Ask NerdGirl: Name That Phone, G1 Hates Google, Did I Drop it?, Google Fails Like Facebook, and I Wanna Pick the Pic!

by n3rdg1rl Aug 17, 2010 4:59 PM – 8 Comments

So I’m really excited about all the new tablets that are coming out! However, I don’t think I have any space in my power strip, laptop bag, or life for another internet device. Who am I kidding?? There’s always room for one more! What are all of you excited about?

Hey n3rdg1rl,

I have the Droid. I know some apps allow for a name tag of sorts, i.e. Barnacle Wi-Fi Tether and Where’s My Droid? Is there a way to name the device itself?

Sanitroc

Well, I’ve always thought that Marshall would be a great name for a Motorola Droid! Maybe Eric…or something fierce like Bjorn! As far as letting your phone know what it’s name is and display it proudly somewhere, unfortunately I don’t know of any setting or app that can do that. I guess you could make a wallpaper with its name…

Hello,

I would like you to help me with a problem. When I want to download and install apps on my T-Mobile G1, it requires me to log in to my Google account. When I enter username and password it “fails to connect with Google servers” so that I cannot download any app on my phone. Any advice?

It sounds like there’s a problem with your account as far as T-Mobile. I have heard of this before. Unfortunately, the fix is for you to go to a T-Mobile store and talk to them. It may be something like an issue with the SIM card, which, if it is, they can swap it out and fix it right there.

Hi,

There are all sorts of security programs available to help you find your phone, but every time I’ve needed one it’s because I’ve dropped it (fell off belt, etc.). It occurred to me that what I really need is a phone that goes “ouch!” very loudly when dropped and then I’d never need to look for it!

I’ve tried to find an app via Google and Market with no success, which is strange as I believe all Android phones have the hardware (accelerometer).

If there is no such application then someone should get onto it!

Thanks,

Dennis

I love this question! There SHOULD be an app for this!!! I hope that a developer out there reads this and gets right on it! I need this, and obviously, so do others. Thank you for your suggestion, Dennis!

Hi Nerd Girl,

Thanks for all the cool tips / answers! I seem to have problems loading images for some of my contacts. For example, If I open gTalk on my Nexus one, a certain contact would have would have an image (avatar), but when I open up the same contact in my phone book, or if I receive a text message from him/her, the contact wouldn’t have an image. This is despite the fact that for that person, I would have the same Gmail account which has an avatar in gTalk listed under his / her name in the phone book.

Just like the issues I spoke about with Facebook in this article, Google seems to have some of the same issues. All I can say is the same thing that I said with Facebook. Disable syncing. Power off the phone. Power on the phone. Enable syncing and see if that works for you.

If a single contact has different e-mails each with its own avatar, can I select which avatar to use for that contact in the phone book?

As far as I’ve seen, the primary email address is the avatar that shows up. Hopefully the one you like is their main email.

Keep sending those questions to nerdgirl@androidtapp.com!

~n3rdg1rl

Tags: Android Advice, Android Questions, Ask NerdGirl, Help with Android

Categorised in: Android Advice, Ask NerdGirl

8 Comments

By Antonio Wells on August 17, 2010 at 5:48 pm:

@Dennis… I remember in late ’09 as a proof of concept and learning Android, the Chicago Android developer group created something like this when the phone fell or was tossed to make a yelling sound. Can’t seem to find it, so if any of you developers who worked on that app, kindly remind us where to get it.

I would also add an app like this could do some drain on the battery as the service would constantly be detecting whether the phone fell.

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By foebea on August 17, 2010 at 6:42 pm:

You can choose the contact image for all of your contacts and override what the system decides. This is not done on the phone, but via the google contacts within gmail on the web. you can select the one they have, or supply an image of your own choosing.

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By flip79 on August 17, 2010 at 8:06 pm:

About the G1 problem, authenticating on Google servers: this is a problem that is common on android phones in general…. check if your date and time settings are correct. I had the same problem when I bought a new Motorola Milestone, with automatic date/time setting on (and it wasn’t working as expected). When I corrected them manually, the connection error disappeared and I succeeded with Google account activation.

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By Brian Hanifin on August 18, 2010 at 12:06 pm:

This app screams when the phone is tossed in the air. Perhaps a drop would have a similar effect?
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.jbohman.droidhelm

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By Brian Hanifin on August 18, 2010 at 12:09 pm:

Here’s another one called Fling
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.bikerolas

One of the comments on the Wilhelm Scream app says it doesn’t work when the lock screen is on. Perhaps Fling will?

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By Brian Hanifin on August 18, 2010 at 12:17 pm:

I found the answer! Fling works with the screen on or off. You can’t change the sound, and I’m not sure if it is loud enough, but it does work when I dropped my phone on the sofa.
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.bikerolas

P.S. You can delete my two previous posts. Sorry.

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- By Antonio Wells on August 18, 2010 at 1:40 pm:
  
  Thanks Brian, that’s the app I couldn’t recall!
  
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By ohmyhead on August 22, 2010 at 3:46 pm:

The Ouch! app does exist. It looks like it’s been around since May 2010. Judging from the comments in the market, it doesn’t work very well. I’m going to try Fling myself.

http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.ouch

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