:
Sweet I have Avatar on here, what else Can I put on?
Oh damn, there's only a 2GB Card, and if I remove it, I lose Avatar.
WTF is amazon kindle for? I don't need this? How can I remove Bloats?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't have those questions. I mean the first thing i did was move avatar to my 16gb msdhc into it and go wild with my music, photo, and videos...which I'm amazed how good of sound/video quality i get on this.
I thought more of like where do how do I view flash websites, how do i stream live .pls live music streams, or smaller things like hiding apps from the notification area at the top left when they are running, or resizing certain widgets, removing some of the applications that came with the phone from t mobile, mapping buttons to do different things based on holding them down or tapping a certain amount of times, things like that that aren't explained in the user manual. Or even like right now, I'm trying to make a call and it says: "Call not sent"...well? whyyyyyyyyy? so many questions!
I don't know, I guess all this is just part of the familiarization process and will sooner or later find them out whether by experience or hunting down resources why certain behaviors and actions happen.

speoples20 said:
Long press and menu are your friends. Other than that look here on xda and use the search function. The stickies typically have the most current info.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what is long press?

^ you should read the sticky. A lot of the things you mentioned, are addressed in the sticky.
Also, flash is only on Android 2.2, which we do not have yet.

achild said:
Got a Vibrant yesterday to "try out" the android world for the first time. Must say I'm impressed by the phones performance out of the box even with all the bloatware and crap on it. I've been a windows mobile guy for quite some time now, so the people that know both platforms well, know they are two completely different monsters. My two options were the hd2 (since i know the WM world pretty well) or learn a whole new platform with the vibrant.
I like it so far, but also miss some of the things from WM (or rather miss knowing my phone well). I guess i just have to start from zero and get acquainted with it first.
Any suggestions on getting the bare down scoop of the platform and such as far as learning it from the ground up? The sticky explains how to do these things, but I need something more basic...I just wanna become proficient in the android world as I am in the WM world starting from zero.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congrats on your new phone. Let us know how your GPS works, since that seems to be a hot issue. you can test using google maps, google navigation and GPS Test downloadable from the Android Market.

SamsungGalaxySVibrant said:
Congrats on your new phone. Let us know how your GPS works, since that seems to be a hot issue. you can test using google maps, google navigation and GPS Test downloadable from the Android Market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha that seems to be a problem with any gps enabled phone nowadays. Happened with the fuze and after months and months of tweaking and tweaking we got a hang of it. I tried the GPS yesterday on my way home from work yesterday and did not get a lock, i went ahead and downloaded gps test today to see if that will unlock it before using the gps software. We shall see! Thanks for the heads up tho!
edit: I guess gps test on android works differently than on WM. On WM it scans through your COM ports and gets a fix for you to then use your gps navigation software.

achild said:
what is CM?
I am a programmer by profession. Maybe I could look into the world of android programming too while im at it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
please do!
we could always use more programmers.

achild said:
what is long press?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Instead of tapping on something you hold your finger down for a few seconds. A menu will pop up giving you options like copy and paste.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

If your phone won't play a video format, try RockPlayer
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

I would recommend the market as the first place to go. Just start searching and downloading apps and play with your phone. You'll get accustomed to it very quickly!

Droidicus said:
I would recommend the market as the first place to go. Just start searching and downloading apps and pay with your phone. You'll get accustomed to it very quickly!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah thats what ive been doing. Thats another thing that amazes me about android, soooo many apps, and they are all centralized into one easy, convenient location. In wm you would find a few in the marketplace, and the rest u had to hunt down either on the forum or the web. This is slowly growing on me
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Coming from WM myself, (and just recently and very reticently turned over my beloved Wizard to my mom) the fun and unfun I have with Android:
Apps are so dratted cheap. Have at it.
Cloud connectivity. I use Picasa all the time now. It took me a while to get used to Google contacts, especially first name alphabetization, but I like it now.
You might want to look at subscribing to CompanionLink. It reliably syncs everything Outlook with your Google account (thus your phone).
Almost nothing was built into Android 1.0. Not much was added through 1.5. Some stuff has been added since, like Facebook sync, but custom ROMs don't add stuff. There's an app for everything. There has to be.
The app drawer is a hassle. I use FolderOrganizer (and ADW Launcher) to quell my addiction to organization beyond alphabetical.
It's fun to watch a few things catch up with WinMo and hear all the Android users brag about how great it is. Like app-specific auto-rotation. There's an app for it out now, but it actually costs something you'll think about, and it eats a hunk of RAM. They're just getting into animated GIFs. Lists and their apps aren't anywhere near ListPro, but they almost all have some way to sync to the cloud.
Office documents created on a PC don't always work with the Office apps that are out there. Don't bother with DocumentsToGo, but Sheadspreet is good (you have to convert first) and I'm trying OfficeSuite, and it seems the best. 30-day trial, $15. It's still not WinMo, though.
For those things you don't sync with the cloud, you can't just throw stuff in your My Documents Folder and rely on that backup. DropBox is a good app/service, and GoogleDocs is your friend. Most apps back up thier specific data to your SD, but on this phone, it's on the internal SD. You have to manually handle your backups, or do Nandroid backups (another worthwhile Google).
You have to install an app to install apps not from Market. Instead of exes their apks.
There's no Total Commander. I like Root Explorer. Astro is feature-filled. There are a million file explorers, and every one of them will have its advocates.
Flashing ROMs is tons easier, but you have to root first.
The Android world moves a lot faster. If you're off the forums for a week you'll feel like you've been in a coma for months. On the flip side, if you're waiting for something to get developed, waiting a few days feel like eternity.
Android devs work harder for a lot less, or no money; it's truly inspiring.
Before you go buying the first app that does what you want, check Market for more that do the same thing. I've found that there's a free alternative to almost everything. The paid versions/apps are more luxurious in one way or another, usually, but a little research can save you a bunch of regret.
Widgets suck RAM. Before you know it you've got 25 and you're wondering why your Home screen is lagging. Phones are finite. Even these.
CM is CyanogenMod. Google it, it's worth it. They started on XDA and it got out of control, so they have their own site now, although the threads still hanging on XDA re CM are a much more interesting read. It seems to be the most popular set of ROMS for a variety of devices. I follow and flash them (the ROMs, that is. I dont want the devs to hate me).
Double entendres are rampant. It's Google.
Once you get your apps organized, you'll be surprised at how smoothly your phone useage goes. Frankly, it's just more fun, and much cheaper, to play with.

SamsungGalaxySVibrant said:
Congrats on your new phone. Let us know how your GPS works, since that seems to be a hot issue. you can test using google maps, google navigation and GPS Test downloadable from the Android Market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tested it. Google maps got no lock. However, gps test gave me 3 satellites, when I held it in front, under the windshiels it jumped to five satellites, but it wasn't enough for google maps to lock or get my location.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

[Q] first smart phone. very lost

1)whats the best rom?
2)how do i get all this bing crap off here and make this look like an android phone and not an iphone
3)root?
4)video game roms? SNES? PS1 or two? quake or similar games?
5) interesting thing happened when i first used the phone right after i bought it. i went to google and searched a store. clicked on the map. after 15 seconds, boom, it would just keep returning to applications tab. as if you hit the return led button. did it like 15 times. went home shut it down and turned it back on and it stopped doing it. should i be concerned?

fupamobile said:
1)whats the best rom?
2)how do i get all this bing crap off here and make this look like an android phone and not an iphone
3)root?
4)video game roms? SNES? PS1 or two? quake or similar games?
5) interesting thing happened when i first used the phone right after i bought it. i went to google and searched a store. clicked on the map. after 15 seconds, boom, it would just keep returning to applications tab. as if you hit the return led button. did it like 15 times. went home shut it down and turned it back on and it stopped doing it. should i be concerned?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Try them until you find one you like.
2. Google.
3. Allows you to do awesome things. Also google.
4. Snesoid, Nesoid, Psx4droid.
5. If it doesn't do it again don't worry about it.

gardndj said:
1. Try them until you find one you like.
2. Google.
3. Allows you to do awesome things. Also google.
4. Snesoid, Nesoid, Psx4droid.
5. If it doesn't do it again don't worry about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanx dude!!

Don't root until you are familiar with the phone
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

bomber889 said:
Don't root until you are familiar with the phone
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second that. Learn everything you can before rooting. Unlike your dumbphones you can permanently break your smartphone if you're not careful with root access. Rooting is like jailbreaking an iphone, it voids your warranty and good luck getting support from big red afterwards.
If you just want to change the look of the interface, try a new launcher from the market. Launcherpro and adw are great places to start.

I agree with the idea of not rooting without proper knowledge, however if u want to save a little time u can use z4 root in the market
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

theraptscallion said:
I second that. Learn everything you can before rooting. Unlike your dumbphones you can permanently break your smartphone if you're not careful with root access. Rooting is like jailbreaking an iphone, it voids your warranty and good luck getting support from big red afterwards.
If you just want to change the look of the interface, try a new launcher from the market. Launcherpro and adw are great places to start.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There have been several people that have had there phones replaced after rooting. The same was said about flashing winmo phones and look at how many touch pros were replaced. It really isn't an issue and I don't know of anyone that was turned down from replacing there phone in the years I was a tp user.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

Mylt1 said:
There have been several people that have had there phones replaced after rooting. The same was said about flashing winmo phones and look at how many touch pros were replaced. It really isn't an issue and I don't know of anyone that was turned down from replacing there phone in the years I was a tp user.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ya. i already rooted the phone. i think. i followed this guide here: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/sa...ent/79811-newbie-guide-rooting-fascinate.html
everything seemed to go fine. but i dont know how to check if the root was successful.
i also got clockworkmod rom manager but i am having trouble getting it to work like it says here:http://www.androidpolice.com/2010/0...nandroid-backup-and-clockworkmod-rom-manager/
i get stuck at the backup faze. im going to have to make a new thread about it.

Unfortunately you can't just install ROM Manager and have CWM magically be there. You have to flash CWM thru Odin, which you can find all the instructions in the development forum

Best way ro go from Cherryblur back to Beta4

Can I just reinstall from zip the 2.3.4 beta 4 if I'm not liking cherryblur?

Yep.. I've flipped back and forth several times. Just make sure you are using CWM to flash.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App

dont forget to wipe everything... just saying as flash-aholic

xepter said:
dont forget to wipe everything... just saying as flash-aholic
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wipe before and after especially since I soft bricked..... I share your pain. LOL Switched back from CherryBlur to Beta 4. For some reason the new market only allows me to download larger files on WiFi. The other issue was battery drain by the minute which I read there was a fix for. I'm happy right now, got everything all setup the way I like it. Kudos to all who help around here. I am feeling like less of a NooB LOL.

Phoneguy589 said:
I wipe before and after especially since I soft bricked..... I share your pain. LOL Switched back from CherryBlur to Beta 4. For some reason the new market only allows me to download larger files on WiFi. The other issue was battery drain by the minute which I read there was a fix for. I'm happy right now, got everything all setup the way I like it. Kudos to all who help around here. I am feeling like less of a NooB LOL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you set up the Data control thing at the beginning of setup? I Clicked the checkbox on that while hurrying through and then realized wifi was needed for the Market...

Ummm does this worry anyone else?

I've been up late tonight, and just so happened to stumble across this article over at AndroidPolice. Figured it might interest some people here since it includes our phone.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/1...e-numbers-gps-sms-emails-addresses-much-more/
Here's the thing, though. They recommend uninstalling the offending apk immediately, which I tried.....Unfortunately that gives me repeated force closes over and over and over while the system tries to run it, to the point where I had to restore to a backup. So what do we do about this?
UPDATE: You can remove HTCloggers.apk...all you have to do is restart afterwards.

Evo4gLI said:
I've been up late tonight, and just so happened to stumble across this article over at AndroidPolice. Figured it might interest some people here since it includes our phone.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/1...e-numbers-gps-sms-emails-addresses-much-more/
Here's the thing, though. They recommend uninstalling the offending apk immediately, which I tried.....Unfortunately that gives me repeated force closes over and over and over while the system tries to run it, to the point where I had to restore to a backup. So what do we do about this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes and no.
Yes because so many users run Sense.
No because I run AOSP.
Frankly, I wonder how many other serious flaws there are.
I can name several apps that want their hands on permissions they have no business in [Facebook for one]

Its like 1984 for sure. There's an article in the new section here at xda that talks about some of the other vulnerabilities as well.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium

Thanks for sharing. Another reason why we root our phones
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App

Many devs remove these programs and such to remove ciq. I can't find the thread right now, but it reads just about everything. It's so deeply imbedded into the framework.
It reads every button you press on your keyboard.
Every text you send and receive.
Every app you use and download.
The pages you browse on using the internet browser.
It even goes as far to read any spot on your screen that you touch.
This is spyware to the extreme. Sprint and HTC will say its not "spyware" and say its used only for marketing to determine how phones are being used to further develop for the current trends in smartphones. It's very possible they could steal personal info with this. Is it currently happening? Uhh...probably not, but there will still be a lot of paranoia about it.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Sounds like a really good reason to stay with AOSP to me...

very True Haha
Sent from my GT-I5800 using XDA App

Some of us haven't forgotten the XCP rootkit that was on some Sony BMG titles in 2005... hope HTC doesnt suffer a similar demise like Sony eventually has of late.

This has been removed from MikG.

This is exactly why I'm AOSP. (that and sub-100MB ROM files)

I read the article too- (I have an Androidpolice/Android Central) feed in my Pulse reader....
I already knew CIQ and such were slimy embedded spyware...but the Treve app- spotted stuff I hadnt deleted already... Sprint sent me a "letter" about bandwidth usage and We-KNOW-what-Your-Doing" ----
I'm not amused by HTC/Sprint's collusion... leaving our bottoms out there in the cold for anyone to do whatever with.....
I bet even money my phones been cloned... sometimes I can't use it for calls .. recently -and I'd not had a single missed call or problem in a year.
I'm not a happy camper.. worried about my credit card #'s and really really am annoyed by HTC sliming us this way...
to the tune- that it'll be an icey cold day in hell before I'd consider buying another HTC phone for anyone in my family- (my family has 3 Evo 4g)...
We are not amused.....

HipKat said:
Sounds like a really good reason to stay with AOSP to me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AMEN

it appears to me that this file has already been removed from MikFroyo. At least, I can't find it...

BTW, you can just remove it using TIbackup, but you'll have to restart to get rid of the repeated force closes. Simple fix, and I've done the same for CarrierIQ as well.

It was removed from sprint lovers rom as well... I couldnt find it at least

I removed HtcLoggers.apk from mine and after rebooting (force close loop) it seems to be working fine. However, is there an old log file still on the phone that can be read by some Spyware app that needs to be removed or does all this data need to come from the logger app itself? If there still is a log, I'm sure it has enough info to still steal my ESN and other stuff.

Wow! Glad I run custom ROMS

[Q] Where is the GB OTA update stored?

So I've searched and everyone seems to say that the OTA updates are stored in the cache folder. I've looked there and don't see it (there's nothing at all in the cache folder).
I've been on Froyo with Syndicate Frozen ROM and am quite happy with things as they are. But my phone decided to automatically download the new update and it's been bugging me about installing it.
I've since blocked the SystemUpdate.apk and it doesn't bother me every 15 minutes like it used to, but when I reboot the phone it still tells me that it's been downloaded and is ready to install.
I don't suppose it's that big of a deal to just disregard the message on the rare occasion of a reboot, but still.. I'd like to delete the file from wherever it's been stored so it never bothers me about it again.
I'm using Adao File Manager if it matters. I'll try root explorer if I have to, but just don't like needlessly installing apps.
Thanks =)

Sooo, you don't like gingerbread?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

Some of us are waiting for gingerbread roms to work the kinks out. I haven't seen one that makes me feel like I need to flash it yet.

sephiroth009 said:
Some of us are waiting for gingerbread roms to work the kinks out. I haven't seen one that makes me feel like I need to flash it yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought I was the only one that felt this way! Lol
Yeah I have the same problem - how did you block systemupdate.apk ?

xopher.hunter said:
Sooo, you don't like gingerbread?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like my custom ROM and the way things are set up now. Until I can, with little effort, upgrade to gingerbread while also keeping everything the same-- no, I don't like gingerbread. =)
sephiroth009 said:
Some of us are waiting for gingerbread roms to work the kinks out. I haven't seen one that makes me feel like I need to flash it yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
altimuh said:
I thought I was the only one that felt this way! Lol
Yeah I have the same problem - how did you block systemupdate.apk ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used Gemini App Manager (it's free in the market). You have to enable USB debugging for a while while you do this. Download it, open it, menu>Expert Mode, scroll down to system update, long press, block app.
You can do something similar with Titanium if you have it, but Gemini is free in the market.
Like I said, it hasn't been bugging me every 15 minutes like it used to, so this is decent solution for the time being, but every time I restart it bugs me about it again. I'd prefer to delete it so I don't have to worry about accidentally pressing okay.

I haven't actually blocked/frozen it yet, it takes me half a second to hit install later but I'm thinking about freezing it. And I get the feeling there may be a gb rom worth flashing in a few days (keeping an eye on you starsky for that theme =P).
EDIT: oh I heard the ota may also be in data/cache
EDIT 2.0: my update is sitting right in /cache

Apparently Adeo doesn't see the update. I installed Root Explorer, found and removed the update. Still pops up on every reboot. Very annoying. =\
I'm tempted to make a nandroid backup and press install just to see what happens.