Gaalxy Nexus 7 and speed

I wasn't too happy about the speed of my Galaxy Nexus lately.  The performance was pretty sluggish after I turned on the phone for a while, and it didn't seemed to have anything to do with any specific app I opened.  Eventually I turned on [Setting], look under [Apps], and found that there are some games and process that kept running at the back while I was totally not usually them, particularly for those social games from Zenga, Bloomberg, United Airline and so on.  I was pissed and had them removed, and now my phone is back the quick and responsive that I used to love when I first brought it.  Awesome.

Addicted to emulator

Ever since I found out how to use my Wiimote as a control to place console emulator games on both my Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 7, I got so addicted to playing emulator games on them that I totally ignored all other gaming on other devices like my XBox, PS3, iPad, Nintendo 3DS and so on.  The instant save and load feature combine with the Wiimote configuration is just awesome.  I just wish, though, that I have more keys to play with because playing Super Mario World causing me problem because I don't have all the keys I need, and I can't have per game based key configuration.  I can of course buy a Classic controller and thus gives me all the keys I need.  But then I will have to deal with another dangling item, which, to me, sort of defeat the casual ease of use advantage of this Wiimote Android setup.  So I decided, at least for now, simply ignoring those games that requires more keys.  After all, just finishing all the games that utilize regular key configuration will probably already takes me the entire lifetime anyway.  Why bother creating more trouble to myself?

Connected Galaxy Nexus to PC, and found that files were missing on PC File Explorer

Here's the odd situation I encountered:  I used FolderSync to sync between my android device and a Dropbox folder, which as the result sort of allows me to sync emulator .sav files between 2 android.  But that was not the main point.

The main point is that after a FolderSync session, there were some folders created on my Galaxy Nexus file structure, and I can actually see them when I use File Manager to view the files.  The problem comes when I hook up my Galaxy Nexus to a PC, and then from the PC File Explorer exploring the file system on my Galaxy Nexus, I DID NOT see those newly created files (and of course neither the files in those folders).

At the end, I solved the problem by rebooting the Galaxy Nexus, and found that after then all the files show up properly when hooking to a PC.  But still this is annoying, and I still don't understand what was going on.

Finding speed adjustable video player for Nexus 7

I was trying to find a video player that allowed me to adjust playback speed.   And the end I found DicePlayer.  It allows me to slow down the playback all the way to 50%.  It also does not have the annoying advertisement when you pause the screen.

Wiimote and Nexus 7, yeah!

I successfully set up all 5 console emulator to work with my WiiMote.  The set up is pretty straight:

• Download Wiimote Controller from Android Play Marketplace.
• AlunchWiiMote Controller, press button 1 and 2 together on your Wiimote to activate searching, and then click [Search] button on the Wiimote Controller app.  And then set the Wiimote as the current "input method".
• On the emulator:
• Make sure you turn on "Use input method" under "Other Settings"
• Go to "Input Setting" to make sure that all the keys are mapped properly.

And that's all.  Now you can have fun using WiiMote as the controller.

Also, don't forget to "quit" the "Wiimote Controller" application.  Otherwise it will continue keeping WiiMote alive, and thus killing batteries on the WiiMote.

Playing a playlist of video: BSPlayer > MoboPlayer

I tried playing a series of video from my Nexus 7.  While MoboPlayer keeps giving me error and kicks out in the middle, BSPlayer handled to playing of playlist gracefully.  It even, by default, started to play back in the loop, which was what I prefer.

Once again, ***k you RIAA

I am starting to prepare my trip to Hong Kong, and suddenly think of something: can I access my files and music on the cloud while I am in Hong Kong?  I did some research and found out the answer: file, yes, music no.

It started with me trying to upload audiobooks to my Google Music account, and then found out that I already used up by 2 account linkage restriction (imposed by Google).  My account X and account D are linked to my office M6500 machine, and so I can't use that machine to upload music to another Google Music account.  Also, Google Music Upload Manager doesn't work in VM (VMWare).

But then, it's the internet. so when there's a will, there is a way.  Someone created a Chrome app to bypass the restriction, called Music Alpha.  It seems to work ok with real music files, but have problem with audiobooks, and eventually I gave up on uploading audiobook.

But the last nail on the coffin comes from my friend in HK.  He tried and told me that he couldn't access Google Music both on desktop or on Google vote.  So, game over.

However, access, Google Drive still works fine.

So you can guess where I will upload my audiobooks to.

My lastest favorite book reader(s) and video player(s)

After spending sometime sending up Nexus 7 for my friend, I got a better understanding on the functionality of a lot of apps, and thus, my opinion of my favorite app also changed.

For instance, I used to love Aldiko eBook reader.  And then I found Cool Reader, and was impressed by features like text to voice feature.  But now my default book reader is Moon+ Reader mainly because of the ColorDict support.  It makes eBook reading much better an experience.

And for video player, I like MoboPlayer because it's free without Ad, and it supports tons of formats.  I still use BSPlayer once in a while, but only if I have problem playing the file in MoboPlayer.

Little pitfall with File Manager (HD)

I like File Manager's ability to access files on my LAN, but there was a time that I encountered problem on setup, and that's because I entered MULTIPLE LINES of user name in the edit box.  It took me a while to realize that there are a "..." sign and the bottom of the text box.  Fixed that I have no porblem accessing the LAN.

Oh that's how Google Music works on Android ...

I was frustrated for a while with Google Music app on Android (my Galaxy Nexus).  Somehow it does NOT show any music on my Google Music cloud drive.  Eventually I found out the reason after reading the help file online:I need to leave the Sync on, and make sure that Google Music is one of the item that got synced.  It only syncs the music metadata, so it shouldn't harm too much on the bandwidth.

Also I found out that most music on Andorid honor the .nomusic file/folder system: if a folder contains a file or folder with the name ".nomusic", then music or photo apps will skip that folder. This is useful if you have media that you don't want to show up on music apps, like HKReporter mp3s or audiobooks.

 The odd thing, though, is that it seems to take a while for the system the pick it up.  I even tried rebooting the device and that doesn't speed up the process.  But if I have patient, wait for a while, eventually I found out that Winamp and Google Music picked up.  In fact I just saw the HKReporter podcast folder (located inside Download) on Google Music suddenly disappear. 

Maybe I should not even keep Nexus 7

After owning Nexus 7 for more than a month, I found myself not using it much.  When I need a phone, or need to access the net on the street, I grab my Galaxy Nexus.  When I need to read manga, magazine, browse the web, play game or read news, I grab my iPad.  Maybe partly because I don't have much time to read books on bed these days, which is a situation I enjoy using Nexus 7 the most.  Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoy paying with Nexus 7.  It's just that I don't have a lot of time to play (just keep work work and work), and maintaining another device (like keep charging battery) can be troublesome.  I even start to wonder if I should continue to keep Nexus 7.

No Nexus 7 Driver for Windows 8

Still no Nexus 7 driver for Windows 8.  Sad.

Essential apps for Nexus 7

Let me say it up front: this is my essential apps for Nexus 7, which may not apply to the others.  Obvious I have my preference and I ignore things that I don't care.  But if you find this list useful, let me know, and I will share more of my experience.

I got my Nexus 7 for a few days, and I was surprised by how much I enjoy using it.  I give most of the credit to the 7 inch screen form factor, because this is what makes it different form my 4 inch screen Galaxy Nexus and my 10 inch screen New iPad.  After trying out a lot of apps, here are the ones I found essential, the list of apps that I will definitely install/re-install when I facing with a clean machine or a factory-reseted machine.


Sync File with Cloud Service:  FolderSync (Lite)
This application allows you to sync files and folders on your android device to big-name cloud services like Dropbox and Box.net.  I use it to sync up emulator save games so that I can play a game on my Galaxy Nexus, and then continue that game on my Nexus 7.

PDF Reader: QuickOffice
Surprise!  It's NOT Adobe Reader!  I found the PDF rendering speed on QuickOffice really fast, good navigation as it provides thumb nail at the bottom.  Adobe Reader is ok but just not as fast.  I also tried a few other PDF reader and still find QuickOffice the best way to read PDF.  My only complain is that I have to scroll the pages vertically.  I perfer scrolling PDF horizontally so that it feels more like reading a real magazine.  OfficeSuitePro and Aldiko support horizontal scrolling, but it wasn't smooth.  Eventually I gave up and start trainning myself to scroll vertically.

File Explorer:  ES File Explore
Fast, feature rich, allows me to move files around within the Andorid OR copy files to and from files on local LAN or even Cloud Drives like Dropbox and SkyDrive.  MUST HAVE APPLICATION.

Music Player - Amazon MP3 Player
You see I am totally biased on this since I have a lot of music stored on Amazon Cloud Drive.  And the player works great when playing mp3 files within the device (which I don't have a lot).  However, I also like pausing a music or an audiobook or a podcast, and then come back later to continue.  I found out that the best way to do it is having MULTIPLE players installs, and then install widget for each one of them, leave them on one home screen.  That way each music player holds different kinds of content, and I can choose to continue one of them based on my mood.  For instance, I use Amazon Mp3 PLayer to play music on the cloud, use MortPlayer Audiobook to play audiobook, use Winmap to play downloaded podcast, use Google Music to play music on the device .... I know, you might found this system a bit "too much".  BUt it works for me.

eBook (ePub) reader : Aldiko
Works for English and Chinese ePub ebooks, support auto bookmarking.  Such a must have to me.  Make sure that when you open a ePub file in file Explorer (like ES File Explore), choose import o Aldiko instead of just open in Aldiko, because only imported ebooks support auto bookmarking.

Comics/Mange reader: Perfect Viewer
Support .cbr, .cbz, zip, rar and other manga and comics archieve format.  Again, must have.

Photo browser: build in Photo Viewer or JustPictures!
I found the Google stock Photo Viewer great enough in most situation, but I also like have JustPicture! arrange stuff.  So, try both and see which on you like better.

Game: Nesoid, SNEsoid, GBCoid, Gensoid, GameBoid
These are simulator for classic conolses like Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo, GameBoy Color, Genesis and GameBoy Advance.  I am a sucker of emulator, and playing all these consoles on a 7 inch awesome screen is just like dream come true.  My only complain is that I couldn't find a good gamepad add on to make my emulation experience complete.  If you know of a good gamepad add on to either Nexus 7 or Galaxy Nexus, let me know.

Traditional Chinese Input: SCUT gPen Traditional Chinese input
My default Traditional Chinese handwriting input for both Nexus 7 and Galaxy Nexus.  It does the job, and I don't have much complain.

Podcast Player: DoggCatcher
Yes, a paid app, but a good and worthy one.  Otherwise, use Google Listen, but it's just more painful to maintain podcast feed in your Google Reader account.

PhotoFrame Widget on home screens: Turtle Photoframe
No nonsense setting, auto change photo file after a predefined period.  This is a nice way to beautify your home screen using whatever photos you like (photos of your spouse, kids, dogs or whatever).

Browser: Chrome
There are other choices, like Firefox, Opera, Dolphin HD .....  but I still like Chrome the most.

Note taking: Evernote
Dude, embrace cloud services.

Drawing: Sketchbook Pro
I brought it on iOS, and then got it for free at Amazon store.  LOVE the app.  If you love sketching, you need this app.

Cloud Service: Google Drive, Dropbox, Box.Net, SugarSync
INSTALL ALL for cry out cloud.  Take advantage of all the cloud storage.

Social: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Path
AGain, INSTALL ALL.  Embrace social.

Instant Messenger: IMO
This is my universal Instant Messenger, supports Yahoo IM, Google Talk, MSN IM ......  As plan BCDE and F though, also install the individuality official clients just in case.

Wireless File Transfer: AirDroid
Awesome UI, easy to use, allows you to transfer files between your desktop computer and your Android device remotely using web browser on your desktop.  Must have.

News Reader: Pulse, Flipboard, Zite
Use them as RSS Reader, or regular news reader.  They are the reason why you brought Nexus 7: to read, and read a lot.

Office file manipulation: OfficeSuite or QuickOffice
I have both (brought one, and got another one for free).  They both support cloud drives.  If you want to manipulate your Word, Excel or PowerPoint document stored on the cloud drive, you need these applications.

Online Radio: Pandora, Tunein Radio, iHeartRadio
Well, they are all free, so why not install all of them.

Battery Indicator: Battery Status
I love to know exactly how much battery I have left on my device.  Battery Staus does that by showing battery level in percentage on status  bar, which is EXACTLY what I want.

Media Player: BSPlayer
This shit playing ALL freaking FILE FORMAT: mkv, rmvb, mpg, avi .... format that the build in player cannot play.  Must have.

So that's it for now.  Hope you love your Nexus 7 as much as I do.

Nexus 7 USB Driver

In order to do development on Nexus 7, I need to USB Driver for Windows 7.  However, I went to Asus' official web site, and COULD NOT find the USB driver.  Fortunately, someone created a universal naked driver, and worked pretty darn well.  So, problem solved.

Oh, they don't work with Nexus 7?

Somehow I knew that not everything on Android market place will work on Nexus 7.  After all, fragmentation due to differences in hardware is always an issue on Android.  It's just that anytime when I encounter it, I feel a little bit sad.

So I tried to install all the good reading and browsing apps on Nexus 7, and found that both Marvel Comics and Flickr failed to install on Nexus 7.  I am sure that soon they will release a compilable version, but until then ..... sigh ...

Windows 8 RC and Android development

I was trying to continue my native Andorid development on my Windows 8 RC environment, and found that while my Samsung Galaxy Nexus could be recognized without problem (and thus can be used for development, I couldn't get the HTC Desire working, and eventually had to give up.  So glad that I have multiple devices so that I won't get stuck.

At most 2 account for the same Cloud drive type in ES File Explorer

I found a very interest situation when using ES File Explorer: everytime when I have more than 2 accounts for any given sky drive, the latest one will work, while the older 2 items will fail.  Very odd.  At the end I guess I have to live with that fact and proceed.

What? No incremental backup?

I tried SanDisk Memory Zone to do backup and found that even though the app claimed that it does incremental backup, it wasn't the case when I used it.  And the whole backup and restore mechanism isn't flexible enough to make it useful.  This is such a shame because the UI looks pretty ok.  Too bad that it just doesn't do the job it supposed to do well enough.

Why I use Box.Net to store files (instead of Google Drive)

Up until now, I tend to use Google Drive as my default cloud drive to store stuff.  But after some experiment, I found that I should switch to Box.Net for the following reasons:

• Google Drive client on Android does NOT support saving file from the cloud drive to a specific folder in my local device.
• I can't have multiple instance of Google drive in ES File Explorer and still work properly.  I mean, yes, I can set it up, but somehow for all the Google drives I set up, ONLY ONE works.  And until I found another better cloud drive explorer application, I have to rely on ES File Explorer.
• Box.net, unlike SugarSync, seems to be more reliable.  Sure there some limitation, like I can't upload more than 100 files at a time, and there's a 100Mb file size limitation.  But for the stuff I want to do, it does the job.

Android Cleanup

I took a little bit time to clean up apps that I don't want on my Galaxy Nexus phone.  Among those are the Go Launcher EX and the related apps.  I don't that they get aggressive and keep trying to take over my default setting.

Some Android thoughts...

Among all the photo frame widgets for Android, I like Turtle Photoframe widgit the most.  It's simple, does the job.  Period.

I also tried out different launcher.  At first I thought I would enjoy more launchers, but the more I tried them out, the more I found that I like the default one.  Anyway, it's always nice to have options.

Windows 8, Android Devlopment and Windows Phone Development

I was trying to prepare a laptop so that I can do development while I am on the road.  So I set of preparing the machine this morning.  I made a big mistake by first trying to use Windows 8.  It turns out that Windows 8 RC (at least on my Lenovo X60T) is such a bad environment for mobile phone development because:

• The speed of running Andorid emulator on X60T was horribly slow, and yet I tried and FAILED to install the device driver of my HTC Desire on Windows 8 enviornment.
• I have problem running Windows phone application on emulator.  The emulator got triggered, but the application was not deployed. 

So switched to Windows 7 on the same machine.  Everything went smoothly on Android development with Eclipse.  HTC USB Driver works, and so is the Samsung Galaxy Nexus USB Driver.But for Windows Phone development, I still got an error saying "Windows phone emulator is not supported on this computer because this computer does not have the required graphics processing unit configuration."  So that means I can't do PhoneGap development on Windows Phone platform on this machine.

Browse Windows Network media content on Android

I have a lot of content stored in my Microsoft Windows network, like eBooks, comics, video, music and so on.  It will be great if my Galaxy Nexus android phone can access these content without cumbersome cable connection.  Fortunately, ES File Explorer comes to the rescue.  You can use it to access your password protected Windows shared folders by using the SMB protocol.  I tried using it to play some photos and videos stored on the network and have no problem accessing them what so ever.

For my specific home network though, there's one catch: everytime after I copy some files to my server machine, the SMB protocol will fail, and none of the device that use the SMB protocol can access my shared folder files, while the Windows still have no problem accessing files from each other.  Eventually I figure out that the problem is more on my Windows Server machine, so someday I will just reinstall that machine with Windows Server 2008 R2 and hopefully that will resolve the problem once and for all.  In the meantime, I need to reboot my server machine whenever that happens.

I also have an iTune library running on my MacMini, and found that the app Remote For ITune a perfect way to control my iTunes library on my MacMini.  Pay attention, however, that there's another app called Remote For iTunes Pro - Free and that one is not the real thing.   Don't download that one on Google play market place.  It's crap.