android - GadgeteerZA

You can finally move your health data across Android devices — Can’t believe this was not backed up before

2024-11-132024-11-13 Danie

A furry green Android character. In front of it can be seen the top half of a smartphone screen showing the title Get started with Health Connect.

Since Google had moved Health Connect (the service that each health and exercise app can optionally sync to on Android) into the main Android device menu, I just assumed it was part of the device […]

Mozilla Thunderbird Lands On Android With New Beta Release

2024-10-022024-10-02 Danie

Top part of a smartphone screen see with heading Display name me@domain.example, and word inbox below. There is a caption above stating Secure and Open Source.

The popular open-source email client, Mozilla Thunderbird, has just launched a beta version of its Android app. This release, version 8.0b1, is available as a pre-release with a range of new features and improvements. This […]

You can develop native apps for Android using Python

2024-09-222024-09-22 Danie

Python’s simplicity and readability make it an attractive choice for developers looking to quickly develop and deploy applications. Although Java and Kotlin are the traditional languages for Android development, Python offers a streamlined alternative that […]

Use DroidCam to turn your Android phone into a wireless webcam for Linux or Windows PC’s and laptops

2024-06-182024-06-18 Danie

Two windows are shown open - one on the left is titled DroidCam Client and shows a preview of some flowers standing in a glass of water, with some icons at the bottom to increase/decrease zoom, brightness, autofocus, and switching perspective and rotating the image. The rightmost window is titled Skype Options and shows the video settings selected, with the source name as DroidCam Source 1, and the same preview image is shown of the flowers in a glass of water.

This is probably most useful on desktop computers that have no webcam, but there is also an OBS Studio plugin, so an Android phone could also act as a secondary webcam when needed on those […]

FUTO Keyboard is an open-source mobile keyboard for Android that stays private and offline

2024-06-172024-06-17 Danie

Mobile keyboard with white background and letters in black. Below it is a caption saying: Your keyboard shouldn't connect to the Internet. Unlike most popular keyboards, our keyboard does not have Internet permissions. What you say and what you type is none of our business.

If your computer keyboard doesn’t ask for internet access, neither should your mobile keyboard. FUTO Keyboard is a modern keyboard app with voice input and autocorrect, that is completely offline and never connects to the […]

Your Galaxy phone will now automatically get locked if someone steals it

2024-06-132024-06-13 Danie

Samsung Galaxy phone held in a hand. The screen shows the standard blue/purple/turquoise screen background with a Google search bar near the bottom of the screen. At the bottom is a navigation bar with for icons on for phone, messages, play store, and Chrome browser.

At Google I/O last month, Google announced many features for Android that prevent thieves from accessing a stolen device and data in it. The company said that it would roll out these features to devices […]

8 ways Android handles notifications better than iOS

2024-05-122024-05-12 Danie

Smartphone being held by a hand. Screen shows open notificatiosn screen saying Notification test now. This is another notification. Below it is a button marked Manage another button Clear all. Above it are a buttons for Internet, Bluetooth, Flashlight, and Wallet.

Android may have the wrong colour bubbles for messaging, but its users can at least pat themselves on the back for having better managed notifications (those things that can really irritate a person if not […]

GCam is a modded version of the Pixel Camera app that you can install on your Android phone

2024-05-11 Danie

Smartphone camera with a white screen background and just a large icon of a camera showing. The background is blurred but shows a blue pen and pencil to the left, and an adaptor plug to the right with four multi-colour leads extending from it.

This app unlocks the hidden potential of numerous Android smartphones. While hardware limitations exist, GCam bridges the gap by leveraging Google’s advanced image processing algorithms. This app finds particular favour among users of devices from […]

Android Tasker routine to warn if home WiFi is not functioning correctly

2024-04-272024-04-27 Danie

Tasker app screen showing Task Edit at top with name WiFi Test. Below that are 4 numbered actions starting at 1 with an action called Variable Set with the variable name %HA_PING to 0. Then action 2 is called Ping and says Host 192.168.1.212 number 2 (for run two ping tests) and further says If %HOME equals 1. Action 3 is called Notify with a title Check WiFi if %HA_PING equals 0 and %HOME equals 1. Action 4 is called Say and has the text "Check Home WiFi" and only if the condition %HOME equals 1 and %HA_PING equals 0.

Been experiencing a bit of an issue the last month with everything seemingly on and connected, but my Chromecast device would not connect across Wi-Fi today, and sometimes my wife says her phone is not […]

Android’s Find My Device network settings FINALLY start going live for some users

2024-04-042024-04-04 Danie

Smartphone with screen showing a title Device finders, and Find my Device set to on.

Nearly a year ago at Google I/O, the new “Find My Device” network for trackers was announced for Android, but then delayed indefinitely for the benefit of iPhone users. Now, finally, the network is starting […]

Tag: android