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Hey, gals and guys!
Android Police posted a rather interesting article about a Google Chrome extension that lets you download FREEWARE APKs from the market on the computer!
To make it as clear as possible: You can ONLY download FREEWARE APKs - this extensions provides you with NO MEANS to illegally download payware APKs!
Download APKs Directly From The Web Market To Your Computer With The 'APK Downloader' Extension For Google Chrome
Courtesy of Android Police
For people using Google Chrome on Linux ...
- Copy /usr/share/applications/google-chrome.desktop to ~/.local/share/applications
- Open ~/.local/share/applications/google-chrome.desktop in gedit
- Find the "Exec=" line and change it to ...
Exec=/opt/google/chrome/google-chrome --ignore-certificate-errors %U
- Save.
- Close all instances of Chrome you may have open.
- Fire up Chrome, open the article, install the extension.
- Follow instructions to find out your Google Device ID
- Fill in the informations the extension asks you about.
- Leech the Market.
I tested it in Google Chrome on Linux and it works ... I can finally backup the APKs I frequently use without taking the trouble to transfer them over from the device.
I've always wanted to do that but the fact that the extension is against the Android Market's ToS discourages me from using it.
Chris95X8 said:
I've always wanted to do that but the fact that the extension is against the Android Market's ToS discourages me from using it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, it's not perfectly conform to the Market ToS (but then you can fetch the APKs on rooted devices out of /data/app anyway, so it just spares you the adb pull trouble). Speaking for myself I'd like to keep an archive of APKs (per device) I can conveniently batch install (adb install) at an ROM updrade (Full Wipe), and having the option to download the latest ones is convenient (this actually provides a feature I was always missing in the Market).
I hope there will be a Firefox extension for this.
Awesome, thanks b.jay
Sent from my X8 using XDA App
OMG Awesome! I'm curios how did the dev manage to make it! O_O
Bad news. Apparently this extension got officially closed by the owner. Due to too many people worrying
Sent from my X8 using XDA App
Hey there,
I am creating an app, which runs in fullscreen mode and will always run in the foreground. Now I need a good way, to show PDF Files.
An external app is not really an option here -.-
And I can not find any free (commercial) APIs, which are still supported or in a good state to work with.
The device is on Android 4.4.2. , therefore Android L PDF Renderer does not work.
The device does not have Internet Access, therefore displaying the PDF with a webview and google docs does not work.
The only APIs I found are:
https://github.com/JoanZapata/android-pdfview --> very slow, blocks stay unrendered and no option to rotate the PDF
and
https://github.com/jblough/Android-Pdf-Viewer-Library --> only runs in activity, no options to configure the viewer
Does anyone know any other api?
The goal is to let the user choose a pdf file, which will then be displayed at a public place. So I thought PDF would be the best format and could not believe, that there is no real solution to this..
nice
What about those android apps which are using the cr*p google services (aka play services)?
Is the installation easy? Seemless? Does the services need a signature ?
Do you need to patch the apks with this requirement?
All this questions are because in BlackBerry, normal android apps work fine but these using the google services are a pain in the ass.
The worst is that many android developers include this depence when the apps doesn't need it...
Sent from my Classic using XDA-Developers mobile app
On Jolla Phone and Jolla C you can install Google Play Store and all necessary services, should you rely on it. It works in most cases seamlessly. The only limitation Alien Dalvik (the Android Layer) imposes on you is the lack of device settings integration. So should an app require to be set a platformwide default like for example Divide PIM asks to be your homescreen, it won't work as Jolla shows the android apps along the sailfish apps and does not have an android specific homescreen
If you need any help, I will link you to a few easy tutorials and howto's
Very useful information.
BTW, has Google any way to stop or create future troubles in those OS such as cyanogen or Sailfish using the Google services? I don't trust much in google, every day they are more close to the Ms behaviour in the old times,
Sent from my Classic using XDA-Developers mobile app
Hi,
I posted same message in Q&A but I didn't received any answer until now.....thinking that maybe that thread is not so much read, I kindly ask you to allow me to post the question again, as a new thread, and apologize me for double posting.
"I have bought an Amazon Fire HD 10 (2017 edition) in order to have a tablet with a bigger screen (it was best option price/quality related).
I don't like Amazon OS, so I have used Toolbox 6.1 to make more Android friendly and it works fine (apps/widgets etc).
The only draw back is that Google is stuck on English language (or any other languages provided by Amazon according selection in My account).
For this reason, all my google apps are in english language (but this is not an issue) and all my google news from news feed are displayed in English and are from US (or any other Amazon language/country selected in Amazon account) -> this is my real issue.
Therefore my question is:
Is there any option to install other Google language packs on Amazon Fire HD 10 (I need Romanian), so that all displayed news are from my country and in my language?
What I have tried:
- I selected in Google apps Romanian language and Country: Romania -> no luck...everything is displayed in english and from US.
- I tried to install new language packs from Google Play using Languages - Change Language & Language Settings -> I have tried both automatic and manual options (adb related); on automatic it shows that the installation is successful, but it isn't, while on manual it give error as it is not successful.
Many thanks in advance "
Boo-Hoo said:
Hi,
I posted same message in Q&A but I didn't received any answer until now.....thinking that maybe that thread is not so much read, I kindly ask you to allow me to post the question again, as a new thread, and apologize me for double posting.
"I have bought an Amazon Fire HD 10 (2017 edition) in order to have a tablet with a bigger screen (it was best option price/quality related).
I don't like Amazon OS, so I have used Toolbox 6.1 to make more Android friendly and it works fine (apps/widgets etc).
The only draw back is that Google is stuck on English language (or any other languages provided by Amazon according selection in My account).
For this reason, all my google apps are in english language (but this is not an issue) and all my google news from news feed are displayed in English and are from US (or any other Amazon language/country selected in Amazon account) -> this is my real issue.
Therefore my question is:
Is there any option to install other Google language packs on Amazon Fire HD 10 (I need Romanian), so that all displayed news are from my country and in my language?
What I have tried:
- I selected in Google apps Romanian language and Country: Romania -> no luck...everything is displayed in english and from US.
- I tried to install new language packs from Google Play using Languages - Change Language & Language Settings -> I have tried both automatic and manual options (adb related); on automatic it shows that the installation is successful, but it isn't, while on manual it give error as it is not successful.
Many thanks in advance "
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simply stop using Google News.
I am German, live in eastern Europe and speak English. In Google News I only get news about Indonesia and Malaysia
It's one of the worst apps by Google I have ever used. Just install a local news app and be happy
It is not about Google News.. It is about the fact that Google considers the language and country of Amazon account when displaying the news....if there is any way to break the link between Google app and Amazon account and to make it only Google related, then it should work.
But idk if it is possible.
Boo-Hoo said:
Hi,
I posted same message in Q&A but I didn't received any answer until now.....thinking that maybe that thread is not so much read, I kindly ask you to allow me to post the question again, as a new thread, and apologize me for double posting.
"I have bought an Amazon Fire HD 10 (2017 edition) in order to have a tablet with a bigger screen (it was best option price/quality related).
I don't like Amazon OS, so I have used Toolbox 6.1 to make more Android friendly and it works fine (apps/widgets etc).
The only draw back is that Google is stuck on English language (or any other languages provided by Amazon according selection in My account).
For this reason, all my google apps are in english language (but this is not an issue) and all my google news from news feed are displayed in English and are from US (or any other Amazon language/country selected in Amazon account) -> this is my real issue.
Therefore my question is:
Is there any option to install other Google language packs on Amazon Fire HD 10 (I need Romanian), so that all displayed news are from my country and in my language?
What I have tried:
- I selected in Google apps Romanian language and Country: Romania -> no luck...everything is displayed in english and from US.
- I tried to install new language packs from Google Play using Languages - Change Language & Language Settings -> I have tried both automatic and manual options (adb related); on automatic it shows that the installation is successful, but it isn't, while on manual it give error as it is not successful.
Many thanks in advance "
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to use Activity Launcher from Google Play store, open Activity Launcher, scroll down to Settings, and find LocalePickerActivity.
AmznUser444 Dev said:
You need to use Activity Launcher from Google Play store, open Activity Launcher, scroll down to Settings, and find LocalePickerActivity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks alot. :victory::victory::victory:
This is exactly what I was searching for.
Now google apps are shown in my language. As for the news.....now they are from my country.
AmznUser444 Dev said:
You need to use Activity Launcher from Google Play store, open Activity Launcher, scroll down to Settings, and find LocalePickerActivity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your solution works only temporary...meaning that if you restart the tablet, it is stuck on Fire boot screen...only solution to open it again it is to wipe and revert to factory settings on recovery mode (
If you have a solution to this...please let me know
Thanks
A lot of the heavy handed de-bloating suggestions (including Fire Toolbox which I have tested & no longer use) break two things - location services, and the ability to switch the tablet's operating language. My solution was to go a little easy on the de-bloating, so that I could switch the tablet language in settings, just like any real Android device. If you freeze or delete com.amazon.kindle.otter.oobe, then you will never be able to change the tablet language. Unfortunately, not freezing it leaves the Fire Setup and Goodreads in the app drawer, so I use the paid version of Nova Prime to hide those items using it's ability to hide apps in the app drawer without having to freeze or delete them. In the "Prime" (paid) version, go to: Nova settings – App Drawer – Hide Apps (it’s near the bottom of the list). Tap to turn on the check box beside “Connect to Goodreads” & “Device Setup”. I also do not freeze, but hide Amazon Photos so I can have my own choice for lock screen image and wallpapers.
This does what I think you are talking about very nicely here in South America for the Spanish language. Once the Fire tablet is switched to Spanish (& geolocation is working) all the Google apps follow along nicely & give local results. My apologies if this is not what you are asking.
If you would like to see what I do and don't disable, I have attached well commented the batch script I run to set up Fire HD 10 tablets so they look & run like stock Android. Notepad++ shows comments (REM) in green, so use that to make it easier to read. The batch file is designed to be run from ADB on a Windows computer against a FRESH Fire HD 10 that is bootloader unlocked, rooted, and using LegitSU's FireOS 5.6.4.0
Unlock & Root: https://forum.xda-developers.com/hd8-hd10/orig-development/unlock-fire-hd-10-2017-suez-t3913639
LegitSU's modified FireOS: https://forum.xda-developers.com/hd8-hd10/development/rom-t3929969
haiti525 said:
A lot of the heavy handed de-bloating suggestions (including Fire Toolbox which I have tested & no longer use) break two things - location services, and the ability to switch the tablet's operating language. My solution was to go a little easy on the de-bloating, so that I could switch the tablet language in settings, just like any real Android device. If you freeze or delete com.amazon.kindle.otter.oobe, then you will never be able to change the tablet language. Unfortunately, not freezing it leaves the Fire Setup and Goodreads in the app drawer, so I use the paid version of Nova Prime to hide those items using it's ability to hide apps in the app drawer without having to freeze or delete them. In the "Prime" (paid) version, go to: Nova settings – App Drawer – Hide Apps (it’s near the bottom of the list). Tap to turn on the check box beside “Connect to Goodreads” & “Device Setup”. I also do not freeze, but hide Amazon Photos so I can have my own choice for lock screen image and wallpapers.
This does what I think you are talking about very nicely here in South America for the Spanish language. Once the Fire tablet is switched to Spanish (& geolocation is working) all the Google apps follow along nicely & give local results. My apologies if this is not what you are asking.
If you would like to see what I do and don't disable, I have attached well commented the batch script I run to set up Fire HD 10 tablets so they look & run like stock Android. Notepad++ shows comments (REM) in green, so use that to make it easier to read. The batch file is designed to be run from ADB on a Windows computer against a FRESH Fire HD 10 that is bootloader unlocked, rooted, and using LegitSU's FireOS 5.6.4.0
Unlock & Root: https://forum.xda-developers.com/hd8-hd10/orig-development/unlock-fire-hd-10-2017-suez-t3913639
LegitSU's modified FireOS: https://forum.xda-developers.com/hd8-hd10/development/rom-t3929969
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you.
I didn't tried your solution yet...Atm I'm looking for simplier solutions (if any)....Don't wanna mess my tablet with rooting procedure
Boo-Hoo said:
Thank you.
I didn't tried your solution yet...Atm I'm looking for simplier solutions (if any)....Don't wanna mess my tablet with rooting procedure
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not trying to change your mind, but I did want to say that before k4y0z created his excellent bootloader unlocking solution in March 2019, I did try a lot of other stuff (I had the tab for about a year before that), and I was never satisfied with the tablet, mainly because something was always broken / breaking (in a software sense). But since I did this mod, I consider it the best $100 I've ever spent on a technology device. I wish you the best of luck in your search for your best solution, obviously we all have different needs & desires, and it was not my intention to suggest that my way is the best or only way.
My Fire HD 10 2017 is mostly not used for above mentioned reason.
It is a long time since my post.
Anyone found out a way to install additional language packs ?
Thank You in advance
Boo-Hoo said:
My Fire HD 10 2017 is mostly not used for above mentioned reason.
It is a long time since my post.
Anyone found out a way to install additional language packs ?
Thank You in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recently let my mother in law use a Fire Tablet whilst visiting us, and to my surprise, it seems that Amazon doesn't cater for languages in countries they do not have a foothold, thus Romania is not on their list, neither are most of the other Eastern European countries, which suck. If anyone have found a way in doing so, please let us know, would be interesting to find out how. Some of the apps installed can have language selected, such as the google keyboard, facebook, opera etc, but some don't.
I'm still trying to work up a way to get a decent TTS voice engine on the NST, but what I have come up with so far may be of some use for Glow4 users who wish to try out TTS in reader applications with the Bluetooth capability.
First, SVOX, which was my primary target (because the voices are many and really, really good) looks hopeless. The engine installs OK and works all the way down to Android 1.6, but the voices--even the free "trials"--require PlayStore access to complete installation and SVOX is long gone from the PlayStore, so the whole thing just hangs. I've tried various dubious schemes provided by some users, including the full set of voice data, but they don't work because the app can't be made to see that the data is already present. At least that's my experience.
But Ivona! Also gone from the PlayStore, also works down to at least Android 2.1, and I just tried it on KitKat and it works very well there.
Here is a link to what is called a "complete" collection of voices as well as the engine: https://www.reddit.com/r/tasker/comments/dnspl3/tts_ivona_tts_engine_collection_all_voices/. Follow the directions for installation.
Alas, there are too few voices, and both English voices are female. I have a preference for male readers (please don't flame me...I have heard some very well-read audiobooks done by women) which is why I initially struggled with SVOX. That said, the Kendra voice is light-years ahead of the default Pico TTS voice or even some of the early Google TTS voices.
On KitKat, the change in engines is easy. Go to your Accessibiliy settings (well, if this is non-existent on a Glow4, someone will have to be creative...) and select Ivona, then configure the voice. This should result in a system-wide change. To test, I installed AlReader and opened a book. When I opted for TTS, Kendra started right up.
Alas, for the NST/G the story does not yet have a happy ending. The tts-extended service app does allow you to "change" the default engine, setup the default voice, configure it, etc. BUT, the vast majority of apps ignore these settings and use the Pico TTS engine and the dreadful voices included with that. According to the SVOX FAQ site:
Several apps support changing voices on Android 2.1: Talk To Me Classic, PDF to Speech, Smarter Alarm, Google Translate, and others. These apps use the Extended TTS API. Apps that don’t support the Extended TTS API, such as Google Navigation, only let you change the voice on Android 2.2 and later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I take it from that there must be magic code which is not present in, for example, AlReader, which would allow it to use the Ivona voice. Apparently this problem went away with Android 2.2. Naturally.
So...I'm still poking around for a work-around.
Edit: Eureka! See post #2 below!
[NST/G] AlReader speaks!
I have finally managed to modify AlReader 1.77 to work with the Extended TTS API. This allows the settings app to select the default voice engine and voice, rather than simply defaulting to Pico TTS (which is what otherwise happens in Android 2.1). Having said that, I can't claim it's always pretty. It seems like the much more complex voice data puts a bit of a strain on the NST/G. Once it gets up a head of steam, it's not bad, but it is a little slow to start. It "may" help to play a section of a book using Pico or even espeak (see below) and then exit the reader, go back to the settings app and reselect the voice engine for one of the Ivona voices. I'm not quite sure yet, still playing around. Curious? There's a bit of work to do. Here's how:
1. Install svox and espeak voice data to your sdcard. Here is a direct link to the Eyes Free project code repository: https://storage.googleapis.com/goog...gle.com/eyes-free/voicedata-(espeak+svox).zip.
Unzip the file and copy the two folders of voice data to your sdcard. Without these files present, the next step will hang because it tries to download this data from the Android Market.
2. Install the TTS Service Extended app from the Eyes Free Project repository. Here's the link: https://storage.googleapis.com/goog.../code.google.com/eyes-free/tts_3.1_market.apk. This is essentially an Accessibility Settings app for TTS which includes a pre-Google Voice api to enable voice engine selection for apps that use the api. It also installs the espeak voice engine (worse than Pico, really).
If you run the TTS Service Extended app you will find the espeak voice engine as an option (on the second screen of settings). Pico is the default.
3. Download and install the Ivona voice engine and any voices you want as described in the first post. I have tried both Kendra and Amy. Localization doesn't seem to be an issue for this business, so you can select UK English even if your device is localized for the US. Or, there are a few other English voice options (Welsh, Australian). Knock yourself out!
4. Open the TTS Service Extended app and go to the end where you can select the Ivona voice engine, then configure the voice. Back on the first screen you can set the default engine (Ivona) and select the Language to use. Don't check the box to have this app override the settings of whatever app is using the TTS service.
5. Install the modified AlReader 1.77 (attached below). If you currently use AlReader, you will lose all your settings unless there is a way to back them up and even then they might not transfer since this modified app has a new signature. Not sure about that. You cannot install this modified version over your current version, but must uninstall the old version first. Caveat emptor, blah-blah-blah.
I never did find a way to get the TTS option into the slider menu system on AlReader, so I ended up assigning it to a tap on the header. But you can also use one of the 9 action tap zones to assign a spot to TTS.
I'd reboot. If you have some trouble initially, try changing the default engine back to Pico or even espeak, let it read a bit and then go back to Ivona. That may sort it. In the end, there may be a buffering issue because of the size of the Ivona language files. It's a miracle that I actually figured out how to do this by examining the smali files of the decompiled app and comparing them with the smali files of the TTS Service Extended app. Some pattern matching and lucky guesses eventually bore fruit.
I'm working on the FBReader TTS plugin next. It seems like it should be simpler, but it's not
Hi, I installed Ivona succesfully but today Amy stopped working...I saw a message on the app saying "This is not downloaded from Play Store" French is still working..i tried everything (install, reinstall, restart...) so I tried to follow your instructions to install the tts extended, but I don't find where to extract the first two folders...I would appreciate if you make it clear, Amy was amazing...
Thanks!
josh90sp said:
Hi, I installed Ivona succesfully but today Amy stopped working...I saw a message on the app saying "This is not downloaded from Play Store" French is still working..i tried everything (install, reinstall, restart...) so I tried to follow your instructions to install the tts extended, but I don't find where to extract the first two folders...I would appreciate if you make it clear, Amy was amazing...
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just so I am clear before I start in on this, are you talking about the NST? It sounds like you did not at first have the TTS Extended app installed. I don't see how the Ivona voices could work at all without that on the NST.
I was exprimenting with responsivevoice.org - with tablet other than nook
Idea was to send text to his server as a HTML with settings and get it back as an audio stream.
Now they need to create an account to get access - but using it will be free.
Ivona
"Just so I am clear before I start in on this, are you talking about the NST? It sounds like you did not at first have the TTS Extended app installed. I don't see how the Ivona voices could work at all without that on the NST"
Yes, I downloaded the ivona apk(one for each language) and then installed also the Ivona Text-to-Speech HQ apk. After, i placed the audio folder into Android/obb/ and opened the different applications, and signed the learning agreement.
So i could choose the Ivona engine from Settings menu and it worked, I was using Moon Reader and I used it for several days until yesterday, when the unpleasant Samsung english voice surprised me.
Since then, I am only allowd to listen in french voice, that's how I arrived here. I got the apk you were talking about and the two folders but I dont know where to put them in order to get the app to work. It says: downloading from play store and then it closes.
Thanks for your reply!
josh90sp said:
Yes, I downloaded the ivona apk(one for each language) and then installed also the Ivona Text-to-Speech HQ apk. After, i placed the audio folder into Android/obb/ and opened the different applications, and signed the learning agreement.
So i could choose the Ivona engine from Settings menu and it worked, I was using Moon Reader and I used it for several days until yesterday, when the unpleasant Samsung english voice surprised me.
Since then, I am only allowd to listen in french voice, that's how I arrived here. I got the apk you were talking about and the two folders but I dont know where to put them in order to get the app to work. It says: downloading from play store and then it closes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cannot reproduce what you are describing. I don't understand your comment about the "Samsung" voice. On the Nook Simple Touch there are only the Pico TTS voices possible (and only if you install the voice data--svox at a minimum). The only way to get anything else is to install the TTS Extended settings app and find (or create) an application that supports this interim step toward Google TTS (which arrived with Android 2.2). That's what I describe in the second post. First the svox voices must be installed. Then the TTS Extended app. Then the Ivona engine app is installed. Then the Ivona voice data is copied into the Android obb folder as described.
After this, the Ivona voice engine is selected in the TTS Extended app and a particular voice selected. Now, I have only used this a little and not over a period of several days, so maybe there is a trigger somewhere based on time, but my understanding of these voices is that even when available on the Market, they were free, so I'm not sure why there would be a time limit.
My NSTG where I have this installed does have rudimentary GApps. I'm not sure if that matters.
nmyshkin said:
I cannot reproduce what you are describing. I don't understand your comment about the "Samsung" voice. On the Nook Simple Touch there are only the Pico TTS voices possible (and only if you install the voice data--svox at a minimum). The only way to get anything else is to install the TTS Extended settings app and find (or create) an application that supports this interim step toward Google TTS (which arrived with Android 2.2). That's what I describe in the second post. First the svox voices must be installed. Then the TTS Extended app. Then the Ivona engine app is installed. Then the Ivona voice data is copied into the Android obb folder as described.
After this, the Ivona voice engine is selected in the TTS Extended app and a particular voice selected. Now, I have only used this a little and not over a period of several days, so maybe there is a trigger somewhere based on time, but my understanding of these voices is that even when available on the Market, they were free, so I'm not sure why there would be a time limit.
My NSTG where I have this installed does have rudimentary GApps. I'm not sure if that matters.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply. Sorry if I wasn't clear, and I think I jumped into the wrong post. I am currently using a smartphone, I was looking for any help for my problem.
I will try to reset the phone because I was very happy with those voices.
Thanks again!