tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825488760519560262024-11-06T04:04:41.851+01:00root your phone and tell android that you're the bossUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger234120tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-6902836600705993542016-08-14T23:56:00.000+02:002016-08-15T00:22:39.517+02:00

A major shortcoming of android is that you need to root your phone or tablet to use a firewall. Once rooted, there are a few firewalls to choose from, but one is way better than the rest: AfWall+ by ukpriya. It keeps apps off WiFi, mobile data, your LAN, or all of them. Better yet, you can allow apps to go online in your own country, but block 'em when you're in a place where international

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-78927662506080159132016-07-28T22:32:00.000+02:002016-08-07T23:06:14.805+02:00

History lesson: this blog exists because way back when Symbian was still alive the only official way to update Nokia Maps was with the oversized, Windows-only piece of crapware called Nokia Map Loader. So I made a list of links to download map updates directly on your phone without using a PC or Nokia's horrible map update app. Despite Nokia's attempts to get my site offline, it's still alive

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-27555879689879817402015-11-28T19:22:00.000+01:002015-12-12T21:39:09.794+01:00

QuickPic sold its soul to the devil QuickPic used to be a great gallery app. Fast, simple, no-nonsense, just your pics and movies. But then Cheetah Mobile took over. This mob with the business ethics of an investment banking corporation guises as a bunch of different companies, all with the word "Cheetah" in them. It litters the Play Store with questionable apps. Whether file manager or

Djibohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10450962033879830917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-83496365371443981792014-10-02T23:10:00.000+02:002014-10-02T23:28:48.306+02:00

Xposed makes your Android yours Custom ROMs? Nice, but with the Xposed framework you can turn any stock ROM into your own personal custom version. It has countless modules that let you customise just about everything you want to tweak, and more. Of course your phone or tablet needs to be rooted. It also needs Android 4+ (that means Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, KitKat, or newer), but there is

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-78977496471281422412014-10-01T23:26:00.000+02:002014-10-02T17:23:14.091+02:00

Un-expire Here Beta Nokia Here Maps isn't officially released yet, but the leaked beta test version is already the best free offline navigation app for Android. Why? Check this review here. Unfortunately the leaked beta test version had a time bomb in it. Starting the 1st of October, it pops up a very annoying message: "this version has expired." But you can un-expire it! Method 1 Tell

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-30471702786423794702014-09-30T17:44:00.000+02:002014-10-02T17:01:19.528+02:00

Nokia Maps is Here Does anyone still remember Symbian? One of its great features was Nokia Maps, a great free offline navigation app that Android never managed to copy. It's also the reason this blog exists, because it all started as a collection of links to offline Nokia Maps files for those without Nokia Map Loader. Android didn't have a good free offline navigation app yet. Sure, there are

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-23421583652722441622014-08-04T21:37:00.001+02:002014-08-05T15:11:21.184+02:00

Google Maps from way back then Google updates its Maps app every once in a while, adding new features, upgrading existing functionality, and squashing the occasional bug. But I haven't updated my copy of Google Maps for Android for over a year. Not on my phone, not on my tablet. Here's why: Maps without paying for data roaming A great feature of an ancient Google Maps update was the ability

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-64091233011831007082014-06-21T12:53:00.000+02:002014-06-22T18:01:57.544+02:00

5PA1N The Dutch kicked Spain in the cojones, Costa Rica surpised everyone, and the English wish they were never born. The 2014 World Cup couldn't have had a better start. And there's more to come. Lots more. But what if you're trapped at work, stuck on the beach, locked in a train, or anywhere else with no tv in sight? Then you pull out your phone or tablet and watch the games on your

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-89787287929234046972014-06-03T23:27:00.000+02:002014-08-05T16:25:41.248+02:00

The Google Play Store changed a bit last week. Not just the app, but the mobile website too. Some of these changes are good, some are incredibly stupid. Whoever is responsible for "simplifying" the app permissions should be forced to eat a dozen iPhones. Play Store mobile website Opening the Play Store in your mobile web browser used to be horrible. You'd get the desktop layout, an overload of

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-13798311470899837052014-04-29T22:55:00.000+02:002015-12-12T21:59:09.458+01:00

If your phone is fairy recent (and it's not an iPhone), there's a good chance that it has a Near Field Communication chip. Your Android tablet probably has one too. But is it good for anything else than reading public transport chipcards? Things to scan that you already have Your passport probably has an RFID chip in it. And your ATM card, your credit card, your drivers license. Grab NFC

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-90223479567367969322014-04-02T18:24:00.000+02:002014-04-04T00:28:19.090+02:00

Your Android phone or tablet came with so many preloaded apps that you only get to use half of the advertised memory. And most of the junk starts up all by itself as soon as you think about looking at your phone. If your Android is rooted, it's time to clean up the junk. And not only if you run a stock ROM, because custom ROMs come with lots of junk too. Yes, even CyanogenMod. But what to zap

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-57505226288821331512014-03-15T19:41:00.000+01:002014-04-04T00:45:20.293+02:00

Hang 'em high! Scandal! Stop the presses! Any app on your Android phone can steal all your WhatsApp messages from your SD card. Facebook didn't have to waste 19 billion dollars to read your chats. They could just have made the Facebook app grab your WhatsApps off your card. Someone's gotta get fired over this, right? But who? Let's blame WhatsApp WhatsApp stores its message database and

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-16156666266588941652014-03-02T23:46:00.000+01:002014-03-03T03:31:17.291+01:00

Remember back when you had to use a different app for each and every chat network? And then came apps like Trillian, Nimbuzz, fring, imo, etc. One app to talk to all your friends, even if they were scattered over different chat networks.But multi-network chat apps are like lemmings. They bundle different chat networks, then they build their own, then they cut the other networks out, and then

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-36063315717598172932014-02-24T22:36:00.001+01:002014-03-01T19:27:02.318+01:00

Finally! Nokia has seen the light and made some Android phones! They're low-end models, they're made to look like Windows Phones, and they have a watered-down version of Android with a Nokia app store that's as empty as the Windows Phone software shop, but it's a start. Because they have all the Android drivers built in, it shouldn't be too hard to make custom ROMs with the full Google Play

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-1101943362591748452014-02-20T20:33:00.000+01:002014-02-21T03:47:06.757+01:00

Facebook wants your phone number Facebook often asks you to give them your phone number so they can spam you send you your password in case you forget. If you're like me, you keep your phone number away from Facebook. You don't put it in your Facebook profile, and you make sure that the Facebook app on your phone (whether it's the official app or an alternative client) can't read your number.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-48781688856835399132014-02-10T23:34:00.000+01:002014-02-12T05:35:56.616+01:00

Cheap WhatsApp is a great service. OK, it doesn't have an off switch, but anyone with a rooted phone can fix that. That's a small price to pay, considering that WhatsApp can do a lot more than SMS and MMS. How small of a price to pay? It's supposed to be a little under a euro per year. For me it's a lot under a euro per year. In fact, I never paid for WhatsApp, and it seems that they don't

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-6442226793956114762014-02-09T19:12:00.000+01:002014-02-12T05:16:26.545+01:00

Remember the Carrier IQ scandal? Quick memory refresher: Carrier IQ is a rootkit (something really bad, worse than a virus) that spies on you, and sends lots of stuff to the computers at Carrier IQ HQ that you'd rather keep for yourself. Your location, the websites you visit, who you call and text, that sort of stuff. It infects many Android phones, and was found on iPhones too. Carrier IQ

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-37532029551980710052013-12-12T22:47:00.000+01:002014-08-05T16:47:55.252+02:00

Last night in my favourite bar I found myself in the middle of a booze-fueled Android-versus-Apple discussion with the drinks spilling over paid versus free apps. I'd rather talk about girls and cars and football instead, but filling a blog with reviews of free apps attracts a certain type of feedback... - Eve: Apple rocks, the snake said so. Us iGadget disciples spend way much more money on

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-54122004888410649922013-06-18T08:20:00.000+02:002013-06-18T08:43:36.954+02:00

Automate your Android Need to automate some stuff on your Android gadget? There are plenty of apps out there to tone down your ringtone, switch off your data, or make your phone incommunicado when the time is right, and put it all back on when needed. But which of those apps are good? And which apps should you avoid? Apps that don't cut it Tasker can do more than any similar app, but it

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82548876051956026.post-452268864527014262013-06-17T20:08:00.000+02:002013-06-18T05:58:26.965+02:00

All or none Don't like ads on your Android? If you rooted your gadget you can keep almost every ad away with AdAway or AdFree. Not rooted? AdBlock Plus will keep a lot of annoying ads away. But what if you want to allow a few ads in the small number of apps that deserve a few pennies from their banners? AdAway and AdFree work like sledgehammers. They block ad servers by telling your Android

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0