Ask NerdGirl: Disappearing Home, Double The Mail, Volume Leveling, New Dialers, and App Use Count!
by n3rdg1rl
Jul 23, 2010 12:00 AM –
So, I currently possess phones on AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint networks. I live in a pretty metropolitan area. Why on earth does AT&T have almost no signal and Sprint full signal everywhere? I understand towers and all of that, but for the signal to be almost non-existent in my area I think is ridiculous. If I wasn’t tied into Verizon, I would switch to Sprint just for their signal here.
Hi N3rd G1rl,
I love your column! Lately I’ve been having some issues with my Moto Droid. Occasionally, it seems to “remove” my app icons and folders, along with any widgets displayed on my home screen. I thought this might be due to a recent app I had installed, but after removing several newly downloaded items, it appears that’s not the case – causing me to power down the phone in order to get my home screen back (which doesn’t always work). I want to know if this is a hardware issue I’m having or something else? When Froyo launches, will it correct this loopy behavior? And if not, what steps can I take to fix my case of the “disappearing desktop”?
Thanks for your help!
Maverick87
The update to 2.0.1 seems to be the culprit. The bug happens when a widget on the home screen or a bad app is stopping the Home process. It doesn’t seem to be a particular one. It happens with different things for each person.
My recommendation is to remove everything from your home screen and add things back one at a time, waiting a bit between each one to make sure it’s the one that caused the problem.
Since this is a software bug, I can only assume that 2.2 will fix this problem. Motorola, Verizon, and Google are aware of it.
After my first day with my Desire just noticed one more detail. When I receive an email (Gmail account) I always get two notifications – one by HTC Gmail widget, and the other one by default Mail application, forcing me to read every mail twice. Is there a way to link them somehow? I don’t want to disable the Gmail app as using it I can also read mails from other accounts linked to my Gmail account and I would like to keep the widget on my screen. Also there is no way to delete it from the default Mail application, as it got there automatically after linking Google Account to the device. Any ideas?
Thanks!
I had this problem when I first got my Eris. Just go into the Mail application and remove your Gmail account. It won’t remove your account from the phone and your Gmail application will still function normally.
Hello!
When downloading music to my Droid version 2.1, I cannot find a way to automatically adjust the volume from one song to the next. Do you know of a way to do this or an app that might be available?
Thanks,
Tony
Unfortunately, I can’t find a music player that has built in volume leveling. The best solution I can think of is to use a program on your computer that does volume leveling and then import those tracks to your phone.
Hey NerdGirl,
What alternative dialers are out there for stock Android? I really liked the HTC dialer, but I’ve now got a Nexus one. What would you recommend?
Keep up with the great columns.
Regards
John
Most of the dialers you’re going to find on the Market are nothing more than a skin for something like a person or a team. Despite all this clutter, there are quite a few options out there.
Dialer One is a free app that has high marks and is pretty customizable. It allows for grouping the call log by groups, not only contact. It also supports multiple languages.
I also like Simple Dialer. The more often you contact someone, the larger their name gets in the list making them easier to find.
I really like your column. Great advice in simple English.I am an EVO user and wanted to know if there is a way to see how many times an app has been used? I have been testing a lot of apps and would like to see how many apps I actually use on a day to day basis. This would help me quickly determine which ones to uninstall when I need more space.
There is. I know there is. I’ve seen it myself. However, I can’t remember for the life of me what it’s called or where I found it. So I’m calling out to my readers. Who out there knows what this man needs? I know someone out there has to have it, or has at least come across it. Help a fellow reader out!
UPDATE: I knew you would come through! Thank you everyone! The app I was thinking about was AppUsage Monitor/Manager!
~n3rdg1rl