Ask NerdGirl: Froyo Says No-No to MP4, HTC Sync Best for Outlook, Why Wait for Provider for Update, Ringtones By Group, and Best Podcast Player!
by n3rdg1rl
Jul 20, 2010 11:00 AM –
There are now 16 different categories of Android devices on our Giant Device List; appliances, gaming devices, GPS receivers, home audio, home phones, media players, netbooks, phones, photo frames, platforms, smartbooks, tablets, TVs, ultra mobile PCs, and even vehicles! Android has certainly come a long way in 21 months of existence!
Hey Nerd Girl,
Thanks for all the questions you tirelessly answer. I just got my OTA update to Froyo on my Nexus One tonight; however the mp4s that I used to watch can no longer be watched!
The movie doesn’t appear in my gallery, instead there is just a transparent box and when I try to open it on Double Twist a message pops up saying “sorry, this video cannot be played”.
I’m on T- mobile if that matters. Can you help me?
Thanks,
Scott
It seems that this is a known issue with the update. They are planning on a patch very soon to fix it so keep holding on. It will be fixed. The good news is at least it’s not a problem with your files, SD card, or your phone itself.
Hi,
I have a Blackberry 9630 primarily because of the ease of syncing with Outlook 2007 calendar and contacts. I had lots of problems with the original Droid using Gmail to do this.
Which offers the best solution to this problem; Droid X or Droid Incredible?
Thanks,
Phil Grossman
Because of my own experience with HTC Sync with my Eris I am going to stay go with the Incredible. If syncing with Outlook is your main concern, the HTC Sync solves this very well. I use it myself and have had no issues.
Hi,
I will be getting a Kycera Zio (SOON) it will be my first Android phone and I just have a Newbie question that came to mind while reading your site.
The phone will come loaded with Android OS 1.6 and is upgradable to 2.1 from personal perspective. Is there any reason to want to run said update? Also, is the update only from the carrier with OTA? The only reason I’m asking is because I read some of the site and people was stating they had to wait for their carrier to update the phone, but it seems odd to me that the OS needs to updated from the carrier. I could be misreading. It’s been a long day for me.
As far as I’m aware the Zio comes with 2.1 already and if not should be an almost instant update OTA from your carrier.
It does seem odd that you would have to wait for your carrier to okay an operating system. It’s kind of like Roadrunner telling you it’s okay to install Windows 7. The difference is that most times the carrier wants to put in their software, much like computer companies do. In some cases phones are upgradable directly from the manufacturer before an OTA update is released, but in most cases, like yours, it is not.
My old phone is a Nokia 6275i. It has one feature that has stopped me from getting a new phone all this time. That feature (the name is unknown to me so I will explain best of my ability) is Caller Groups By Profile or Profile by Caller Groups. The feature does this.
Say I had your number in my phone and I set it to a Work contact with Caller Groups (Work, Personal, Friends, VIP, All Calls). I could set a Profile (Silent, Normal, Custom, Outdoor) to only ring for that particular (or multiple caller groups) caller group. All other calls will not ring and just go to Voice mail.
I realize with this Android App Market there is a possibility that someone has made an app that could do this. Would you be able to point me in the right direction?
Thanks and any and all information will be appreciated.
John
You are correct! Someone did make an app that allows you to do this! Group Ringtones lets you set a ringtone for each group you have. These groups are the ones you create either on the phone or through Google on the web.
n3rdg1rl,
I’m an avid podcast listener. Podcast listening is the activity that I use my phone (iPhone 3G) the most for, time-wise.
I plan to get a new phone soon, and the options are, obviously, iPhone 4 and Incredible/EVO 4G/Droid X.
I have a simple question to you. How do you subscribe, sync, and listen to podcasts and music?
My minimum requirements for a mobile device are:
1. Podcast subscriptions and position persistence (remembering current position in all podcast episodes).
2. Smart playlists. They really help with selective sync of a media library. Having smart playlists negates the need for high memory capacity in a device.
3. Double-speed play for podcasts
I looked on the latest version of doubleTwist on Mac. doubleTwist team seems to be busy at work, but it’s not quite there yet. Namely, it does not support any of the features that I mentioned (on Mac).
I understand that podcast subscriptions are supported in DoggCatcher, but I’m wondering if it can sync to computer since it is handy sometimes to continue listening from a computer.
Are there any other solutions for podcast and music listening on Android?
Thanks in advance!
DK
Springfield, Virginia
A quick search for “podcast” within the Android market comes back with 157 different applications. I don’t know of any that do everything you ask, but I’m also not an expert on podcast apps. Based on recommendations and reviews I’ve read, the one I believe fits your needs the most is MyPOD Podcast Player. For about $2.28 you can get these features (as listed on their website):
- Automatic update and download of podcasts, all fully configurable.
- Integrated dual player for listening to Voice & Music simultaneously.
- Online podcasts catalog from easily finding and adding to you list.
- Integrated browser for finding feeds and music.
- Remote Management from desktop (using browser and WIFI) – You can plug your device into your stereo and control your podcasts from your computer/netbook.
- You can also manage you podcasts using this interface, so you can easily search for podcasts on your desktop and just copy the RSS URL in
- Tracking for all podcasts listened to & history.
- Download on power/wifi.
- Import/Export OPML
- Import from Google reader.
- Automatic space management (chose amount of space to use or keep free).
- Playlists.
- Desktop widget.
Definitely sounds like it’s worth a few dollars!
~n3rdg1rl